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Ramses ii Facts

Ramses ii Facts
Ramses II was ancient Egypt's third pharaoh of the 19th dynasty. He was born in 1303 BC and reigned from 1279 to 1213 BC. He was born to Pharaoh Sethi I and Queen Tuya, and named after his grandfather Ramses I. He was raised to become a leader and educated in Egypt's royal court. When he was five years old his father became the Pharaoh. Ramses' older brother was the prince of Egypt, and next in line to the throne but he died when Ramses II was about 14. This put Ramses II in line to be the next Pharaoh. Ramses II became the Prince of Egypt when he was 15. When he was 25, after several years of leading battles and proving himself as a leader, his father died. Ramses II was crowned Egypt's Pharaoh at the age of 25 in 1279 BC.
Interesting Ramses ii Facts:
Ramses II is also known by other similar names including Ramesses the Great, Ozymandias, and just as Rameses.
Ramses II is known as Egypt's greatest Pharaoh.
Ramses II married Nefertari and Isetnofret while serving as the Prince of Egypt. Nefertari would eventually rule with Ramses II.
Some estimates give the number of children born to Ramses II's wives to be 200. In the time period of Ramses II it was common to have more than one wife, but Nefertari and Isetnofret were his main wives.
Ramses II was very experienced in battle by the time he took the throne. His father had ensured that he gained a lot of experience to help ensure he would succeed him.
Ramses II was known as a great leader but also as a great builder. He rebuilt several of Egypt's temples and was involved in building many new ones as well.
In the time of Ramses II the number of temples a king built was indicative of the prosperity of the country. Ramses II temple-building was the most famous as he built many elaborate temples during his reign.
Ramses II had a temple complex built near Thebes, on the Nile's west bank, called Ramesseum. It was Ramses II's Mortuary Temple and is famous today because of the giant Ramses statue.
Ramses II had the Abu Simbel temples built in southern Egypt's Nubian region. This temple is famous because of the four, 66 foot tall statues of a sitting Ramses II at its entrance.
Ramses II had a city built called Pi-Ramesses, meant to be the new capital city. It was powerful for a time but was eventually abandoned.
Ramses II's military strength was immense, with as many as 100,000 soldiers. He led the Egyptians to victories that made them a strong force and country at the time.
Ramses II's son Merneptah was born to Ramses II's wife Isetnofret. Merneptah would become the next Pharaoh to Egypt in 1213 BC when his father died. He was Ramses II's 13th son, and outlived all of them to claim the throne.
Ramses II died in 1213 BC at the age of 90 or 91. His tomb was originally buried in the Valley of the Kings but he was moved to the Cairo Museum where he is on display.
Ramses II's reign was the second longest reign in Egyptian history at 66 years.


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