Ramses II exhibition in Sydney is on till 19 May 2024 https://australian.museum/exhibition/ramses/
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00:00:03 In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh was
00:00:11 the bridge between the world of humans and that of the divine.
00:00:16 Opulence of his world, the world of Egypt's kings.
00:00:21 Meet Ramses the Great and marvel at the gold of the pharaohs.
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00:00:30 One colossus, bristled to London by a treasure hunter,
00:00:38 made Ramses an international sensation.
00:00:40 In the 1960s, Ramses II's monumental legacy
00:00:47 lives on, attracting crowds from across the globe.
00:00:54 Great builder, warrior, husband, king.
00:00:59 His legacy and reputation inspired nine future kings
00:01:02 of the 20th dynasty to take his name.
00:01:06 He remains Egypt's greatest pharaoh.
00:01:09 When 19th century travelers and archaeologists
00:01:14 visited his temples, they ignited a Western fascination
00:01:18 with Egyptian art and culture.
00:01:22 One colossus, bristled to London by a treasure hunter,
00:01:25 made Ramses an international sensation.
00:01:27 In the 1960s, to save it from flooding by the Aswan Dam,
00:01:35 Abu Simbel Temple was carved into pieces
00:01:39 and relocated to higher ground.
00:01:43 Egyptians had literally moved mountains
00:01:45 to preserve Ramses' memory.
00:01:50 10 years later, his mummy traveled to France
00:01:53 for an exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris.
00:01:58 He was greeted with the honors of head of state
00:02:00 and driven past his obelisk at the Place de la Concorde.
00:02:05 Before his body was returned to Egypt,
00:02:07 scores of scientists and doctors devoted several months
00:02:11 to preserving his mummy with cutting edge technology.
00:02:16 In February 2021, in Cairo, he made the spotlight once again.
00:02:22 Along with the most celebrated buttons of Egyptian history,
00:02:25 Ramses journeyed through the capital to his new home
00:02:29 at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.
00:02:32 After his death, Ramses became immortal,
00:02:40 the most famous of all the pharaohs.
00:02:44 I'm John MacDonald.
00:02:45 I'm our critic for the Sydney Morning Herald.
00:02:47 And we're at the Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs
00:02:50 exhibition, which is just starting
00:02:52 at the Australian Museum.
00:02:53 We're going to have a reasonably brisk walk
00:02:56 through this exhibition all by ourselves.
00:02:59 When you see it, there are going to be thousands of people.
00:03:02 So it's best that you come prepared.
00:03:13 Straight away, we meet a colossal head of Ramses.
00:03:19 He was the ultimate self-promoter.
00:03:23 Most pharaohs before or after Ramses
00:03:25 were much more localized.
00:03:26 They had their particular scene of operation.
00:03:29 But he, who reigned for so long, was
00:03:33 able to spread his influence far and wide.
00:03:35 He also lived in a time of extraordinary peace
00:03:37 and prosperity.
00:03:38 So that gave him the money and the time
00:03:40 to think about doing these things.
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00:04:38 Obelisks were messages, really.
00:04:41 They were public proclamations of the deeds of the pharaohs,
00:04:45 which were written for all to see, put up in public places.
00:04:48 Usually, success in some battle or some particular event
00:04:52 that had to be commemorated, or indeed,
00:04:54 their undying love for the particular deities
00:04:57 that they worshipped.
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00:05:54 And here, we see Ramses towering over his enemies.
00:05:58 And they are three separate enemies.
00:05:59 One is a Nubian, one is a Syrian, one is a Libyan.
00:06:02 He's got them all by the hair, and he's
00:06:04 just about to smite them with his great axe.
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00:14:46 And I've got to say, the Australian Museum presentation
00:14:49 is superior to what I saw at the Parc de la Villette.
00:14:53 It's more spacious.
00:14:55 It gives you a greater sense of progression.
