Ramesses II

"Ramesses II - God among Gods at the Nile" - Essay for the sumptuous publication accompanying the exhibition "Ramses. Göttlicher Herrscher am Nil" (Ramesses. Devine Ruler on the Nile) at Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe / Germany (17 December 2016 – 18 June 2017). - Mainly analyzing how Ramesses II made himself a god in Nubia shown in reliefs to be venerated by Pharaoh Ramesses II. The mechanism at the beginning was that Pharaoh was considered to be the son of the divinities Amun and Mut and thus as an alter-ego of their son, the god Khonsu. Like Khonsu, Pharaoh therefore was a moon-god too. However, in later monuments, e.g. the Great Temple of Abu Simbel, Ramesses had himself shown in the position of the sun-god and - quite well hidden - in the position of even Amun. - With many previously unpublished photos (most of which tken by the author). - (in German)
Text at the back of the book:
Den Göttern erwählt, vom Volk verehrt - Ramses II. gilt als der mächtigste Pharao Ägyptens. 66 Jahre, so lange wie kein anderer, herrschte er über das Land am Nil. Während seiner Regierungszeit im 13. Jahrhundert v. Chr. führte Ramses II. Ägypten zu kultureller Blüte und wirtschaftlichem Reichtum. Kein anderer Pharao hinterließ so viele Bauwerke und Statuen wie Ramses, der mit dem Beinamen "der Große" in die Geschichte des alten Ägypten einging. Der reich bebilderte Begleitband zur Ausstellung umfasst neben Texten zu den ausgestellten Objekten vertiefende Beiträge internationaler Autorinnen und Autoren über die zentralen Themen der Geschichte Ägyptens im Zeitalter des großen Pharaos. Er bietet Einblicke in das damalige Gesellschaftssystem, die umfangreiche Baupolitik Ramses' II. und das Verhältnis Ägyptens zu seinen Nachbarstaaten. Dabei werden auch die Feldzüge gegen die Hethiter mit der berühmten Schlacht von Kadesch sowie der sich daran anschließende erste paritätische Friedensvertrag der Weltgeschichte eingehend thematisiert.

ABSTRACT: This video covers the foundation through fall of Egypt’s New Kingdom empire, including key rulers who fought to re-unite Egypt and expel the Hyksos from northern Egypt (a. “Warrior Pharaohs”), the reign of Queen Hatshepsut (b. Hatshepsut), Thutmose III’s pivotal role in re-defining Egypt’s approach to its northern empire (c. Thutmose III), the peak of the empire under its ‘Golden pharaoh” Amenhotep III (d. Amenhotep III), the succeeding period of Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) during which Egypt experiences religious, political, economic, and other turmoil through his introduction of the Aten cult and other measures (e. Amenhotep IV / Akhenaten), the aftermath of this period under Tutankhamun (f. Tutankhamun), the restoration of Egypt and its empire under Ramesses II (g. Ramesses the Great), and the end of Egypt’s empire (h. from Ramesses III to late Dynasty 20).  This documentary response sheet contains a series of sequential questions drawn from the video, Pbs: Egypt's Golden Empire (shown in-class; also available online via part-1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fvJ9qc18Z0&index=1&list=PLpjdiENFiU2-BweH-K0xS17W8N67mUwS_ (The Warrior Pharaohs), part-2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEWcDz1OnQ0&index=2&list=PLpjdiENFiU2-BweH-K0xS17W8N67mUwS_ (Pharaohs of the Sun), and part-3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVdPSKfQ1H0&list=PLpjdiENFiU2-BweH-K0xS17W8N67mUwS_&index=3 (The Last Great Pharaoh) [165 minutes total]).  These sequential questions aim to maximize both student attention to various pertinent points made throughout the documentary and greater retention of the materials covered by the documentary.  In addition, the documentary has been vetted for overall content accuracy (albeit updated and/or corrected in-class), and selected to provide supplementary visual aids (e.g., images of regions, sites, finds, and other materials; re-enactments), and other data to aid in student comprehension of the course lectures and readings from the textbooks.

