Pharaoh is a name given to rulers in Ancient Egypt. At the same time, the pharaohs are accepted as the symbol of the god Horus on earth and the son of the sun god Ra. Pharaohs deputized for the gods, passed laws, collected taxes, and commanded the army. To become a pharaoh, it was necessary to be of noble blood. When he died, his body was embalmed and there was 70 days of mourning. Thousands of pharaohs have passed from the ancient Egyptian period, but the most important among them is II. It was Ramses. He is the son of the Sun, the lord of the Nile, and a god who seeks eternity.
Ancient Egypt and II. The Extraordinary Life of Ramses
II, who came to the throne in 1279. Ramses is also known as Ramses the Great. The Egyptians called him the “Great Ancestor”. He is known as one of the longest reigning monarchs in the world. II. During the reign of Ramses, Egypt was a very interesting place. At that time, everything was happening depending on the Nile’s overflow and withdrawal at the right time. Due to transportation difficulties, one-way feeding was experienced, and accordingly, human heights were shorter than normal. The main meal in the daily diet was beer and bread. At that time, human lifespan was very short. The longest living person lived an average of 25 years, and even the royal family lived an average of 29 years. But Ramses, who was taller than ordinary Egyptians, lived to be 92 years old. These features strengthened the belief that he was a god by the people.
Ramses was so rich that even his food was sprinkled with gold dust. He had eight official wives and concubines, the exact number of which is not known. Harem has been a very important place of rest and entertainment for Ramses and even for all Egyptian pharaohs. The most well-known and remembered wife of Ramses is Queen Nefertari. The depiction of Nefertari, a highly intelligent and beautiful woman, was made the same size as a pharaoh for the first time in Egyptian history. It is said that Ramses had 1000 boys and as many girls. Since the blood of the pharaoh’s family was considered sacred during the reign of Ramses, marriages within the family were common in order not to spoil the blood. Ramses even married six of his own children.
One of the most magnificent works of human history, the temple of Abu Simbel was built by Ramses for himself and his great love Nefertali. The temple is one of the most beautiful and mysterious places in the world. At the entrance of the temple, there are huge statues of Ramses and depictions of Egyptian gods. Although Ramses himself had it built in a larger size than the gods, he had it depicted in the same size as Nefertali.
Ramses also found Isetnofret, one of his later wives, very valuable. The death of beautiful Iset was also very unusual and pathetic. The Hittite king sent his own daughter to Ramses as a bride and wanted to establish blood ties. Also, the Hittite bride will be the queen. Ramses refused this request of the Hittites because he is married to Isetnofret. Isetnofret told Ramses that if he was going to be happy because of his love, he would give up being queen himself, but Ramses did not accept it. This situation caused tension between the two countries. Thereupon, Isetnofret did not want to be an obstacle to peace and ended his life by warming himself to the snake.
It was not easy to see his face at that time, as Ramses used a mask that covered his face. In fact, according to a legend, it is said that those who see his face cannot come to their senses for days. In another story told, the pharaoh drowned in the Red Sea while fleeing from the Muslims himself. It is said to be Ramses. However, the researches revealed that the pharaoh mentioned was not Ramses II, but someone else.
Ramses, who aged over time, was replaced by his first son Kha, but when Kha turned 60, he died. Merenptah, who succeeded him, constantly consulted with his father, who was still alive. Ramses died at the age of 92, under the acacia tree he had planted, next to his friend and assistant Ameni. From that moment on, the King’s friend Amen tried to write the life of Ramses until the end of his life.
II. The Victories of Ramses
Ramses won many victories during his reign. He suppressed the tribal rebellions that emerged in the south, and ensured the security of the country by defeating the invaders in the Mediterranean. He captured thousands of desert bandits and fed them to crocodiles in the Nile. During his reign, there were very few illegal events in the country.
living in the Anatolian lands and the other great power of the world. Hittites There have been problems with wars. In the war, Ramses himself commanded the army. Even in the middle of the battle, when the war seemed to be lost, Ramses drove his chariot towards the enemy and the soldiers followed him and won the war.
After the war, the Kadesh Treaty, the first written agreement in history, was signed between the two sides. Despite the fact that his war ended in a draw, many monuments in Egypt are described as the great victory of Ramses. He is depicted crushing the Hittites under his horses and hitting the enemy with his arrows. Despite the agreement, the heads of the soldiers captured in the war were cut off. Because the Egyptians never approached the attacks on their country with mercy.
Ancient Egyptian Civilization and Culture in the Ramses Era
Ancient Egyptian civilization reached a very advanced level in the field of law. People can even take their employers and bosses to court. The punishment for a woman who had intercourse with a married man, or for a man who cheated on his wife, was nose cut. Nose-cutting was such a common punishment that there was even a village in Egypt where people whose noses were cut off. The penalty for killing one’s own mother or father was to be burned alive. In ancient Egypt, people could also be executed for being ruthless. The end of the person who did not help someone who was about to die was the same.
It is also known that the tradition of circumcision dates back to the ancient Egyptians. This tradition, which the Egyptians attach great importance to, passed first to the Jews and then to the Muslims. It is known that Ramses organized mass circumcision ceremonies. It is seen that Ramses, who is depicted in Egyptian monuments, has a lion next to him. It is said that Ramses always walked around with a lion and that the lion never broke Ramses’ word like a faithful dog.
Ramses also attached great importance to education. He established a Royal School where the royal children could access all kinds of information to run the state in the future. Children from all over the country were chosen for the school, and these children were accepted under the patronage of Ramses himself. Ramses built a new city in Egypt and made it the capital. How and why this city, known as Pi-Ramses, was destroyed is still unknown. In his own time, the whole city was completely renovated, new cities were built, and the old ones were turned into gardens of Paradise.
The Ceremonial Entry of Ramses into Paris after his Death
It was noticed that Ramses’ mummy was covered with bacteria and began to rot. Since the institution that could save the mummy was in France, it was decided to take it to France. However, according to French law, every person who enters France, dead or alive, must have a passport. The Egyptian government prepared a passport for Ramses the Great with a special decision. They wrote the king in the profession part of the passport.
According to French law, elites and kings visiting France were welcomed with a special military band and ceremony. This tradition II. Due to the admiration and respect for Ramses, it was intact and Ramses’ mummy was greeted at the airport with a military band or a moment of silence. Thus, II. 3200 years after Ramses’ death, he became the first king to enter Paris with a ceremony.
