97-512: Great Temple is a general name for the most prominent temple of an ancient city. It may refer to: Great Temple of Abu Simbel Great Temple of Abydos Great Temple of the Aten Great Temple at Karnak Great Temples of Nanto (Nara) Great Temple (Petra) Great Temple of Ptah Great Temple of Templo Mayor Padangtegal Great Temple of Death Topics referred to by
194-464: A 2016 paper: The date of Ramesses II's recorded death on II Akhet day 6 falls perfectly within A. J. Peden's estimated timeline for the king's death in the interval between II Akhet day 3 and II Akhet day 13. This means that Ramesses II died on Year 67, II Akhet day 6 of his reign after ruling Egypt for 66 years 2 months and 9 days. Early in his life, Ramesses II embarked on numerous campaigns to restore possession of previously held territories lost to
291-498: A 66-year reign, Ramesses had already eclipsed all but a few of his greatest predecessors in his achievements. He had brought peace, maintained Egyptian borders, and built numerous monuments across the empire. His country was more prosperous and powerful than it had been in nearly a century. Sed festivals traditionally were held again every three years after the 30th year; Ramesses II, who sometimes held them after two years, eventually celebrated an unprecedented thirteen or fourteen. In
388-603: A Hittite ambush and were initially outnumbered by the enemy, whose chariotry smashed through the second division of Ramesses' forces and attacked his camp. Receiving reinforcements from other Egyptian divisions arriving on the battlefield, the Egyptians counterattacked and routed the Hittites, whose survivors abandoned their chariots and swam the Orontes River to reach the safe city walls. Although left in possession of
485-526: A formidable force that he used to strengthen Egyptian influence. In his second year, Ramesses II decisively defeated the Sherden sea pirates who were wreaking havoc along Egypt's Mediterranean coast by attacking cargo-laden vessels travelling the sea routes to Egypt . The Sherden people probably came from the coast of Ionia , from southwest Anatolia or perhaps, also from the island of Sardinia . Ramesses posted troops and ships at strategic points along
582-561: A light red by the spices (henna) used in embalming ... the moustache and beard are thin. ... The hairs are white, like those of the head and eyebrows ... the skin is of earthy brown, splotched with black ... the face of the mummy gives a fair idea of the face of the living king." In 1975, Maurice Bucaille , a French doctor, examined the mummy at the Cairo Museum and found it in poor condition. French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing succeeded in convincing Egyptian authorities to send
679-543: A new temple, Abu Simbel . It is said to be ego cast into stone; the man who built it intended not only to become Egypt's greatest pharaoh, but also one of its deities. The temple at Abu Simbel was discovered in 1813 by the Swiss Orientalist and traveler Johann Ludwig Burckhardt . An enormous pile of sand almost completely covered the facade and its colossal statues, blocking the entrance for four more years. The Paduan explorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni reached
776-470: A portion of rock, which projects from the main body, and which may represent a part of a chair, or may be merely a column for support. Burckhardt talked about his discovery with the Italian explorer Giovanni Belzoni , who travelled to the site, but was unable to dig out an entry to the temple. Belzoni returned in 1817, this time succeeding in his attempt to enter the complex. A detailed early description of
873-413: A reign of 66 years, 2 months. This is essentially confirmed by the calendar of Papyrus Gurob fragment L, where Year 67, I Akhet day 18 of Ramesses II is immediately followed by Year 1, II Akhet day 19 of Merneptah (Ramesses II's son), meaning Ramesses II died about 2 months into his 67th Regnal year. In 1994, A. J. Peden proposed that Ramesses II died between II Akhet day 3 and II Akhet day 13 on
970-614: A stable possession. Within a year, they had returned to the Hittite fold, so that Ramesses had to march against Dapur once more in his tenth year. This time he claimed to have fought the battle without even bothering to put on his corslet , until two hours after the fighting began. Six of Ramesses's youthful sons, still wearing their side locks , took part in this conquest. He took towns in Retjenu , and Tunip in Naharin , later recorded on
1067-606: A week, about 250 chariots in two weeks, and 1,000 shields in a week and a half. After these preparations, Ramesses moved to attack territory in the Levant , which belonged to a more substantial enemy than any he had ever faced in war: the Hittite Empire . After advancing through Canaan for exactly a month, according to the Egyptian sources, Ramesses arrived at Kadesh on 1 May, 1274 BC. Here, Ramesses' troops were caught in
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#17327654934451164-439: Is believed that the axis of the temple was positioned by the ancient Egyptian architects in such a way that on October 22 and February 22, the rays of the sun would penetrate the sanctuary and illuminate the sculptures on the back wall, except for the statue of Ptah , a god connected with the realm of the dead , who always remained in the dark. People gather at Abu Simbel on these days to witness this. These dates are allegedly