This paper aims to study an alabaster pedestal of Ramses II, preserved in the World Museum (Liverpool 1966.159). It is displayed in the Ancient Egypt Gallery, Level 3, [NMGM Liverpool 66.159/ Liverpool Museum 03/061]. This pedestal has been found in the archaeological site of Antinoopolis adjacent to El-Sheikh ʽAbadah, 10 km north-west of Mallawi in El-Minya, on the eastern bank of 15th Nome of Upper Egypt, opposite Hermopolis or Hermopolite nome. It is inscribed with lines and columns of Hieroglyphic inscriptions written in vertical and horizontal ways, which refer to the nicknames of Ramses II in addition to some phrases that were shared between the Deities and the King. The context also refers to the so-called Nine Bows, known as the conventional enemies of the ancient Egyptians. The titular titles of Ramses II are inscribed on both sides. Bodies of foreign captives are represented under the cartouches of Ramses II listed across the front of the pedestal. Those captives substitute the well-known Nine Bows, the conventional enemies of the ancient Egyptians. Many questions arose when studying this pedestal such as: Is this pedestal removed from another place as Hermopolis where there was a temple from the reign of Ramses II dedicated to god Thoth? Is this pedestal related to Hatnub the quarry for alabaster? Is it reused as a block in the Roman city, known as Antinoopolis? Is it an integral part of another base? Why the lotus and papyrus were represented in unique forms? The objective of this study is to investigate and discuss an inscribed pedestal of Ramses II, where the database of Website of World Museum Liverpool indicated the absence of bibliography for this pedestal and it has not been published yet. The objectives of the study will be disclosed through the investigation, discussion, analysis, which can be addressed through a detailed examination of the elements or structure of the study content, typically as a basis for discussion or interpretation.

In modern literatures, the location of Pi-Hahiroth at which the Pharaoh of Moses sank is unknown; and during the reign of which Pharaohs the Israelites have lived in Egypt is still unconfirmed. Besides, the historic and chronological scenarios suggested by modern scholars regarding this period differ from those mentioned by the Greek and medieval historians. Therefore, the paper shows the location of a mouth of an inland lake, in the western coast of Sinai that ramifies from the Suez Gulf, which according to Al Maqrizi the medieval Egyptian historian, Moses and the Israelites crossed it during the exodus. Regarding the dissimilarity in chronological data from different sources, the paper shows that the Egyptians used diverse time intervals, and four types of years, namely: the Earth's solar year of ~365 days, the pilgrimage year of 6 months, the administrative year of 3 months, and the lunar year of ~30 days. Besides, regarding the dissimilarity in historic scenarios and names of pharaohs, the paper shows how to pronounce their names, similar to that mentioned by Greek and medieval historians, using the proper phonetic values and color-codes of signs, in addition to the rule of pronouncing the core and cover parts of the word in black texts. Finally, the paper shows that the pharaohs of Abraham, Joseph, and Moses are the so-called Amenhotep-III, Seti-I, and Ramesses-V, respectively.

The Viceroy of Kush (King's son of Kush) was a high official in the structure of the Egyptian imperial administration during the New Kingdom. The textual and archaeological evidence of the Ramesside Period indicate that some Ramesside viceroys had played a significant military role during the reigns of Sety I, Ramesses II and Merenptah, to support the political, economic and military authority of the Ramesside Empire in its southern territories. They had participated in the major Ramesside military campaigns against Nubia under the command of their warrior kings that aimed to crush any Nubian revolts in the regions of Irem or Wawat. They had also led other campaigns by themselves for the same purpose and for any other political or economic purposes. This paper surveys and discusses this point, in order to shed some light on a new aspect of the Egyptian imperialism in Ramesside Nubia.

Inside:
-- How Egyptian cats shaped the modern cats we love today.

-- We meet the world's first cat with a name.

-- The Governors of Elephantine, and the new insights into life in Egypt's southern outpost.

