Chapter Twelve - Ramesses the Great

CHAPTER TWELVE

Ramesses the Great

BY THE TIME Ramesses II came to power, Egypt was already a superpower. He didn’t build it. He inherited it. But he made it feel like his own personal empire, and he made sure everyone knew it.

Ramesses ruled for 66 years, one of the longest reigns in Egyptian history. He took the throne around 1279 BCE, and by the time he died in his 90s, he had outlived at least a dozen of his own children. He had so many wives and kids that we’re still finding new tombs for them today. He built more monuments than any pharaoh before or after him. He renamed cities after himself. He carved his face into cliffs.

This wasn’t modest leadership. This was full-throttle legacy building.

His most famous project was Abu Simbel, a massive temple complex in southern Egypt carved directly into the rock face. The front features four colossal statues of Ramesses sitting on thrones, staring out at the desert like a warning. Inside, the walls are covered in images of the pharaoh smiting enemies, making offerings, and hanging out with gods. Sometimes as their equal.

And that was the point. Ramesses didn’t just want to be remembered as a great ruler. He wanted to be remembered as divine. Not in the abstract sense, either. He presented himself as a living god. He was powerful, chosen, and eternal.

But he wasn’t just flexing in stone. Ramesses was also a fighter.

Early in his reign, he faced off against the Hittites, a powerful empire based in what’s now Turkey. Their armies clashed at the Battle of Kadesh, one of the largest chariot battles in history. Both sides claimed victory, but the reality is it was probably a draw. Still, Ramesses had his scribes frame it as a stunning personal triumph and had it carved all over his temples.

Years later, Egypt and the Hittites signed the first known international peace treaty, a major diplomatic move that helped stabilize the region and let both powers focus on internal development.

Ramesses also invested heavily in temples, public works, and propaganda. His name appears on so many buildings that later pharaohs would sometimes leave his cartouche on their own monuments just to borrow the clout. Even centuries after his death, Ramesses was still considered the model king.

In fact, when the Greeks and Romans showed up much later, they called him Ozymandias. A name that would echo in poetry, ruined statues, a Breaking Bad episode, and stories about the fall of great powers.

He wanted to be immortal. And in a weird way, he got what he wanted.

But while Ramesses made Egypt look invincible, the reality was starting to shift. The world around Egypt was changing. Trade networks were wobbling. Outside threats were growing. And Egypt’s golden age had already peaked.

Ramesses built a legacy that lasted.

But what came after him wasn’t greatness.

It was slow-motion collapse.