00:15:00 The show in Paris just felt a little bit dark and crowded.
00:15:03 Mind you, there were a lot of people there,
00:15:05 and there'll be a lot of people in this show, too.
00:15:07 But I do feel like the Australian Museum have done a great job
00:15:10 in just laying this out in a very sensible, rational way.
00:15:13 And everybody's going to enjoy this or get something out of it.
00:15:16 The room is full of fantastic things.
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00:15:20 When you think of the thousands of things that have been excavated
00:15:23 from tombs in Egypt, and they're still making discoveries.
00:15:27 They are finding things all the time.
00:15:29 They are finding things which change their views of ancient Egypt,
00:15:33 of their different practices, of their beliefs.
00:15:35 We're talking about 3,000 years of history, even though huge damage--
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00:17:01 King Ramses II and his Egyptian forces are on the march.
00:17:24 Their aim, to seize control of the city-state of Kadesh
00:17:28 from their rival, the Hittite kingdom, and expand Egypt's borders.
00:17:34 The Hittite king amasses his army, a coalition of tens of thousands
00:17:39 of fierce warriors from allied territories, and also moves toward Kadesh.
00:17:45 Egyptian accounts say the Hittites covered the mountains
00:17:49 and filled the valleys and were like locusts in their numbers.
00:17:54 King Ramses is woefully outnumbered, but he is not one to back down.
00:18:00 Among his troops are warriors from his previous conquests--
00:18:04 Nubians, Libyans, and Sheridan pirates.
00:18:08 Just hours from their target, Ramses receives intel that the Hittites
00:18:13 are still several days' journey away.
00:18:17 He decides to make camp with his Amun division.
00:18:22 His other battalions, including an elite force from Amuru, are still hours away.
00:18:28 Ramses will launch his attack once the rest of his army arrives.
00:18:34 But his plan is soon foiled.
00:18:37 Near camp, Ramses' guards interrogate two Hittite defectors.
00:18:42 They reveal the Hittite army is actually in hiding just across the river.
00:18:48 Suddenly, the Hittites' chariots smash into Ramses' Ray division.
00:18:54 In the melee, the Egyptians flee and lead the Hittites directly
00:18:59 into the sanctuary of the Egyptian king.
00:19:02 Ramses faces thousands of enemy charioteers.
00:19:07 The pharaoh fights bravely, his pet lion at his side,
00:19:12 while the Hittite king waits in safety on the other side of the river.
00:19:17 The battle rages, and the Hittites sense victory.
00:19:22 But Ramses' elite warriors arrive, giving their king the power to wage a counterattack.
00:19:29 Unleashing a fury of arrows, the Egyptians force the Hittites back across the river.
00:19:35 Ramses himself describes the scene.
00:19:39 "I made them plunge into the water like crocodiles.
00:19:43 Those who fell down did not rise."
00:19:49 Most of the Hittite force drown or are killed, including the king's brother.
00:19:56 The Hittite king calls for a truce.
00:20:00 To count the dead, Ramses' soldiers remove a hand from each fallen Hittite.
00:20:06 And King Ramses rides away from the field of battle, declaring himself the victor.
00:20:14 A Hittite version of the story suggests the battle was at best a draw.
00:20:20 Seventeen years after the Battle of Kadesh, King Ramses signed a treaty with the Hittites.
00:20:27 It ushered in a peace that lasted nearly a century.
00:20:32 It is the first peace treaty recorded in history, and remains the basis for treaties between nations today.
00:20:43 King Ramses believed his victory at Kadesh was the greatest achievement of his reign.
00:20:50 He celebrated it in extraordinary detail on temples throughout Egypt,
00:20:55 making it the most famous battle of the ancient world.
00:21:00 In the pharaoh's own words, "I found the enemy chariots scattering before my forces.
00:21:06 I slaughtered them at my will.
00:21:09 Behold, I am victorious.
00:21:12 Me alone."