-- A brand new feature: The Quiz! Put your Egyptology IQ to the test!

-- The Coffin of Ramesses II: who was the original owner, and how did Ramesses end up with it.

-- The Met's stunning new, golden acquisition.

-- The Noble Vulture: How did such an unappealing bird become the titular goddess of Upper Egypt?

-- The mission to turn Luxor into Egypt's first disability-friendly ancient heritage site.

-- Belzoni's discovery of the spectacular tomb of Seti I.

If one wants to summarize in one brief sentence three centuries of Egyptian radiation throughout the Middle East and Northeastern Africa, the following is quite sufficient:

A permanent strife between two priesthoods for prevalence and authenticity.

The two opposite priesthoods permeated the temples' personnel, the court, the administration, the army and the society. They viewed their rightful rejection of one another in terms of human authenticity and orientation. Their views were diametrically opposed, and each of them considered their perception of the world as the only reflecting the purpose of the Creation, and of the existence of the Mankind.

This spiritual – religious – intellectual – ideological clash did characterize other countries as well; Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Canaan and other parts of the Middle East and the world have become the theater of similar debates and strives. In Egypt and Kush / Ethiopia, we identify the beginning of the opposition in the 4th millennium BCE.

It all reflects an opposition between a monotheistic approach to the perception and description of the Divine and a polytheistic system that highly personalizes the aspects of the Divine, and favours the use of pictorial representation of the Divine. The monotheists are virtually aniconic, which means they reject / oppose the use of icons, idols, statues and bas-reliefs. Polytheism and idolatry are identical.
First published on 19th March 2010 in AfroArticles, Buzzle and American Chronicle
Republished in the portal of Oromo parliamentarians:
https://www.oromoparliamentarians.org/English/Facts%20about%20Oromo/Oromo%20Kushatic%20nation-Egypt.htm

Fourty years between the solar eclipse in 1223 BCE (the Egyptian darkness as the nineth plague in the first year of the Merneptah’s reign) and the lunar eclipse in 1183 BCE (interpreted in the relations with ‘lunar’ Jericho) might be a key to the Biblical chronology

Zu den wichtigsten staatstragenden Personen des pharaonischen Staates gehören neben dem Träger des Königsamtes die sog. Wesire – TA.tj. In der folgenden Untersuchung soll die Gruppe der Wesire während der 66-jährigen Regierungszeit Ramses’ II. im Vordergrund der Betrachtung stehen. Hierbei werden die prosopographischen Quellen zu den Wesiren Ramses’ II. vorgestellt und ausgewertet, ihre Rang- und Funktionstitel analysiert sowie einige soziale Beziehungen der Wesire und ihre gesellschaftliche Verflechtung mit Hilfe des Netzwerkkonzeptes abgebildet und interpretiert, um so die sozialen, soziokulturellen als auch politischen Beziehungen des „zweiten Mannes im Staat“ (KAISER/PEČAR) dieser Zeit darzustellen.

I am proposing the final answer to the question of millennia who the Pharaoh of the Exodus was by establishing common grounds between primary evidence in the religious texts and historical material. Using this approach I also explored some other significant characters of the story. The reader should see the overwhelming evidence disclosing the major characters and events of the story. Thereby, ultimately, we will be able to witness the historicity of the Exodus major events as described in the Holy scripts.

The appearance of the brailed rig and loose–footed sail at the end of the Late Bronze Age revolutionized seafaring in the eastern Mediterranean. The most famous early appearance of this new technology is found in history’s first visual representation of a naval battle, on the walls of Ramesses III’s mortuary temple at Medinet Habu. In this monumental combat scene, both Egyptian and Sea Peoples ships are depicted with this new rig, as well as top–mounted crow’s nests and decking upon which shipborne warriors do battle. The identical employment of these innovative components of maritime technology by opposing forces in this battle suggests either some level of previous contact between the invaders and those responsible for designing and constructing Egypt’s ships of war, or shared interaction with a third party, perhaps on the Syro–Canaanite coast. This article examines the evidence for the development of the brailed rig in the eastern Mediterranean, and explores the possibility that at least one group of Sea Peoples, who may have comprised a key part of the international economy of the Late Bronze Age in their role as “pirates, raiders, and traders” (Georgiou 2012: 527) – Artzy’s “nomads of the sea” (1997) – played a similarly integral role in the transference of maritime technology between the Levant, Egypt, and the Aegean.

