Ramesses the Great: Egypt's King of Kings

by Toby Wilkinson

Genres: History, Non-fiction
Pages: 240
Rating:

Synopsis:

The life, dramatic reign, and enduring legacy of the pharaoh Ramesses the Great, with lessons for the present, from internationally acclaimed Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson

Ramesses II ruled the Nile Valley and the wider Egyptian empire from 1279 to 1213 B.C., one of the longest reigns in pharaonic history. He was a cultural innovator, a relentless self-promoter, and an astute diplomat—the peace treaty signed after the Battle of Kadesh was the first in recorded history. He outbuilt every other Egyptian pharaoh, leaving behind the temples of Abu Simbel; the great hypostyle hall of Karnak; the tomb for his wife Nefertari; and his own memorial, the Ramesseum.

His reputation eclipsed that of all other pharaohs as well: he was decried in the Bible as a despot, famed in literature as Ozymandias, and lauded by early antiquarians as the Younger Memnon. His rule coincided with the peak of ancient Egypt’s power and prosperity, the New Kingdom (1539–1069 B.C.).

In this authoritative biography, Toby Wilkinson considers Ramesses’ preoccupations and preferences, uncovering the methods and motivations of a megalomaniac ruler, with lessons for our own time.

I really enjoyed Toby Wilkinson’s Ramesses the Great: I remember reading one of Wilkinson’s books before and finding that it dragged, but this really didn’t. It helps that Ramesses the Great is a larger-than-life figure, and can be made incredibly vivid through an account of his reign.

Despite reading a fair number of general histories of Egypt, I’ve never read a lot about his dynasty before, so there was a fair bit here that was actually new to me. Ramesses the Great looms large in the landscape of Egypt, both literally and figuratively thanks to his massive building works and the way he’s echoed in the stories told about Egypt and the stories Egypt has told about itself, and Wilkinson’s book makes it really clear why that is.

Ramesses II is compelling: he turned what was at best a stalemate into a stunning victory by simply selling the narrative confidently enough, made peace with the Hittites, had a truly astonishing number of children, built/restored/took credit for a ridiculous number of building projects/statues/temples, and reigned for 66 years. I loved reading about the stories he told about himself, his choices to change the art style of Egypt, the choices made about his tomb… and Wilkinson did a great job of explaining the evidence and putting together a readable narrative here as well, while making it clear what we can and can’t know. You get a sense of Ramesses II’s personality, even as Wilkinson reminds us we can’t judge that so easily based on a king’s public proclamations.

One detail I loved: the part about Khaemweset, one of Ramesses’ sons, who was essentially an Egyptologist, going round restoring monuments from older dynasties to the glory of his father (and sometimes himself).

So yeah, overall, really liked this one!

Rating: 5/5 (“loved it”)