1261-419: Is common to many subsequent treaties. This treaty differs from others, in that the two language versions are worded differently. While the majority of the text is identical, the Hittite version says the Egyptians came suing for peace and the Egyptian version says the reverse. The treaty was given to the Egyptians in the form of a silver plaque, and this "pocket-book" version was taken back to Egypt and carved into
1358-634: Is considered to be the most likely figure. Upon his death, he was buried in a tomb ( KV7 ) in the Valley of the Kings ; his body was later moved to the Royal Cache , where it was discovered by archaeologists in 1881. Ramesses' mummy is now on display at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization , located in the city of Cairo . Ramesses II was not born a prince. His grandfather Ramesses I
1455-481: Is dedicated to the goddess Hathor , personified by Nefertari , Ramesses's most beloved of his many wives. The temple is now open to the public. The Great Temple at Abu Simbel, which took about twenty years to build, was completed around year 24 of the reign of Ramesses the Great (which corresponds to 1265 BC). It was dedicated to the gods Amun , Ra-Horakhty , and Ptah , as well as to the deified Ramesses himself. It
1552-459: Is depicted as a cow on a boat sailing in a thicket of papyri. On the west wall, Ramesses II and Nefertari are depicted making offerings to the god Horus and the divinities of the Cataracts— Satis , Anubis and Khnum. The rock-cut sanctuary and the two side chambers are connected to the transverse vestibule and are aligned with the axis of the temple. The bas-reliefs on the side walls of
1649-540: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Abu Simbel temples#The Great Temple Abu Simbel is a historic site comprising two massive rock-cut temples in the village of Abu Simbel ( Arabic : أبو سمبل ), Aswan Governorate , Upper Egypt , near the border with Sudan . It is located on the western bank of Lake Nasser , about 230 km (140 mi) southwest of Aswan (about 300 km (190 mi) by road). The twin temples were originally carved out of
1746-486: Is generally considered the grandest and most beautiful of the temples commissioned during the reign of Ramesses II, and one of the most beautiful in Egypt. The single entrance is flanked by four colossal, 20 m (66 ft) statues, each representing Ramesses II seated on a throne and wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt . The statue to the immediate left of the entrance was damaged in an earthquake, causing
1843-612: Is near the Grand Egyptian Museum . In 2018, a group of archeologists in Cairo's Matariya neighborhood discovered pieces of a booth with a seat that, based on its structure and age, may have been used by Ramesses. "The royal compartment consists of four steps leading to a cubic platform, which is believed to be the base of the king's seat during celebrations or public gatherings," such as Ramesses' inauguration and Sed festivals. It may have also gone on to be used by others in
1940-529: Is recognized that the Ramesside remains at Tanis were brought there from elsewhere, and the real Pi-Ramesses lies about 30 km (18.6 mi) south, near modern Qantir . The colossal feet of the statue of Ramesses are almost all that remains above ground today. The rest is buried in the fields. The temple complex built by Ramesses II between Qurna and the desert has been known as the Ramesseum since
2037-702: The Aswan Dam reservoir. As part of International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia , an artificial hill was made from a domed structure to house the Abu Simbel Temples, under the supervision of a Polish archaeologist, Kazimierz Michałowski , from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw . The Abu Simbel complex, and other relocated temples from Nubian sites such as Philae , Amada , Wadi es-Sebua , are part of
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#17327654934452134-476: The Battle of Kadesh , generally considered a stalemate. In ancient Greek sources , he is called Ozymandias , derived from the first part of his Egyptian-language regnal name: Usermaatre Setepenre . Ramesses was also referred to as the "Great Ancestor" by successor pharaohs and the Egyptian people. For the early part of his reign, he focused on building cities, temples, and monuments. After establishing
2231-603: The Negev as far as the Dead Sea , capturing Edom - Seir . It then marched on to capture Moab . The other force, led by Ramesses himself, attacked Jerusalem and Jericho . He, too, then entered Moab, where he rejoined his son. The reunited army then marched on Hesbon , Damascus, on to Kumidi , and finally, recaptured Upi (the land around Damascus), reestablishing Egypt's former sphere of influence. Ramesses extended his military successes in his eighth and ninth years. He crossed
2328-538: The Nubians and Hittites and to secure Egypt's borders. He was also responsible for suppressing some Nubian revolts and carrying out a campaign in Libya . Though the Battle of Kadesh often dominates the scholarly view of Ramesses II's military prowess and power, he nevertheless enjoyed more than a few outright victories over Egypt's enemies. During his reign, the Egyptian army is estimated to have totaled some 100,000 men:
