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In Ramesses II, Egypt's Ultimate Pharaoh Peter J. Brand paints with authoritative knowledge and colourful details a compelling portrait of this legendary Pharaoh who ruled over Imperial Egypt during its Golden Age. Warrior, mighty builder and statesman, over the course of his 67-year-long reign (1279-1212 BCE), Ramesses II achieved more than any other pharaoh in the three millennia of ancient Egyptian civilization.
Drawing on the latest research, Peter Brand reveals Ramesses the Great as a gifted politician, canny elder statesman, and tenacious warrior. With restless energy, he fully restored the office of Pharaoh to unquestioned levels of prestige and authority, thereby bringing stability to Egypt. He ended almost seven decades of warfare between Egypt and the Hittite Empire by signing the earliest international peace treaty in recorded history. In his later years, even as he outlived many of his own children and grandchildren, Ramesses II became a living god and finally, an immortal legend.
Forty years after the publication of Kenneth Kitchen's Pharaoh Triumphant, here at last is a fresh, engaging look at Ramesses II, Egypt's ultimate Pharaoh.
The book is richly illustrated. Brand’s study is likely to remain the standard treatment of Ramesses II for some time to come.
Lester L. Grabbe, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 48, no.5 (2024 SOTS book list)
Peter Brand’s new book is much to be welcomed. [ . . . ] Over 500 pages long, it provides an accessible and well-illustrated, but also fully-documented, account of the first half of the 19th Dynasty (c. 1292–1213 bce), together with Ramesses II’s posthumous career to the present day. [ . . . ] A final chapter surveys Rameses II’s legacy, as an archetypical pharaoh for the kings of the first part of the Third Intermediate Period (c.1070–664 bce); as a source of folk-tales into Roman times (c. 30 bce–641 ce); and his reputation following the modern re-discovery of ancient Egypt. [ . . . ] Dr Brand’s book is well and authoritatively written, with an excellent choice of illustrations, mainly in colour. It is to be wholeheartedly recommended, and will certainly become the standard English language work on Rameses II for the foreseeable future.
Aidan Dodson, Egyptian Archaeology, issue 63 Autumn 2023
“ . . . this volume offers readers a rich window into the life and reign of this significant New Kingdom ruler. Incorporating an impressive amount of updated textual, archaeological, and iconographic evidence, it will serve as an essential resource on Ramses II for years to come. [ . . . ] . . . readable not only by Egyptologists and ancient historians, but also by a wider audience, helped by the book’s affordable price. I know I will return to this book whenever I need to remind myself of any specifics of Ramses II’s reign and expect that to also be the case for many others in the field.”
Luiza Osorio G. Silva, University of California, Irvine, Journal of the American Oriental Society 144 / Number 4 / 2024
Peter J. Brand is an ancient historian and Egyptologist specializing in history and culture of ancient Egypt during its imperial age (ca. 1550-1100 BCE). He is author of The Monuments of Seti I and their Historical Significance (Brill, 2000), and has written numerous articles on Egyptian kingship, monumental art and construction, history, popular religion, warfare, and diplomacy during the late Eighteenth Dynasty and Ramesside period.
Brand is director of the Karnak Hypostyle Hall Project, which is recording, conserving and interpreting hundreds of scenes and hieroglyphic texts carved on the walls and columns of the Great Hypostyle Hall. He has appeared in over twenty documentaries for the History Channel, Discovery, and National Geographic.
Preface
List of Figures
Abbreviations
Chronology
Map of Egypt and Nubia
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Rise of the Ramessides: The Reigns of Ramesses I and Sety I
Chapter 3: Crown Prince Ramesses and His Career under Sety I
Chapter 4: The Early Reign of Ramesses II
Chapter 5: The Battle of Kadesh
Chapter 6: Great of Victories: Ramesses II's Later Wars
Chapter 7: All the King's Wives: Ramesses II's Royal Women
Chapter 8: The Royal Children and their Ideological Role
Chapter 9: The Path to Peace: International Diplomacy and the End of the Egyptian-Hittite Conflict
Chapter 10: The Silver Treaty: The Egyptian-Hittite Peace Accords
Chapter 11: Peace and Brotherhood: Diplomatic Relations Between the Egyptian and Hittite Courts
Chapter 12: A Time of Wonders: The Earliest Royal Jubilees of Ramesses II and the First Hittite Marriage Alliance
Chapter 13: Ramesses the Great God
Chapter 14: Rich in Years: Monumental Construction and Hittite Relations during the Jubilee Period
Chapter 15: Twilight of the Great God: Ramesses II's Last Years and His Descendants
Chapter 16: Afterlife: The Legacy of Ramesses II
Glossary
Bibliography
Index