Episode 28 Ramesses the Great: The Early Years
The History of Ancient Egypt
Professor Robert Brier
Film Review
As depicted in numerous temple wall paintings, Ramesses II accompanied his father Seti I on military campaigns as early as age nine. In Year 5 of his reign, he led his troops through the desert to battle the Hittites (originally from Turkey) who occupied Syria. With four divisions of 5,000 men each (including countless chariots with archers), he took town after town with no resistance. The logistics were very difficult because they had to carry all their own water and food. Although the Hittites outnumbered the Egyptians by two to one, the battle ended in a standoff. Ramsesses II refused a peace treaty but accepted a truce.
On his return to Egypt, he moved the administrative capitol from Thebes (Wassit) in southern Egypt to P-Ramses (Kantir) in the delta because it was more strategic for attacking other Mediterranean countries.
He also carved a temple out of a mountain just south of Aswan (in Nubia) fronted by four 60-foot statues of Ramsses II.* Inside, frescoes depict the pharaoh battling the Nubians and Syrians. In addition to completing his fathers temple at Abidos (and carving his own name on the door), he built a third temple at Abu Sendil.
Hi great wife Nephratare gave him five sons and two daughters. By his other wives and concubines, he had 100 children altogether.
Living well into his eighties, Ramesses the Great ruled 67 years. Hyawasoff, a son by his second wife Isetnofret, became the high priest of Memphis and the world’s first archeologist. He restored many of the great pyramids, as well a labeling them with the names of the kings who built them.
Merataba, Ramesses’s 13th son, would succeed him.
*The sculptors were suspended from scaffolding at the top to carve them. When the Aswan dam was built, UNESCO moved the statues to higher ground by breaking them into massive blocks and reassembling them.
Film can be viewed free with a library card on Kanopy.
https://www.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/watch/video/1492791/1492860
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