Ramses
Uploaded by Admin on Nov 16, 1999
Ramses the Pharoah was a ruler of Egypt who had giant statues and temples built. He considered himself a living god. Ramses glorified himself and had more temples built to him then any other pharoah. One of his giant statues was made of one piece of granite. They weighed 2 and a half million pounds before an earthquake destroyed them. They fed, bathed and clothed the statues like living people.
The Temple of Karnak that his workers built was large enough to fit ten European cathedrals inside.
His best project was the Abu Simbel. His workers carved this into the side of a mountain. It has him and his favorite of many wives, Nefetari, carved into the mountain.
Engineers designed the temple so every two days a year, the sun would beam through a porthole. It lights up the pharoah's statue. He sits with the three gods of the sun.
Ramses II knew his future when he was 10. He then became the next king after his father would die. At 25, he became the pharoah after his dad died. Ramses' symbol was the Re, (One chosen by the sun god.)
The Giza had been standing a thousand years before he came to power on the Nile River. He had a city, Pi-Ramses, and large statues and temples. He place pillars everywhere and decorated them with bright tiles. The Hittites, an enemy, had taken control of the Egyptian city, Kadesh. On Ramses' fifth year the Hittites caught him in a sneak attack. He bravely charged, although the battle was a draw, he declared victory. They then signed a treaty while he married the Hittite princess.