KING RAMESSES

King Ramesses II, also referred to as Ramesses
the Great, was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the
19th dynasty. He reigned from 1279 B.C. to 1213
B.C. He is often regarded as the greatest, most
celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the
Egyptian Empire. His successors and later
Egyptians called him the “Great Ancestor.”
Ramesses II led several military expeditions into
the Levant, reasserting Egyptian control over
Canaan. He also led expeditions south into Nubia,
commemorated in inscriptions at the temples at
Beit el-Wali and Gerf Hussein.
At age 14, Ramesses was appointed prince regent
by his father Seti I. He is believed to have taken
the throne in his late teens and is known to have
ruled Egypt for 66 years and 2 months, according
to Egypt’s contemporary historical records. He
was once reported to have lived to 99 years old.
Queen Nefertari was the Nubian queen from 1292
to 1225 B.C. One of a many great Nubian queens,
Nefertari is heralded as the queen who wed for
peace. Her marriage to Ramesses II began strictly
as a political move, a sharing of power between
two leaders. But not only did it grow into one of
the greatest royal love affairs in history, but
brought the hundred year war between Nubia and
Egypt to an end.
Their story was an armistice that lasted over a
hundred years. Even today, a monument stands in
Queen Nefertari’s honor. In fact, the temple which
Ramesses built for her at Abu Simbel is one of
the largest and most beautiful structures ever
built to honor a wife.