Latest / Ramses the Great: Egypt's Most Powerful Pharaoh — Fexingo History / Ramses the Great's Royal Wives Beyond Nefertari
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- Lucas: We've talked a lot about Nefertari — her titles, her temple at Abu Simbel, her correspondence with Puduhepa. But Ramses II had a whole stable of royal wives, and each one served a purpose. Luna: Stable is an interesting word choice. Lucas: Well, it's not the most romantic way to put it, but from a political standpoint, that's what they were. Ramses married at least eight major wives and countless concubines. Some were Egyptian noblewomen, some were his own daughters — which makes us uncomfortable today — and some were foreign princesses sent to seal treaties. Luna: Wait, he married his own daughters? Lucas: Yes, at least two of them: Bintanath and Meritamen, both daughters of Nefertari. It sounds shocking to us, but in ancient Egyptian royal ideology, the pharaoh was a god on earth, and divine incest was part of the mythos. Isis and Osiris were siblings and spouses. So by marrying his daughters, Ramses was reinforcing his divine status and keeping royal bloodlines pure. It also prevented powerful noble families from claiming the throne through marriage to a princess. Luna: So it was about control as much as symbolism. Lucas: Exactly. Now, his most politically significant marriage after Nefertari was to a Hittite princess. You'll remember from our episodes on the peace treaty that after years of war, Ramses and Hattusili III made a pact in Year 21 of Ramses's reign. To seal it, the Hittite king sent his eldest daughter to Egypt to become Ramses's wife. Luna: That must have been a huge journey for her. Lucas: It was. She traveled from Hattusa, the Hittite capital in central Anatolia, all the way down to Per-Ramesses in the Nile Delta — that's over a thousand kilometers. Ramses made a big show of it. He sent a grand escort and even had a special stela carved to commemorate the event. The princess was given the Egyptian name Maathorneferure, which means 'she who sees Horus, the invisible splendor.' She was granted all the titles of a Great Royal Wife. Luna: Did she have any real power, or was she just a trophy? Lucas: She likely had influence as a symbol of the alliance, but we don't have records of her wielding political power the way Nefertari did. Still, her presence at court was a constant reminder of the peace. She probably had her own household and servants, and Ramses fathered at least one child with her. But we don't know much about her daily life — Egyptian records mention her mostly in the context of the diplomatic marriage itself. Luna: What about the other wives? Did any of them leave a mark? Lucas: Absolutely. Isetnofret, for example, was another Great Royal Wife, and she was the mother of Ramses's successor, Merenptah. She's often overshadowed by Nefertari, but she had her own monuments. At the temple of Wadi es-Sebua in Nubia, Ramses built a statue of her, and she appears in scenes at the Ramesseum. She seems to have been a more private figure, but her son became pharaoh, so her lineage won out in the end. Luna: Interesting that Nefertari's children didn't inherit the throne. Lucas: Right. Nefertari had several sons — Amunherkhepeshef, Pareherwenemef, Meryre, and others — but they all predeceased Ramses. Merenptah was Isetnofret's son, and he was the thirteenth son overall. Ramses lived so long — into his nineties — that he outlived most of his children. That's a whole other story. Luna: And you mentioned daughters becoming wives — what about the ones who didn't? Lucas: Some princesses never married and remained in the palace their whole lives. They held priestly titles like 'Songstress of Amun' and were involved in temple rituals. They were valuable assets for diplomatic marriages too — Ramses offered a daughter to the Hittite king at one point, though it's unclear if that actually happened. Alliances worked both ways. Luna: So the royal women were deeply embedded in the machinery of state. Lucas: Exactly. And you know, thinking about all these marriages and diplomatic maneuvers, it reminds me how much effort goes into keeping a show like this going. If you find value in these deep dives into ancient diplomacy and royal strategy, and if today's episode was worth a coffee to you, you can support us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a small way to keep this completely ad-free and focused on the history. Luna: Yeah, it really helps us keep digging into these stories. Lucas: Now, back to the Hittite princess. When Maathorneferure arrived in Egypt, Ramses had a stela carved at Karnak and at Gebel el-Silsila describing her coming 'with her tribute of gold, silver, and copper, and her retinue.' It was a huge propaganda event — the mighty Hittite king sending his daughter to the Egyptian pharaoh. But there's a deeper layer here. Luna: What's that? Lucas: The Hittite queen Puduhepa, Hattusili's wife, was deeply involved in negotiating the marriage. She and Nefertari had exchanged letters, and Puduhepa saw the marriage as a way to secure her own son's succession back home. So these women were playing chess on an international board. The marriage wasn't just about Ramses and Hattusili — it was about family politics on both sides. Luna: So the women were agents, not just pawns. Lucas: In many cases, yes. Puduhepa is a great example — she was a priestess of the goddess Sausga and a powerful diplomat in her own right. She even wrote to Ramses directly. And Nefertari, as we know, had her own correspondence. So when we talk about Ramses's wives, we need to see them as part of a complex web of influence, not just names on a list. Luna: Did any of the foreign wives face difficulties adjusting to Egyptian life? Lucas: We can assume so, though Egyptian sources don't dwell on it. The Hittite princess would have brought her own attendants and probably her own gods. Ramses allowed her to keep her religious practices, but she would have had to adopt Egyptian customs publicly. There's a letter from Puduhepa to Ramses where she asks him to treat her daughter well and not to neglect her. So there was real concern. Luna: It sounds like a delicate balance. Lucas: It was. And the harem — the per khener — was a place of both luxury and intrigue. Ramses had dozens of women, and they lived in separate quarters with their children. There were plots and rivalries. We know of a harem conspiracy later in Ramses's reign, though it was probably put down. The wives jockeyed for their sons' positions. Isetnofret's son Merenptah ultimately won, but it wasn't a given. Luna: So succession was a constant game. Lucas: Absolutely. And Ramses managed it by keeping everyone in check. He lived so long that he could control the narrative. But after his death, the 19th Dynasty quickly declined. Merenptah had to fight off invasions, and within a few generations, the dynasty collapsed. The wives and their children were part of that story. Luna: I never realized how many women were involved in Ramses's reign. Lucas: It's easy to focus on the pharaoh himself, but the royal women were essential to his image and his rule. They appeared on temple walls, they held priestly offices, they bore heirs. And they remind us that ancient Egypt was not just a story of one man — it was a family business, with all the drama that implies.