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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)
The book is printed on high quality paper rendering the many full-color images of monuments, temples, and renderings of ancient paintings and inscriptions that serve as documentation of Ramesses II's reign. . . . Peter J. Brand has given us an up-to-date and illuminating account in this work, the first since Kenneth Kitchen's Pharaoh Triumphant forty years ago. It reveals both the culture and the man behind the legends of this great ruler of Egypt at the zenith of Egypt's power. . . . Brand's work helps us appreciate one of the greatest rulers in human history, often hidden in the mists of time and legend.
Bob Trube
"Interesting, informative, extremely well written. Obviously created from a wellspring of both expertise and emotion, this is a joy to read. Kudos to the author!"
Eric Cline
"An evocative and up-to-date account of the life and times of the man whose shadow-for better or worse-had dominated the image of pharaonic kingship over three millennia."
Aidan Dodson
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