2425-672: The Ramesside Period , according to the mission's head. The excavation mission also unearthed "a collection of scarabs , amulets , clay pots and blocks engraved with hieroglyphic text." In December 2019, a red granite royal bust of Ramesses II was unearthed by an Egyptian archaeological mission in the village of Mit Rahina in Giza. The bust depicted Ramesses II wearing a wig with the symbol "Ka" on his head. Its measurements were 55 cm (21.65 in) wide, 45 cm (17.71 in) thick and 105 cm (41.33 in) long. Alongside
2522-632: The UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Nubian Monuments. During his reign, Ramesses II embarked on an extensive building program throughout Egypt and Nubia , which Egypt controlled. Nubia was very important to the Egyptians because it was a source of gold and many other precious trade goods. He, therefore, built several grand temples there in order to impress upon the Nubians Egypt's might and Egyptianize
2619-496: The tetrastyle cell. Part of the first room, with the ceiling decorated with astral scenes, and few remains of the second room are all that is left. Vast storerooms built of mud bricks stretched out around the temple. Traces of a school for scribes were found among the ruins. A temple of Seti I , of which nothing remains beside the foundations, once stood to the right of the hypostyle hall. In 1255 BC, Ramesses and his queen Nefertari had traveled into Nubia to inaugurate
2716-404: The 19th century. The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus marveled at the gigantic temple, now no more than a few ruins. Oriented northwest and southeast, the temple was preceded by two courts. An enormous pylon stood before the first court, with the royal palace at the left and the gigantic statue of the king at the back. Only fragments of the base and torso remain of the syenite statue of
2813-673: The Amurru during his campaign in Syria. The Battle of Kadesh in his fifth regnal year was the climactic engagement in a campaign that Ramesses fought in Syria, against the resurgent Hittite forces of Muwatalli II . The pharaoh wanted a victory at Kadesh both to expand Egypt's frontiers into Syria, and to emulate his father Seti I's triumphal entry into the city just a decade or so earlier. He also constructed his new capital, Pi-Ramesses . There he built factories to manufacture weapons, chariots, and shields, supposedly producing some 1,000 weapons in
2910-540: The Battle of Kadesh were the early campaigns of Ramesses II into Canaan . His first campaign seems to have taken place in the fourth year of his reign and was commemorated by the erection of what became the first of the Commemorative stelae of Nahr el-Kalb near what is now Beirut . The inscription is almost totally illegible due to weathering. In the fourth year of his reign, he captured the Hittite vassal state of
3007-558: The Dog River ( Nahr al-Kalb ) and pushed north into Amurru . His armies managed to march as far north as Dapur, where he had a statue of himself erected. The Egyptian pharaoh thus found himself in northern Amurru, well past Kadesh, in Tunip , where no Egyptian soldier had been seen since the time of Thutmose III , almost 120 years earlier. He laid siege to Dapur before capturing it, and returning to Egypt. By November 1272 BC, Ramesses
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3104-490: The Egyptian king fought against the Hittites . The most famous relief shows the king on his chariot shooting arrows against his fleeing enemies, who are being taken prisoner. Other scenes show Egyptian victories in Libya and Nubia. From the hypostyle hall, one enters the second pillared hall, which has four pillars decorated with beautiful scenes of offerings to the gods. There are depictions of Ramesses and Nefertari with
3201-504: The Egyptian possessions in the region of Damascus . Egypt's sphere of influence was now restricted to Canaan while Syria fell into Hittite hands. Canaanite princes, seemingly encouraged by the Egyptian incapacity to impose their will and goaded on by the Hittites, began revolts against Egypt. Ramesses II was not willing to let this stand, and prepared to contest the Hittite advance with new military campaigns. Because they are recorded on his monuments with few indications of precise dates or
3298-678: The Great , was an Egyptian pharaoh . He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty . Along with Thutmose III of the Eighteenth Dynasty , he is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom , which itself was the most powerful period of ancient Egypt . He is also widely considered one of ancient Egypt's most successful warrior pharaohs, conducting no fewer than 15 military campaigns, all resulting in victories, excluding
3395-419: The Hittites at Kadesh are repeated on the walls. In the upper registers , feast and honour of the phallic deity Min , god of fertility. On the opposite side of the court, the few Osiride pillars and columns still remaining may furnish an idea of the original grandeur. Scattered remains of the two statues of the seated king also may be seen, one in pink granite and the other in black granite, which once flanked
3492-470: The ally of Ramesses. Ramesses II also campaigned south of the first cataract of the Nile into Nubia . When Ramesses was about 22 years old, two of his own sons, including Amun-her-khepeshef , accompanied him in at least one of those campaigns. By the time of Ramesses, Nubia had been a colony for 200 years, but its conquest was recalled in decoration from the temples Ramesses II built at Beit el-Wali (which
