As you dig deeper into the history of ancient Egypt and the pharaohs who ruled the land, a popular name joining King Tut is usually Ramses II. This particular ruler is spotlighted within this article , alongside other facts regarding the ancient kings of Egypt.
Before we get started with curious tidbits of information pertaining to Ramses, there are interesting details surrounding the clothing and traditions of a pharaoh. Let’s take the crown and other ornaments for example.
One of the most familiar pieces of clothing that a pharaoh is seen wearing in ancient artifacts is a nemes, which was a striped headcloth. At times, the nemes was sometimes used as a double crown. This is seen in some depictions of Rames II in statues uncovered at Abu Simbel.
During times of rituals and ceremonies, it was not uncommon to see a pharaoh wearing a fake beard. These adornments consisted of goat hair.
Interestingly, it was noted that even though crowns played an important role in royal portraits , researchers have yet to find such an ancient headpiece. For instance, King Tut’s tomb was discovered mostly intact and while there were various items of royalty, such as a crook , no crown was uncovered. There is a theory for this. It is thought that crowns were looked upon as possessing magical capabilities. A dead pharaoh may have not wanted to take along this item with them and is thought to have it passed on to his successor.
Ramses II was often referred to as Ramesses The Great and when taking a look at a couple of Greek resources , is known to have been called Ozymandias.
Ramses II became the third pharaoh in ancient Egyptian history during the 19th dynasty. Many regarded him as one of the best and most powerful of all pharaohs during his time.
When he was king, Ramses II was in charge of many explorations that took his people north into lands situated east of the Mediterranean. Today, we know these locations as modern-day Lebanon, Israel, and Syria. Other travels that he led included expeditions into the south, where he explored Nubia.
Out of all his wives, Ramses II was quite fond of Nefertiti. In total, it is estimated that he married five to six different women. It is assumed that Nefertiti was his favorite wife, as he had a temple dedicated to her alongside the goddess of love.
Egyptians believed that Ramses II was actually the sun god, Re.
Did you know that Ramses II is mentioned in the Bible?
Ramses II ruled for quite a long time, for about 67 years.
Ramses II was born in the eastern part of the Nile Delta in 1303BC to Seti I and unlike modern traditions is named after his grandfather, Ramses I. When he was 25 years old, he inherited the title of pharaoh after his father had passed away.