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00:21:56 This is astonishing. This is a piece of linen.
00:22:00 And look at the state of preservation of this.
00:22:02 This comes from the 19th Dynasty. It's 3,000 years old.
00:22:06 It's been in a tomb from the time of the memorial.
00:22:09 It's a piece of linen that has been heavily gessoed so as to create a surface.
00:22:14 And then on top of that, they've added this very delicate drawing.
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00:22:29 I love these little drawings.
00:22:31 They're sketches.
00:22:33 This is where the artists who were perpetually engaged in decorating, creating the tombs for the afterlife,
00:22:39 for the pharaohs, for the aristocrats, for everybody, would do little sketches just to try and work out a few ideas.
00:22:44 Sometimes they did things like cartoons or satirical works.
00:22:47 Often they just designed something and tried it out.
00:22:50 And they offer an amazingly intimate view.
00:22:53 You actually see them loosely working out ideas on these bits of stone.
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00:24:02 We have this rather spectacular display.
00:24:04 The central piece is a really remarkable sarcophagus.
00:24:08 It's a box, which is an outer sarcophagus.
00:24:11 Inside, there would have been a number of more personalized coffins for the deceased.
00:24:17 It looks spectacular. You'd think it must be some noble person.
00:24:20 In fact, it's the coffin of Senegem.
00:24:23 Senegem himself was a well-known artist who did a lot of the work for tombs, for pharaohs.
00:24:29 And he has arranged his own coffin.
00:24:32 You don't have to be a pharaoh to have a great coffin.
00:24:34 You have to be a successful artisan because these artists are not just wild bohemians or workers.
00:24:42 They were intellectuals.
00:24:44 They were educated people. They knew a whole regimen of what you put on a coffin and what you don't put on a coffin,
00:24:51 how you do it, how you address the gods, and so on.
00:24:53 So this Senegem was an impressive character in his own right.
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00:29:01 I was so happy when I went to Australia for the first time and I discovered that
00:29:12 Kim is the director of the National Museum. This really made me happy. We promised
00:29:16 her before that King Tut exhibit could be in Sydney but because of the COVID it stopped.
00:29:21 But now I am telling you and I told everyone this Ramses II exhibit is more pretty than
00:29:28 Tutankhamun and Ramses name is more big, big name and the artifacts 181 objects are unique
00:29:36 and the coffin and this why this exhibit will be a great gift from us to Australia and from
00:29:43 me to my friend Kim. It's so exciting we've been planning for it for a long time. Obviously
00:29:49 we planned for Tutankhamun and it didn't happen. So to see this today with these beautiful
00:29:54 objects I'm really excited. I think Australians will be blown away by it. Oh I think to really
00:30:00 have the story of Ramses II who was you know a great pharaoh not only did he live a long
00:30:06 life but he made many historic advances in ancient Egypt as well. So they'll get to know
00:30:14 this man who lived this extraordinary life had all these children but more than that
00:30:20 he was a warrior and a peace keeper too because he formed the first peace treaty right? Yes
00:30:26 yes. In the world so I think Egypt always captivates people no matter where you live
00:30:32 in the world. Ancient Egypt is in a league of its own so I think people will be inspired
00:30:39 by it and you know Australia is a long way from the rest of the world so to be able to
00:30:44 bring an exhibition of this size and scale. And because of the Ramses coming to Sydney
00:30:50 they have the curse of the pharaohs and Kim broke her leg. This is the curse of the pharaohs.
00:30:57 I think it was. This is the beginning of the curse. Wait for more curses. I think Zahi
00:31:04 we've overcome the curse of Tutankhamun right? Yes. And get Ramses. It's been a battle and
00:31:10 struggle but we're going to get there. I want you as a reporter go and meet a child in Sydney.