3589-422: The almost perpendicular rocky side of the mountain, and in complete preservation. In front of the entrance are six erect colossal figures, representing juvenile persons, three on each side, placed in narrow recesses, and looking towards the river; they are all of the same size, stand with one foot before the other, and are accompanied by smaller figures... Having, as I supposed, seen all the antiquities of Ebsambal, I
3686-404: The arteries . He had made Egypt rich from all the supplies and bounty he had collected from other empires. He had outlived many of his wives and children and left great memorials all over Egypt . Nine more pharaohs took the name Ramesses in his honour. Originally Ramesses II was buried in the tomb KV7 in the Valley of the Kings , but because of looting in the valley, priests later transferred
3783-480: The basis of Theban graffito 854+855, equated to Merneptah's Year 1 II Akhet day 2. The workman's village of Deir el-Medina preserves a fragment of a mid-20th dynasty necropolis journal (P. Turin prov. nr. 8538 recto I, 5; unpublished) which records that the date II Akhet day 6 was a Free feast day for the "Sailing of UsimaRe-Setepenre." (for Ramesses II). As the Egyptologist Robert J. Demarée notes in
3880-406: The battlefield, Ramesses, logistically unable to sustain a long siege, returned to Egypt. While Ramesses claimed a great victory, and this was technically true in terms of the actual battle, it is generally considered that the Hittites were the ultimate victors as far as the overall campaign was concerned, since the Egyptians retreated after the battle, and Hittite forces invaded and briefly occupied
3977-576: The body to a holding area, re-wrapped it, and placed it inside the tomb of queen Ahmose Inhapy . Seventy-two hours later it was again moved, to the tomb of the high priest Pinedjem II . All of this is recorded in hieroglyphics on the linen covering the body of the coffin of Ramesses II. His mummy was eventually discovered in 1881 in TT320 inside an ordinary wooden coffin and is now in Cairo 's National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (until 3 April 2021 it
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4074-674: The bust, limestone blocks appeared showing Ramesses II during the Heb-Sed religious ritual. "This discovery is considered one of the rarest archaeological discoveries. It is the first-ever Ka statue made of granite to be discovered. The only Ka statue that was previously found is made of wood and it belongs to one of the kings of the 13th dynasty of ancient Egypt which is displayed at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square ," said archaeologist Mostafa Waziri . In September 2024, it
4171-667: The city of Pi-Ramesses in the Nile Delta , he designated it as Egypt's new capital and used it as the main staging point for his campaigns in Syria . Ramesses led several military expeditions into the Levant , where he reasserted Egyptian control over Canaan and Phoenicia ; he also led a number of expeditions into Nubia , all commemorated in inscriptions at Beit el-Wali and Gerf Hussein . He celebrated an unprecedented thirteen or fourteen Sed festivals —more than any other pharaoh. Estimates of his age at death vary, although 90 or 91
4268-440: The coast and patiently allowed the pirates to attack their perceived prey before skillfully catching them by surprise in a sea battle and capturing them all in a single action. A stele from Tanis speaks of their having come "in their war-ships from the midst of the sea, and none were able to stand before them". There probably was a naval battle somewhere near the mouth of the Nile, as shortly afterward, many Sherden are seen among
4365-410: The colossi is 33 m (108 ft) high and 38 m (125 ft) wide. It carries a frieze depicting twenty-two baboons worshipping the rising sun with upraised arms and a stele recording the marriage of Ramesses to a daughter of king Ḫattušili III , which sealed the peace between Egypt and the Hittites . The entrance doorway itself is surmounted by bas-relief images of the king worshipping
4462-455: The current alignment may not be as precise as the original one. A graffito inscribed in Greek on the left leg of the colossal seated statue of Ramesses II , on the south side of the entrance to the temple records that: When King Psammetichus (i.e., Psamtik II ) came to Elephantine, this was written by those who sailed with Psammetichus the son of Theocles, and they came beyond Kerkis as far as
4559-565: The disputes over Canaan, its immediate impetus seems to have been a diplomatic crisis that occurred following Ḫattušili III 's accession to the Hittite throne. Ḫattušili had come to power by deposing his nephew Muršili III in the brief and bitter Hittite Civil War . Though the deposed king was initially sent into exile in Syria, he subsequently attempted to regain power and fled to Egypt once these attempts were discovered. When Ḫattušili demanded his extradition, Ramesses II denied any knowledge of his wherabouts. When Ḫattušili insisted that Muršili
4656-470: The enthroned pharaoh, 17 metres (56 ft) high and weighing more than 1,000 tonnes (980 long tons ; 1,100 short tons ). Scenes of the pharaoh and his army triumphing over the Hittite forces fleeing before Kadesh are represented on the pylon. Remains of the second court include part of the internal facade of the pylon and a portion of the Osiride portico on the right. Scenes of war and the alleged rout of
