Ramesses II Ascends: Egypt Enters Its Golden Age
Ramesses II ascended the Egyptian throne around 1279 BC at roughly 25 years old and ruled for 66 years, making his the second-longest reign in Egyptian history. He was a prolific builder whose monuments still dominate the Egyptian landscape: the rock-cut temples at Abu Simbel, carved from a sandstone cliff with four 66-foot seated statues of himself at the entrance; the Ramesseum mortuary temple at Thebes; and massive additions to Karnak and Luxor. His military campaigns against the Hittite Empire peaked at the Battle of Kadesh around 1274 BC, which he portrayed as a triumph on temple walls across Egypt but was actually an inconclusive draw. He subsequently signed history's earliest known peace treaty with Hittite King Hattusili III. Ramesses fathered over 100 children and outlived most of them. His mummy, discovered in 1881, shows a man with red hair who stood about 5'7" and suffered from severe arthritis and dental abscesses.
May 31, 1279 BC
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