00:31:16 Tell him Egypt. He will tell you. Kufu pyramid, the Sphinx, King Tut and mammoth. These four
00:31:25 items are not, cannot be seen in any civilization and that's why mammoths, curses, people, all
00:31:33 the love it. No for me I still live in the time of the pharaohs. I don't live in the
00:31:37 time of the people. I lived, I have passion for archaeology since I discovered the first
00:31:43 statue in my life. When I began to clean that statue I said I found my love and my love
00:31:48 was ancient Egypt. And you know I first went to Cairo as a five year old when we moved
00:31:55 from Australia to England up through the Suez Canal before it was closed and at age five
00:32:00 I became captivated then. And it's just wonderful to still feel that same excitement about what
00:32:07 ancient Egypt has. It's really wonderful. Each, in my opinion, each object of the 181
00:32:14 will capture the heart of everyone because each object tells us about a part of the history
00:32:20 of ancient Egypt and Ramses II.
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00:45:59 And this classic Egyptian bust, it's Meramtar.
00:46:12 Meramtar was son number 13.
00:46:16 He was the 13th crown prince under Ramses
00:46:20 and he's the one who finally ascended to the throne.
00:46:23 This is one of the highlights of the exhibition.
00:46:25 It's the sarcophagus of Meramtar.
00:46:27 It's a huge hunk of granite, beautifully carved
00:46:33 and it's carved at both the top and the bottom.
00:46:36 What we have here is a mirror so you can actually look in
00:46:39 and you can see the goddess,
00:46:42 the long thin body of the goddess stretched out beneath.
00:46:46 These are tombs which are to show the greatest possible piety
00:46:51 towards the afterlife and the deities.
00:46:53 And so consequently they're masterpieces of art.
00:46:56 This is a fantastic piece of carving.
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00:54:59 So this is the big spectacular grand finale of the show.
00:55:10 Now this is the coffin in which we found Ramsey's remains.
00:55:16 But it's not the original coffin in which he was buried.
00:55:20 The original coffin, which would have, it's almost unimaginable what it must have been like.
00:55:25 But he was taken out of that sarcophagus by the priest, more or less rescued.
00:55:29 And then put into this much simpler coffin with his cartouche, identifying him as Ramsey's.
00:55:35 And the little story of his journey there.
00:55:39 So that in future, where people came upon that coffin, they would know this was Ramsey's the Great.
00:55:45 It's a much simpler coffin than what he would have been in.
00:55:48 But it's still a really exquisite thing.
00:55:50 It's a beautiful piece of carving.
00:55:52 It's a piece of cedar wood, which is always fantastic in itself.
00:55:56 Ramsey's had the ability to decide, alright, I've done my war thing.
00:56:00 I've been the warrior. I've got that reputation.
00:56:02 But now the most important thing is peace and prosperity.
00:56:05 And that long, long period of peace and prosperity was what enabled Ramsey's to bring Egypt to the heights that it reached under him.
00:56:13 Enabled it to be an era of, well, they call it a golden age under Ramsey's.
00:56:18 And that's exactly what they had.
00:56:20 They were never so wealthy or so well off or things so peaceful as they were.
00:56:23 And it enabled him also to build monuments, to concentrate on creating cities, works of art, temples, artefacts.
00:56:32 It was a testimony for all time that in order to achieve anything, you've got to be able to agree, you've got to have peace.
00:56:39 It's a testimony that we are very hard of learning today.
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00:58:45 Seti I was the father of our friend Ramsey's the Great.
00:58:52 Just like his son, he was a hugely successful pharaoh.
00:58:56 But in father-son rivalry, there's one category where he wins hands down.
00:59:02 His mummy.
00:59:03 Because Seti I boasts some of the finest mummification work in all of ancient Egyptian history.
00:59:10 Mummification is an incredible process of drying out and embalming the body to preserve it, ready for its journey to immortality in the afterlife.
00:59:20 Key to it all was the preparation of the body.
00:59:25 Typically, your brain is pulled out through your nostrils with an iron hook.
00:59:31 Next, all of your major organs are removed, apart from the heart.