‘Israel’ is mentioned in the Merneptah Stela, dated to his 5th regnal year—1209/8 BCE in an extra-biblical source for the first time. Dozens of articles were written in order to explain the meaning of the name Israel, identify the origin and nature of ‘Israel’, locate this entity, and evaluate the veracity of the described events. Scholars based their research on grammatical and orthographical, structural,  phonological, literary, lexicographical and art-historical arguments,in order to connect or disconnect this entity from the later entity known as ‘the peoples of Israel’, which is mentioned in the Bible. My purpose in dealing with the Merneptah stela and his campaign against Canaan and ‘Israel’ is based on its broader international geopolitical context. By this, I mean the relations of Egypt with the Levant, Libya and Kush from the end of Ramesses II’s reign, when Egypt was at the peak of its empire, till the early years of Ramesses III, some three decades later. I will base my analysis on Royal and Private Inscriptions, Temple reliefs, scarabs, and other archaeological finds.

Ramesside Studies in Honour of K. A. Kitchen is a series of 46 papers devoted to aspects of Egypt in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties.
This book, which has been written to honour the most eminent Ramesside scholar of his generation, includes contributions from some of the leading Egyptologists from around the world. As such, this volume is a landmark collection of studies on the state of Ramesside scholarship in the early 21st century.

The opportunity for a private person to place a statue in the context of a temple was limited even during the Ramesside period, where statues of officials in temples were very common. In most cases, the permission of the king himself or of one of his powerful favourites was the door opener to the entrance into sacred space. This was a clear case of “divergence” in the context of the temple. Once there and be placed on sacred ground, such statues could participate in the offerings for the god and stood through their type, texts and images in a kind of correspondence with their surrounding space.
With selected examples of such personal monuments of early Ramesside officials, the overall topic “synergy and divergence” will be discussed. Moreover, some light on the strategies of their owners’ or donors’ private practice will be set. Thus, cases of complex systems of donation, social interactions such as patronage and performance will emerged.

Vaga quidem ac luxurianti litera-qualis est scriptorum seu verius pictorum nostri temporis, longe oculos mulcens, prope autem afficiens ac fatigans, quasi ad aliud quam ad legendum sit inventa. Rambling and luxuriant letters, those of the scribes, or more accurately, the painters of our time: pleasing to the eye from a distance, but injurious and tiresome up close, almost as if they had been devised for something other than for reading. Petrarch, Epistoles Familiares XXIII, 19.8 (to Boccaccio) 1 Large-scale, highly detailed, enigmatic inscriptions-occasionally referred to, following Drioton, as "Monumental Cryptography"-were largely a phenomenon of the Ramesside Period, a time when massive bandeau and frieze texts were frequently adorned with additional details. 2 In a classic study, Drioton established a corpus of similar texts, spanning the New Kingdom to the Ptolemaic Period, and outlined some common features. 3 They are distinguished by a preponderance of anthropomorphic figures, typically striding, combined with divine emblems and sacred animals, appearing more like a very wide offering scene than a normal text. Cryptography is hardly an appropriate description for these types of inscriptions, 4 however, as they usually appear in very prominent temple positions, such as exterior walls or hypostyle festival courts. In some examples (Sety I at Gurna, Ramesses II at Luxor), these inscriptions are juxtaposed directly with nearly identical texts written in conventional, Klartext, writings. Moreover, the basic mechanisms are quite different from those employed in New Kingdom netherworld books. 5 The former feature many phonetic spellings, and various animal signs (e.g., owls and vultures, vipers and cobras) are reduced to generic animal classifiers (birds and serpents). The more monumental enigmatic writing, meanwhile, features more ideograms, and animals and divine figures are endowed with incredible details. In order to read the enigmatic Netherworld books, one must be intimately familiar with

