|
|
|
Pages in this article: [ THE LIFE OF RAMESSESS THE GREAT ] [ THE EARLY YEARS ] [ NEFETARI ] [ RAMESSESS THE WARRIOR ] [ BATTLE OF KADESH ] [ RAMESSES THE GOD ] [ RAMESSES THE BUILDER ] [ DEATH OF A GOD ]
Ramesses the warrior
During his youth, Ramesses would have seen his father quell numerous uprisings and so reasserting Egypt's authority over the Near East. Indeed, Seti set up inscriptions claiming to have attacked and defeated "the vile Kheta" the Egyptian name for the Hittites, boasting that he had even taken the strategic town of Kadesh in Syria. Hittite records give some credence to this claim; suggesting that a treaty was agreed upon between Seti and Mursilis II, resulting in a period of stability in the region.
Egypt once again faces a period of threats and rebellions from the Asiatics in the East and the Nubians to the South.
|
Seti furthers Ramesses's military education by allowing the already accomplished soldier to take sole command of his army to march south and subdue the Nubian revolt. Ramesses is still only twenty-two years old.
Ramesses was, by now, a father to two sons, one from each wife. Amenherunemef aged five by Nefertari and Khaemwaset aged four by Isis-Nofret.
|
|
Perhaps emulating his own upbringing, he takes his young family along with him to Nubia, introducing his sons to pharaonic responsibilities at an early age.
The truce brokered between Egypt and Hatti is broken with the death of the two great, old kings. The whole region becomes likened to an active volcano, simmering below the surface, ready to explode at any moment.
|
|
|
|
As an astute tactician, Ramesses knew that Egypt was susceptible to attack from her enemies in and around the Delta region, especially from Libyan nomads. So Ramesses had a defensive line constructed, consisting of a series of forts along Egypt's north-western frontier. Another similar defensive line protected Egypt’s eastern border against attack from the Canaanites.
With his borders now strengthened Ramesses was in a position to flex his military muscles. Ramesses was present at Seti's campaign against the Hittites ending in an unsatisfactory truce, allowing the Hittites to retain control of Amurru and Kadesh.
In the summer of his 4th regnal year, Ramesses embarked on a campaign of victory to regain control of these two cities and restore Egypt's reputation in the Levant. His army marched east through Canaan taking control of the Phoenician ports along the way before turning inland to persuade the ruler of Amurru to change his allegiance from Hatti to Egyptian. In triumph Ramesses returned to Egypt leaving behind a division of his elite soldiers to garrison the city; this garrison would later prove vital in his battle for Kadesh.
Ramesses had now provided Egypt with a defensive breakwater from which she could launch counter offensives. The Hittites were acutely aware of the imposing changes in the situation, promptly recapturing Amurru and some of Syria, only halting their advance southwards due to a new threat from the east, namely, the Assyrians. Dominance of the Levant was now balanced on a knife-edge.
|
 |
Next: the battle of Kadesh >>
|
|
|