4753-438: The entire site was carefully cut into large blocks (up to 30 tons, averaging 20 tons), dismantled, lifted and reassembled in a new location 65 metres higher and 200 metres back from the river, in one of the greatest challenges of archaeological engineering in history. Some structures were even saved from under the waters of Lake Nasser. Today, a few hundred tourists visit the temples daily. Most visitors arrive by road from Aswan ,
4850-450: The entrance to the sanctuary. The temple is complex in structure and quite unusual because of its many side chambers. The hypostyle hall (sometimes also called a pronaos) is 18 m (59 ft) long and 16.7 m (55 ft) wide and is supported by eight huge Osirid pillars depicting the deified Ramesses linked to the god Osiris , the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life and vegetation, to indicate
4947-459: The entrance to the temple. Thirty-nine out of the forty-eight columns in the great hypostyle hall (41 × 31 m) still stand in the central rows. They are decorated with the usual scenes of the king before various deities. Part of the ceiling, decorated with gold stars on a blue ground, also has been preserved. Ramesses's children appear in the procession on the few walls left. The sanctuary was composed of three consecutive rooms, with eight columns and
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#17327654934455044-503: The everlasting nature of the pharaoh. The colossal statues along the left-hand wall bear the white crown of Upper Egypt , while those on the opposite side are wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt (pschent). The bas-reliefs on the walls of the pronaos depict battle scenes in the military campaigns that Ramesses waged. Much of the sculpture is given to the Battle of Kadesh , on the Orontes river in present-day Syria , in which
5141-407: The falcon-headed Ra Horakhty , whose statue stands in a large niche. Ra holds the hieroglyph user and a feather in his right hand, with Maat (the goddess of truth and justice) in his left; this is a cryptogram for Ramesses II's throne name , User-Maat-Re . The inner part of the temple has the same triangular layout that most ancient Egyptian temples follow, with rooms decreasing in size from
5238-410: The goddess Hathor), together with the gods Horus , Khnum , Khonsu , and Thoth , and the goddesses Hathor, Isis , Maat , Mut of Asher, Satis and Taweret ; in one scene Ramesses is presenting flowers or burning incense . The capitals of the pillars bear the face of the goddess Hathor; this type of column is known as Hathoric. The bas-reliefs in the pillared hall illustrate the deification of
5335-547: The head and torso to fall away; these fallen pieces were not restored to the statue during the relocation but placed at the statue's feet in the positions originally found. Next to Ramesses's legs are a number of other, smaller statues, none higher than the knees of the pharaoh, depicting: his chief wife, Nefertari Meritmut ; his queen mother Mut-Tuy ; his first two sons, Amun-her-khepeshef and Ramesses B ; and his first six daughters: Bintanath , Baketmut, Nefertari , Meritamen , Nebettawy and Isetnofret . The façade behind
5432-530: The interior on 4 August 1817. As well as the temples of Abu Simbel, Ramesses left other monuments to himself in Nubia. His early campaigns are illustrated on the walls of the Temple of Beit el-Wali (now relocated to New Kalabsha ). Other temples dedicated to Ramesses are Derr and Gerf Hussein (also relocated to New Kalabsha). For the temple of Amun at Jebel Barkal , the temple's foundation probably dates during
5529-474: The king and his queen. On either side of the portal are two statues of the king, wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt (south colossus) and the double crown (north colossus); these are flanked by statues of the queen. Remarkably, this is one of very few instances in Egyptian art where the statues of the king and his consort have equal size. Traditionally, the statues of the queens stood next to those of
5626-402: The king's birthday and coronation day, respectively. There is no direct evidence to support this. It is logical to assume, however, that these dates had some relation to a significant event. In fact, according to calculations made on the basis of the heliacal rising of the star Sirius (Sothis) and inscriptions found by archaeologists, this date must have been October 22. This image of the king
5723-443: The king, the destruction of his enemies in the north and south (in these scenes the king is accompanied by his wife), and the queen making offerings to the goddesses Hathor and Mut. The hypostyle hall is followed by a vestibule, access to which is given by three large doors. On the south and the north walls of this chamber there are two graceful and poetic bas-reliefs of the king and his consort presenting papyrus plants to Hathor, who
5820-548: The latter part of the reign of Ramesses II and enumerates and names the Phoenician coastal towns under Egyptian control. The harbour town of Sumur , north of Byblos , is mentioned as the northernmost town belonging to Egypt, suggesting it contained an Egyptian garrison. No further Egyptian campaigns in Canaan are mentioned after the conclusion of the peace treaty. The northern border seems to have been safe and quiet, so
5917-620: The mountainside in the 13th century BC, during the 19th Dynasty reign of the Pharaoh Ramesses II . Their huge external rock relief figures of Ramesses II have become iconic. His wife, Nefertari , and children can be seen in smaller figures by his feet. Sculptures inside the Great Temple commemorate Ramesses II's heroic leadership at the Battle of Kadesh . The complex was relocated in its entirety in 1968 to higher ground to avoid it being submerged by Lake Nasser ,