The various Ramesside war scenes and texts of the Karnak temple are main historical sources for all the scholars who are interested in the study of imperial policy of Egypt in its territories in Syria and Canaan during the New Kingdom, in the ancient Egyptian military, the political situation in the ancient Near East during the Late Bronze Age, and Biblical archaeology as well. The Canaanite town of Yenoam features prominently in the war scenes and texts of the Ramesside Period, where it is depicted and mentioned in some of the most important Ramesside military historical sources, such as the northern war scenes of Sety I at Karnak, the First Beth-Shan stela of Sety I and the triumph hymn of Merenptah. This paper surveys and discusses the depiction and registration of the town of Yenoam in the Ramesside war scenes and texts of the Karnak temple, and aims to shed light on new historical aspects of this significant strategic town during this period.

Egyptian scribal convention assigned determinatives to foreign and domestic place names. This brief study readdresses the issue of writing foreign names from the perspective of the most widely published event during the Egyptian New Kingdom: the Battle of Kadesh. A statistical analysis of foreign names indicates that the Egyptians were remarkably consistent in their designation of these foreign entities. Further suggestions are given on establishing the Egyptian perspective of foreign names through textual analysis in comparison with archaeological data.

ABSTRACT: This lecture covers the domestic affairs, international relations, special events or achievements/constructions, and burials during the reigns of (1). Ramesses I; (2). Sety I; (3). Ramesses II (with a lengthy treatment on the Battle of Kadesh); (4). Merenptah (including Israel Stela); (5). Amenmesse; (6). Sety II; (7). Siptah (with queen regent: Tawosret); and (8). Queen Tawosret. It concludes with a section on both overall treatments on Dynasty 19 (and beyond) and individual selected sources for each of the Dynasty 19 rulers, including some recent documentaries. UPDATED: Some new sources, plus text, images, edits, and re-formatting, March 2021.

In the narrow sense this volume deals with Egyptian military activity in the southern Levant, about 1300 to 1185 B.C. In the broad sense it provides a case study for the integration of historical, archaeological, and anthropological perspectives. Based on a comprehensive concordance of terms in Egyptian military accounts, this study begins with a contextual analysis of over thirty terms and clauses. With the Egyptian perception of events established, two chapters are devoted to the archaeological evidence for Egyptian presence, influence, and destruction at over forty site, regional, and socio-ethnic toponyms in the southern Levant. In conclusion, an unprecedented research paradigm is presented for the assessment of Egyptian military activity.
This volume includes illustrations, maps, and an extensive bibliography essential to Near Eastern historians, sociologists, archaeologists, Egyptologists and biblical scholars.

This book is a comprehensive guide to middle zone of Abydos, which visitors can still walk through the magnificently decorated monuments of Seti I and his son Ramesses II. The first structure you’ll see at Abydos is the Great Temple of Seti I, which is one of the most complete, unique and beautiful temples in Egypt. With exquisite decoration and plenty of atmospheres, it is the main attraction here, although the nearby Cenotaph or Osireion is also wrapped in mystery and the desert views are spectacular. And about one-third of a kilometer to the north of Seti I's temple, Ramesses II left behind, his temple at Abydos, built early in his reign, stands as one of his most elegant monuments, with its simple architectural layout and dramatic and graceful painted relief scenes. Though best known for its dramatic reliefs depicting the battle of Kadesh, the temple also offers a wealth of information about religious and social life in ancient Egypt.

The Sherden were a part of Sea Peoples who attacked Egypt during the Ramesside period. The Sherden raiders were enemies of Egypt at the beginning of the reign of Ramesses II, who proclaimed its victory on them. After their defeat, many of them were captured and integrated into the Egyptian army, becoming one of the best troops of foreign auxiliaries. They were used by Egyptians during all the Ramesside period. They served as units of infantry or as bodyguard of the king. The famous reliefs describing the battle of Kadesh and the battle of Dapour in the time of Ramesses II, the Libyan war of Merenptah, and the Libyan and northern wars of Ramesses III, refer to the significant presence of the Sherden units in the Egyptian army. This paper surveys and discusses the military role of Sherden warriors in the Egyptian army during the Ramesside period.