00:59:37 Ancient Egyptians believed this was the centre of your being.
00:59:43 These organs are then preserved in special jars so they can be reunited with their owner in the afterlife.
00:59:53 Your body is then covered in a salt called natron and left to dry for up to 40 days.
01:00:01 Finally, the now mummified body is wrapped head to foot in hundreds of metres of linen bandages attached with a glue and magical spells are cast to protect the mummy and prepare it for safe arrival in the afterlife.
01:00:17 But Seti's mummy is unusual.
01:00:20 His face is incredibly well preserved.
01:00:23 He looks almost perfect, not what you might expect from a body over 3,000 years old.
01:00:31 But frankly, Seti has had quite a lot of work done.
01:00:36 Unlocking the secrets behind Seti's youthful good looks is Professor of Radiology, Sahar Salem.
01:00:43 I always looked at his mummy and I said, "This is no mummy. This is a sleeping beauty."
01:00:50 And I've always wondered what was his secret?
01:00:55 The secrets revealed to me that the ancient Egyptians were very efficient as plastic surgeons.
01:01:07 So was it really plastic surgery?
01:01:09 Yeah, and they actually placed fillers around the nose and the mouth in this region, in the cheeks and even in the temporal.
01:01:18 What does this tell you about their ideas of ancient beauty for men as well as for women?
01:01:24 The ancient Egyptians would like to look like his gods.
01:01:28 There is something very, very charismatic about him.
01:01:32 He was the most well mummified person from ancient Egypt that I've ever looked at.
01:01:39 I love the way you talk about him. I bet you wish you'd met him.
01:01:43 Definitely. We will meet one day.
01:01:46 In the afterlife? Brilliant. Well, good luck.
01:01:51 Egyptians beautified Seti's mummy to make sure it was in the best possible shape to travel to the afterlife.
01:01:58 Once there, Seti would need a stunning home for all eternity.
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01:09:23 During the 13th century BC, ancient Egypt was recovering from the turbulent
01:09:41 Armana period that had greatly weakened the empire. The most notable pharaoh
01:09:47 during this period, Ramesses II, restored Egypt to its former glory and
01:09:53 re-established its dominance over the region. He maintained stability within
01:09:58 the empire, preserved its borders, and built immense monuments throughout Egypt.
01:10:03 His unprecedented 66-year-long reign and countless achievements
01:10:09 immortalized him throughout the world as Ramesses the Great.
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01:10:17 The 18th dynasty's rule of Egypt came to an end in 1292 BC with the death of
01:10:26 pharaoh Horemheb, as he left behind no heir to the throne. Before his death,
01:10:32 Horemheb appointed his chief vizier, Paramese, to succeed him as pharaoh of
01:10:37 Egypt, both to reward Paramese's undying loyalty and because he had a son and a
01:10:42 grandson, which ensured a stable line of succession for the empire. On becoming
01:10:48 pharaoh, Paramese changed his name to Ramesses I, which translates to
01:10:53 "established by the strength of Ra." He ruled Egypt for less than two years
01:10:58 before dying and was succeeded by his son, Seti I. Seti had a successful reign
01:11:04 and was able to reclaim much of the northern lands that had been lost under
01:11:08 the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten. He appointed his 14-year-old son, Ramesses,
01:11:14 as prince regent of the empire and provided him with a grand household and
01:11:19 a personal harem. Seti also made the boy prince a captain in the army and brought
01:11:25 him along on military campaigns. It was around this time that Ramesses, then a
01:11:30 teenager, married his principal wife, Nefertari, who he was extremely fond of
01:11:35 and affectionately referred to as "the one for whom the sun shines." In 1279 BC,
01:11:42 after an 11-year reign, Seti died and was succeeded by his son, who was
01:11:47 proclaimed Ramesses II. By this time, Ramesses was about 24 years old and had
01:11:53 extensive military experience. His first great achievement came in his second
01:11:58 year on the throne, when he defeated a band of sea pirates called the Shirdan,
01:12:03 who have been theorized as having originated from Anatolia, Ionia, or
01:12:08 Sardinia. These pirates had been plundering Egyptian vessels along the
01:12:12 Mediterranean coast and wreaking havoc on the local population. Ramesses cleverly
01:12:18 set a trap for the Shirdan by placing several cargo-laden vessels in an area
01:12:23 off the coast. The sea pirates took the bait, which resulted in them being
01:12:27 surrounded by a fleet of Egyptian warships. Ramesses managed to overwhelm
01:12:32 and capture the Shirdan pirates in one single action. The surviving sea pirates
01:12:38 were taken to Egypt as prisoners and forced to serve as personal bodyguards
01:12:42 to the pharaoh for the remainder of their lives. Ramesses' most famous
01:12:47 engagement occurred during the fifth year of his reign, when he fought against
01:12:51 the king of the Hittites, Muatali II, for control of the Syrian city of Kadesh.
