Ramses the Great

Regarded as the greatest of all Pharaohs, Ramses II reigned at the height of Ancient Egypt's power and influence. He led military campaigns with his father from a young age, married at 15, eventually amassing over 200 wives and concubines and over 150 children, and lived to the age of roughly 95 years old. He expanded the territory of his nation through many battles and with victory brought back vast treasures and wealth, opened new trade routes, and fuelled the vast building projects which would attest to the glory of the Pharaoh and his people. Among the hundreds of buildings he planned were the temples of Karnak and Abu Simbel, and his mortuary temple the Ramesseum, which contained a library with over 10,000 scrolls, the largest of its kind in that era. The gorgeously decorated tomb to his first wife Nefertari is a final testament to the glory of Ramses II. With a new introduction, this book presents classic works that set the story of Ramses in the wider context, from the kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty, via Ramses' battle of Kadesh, to the beginning of the decline of ancient Egypt.