23 object entries for the sumptuous publication accompanying the exhibition "Ramses. Göttlicher Herrscher am Nil" (Ramesses. Devine Ruler on the Nile) at Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe / Germany (17 December 2016 – 18 June 2017). - Cat. nos.: 37, 39, 61, 104, 113, 129-131, 133-134, 139, 149, 160-164, 171-174, 249, 252 - (in German)
Text at the back of the book:
Den Göttern erwählt, vom Volk verehrt - Ramses II. gilt als der mächtigste Pharao Ägyptens. 66 Jahre, so lange wie kein anderer, herrschte er über das Land am Nil. Während seiner Regierungszeit im 13. Jahrhundert v. Chr. führte Ramses II. Ägypten zu kultureller Blüte und wirtschaftlichem Reichtum. Kein anderer Pharao hinterließ so viele Bauwerke und Statuen wie Ramses, der mit dem Beinamen "der Große" in die Geschichte des alten Ägypten einging. Der reich bebilderte Begleitband zur Ausstellung umfasst neben Texten zu den ausgestellten Objekten vertiefende Beiträge internationaler Autorinnen und Autoren über die zentralen Themen der Geschichte Ägyptens im Zeitalter des großen Pharaos. Er bietet Einblicke in das damalige Gesellschaftssystem, die umfangreiche Baupolitik Ramses' II. und das Verhältnis Ägyptens zu seinen Nachbarstaaten. Dabei werden auch die Feldzüge gegen die Hethiter mit der berühmten Schlacht von Kadesch sowie der sich daran anschließende erste paritätische Friedensvertrag der Weltgeschichte eingehend thematisiert.

In this (Dutch) article an attempt is made to answer the question how many Apis bulls were buried in the Lesser Vaults. Reasons are given to reduce the number of burials given by Mariette for the reigns of both Ramesses II and XI.
The article contains a table in which all bulls are tentatively assigned to a specific burial chamber.

The evidence analyses the words written by Plato which are preserved in Plato's Critias document. It tracks down the source of the disaster which struck the Minoans and provides conclusions that link in with Moses involvement with the Exodus, providing ultimate proof of the date of the eruption in Thera, which caused a megatsunami which inundated the whole of Crete and western Mediterranean in Spring 1224BC. Images show evidence that remains today with thesis to match. Conclusions drawn confirm Atlantis is in Crete and Knossos was the second of four cities of which Malia was the leading one and destroyed. The remains are hidden in the marsh next to the beach dedicated to Potnia, as confirmed by linear A text translations taken from the Palaces. Minoan history has been misinterpreted by previous historians in the past. This evidence should now be re-evaluated in the light of this evidence, including the Ipuwer Papyrus held in the Netherlands, which confirms the exact dating of the events for reasons stated.

The Institute for Egyptology and Coptology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich
The Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst, Munich
International Conference “Perspectives on the Ramesside Military System”
The Body Armour of Ramesses II
10/12/2021

The Battle of Kadesh was the most famous military clash in the ancient history and the first major conflict in the ancient world, before Alexander, to be described in detail. Ramesses II clearly regarded the Battle of Kadesh as the peak of his entire reign. The important military role of the bodyguard of Ramesses II was noticeable in the records of Ramesses II on the Battle of Kadesh. Ramesses II rescued in the battlefield, according to the valor of the royal bodyguard, which consisted mostly of the Sherden soldiers, after the escape of his officers and soldiers during the harsh moments of fighting that followed the Hittite attack on the lines of the Egyptian army at the beginning of the battle. This paper discusses the significant military role of the bodyguard of the warrior pharaoh Ramesses II in this great battle.