01:12:56 The pharaoh desired a victory at Kadesh to expand his empire's borders into Syria,
01:13:01 as well as to recreate his father's triumphant arrival into the city a decade earlier.
01:13:07 The Battle of Kadesh became the largest chariot battle ever fought in history,
01:13:12 involving an estimated 6,000 chariots. Ramesses was unsuccessful in capturing
01:13:18 the city, but he declared victory upon returning to Egypt anyway. The pharaoh
01:13:24 went as far as to claim that he had single-handedly saved the day and inscribed
01:13:29 the story on temple walls all throughout Egypt.
01:13:32 "Here I stand, all alone. There is no one at my side. My warriors and chariots
01:13:38 have deserted me. None heard my voice when I, their king, called for aid.
01:13:43 But I find that Amun's grace is far better to me than a million fighting men
01:13:48 and ten thousand chariots. I was ready to fight like an eager bull. Equipped with
01:13:54 my weapons of victory, I charged their ranks fighting like a pouncing falcon.
01:13:59 I was like Ra when he rises at dawn. My rays burned the bodies of the rebels.
01:14:04 I slew them without sparing any. They sprawled before my horses and lay slain
01:14:10 in heaps of blood."
01:14:12 Although the pharaoh's interpretation of those events bordered on fantasy,
01:14:16 a considerable achievement did eventually result from the Battle of Kadesh
01:14:20 in the form of the Egyptian-Hittite Peace Treaty. In fact, it is the earliest known
01:14:25 peace treaty in history, as well as the only ancient treaty in which written
01:14:30 texts from both sides have survived.
01:14:33 The Egyptian-Hittite Treaty was successful at maintaining peace between the two
01:14:38 great powers for the next century, until the collapse of the Hittite Empire in 1178 BC.
01:14:45 Ramesses went on to successfully suppress a Nubian rebellion shortly afterwards
01:14:50 and ordered the events immortalized on a temple wall in Nubia, where he is depicted
01:14:55 courageously charging into combat on a war chariot, alone against a swarm of rebels.
01:15:01 The number of temple buildings that a pharaoh could afford was perhaps the best
01:15:05 indicator of the empire's prosperity at the time, and by that criteria, Ramesses II's
01:15:11 reign is by far the most notable in Egyptian history. That, along with his early
01:15:17 military prowess, inspired 19th century Egyptologists to dub him "Ramesses the Great".
01:15:24 Ramesses was determined to immortalize himself in stone, even if it meant usurping
01:15:29 the statues of his predecessors by inscribing his own cartouche onto them.
01:15:35 Worried that future pharaohs would do the same to his works, he ordered that his
01:15:39 inscriptions be carved much deeper into stone than traditionally done, which not
01:15:43 only made them less susceptible to future change, but also made them more resistant
01:15:48 to erosion. Another method Ramesses used to ensure that his legacy would outlast
01:15:53 the ravages of time was to build on a grander scale than any ruler had before him.
