Ramesses II

Hello, my name is Ramesses II, but many people throughout history have called me Ramesses the Great. I was a pharaoh, which means I was the king of ancient Egypt. My father was the great Pharaoh Seti I, and from the time I was a young boy, I knew I was destined to rule. My story began a very long time ago. I was born around the year 1303 BCE. I lived a long and exciting life, filled with leading armies into great battles, building enormous temples and statues that still stand today, and ruling over Egypt during a time of incredible wealth and power—a true golden age.

My father, Pharaoh Seti I, made sure I was ready for my future. As a prince, my childhood was not all play; it was filled with training. I learned how to be a brave soldier, how to design and construct massive buildings, and how to be a wise ruler for my people. My father had great faith in me. Around 1292 BCE, when I was just a teenager, he made me his co-ruler. This meant that we ruled the vast kingdom of Egypt together. This was a great honor, and it was the perfect way for me to learn everything I needed to know. When my father’s reign ended, I became the sole pharaoh of Egypt in 1279 BCE, fully prepared for the challenges ahead.

As pharaoh, I had a grand dream to make Egypt more magnificent than it had ever been before. I had a passion for building, and I ordered the construction of more temples and monuments than almost any other pharaoh. My greatest projects were the two temples at Abu Simbel. Around 1264 BCE, my workers finished carving them directly out of a mountainside, with four giant statues of me sitting at the entrance to guard them forever. I also built a brand-new capital city for Egypt, called Pi-Ramesses, which was filled with palaces and temples. Near my city, I built my own memorial temple, the Ramesseum. I wanted these incredible stone buildings to last for thousands of years, to show the power of Egypt and to honor our gods.

While I loved building, I was also a warrior. My most famous battle was the Battle of Kadesh, which I fought around 1274 BCE. I led my army against the powerful Hittite Empire. It was a very difficult fight. I remember riding into the middle of the battle on my golden chariot when suddenly my soldiers were surrounded. We were nearly defeated. In that moment, I prayed to the great god Amun to give me strength. I felt a surge of courage and led a charge myself, pushing back the enemy and saving my army from destruction. I was so proud of this moment that I had the story of my bravery carved into the walls of temples all over Egypt, so that my people would always remember that their pharaoh was a hero.

After the great Battle of Kadesh, something interesting happened. Even though I had fought bravely, the Hittite army was also very strong, and neither of us could win a clear victory. We continued to be rivals for many years. Then, I decided to do something that had never been done before. Around 1258 BCE, I made an agreement with the Hittite king. We signed a peace treaty, which is a promise to stop fighting. It was the first major peace treaty in history that we have a record of. This agreement brought many years of peace and prosperity to our lands. We promised to be friends and even to help each other if an enemy ever attacked.

I reigned over Egypt for 66 years, one of the longest reigns of any pharaoh. I shared my life with my beloved wife, Queen Nefertari, and I had many children who would carry on my family’s legacy. I lived to be about 90 years old, and my time on Earth came to an end around 1213 BCE. But my story did not end there. Today, thousands of years later, people from all over the world travel to Egypt to see the giant temples and statues that I built. My mummy was even discovered, carefully preserved, so people today can still see the face of the pharaoh who was called Ramesses the Great.