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#17327654934456014-410: The nearest city. Others arrive by plane at Abu Simbel Airport , an airfield specially constructed for the temple complex whose sole destination is Aswan International Airport . The complex consists of two temples. The larger one is dedicated to Ra -Horakhty, Ptah and Amun , Egypt's three state deities of the time, and features four large statues of Ramesses II in the facade. The smaller temple
6111-480: The north side the same figures are in reverse order. The plan of the Small Temple is a simplified version of that of the Great Temple. As in the larger temple dedicated to the king, the hypostyle hall in the smaller temple is supported by six pillars; in this case, however, they are not Osiris pillars depicting the king, but are decorated with scenes with the queen playing the sistrum (an instrument sacred to
6208-535: The people of Nubia. The most prominent temples are the rock-cut temples near the modern village of Abu Simbel , at the Second Nile Cataract, the border between Lower Nubia and Upper Nubia. There are two temples, the Great Temple, dedicated to Ramesses II himself, and the Small Temple, dedicated to his chief wife Queen Nefertari . Construction of the temple complex started in c. 1264 BC and lasted for about 20 years, until 1244 BC. It
6305-613: The pharaoh's body-guard where they are conspicuous by their horned helmets having a ball projecting from the middle, their round shields, and the great Naue II swords with which they are depicted in inscriptions of the Battle of Kadesh. In that sea battle, together with the Sherden, the pharaoh also defeated the Lukka (L'kkw, possibly the people later known as the Lycians ), and the Šqrsšw ( Shekelesh ) peoples. The immediate antecedents to
6402-490: The pharaoh, but were never taller than his knees. Ramesses went to Abu Simbel with his wife in the 24th year of his reign. As the Great Temple of the king, there are small statues of princes and princesses next to their parents. In this case they are positioned symmetrically: on the south side (at left as one faces the gateway) are, from left to right, princes Meryatum and Meryre, princesses Meritamen and Henuttawy , and princes Pareherwenemef and Amun-her-khepeshef , while on
6499-562: The region to allow their construction. There are no detailed accounts of Ramesses II's undertaking large military actions against the Libyans , only generalised records of his conquering and crushing them, which may or may not refer to specific events that were otherwise unrecorded. It may be that some of the records, such as the Aswan Stele of his year 2, are harking back to Ramesses's presence on his father's Libyan campaigns. Perhaps it
6596-402: The regnal year, the precise chronology of the subsequent campaigns is not clear. Late in the seventh year of his reign (April/May 1272 BC ), Ramesses II returned to Syria again. This time he proved more successful against his Hittite foes. During this campaign he split his army into two forces. One force was led by his son, Amun-her-khepeshef , and it chased warriors of the Šhasu tribes across
6693-508: The reign of Ramesses II, the Egyptians were evidently active on a 300-kilometre (190 mi) stretch along the Mediterranean coast, at least as far as Zawyet Umm El Rakham , where remains of a fortress described by its texts as built on Libyans land have been found. Although the exact events surrounding the foundation of the coastal forts and fortresses is not clear, some degree of political and military control must have been held over
6790-562: The reign of Thutmose III, while the temple was shaped during his reign and that of Ramesses II. The colossal statue of Ramesses II dates back 3,200 years, and was originally discovered in six pieces in a temple near Memphis , Egypt. Weighing some 83-tonne (82-long-ton; 91-short-ton), it was transported, reconstructed, and erected in Ramesses Square in Cairo in 1955. In August 2006, contractors relocated it to save it from exhaust fumes that were causing it to deteriorate. The new site
6887-534: The river permits. Those who spoke foreign tongues (Greek and Carians who also scratched their names on the monument) were led by Potasimto , the Egyptians by Amasis. Kerkis was located near the Fifth Cataract of the Nile "which stood well within the Cushite Kingdom." The temple of Hathor and Nefertari , also known as the Small Temple, was built about 100 m (330 ft) northeast of
6984-469: The rule of the pharaoh was strong until Ramesses II's death, and the subsequent waning of the dynasty. When the King of Mira attempted to involve Ramesses in a hostile act against the Hittites, the Egyptian responded that the times of intrigue in support of Mursili III, had passed. Ḫattušili III wrote to Kadashman-Enlil II , Kassite king of Karduniaš ( Babylon ) in the same spirit, reminding him of
7081-460: The sacred boats of Amun and Ra-Horakhty. This hall gives access to a transverse vestibule, in the middle of which is the entrance to the sanctuary. Here, on a black wall, are rock cut sculptures of four seated figures: Ra-Horakhty , the deified king Ramesses, and the gods Amun Ra and Ptah . Ra-Horakhty , Amun Ra and Ptah were the main divinities in that period and their cult centers were at Heliopolis , Thebes and Memphis respectively. It