01:15:59 The pharaoh had six temples constructed in Nubia, the most well-known of which are
01:16:04 the two carved into a cliffside at Abu Simbel. The first temple is called the Great
01:16:10 Temple and is devoted to Ramesses II himself. Its construction took about 20 years
01:16:16 and was completed during the pharaoh's 24th year on the throne. It is considered to be
01:16:22 the most impressive and beautiful of all the temples that he built during his reign.
01:16:27 Four colossal statues representing the pharaoh sit in front of the temple, each
01:16:32 wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. An earthquake in 27 BC sheared
01:16:38 the head and torso off one of the middle statues, which remain fragmented in front
01:16:43 of its feet to this day. The second temple at Abu Simbel is called the Small Temple
01:16:49 and is dedicated both to his great royal wife, Queen Nefertari, and the goddess of
01:16:54 love, Hathor. The temple's entrance lies between four enormous statues of the
01:16:59 pharaoh and two of Nefertari dressed as Hathor. This is one of the rare instances
01:17:05 in ancient Egyptian history in which the statue of a pharaoh and his queen are of
01:17:10 equal size. Ramesses built another colossal statue of himself that was made of red
01:17:16 granite at the Temple of Ptah near Memphis, but it was later discovered broken into
01:17:21 six pieces. It was successfully restored using iron bars to stabilize it from the
01:17:27 inside and is now located near the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza.
01:17:32 The pharaoh also built a large mortuary complex called the Ramesseum, which was
01:17:37 devoted to the preservation of his memory as a living god. The complex was
01:17:42 constructed in Upper Egypt but has been heavily damaged by floods over the past
01:17:46 three millennia due to its close proximity to the Nile River. Ramesses went on to
01:17:52 build a new capital in the far north of the empire and called it Pyrameses, which
01:17:57 means "House of Ramesses". Pyrameses was located near the Pelusiac branch of the
01:18:03 Nile River and it quickly grew to become one of the largest cities in ancient
01:18:07 Egypt, inhabited by over 300,000 people. It continued to flourish for another
01:18:14 century after Ramesses' reign until its abandonment in 1060 BC due to the
01:18:19 Pelusiac branch silting up, which left the city without a water source. Ramesses
01:18:25 honored his wife Nefertari after her death with a large, lavishly decorated
01:18:29 tomb located in the Valley of the Queens. The wall paintings within Nefertari's
01:18:35 tomb are considered to be among some of the greatest works of art in all of
01:18:39 ancient Egyptian history. At the age of 54, Ramesses joined an exclusive group of
01:18:45 pharaohs who had ruled Egypt for 30 years. This occasion was celebrated with a
01:18:50 ritual known as the Sed Festival, which was then repeated every two to three
01:18:55 years. The festival's purpose was to rejuvenate a pharaoh's vigor and strength
01:19:00 while they still held the throne, as well as to commemorate their accomplishments.
01:19:04 Ramesses celebrated an unprecedented 14 Sed Festivals throughout his life, which
01:19:10 eclipsed any amount ever celebrated by other pharaohs. Ramesses had over 200
01:19:16 wives and over 100 children, most of whom he outlived. Towards the end of his
01:19:23 life, Ramesses suffered from artery hardening, dental decay, and arthritis.
01:19:28 After a reign of 66 years, he died in 1213 BC at the age of 90 and was buried in
01:19:35 the Valley of the Kings. He was succeeded by his then 70-year-old son, Menapta, who
01:19:41 was in line for the throne because he had outlived all 12 of his older brothers.
01:19:46 Ramesses' mummy was discovered in 1881 and is currently on display at the National
01:19:52 Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo. Through countless architectural
01:19:58 endeavors and unprecedented longevity, Ramesses the Great cemented his legacy as
01:20:03 Ancient Egypt's greatest pharaoh.
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