Photo: Own work, Photo by Szilas in the British Museum, 2010-07-30, CC BY-SA 4.0

Ramesses II

c. 1303 BCE – 1213 BCE · died at about 90^[1][2]

Politics & Leadership

Fun Facts About Ramesses II

• Ramesses II's mummy was sent to France for treatment in 1976 and greeted at the Paris airport with full military honors. The popular claim that it was issued a passport is incorrect.^[1]
• Ramesses II is the Ozymandias of Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem. Greek sources called him Ozymandias, a name derived from his regnal name Usermaatre Setepenre.^[1]
• Ramesses II was not born a prince: his grandfather Ramesses I was a vizier and military officer whom pharaoh Horemheb appointed as his successor.^[1]
• Ramesses claimed a great victory at the Battle of Kadesh, but historians generally consider the Hittites the ultimate victors of the campaign, since the Egyptians retreated.^[1]
• Both versions of Ramesses' peace treaty with the Hittites survive, and they disagree: the Hittite version says the Egyptians came suing for peace, and the Egyptian version says the reverse.^[1]
• In 2006, French police arrested a man who tried to sell tufts of Ramesses II's hair on the Internet. He said they came from his late father, who had been on the mummy's analysis team in the 1970s.^[1]
• Ramesses II lived to about 90, from c. 1303 BCE until 1213 BCE.^[1][2]

Ramesses II, commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Ramesses II is regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom, which itself was the most powerful period of ancient Egypt. He is also widely considered one of ancient Egypt's most successful warrior pharaohs, conducting no fewer than 15 military campaigns, all resulting in victories, excluding the Battle of Kadesh, which is generally considered a stalemate. His 66-year rule was also the longest recorded reign of any pharaoh, possibly alongside Pepi II, who lived 1000 years earlier and is said to have reigned for 90 years.^[1]

Contemporaries

Questions About Ramesses II

When was Ramesses II born?

Ramesses II was born about 1303 BCE and died in 1213 BCE.

How old was Ramesses II at death?

Ramesses II died in 1213 BCE at about 90 years old (c. 1303 BCE–1213 BCE).

What was Ramesses II known for?

Ramesses II was known for: Greatest pharaoh of ancient Egypt. Ramesses II, commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Ramesses II is regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom, which itself was the most powerful period of ancient Egypt. He is also widely considered one of ancient Egypt's most successful warrior pharaohs, conducting no fewer than 15 military campaigns, all resulting in victories, excluding the Battle of Kadesh, which is generally considered a stalemate. His 66-year rule was also the longest recorded reign of any pharaoh, possibly alongside Pepi II, who lived 1000 years earlier and is said to have reigned for 90 years.