Ramses II was born in 1303 BC. His dad was called Sethi, and his mum was called Tuya.
Ramses II was named after his granddad, Ramses I.
When Ramses II was 5 years old, his dad was crowned as the Pharaoh. He also had an older brother, and his older brother was now next in line to be Pharaoh.
When Ramses was 14 years old, his older brother died. This meant that Ramses was now next in line to be Pharaoh.
King Ramses
When he was about 15 years old, Ramses got married. His first wife was called Nefertari and his second wife was called Isetnofret.
As the Prince of Egypt, he had to join the army and support his dad. By the time he was 22 years old, Ramses was a great soldier and was leading battles on his own.
Sadly, Ramses dad died when he was about 25 years old. This meant that Ramses was now the new Pharaoh of Egypt and his main Queen was Nefertari.
The Great Warrior
When he was the Pharaoh, Ramses led his army into many battles.
He had fights with the Hittities, Libyans, Nubians and the Syrians. When he won these fights, it helped to keep Egypt safe from enemies.
Winning battles meant that Egypt ruled more countries. This helped to make the country great and mighty.
One of the most famous battles that Ramses fought in was the Battle of Kadesh. Ramses army was small against the big Hittites army.
The battle was a draw as no one really won. But, when Ramses got back to Egypt, he was called a hero and a great leader.
Many years later, Ramses became friends with the Hittites, and this lasted for the rest of his time as Pharaoh.
The Buildings of Ramses
Like many of the Pharaohs who had been crowned before him, Ramses liked new buildings. He had some of the old temples rebuilt, but also had new temples built.
Two of his best temples are the Ramesseum and Abu Simbel. The Ramesseum is the Temple of Ramses II and has a giant statue of him.
Abu Simbel is a big temple, but at the entrance to the biggest part of the temple are four statues of Ramses. All the statues are of Ramses sitting down, but they are about 66 feet high!
Ramses also had a new capital city built, which was called Pi-Ramesses. It was a very big and powerful city when Ramses was Pharaoh. But after his death, people did not want to live or visit.
Ramses lived to be about 90 years old. He was first buried in the Valley of the Kings, but his mummy had to be moved and hidden from thieves. Today, Ramses mummy is the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Ramses II facts for Kids
- Ramses was also called Ramesses the Great.
- He was thought to be the greatest Pharaoh ever!
- Ramses II had about 200 wives
- Ramses was the dad to over 100 children
- After his death, Ramses 13th son, Merneptah was crowned Pharaoh. Merneptah was about 60 years old when he was crowned.
- Ramses also won fights with pirates!
- A statue of Ramses II as a child is in the Cairo Museum
- When Ramses led the Battle of Kadesh, 6,000 chariots were uses
- Ramses was nearly killed at the Battle of Kadesh, but he was very brave and strong. When he got back home in Egypt, he was a hero
- Ramses II was Pharaoh for one of the longest times.
- When he became friends with the Hittites People and signed a treaty, this was the first time a treaty had ever been signed. A treaty is a piece of paper that two enemies write their names on to say that they will now be friends.
What did you learn?
How old was Ramses when he was crowned Pharaoh?
25
Who was Ramses named after
Ramses I or his great-granddad
Ramses was called a hero after he won the Battle of Frogs. True or false?
False it was the Battle of Kadesh
Merneptah was about 60 years old when he took over from his dad and was crowned Pharaoh. True or false?
True
Roughly how many wives did Ramses have?
Over 200
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