7178-420: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Great Temple . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great_Temple&oldid=897422600 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
7275-436: The sands, which are blown down here in torrents. The entire head, and part of the breast and arms of one of the statues are yet above the surface; of the one next to it scarcely any part is visible, the head being broken off, and the body covered with sand to above the shoulders; of the other two, the bonnets only appear. It is difficult to determine, whether these statues are in a sitting or standing posture; their backs adhere to
7372-511: The sandstone by desert winds. However, the proposal, though acknowledged to be extremely elegant, was rejected. The salvage of the Abu Simbel temples began in 1964 by a multinational team of archeologists, engineers and skilled heavy equipment operators working together under the UNESCO banner; it cost some $ 40 million (equivalent to $ 392.96 million in 2023). Between 1964 and 1968,
7469-867: The small sanctuary represent scenes of offerings to various gods made either by the pharaoh or the queen . On the back wall, which lies to the west along the axis of the temple, there is a niche in which Hathor, as a divine cow, seems to be coming out of the mountain: the goddess is depicted as the Mistress of the temple dedicated to her and to queen Nefertari, who is intimately linked to the goddess. Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh). Ramesses II Ramesses II ( / ˈ r æ m ə s iː z , ˈ r æ m s iː z , ˈ r æ m z iː z / ; Ancient Egyptian : rꜥ-ms-sw , Rīꜥa-masē-sə , Ancient Egyptian pronunciation: [ɾiːʕamaˈseːsə] ; c. 1303 BC – 1213 BC ), commonly known as Ramesses
7566-405: The small temple and top frieze of the main temple. When we reached the top of the mountain, I left my guide, with the camels, and descended an almost perpendicular cleft, choaked with sand, to view the temple of Ebsambal, of which I had heard many magnificent descriptions. There is no road at present to this temple... It stands about twenty feet above the surface of the water, entirely cut out of
7663-656: The temple at Karnak . The Egyptian account records Ramesses II's receipt of the Hittite peace treaty tablets on I Peret 21 of Year 21, corresponding to 10 November 1259 BC, according to the standard "Low Chronology" used by Egyptologists. The treaty was concluded between Ramesses II and Ḫattušili III in year 21 of Ramesses's reign (c. 1259 BC). Its 18 articles call for peace between Egypt and Hatti and then proceeds to maintain that their respective deities also demand peace. The frontiers are not laid down in this treaty, but may be inferred from other documents. The Anastasy A papyrus describes Canaan during
7760-503: The temple complex of Abu Simbel and the Ramesseum , a mortuary temple in western Thebes . Ramesses II moved the capital of his kingdom from Thebes in the Nile valley to a new site in the eastern Delta. His motives are uncertain, although he possibly wished to be closer to his territories in Canaan and Syria. The new city of Pi-Ramesses (or to give the full name, Pi -Ramesses Aa-nakhtu , meaning "Domain of Ramesses, Great in Victory")
7857-473: The temple of Ramesses II and was dedicated to the goddess Hathor and Ramesses II's chief consort, Nefertari. This was in fact the second time in ancient Egyptian history that a temple was dedicated to a queen. The first time, Akhenaten dedicated a temple to his great royal wife, Nefertiti. The rock-cut facade is decorated with two groups of colossi that are separated by the large gateway. The statues, slightly more than 10 m (33 ft) high, are of
7954-404: The temples was based on an idea by William MacQuitty to build a clear freshwater dam around the temples, with the water inside kept at the same height as the Nile. There were to be underwater viewing chambers. In 1962 the idea was made into a proposal by architects Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry and civil engineer Ove Arup . They considered that raising the temples ignored the effect of erosion of
8051-556: The temples, together with contemporaneous line drawings, can be found in Edward William Lane 's Description of Egypt (1825–1828). In 1959, an international donations campaign to save the monuments of Nubia began: the southernmost relics of this ancient civilization were under threat from the rising waters of the Nile that were about to result from the construction of the Aswan High Dam . One scheme to save
8148-595: The third year of his reign, Ramesses started the most ambitious building project after the pyramids , which were built almost 1,500 years earlier. Ramesses built extensively from the Delta to Nubia , "covering the land with buildings in a way no monarch before him had." Some of the activities undertaken were focused on remodeling or usurping existing works, improving masonry techniques, and using art as propaganda. Ramesses also undertook many new construction projects. Two of his biggest works, besides Pi-Ramesses , were
8245-613: The time when his father, Kadashman-Turgu , had offered to fight Ramesses II, the king of Egypt. The Hittite king encouraged the Babylonian to oppose another enemy, which must have been the king of Assyria , whose allies had killed the messenger of the Egyptian king. Ḫattušili encouraged Kadashman-Enlil to come to his aid and prevent the Assyrians from cutting the link between the Canaanite province of Egypt and Mursili III,
