Ramesses the Great

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Ramesses II, also known as Rameses and Ramses was the third Pharaoh of the nineteenth dynasty in ancient Egypt and arguably the most powerful ruler Egypt has seen. He led his civilization from 1279-1213 B.C.E. With a seemingly everlasting reign of around sixty six to sixty seven years, Ramesses aided Egypt in the ways of expansion and growth of power. Being born into royalty and prosperity, Ramesses was able to influence the politics and growth of his country at a very young age. Shortly after his death, Egypt’s new kingdom faced a decline in power and influence.
In order to observe a leader’s rise to power it is vital to understand their upbringing and early life. Like a lot of kings, queens, and other monarchs, Ramesses inherited the throne from his father. Ramesses was born to King Seti I and his mother, Queen Tuya in the year of 1303 B.C.E. According to an article by Jeffrey Sheler in U.S. News & World Report, as a young prince Ramesses was elected as co-ruler to the throne at a young age and was in full control by the age of twenty four. Although Ramesses had great power at his grasp at an age where modern teens are just beginning secondary education, he was known as a very fierce and courageous warrior. At the age of twenty two his father sent him to successfully end a revolt to the south of Egypt in an area then known as Nubia where he personally partook in the expunging of revolting Nubian citizens. According to carvings discovered in the Beit el-Wali temple, Ramesses helped in this revolt by taking part in a chariot charge (Sheler).
An article in a scholarly journal by Anthony Spalinger titled “Traces of the Early Career of Ramesses II” also confirms Ramesses storming the Nubians as well as enlightens on other aspects ...

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...eir victory was. The Hittites deceived the Egyptians by creating an illusion of their armies being a lot further away than they were in reality. If it wasn’t for Ramesses capturing two enemy soldiers, the course of the battle would have been very different. After Ramesses II’s battle unit, Amun reached their campsite near Kadesh, they sent out scouts to gather information on enemy movement and tacticts. “Almost immediately, they stumbled upon two Hittite spies engaged in similar activities. It was a stroke of extraordinary luck” (Wilkinson 304).

Works Cited

Sheler, Jeffrey. “Ramses the Great.” U.S. News & World Report 118.21
05 May 1995: Print.
Spalinger, Anthony. “Traces of the Early Career of Ramesses II.” Journal of Near Eastern
Studies 38.4 (1979): 271-286. Print.
Wilkinson, Toby. The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt. New York: Random House,
2011. Print.

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