see also:

The Art of the Ancient Kingdoms

Egyptian religion (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Egyptian Goddess (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Illustration from the Book of the Dead


 

The New Kingdom III: Ramessid Period 1320-1070 â.ñ.
 

The pharaohs of the 19th and 20th dynasties, who almost all bore the name Ramses, were barely able to hold Egypt's great empire together.

In the confusion surrounding the throne at the end of the 18th dynasty, Ramses I was able to prevail and founded the 19th dynasty. His two-year reign was spent in heavy fighting.

While Thebes remained the religious center, the capital was moved to the Nile Delta, where the hotly contested front with the Hittites in the north was more easily accessible. The Libyan nomads, who regularly attacked Egypt from the west, were another threat. Ramses I's son, Seti I, fought campaigns in Palestine, Syria and the Sudan, returning home to Egypt with enormous plunder. He continued to build temples, adding in particular many columns to the great edifice at Karnak.

One of the most important 8 battles against the Hittites and their ally, the Amorite prince of Kadesh in Syria, occurred in 1285 B.C.



8 Ramses II at the Battle of Kadesh,
drawing, 19th century


5 Ramses II, grandson of Ramses 1, known as "the Great", a vigorous ruler but a cruel and extravagant one whose vast harem gave him 150 offspring, marched against his foes with an enormous army in order to prevent the complete loss of Syria and Palestine, but it was only by good fortune that he did not suffer a crushing defeat. The Battle of Kadesh was a draw and led to a peace treaty signed in 1259. Ramses II's foreign policy problems contrasted with his immense construction activities.



5 Mummified body of Ramses II



Ramses II at the Battle




Ramses II



Even the most significant pharaoh of the 20th dynasty, 6 Ramses III (1198-1166 B.C.), who undertook extensive social and administrative reforms, was forced to defend Egypt against fierce attacks.


6 Ramses III and one of his sons, wall painting ca. 1370 B.C.


The sea peoples, among them the Achaians and the 7 Philistines, allied with the Libyans and pushed forward into Egypt by land and sea. The pharaoh was unable to prevent either the Philistines from settling in Palestine or the Libyans from settling in Egypt. Trade and the tribute payments ceased. The economic problems led to social unrest, which resulted in the first documented strike in history.



7 Captured Philistines, relief on the funerary temple
of Ramses III in Medinet Habu

Ramses III was eventually murdered, although a memorial to him remained in the form of the huge temples and palaces he had constructed. His successors lost control over the nation. The foreign peoples living in Egypt, descendants of mercenaries or slave laborers, rebelled, while the high priests of Amun in Thebes established a theocracy in Upper Egypt. With the end of the 20th dynasty, Egypt was once again divided up into parts.

The 9 rock-cut temple of Abu Simbel is the most famous among the many temples that he had built or restored.

Abu Simbel
 

(The Temple of Ramesses II)
(The Temple of Nefertari dedicated to Hathor)

Abu Simbel, The Temple of Ramesses II, The Temple of Nefertari dedicated to Hathor

The Temple of Ramesses II
 

9 Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel

Temple of Ramses II

Interior

Abu Simbel, Ramesses Temple, chamber decoration, Egypt

The Temple of Hathor
 

The Temple of Nefertari dedicated to Hathor

The Temple of Nefertari dedicated to Hathor

The finding of Moses, by Edwin Long

The Israelites may well have been circumcised by the Egyptians,
and decided further down the lines that "a boy should look like his father"...

The Israelites are enslaved in Egypt

And they made their lives bitter wich hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick and in all manner of service in the field... .

Exodus 1:14