8342-466: The walls of the Ramesseum . This second success at the location was equally as meaningless as his first, as neither power could decisively defeat the other in battle. In year eighteen, Ramesses erected a stele at Beth Shean , on 19 January 1261 BC. In Year 21 of Ramesses's reign, he concluded a peace treaty with the Hittites known to modern scholars as the Treaty of Kadesh . Though this treaty settled
8439-519: Was Seti I who achieved this supposed control over the region, and who planned to establish the defensive system, in a manner similar to how he rebuilt those to the east, the Ways of Horus across Northern Sinai . By tradition, in the 30th year of his reign, Ramesses celebrated a jubilee called the Sed festival . These were held to honour and rejuvenate the pharaoh's strength. Only halfway through what would be
8536-611: Was a vizier and military officer during the reign of pharaoh Horemheb , who appointed Ramesses I as his successor; at that time, Ramesses II was about eleven years old. After Ramesses I died, his son, Seti I became king, and designated his son Ramesses II as prince regent at about the age of fourteen. Ramesses date of accession to the throne is recorded as III Shemu , day 27, which most Egyptologists believe to be 31 May 1279 BC. The Jewish historian Josephus , in his book Contra Apionem which included material from Manetho 's Aegyptiaca , assigned Ramesses II ("Armesses Miamun")
8633-420: Was about to ascend the sandy side of the mountain by the same way I had descended; when having luckily turned more to the southward, I fell in with what is yet visible of four immense colossal statues cut out of the rock, at a distance of about two hundred yards from the temple; they stand in a deep recess, excavated in the mountain; but it is greatly to be regretted, that they are now almost entirely buried beneath
8730-412: Was back in Egypt, at Heliopolis . His victory in the north proved ephemeral. After having reasserted his power over Canaan, Ramesses led his army north. A mostly illegible stele at the Dog River near Beirut , (Lebanon), which appears to be dated to the king's second year, was probably set up there in his tenth year (1269 BC). The thin strip of territory pinched between Amurru and Kadesh did not make for
8827-519: Was dominated by huge temples and his vast residential palace, complete with its own zoo. In the 10th century AD, the Bible exegete Rabbi Saadia Gaon believed that the biblical site of Ramesses had to be identified with Ain Shams . For a time, during the early 20th century, the site was misidentified as that of Tanis , due to the amount of statuary and other material from Pi-Ramesses found there, but it now
8924-488: Was enhanced and revitalized by the energy of the solar star, and the deified Ramesses the Great could take his place next to Amun-Ra and Ra-Horakhty. Because of the accumulated drift of the Tropic of Cancer due to Earth 's axial precession over the past 3 millennia, the event's date must have been different when the temple was built. This is compounded by the fact that the temple was relocated from its original setting, so
9021-482: Was in Egypt, Ramesses's response suggested that Ḫattušili was being deceived by his subjects. This demand precipitated a crisis, and the two empires came close to war. Eventually, in the twenty-first year of his reign (1259 BC ), Ramesses concluded an agreement at Kadesh to end the conflict. The peace treaty was recorded in two versions, one in Egyptian hieroglyphs , the other in Hittite, using cuneiform script ; both versions survive. Such dual-language recording
9118-519: Was in the Egyptian Museum ). The pharaoh's mummy reveals an aquiline nose and strong jaw. It stands at about 1.7 metres (5 ft 7 in). Gaston Maspero , who first unwrapped the mummy of Ramesses II, writes, "on the temples there are a few sparse hairs, but at the poll the hair is quite thick, forming smooth, straight locks about five centimeters in length. White at the time of death, and possibly auburn during life, they have been dyed
9215-504: Was known as the Temple of Ramesses, Beloved by Amun . With the passage of time, the temples fell into disuse and the Great Temple eventually became mostly covered by a sand dune . By the 6th century BC, the sand already covered the statues of the main temple up to their knees. The temple was forgotten by Europeans until March 1813, when the Swiss researcher Johann Ludwig Burckhardt found
9312-416: Was published that during an archaeological excavation of a 3,200 year old fort along the Nile, researches found a golden sword with Ramses II signature on it. The Egyptian scholar Manetho (third century BC) attributed Ramesses a reign of 66 years and 2 months. By the time of his death, aged about 90 years, Ramesses was suffering from severe dental problems and was plagued by arthritis and hardening of
9409-706: Was the subject of epigraphic work by the Oriental Institute during the Nubian salvage campaign of the 1960s), Gerf Hussein and Kalabsha in northern Nubia. On the south wall of the Beit el-Wali temple, Ramesses II is depicted charging into battle against tribes south of Egypt in a war chariot, while his two young sons, Amun-her-khepsef and Khaemwaset, are shown behind him, also in war chariots. A wall in one of Ramesses's temples says he had to fight one battle with those tribes without help from his soldiers. During
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