Latest / Ramses the Great: Egypt's Most Powerful Pharaoh — Fexingo History / Ramses the Great and the Battle of Dapur
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- Lucas: Luna, we've covered a lot of ground on Ramses — his cities, his queens, his chariots, even his mummy. But there's one campaign that barely gets mentioned outside academic circles: the siege of Dapur. Luna: Dapur? I don't think I've heard of that battle. Lucas: Most people haven't. Kadesh overshadows everything. But Dapur was a serious stronghold in Syria, and Ramses personally led the assault. The siege is carved into the walls of the Ramesseum and also at Luxor Temple — vivid scenes of soldiers climbing scaling ladders, battering rams smashing the gates, archers covering the advance. Luna: So this wasn't a chariot battle like Kadesh — it was full-on siege warfare. Lucas: Exactly. And siege warfare was brutal. The Egyptian army didn't just show up and demand surrender. They surrounded the city, cut off supplies, and then methodically broke through the defenses. At Dapur, we see soldiers using ladders to scale the walls while others wield axes against the wooden gates. The reliefs even show a battering ram — a long pole with a metal tip, probably bronze, swung by several men. Luna: And Ramses was right there in the thick of it? Lucas: According to the inscriptions, yes. He's shown larger than life, shooting arrows from his chariot or standing on a siege tower. Whether he actually climbed a ladder himself is debatable — but the propaganda wanted you to believe he was fearless. And it worked. The city is shown surrendering, with the defenders raising their hands or fleeing over the walls. Luna: Where exactly was Dapur? Was it in modern Syria or Lebanon? Lucas: That's a great question, and it's actually a bit of a debate. The name appears in Egyptian texts as 'Dapur' and in Hittite records as 'Tabor' or something similar. Most scholars place it near the Orontes River in Syria, maybe close to the site of later Apamea. But some argue it could be further north, near Aleppo. The reliefs show a city on a hill with a river below — consistent with a fortified tell. Luna: So it was part of the ongoing tug of war with the Hittites. Lucas: Exactly. After Kadesh, neither side had a clear victory, so both kept jockeying for control of buffer states. Dapur was one of those Hittite-aligned cities that Ramses wanted to bring back into Egypt's sphere. The siege probably happened around Year 10 or 11 of his reign, so about 1270 BCE. The campaign is recorded in what Egyptologists call the 'Dapur Inscription' at the Ramesseum. Luna: Wait — the Ramesseum? That's his mortuary temple on the west bank of Thebes, right? Lucas: Yes, the Ramesseum is his memorial temple, and it's covered with military scenes. The Dapur siege is on the outer walls, right alongside scenes from Kadesh. It's a kind of permanent record of his martial achievements. The text calls Dapur 'the vile city of Dapur' — typical Egyptian insult language — and says Ramses 'slaughtered the rebels like lions among goats'. Hyperbole, but effective. Luna: What about the army itself? How were they organized for a siege like that? Lucas: The New Kingdom army was highly organized. Ramses had four main divisions named after gods: Amun, Ptah, Ra, and Seth. Each division had about 5,000 men, including chariotry, infantry, and support. For a siege, you'd need engineers to build the ladders and rams, archers to suppress the walls, and shock troops to storm the breach. There were also 'recruits' and 'veterans' — professional soldiers who served full-time. Luna: And Ramses was there in person, unlike some later pharaohs who just sent generals. Lucas: He made a point of it. In the reliefs, he's always the focal point. One scene shows him drawing his bow while standing in a chariot, with his horses trampling a fallen enemy. The message is clear: the pharaoh is the protector of Egypt, personally leading the fight. It's the same propaganda we saw with the scarabs and the Abu Simbel temples — divine kingship validated through victory. Luna: Did the siege actually accomplish anything long-term? Did Egypt hold Dapur? Lucas: That's the tricky part. Egyptian control over Syrian cities was often temporary. They might capture a city, extract tribute, and leave a garrison — but once the army marched home, local rulers often switched allegiance back to the Hittites. Dapur probably changed hands several times. Still, the victory was celebrated in Egypt as proof that the gods favored Ramses. Luna: So it was as much about propaganda as military gain. Lucas: Absolutely. And speaking of propaganda — and the fact that we keep this show completely free of ads — this seems like a good moment to mention something. We've been doing these conversations for a while now, and we deliberately don't run ads. No sponsors, no commercials. Just history, straight up. If that's something you appreciate and you'd like to support the show, there's a simple way: buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure at all. It just helps us keep doing what we do. Luna: Yeah, and it really does make a difference. Every little bit goes toward research and production. Lucas: Exactly. Now, back to Dapur — one of the most fascinating details in the reliefs is the depiction of the city's defenders. They're shown with distinctive hairstyles and beards, wearing long robes. Some scholars think they might be 'Shasu' — Semitic nomads who often fought as mercenaries for the Hittites. Others see them as local Canaanite or Amorite populations. Luna: So the army Ramses faced wasn't just Hittite regulars — it was a mix. Lucas: Right. The Hittite empire relied on vassals and allies. Dapur was probably a coalition of local rulers and Hittite-backed troops. The siege also shows Egyptian soldiers cutting down trees — likely to build siege engines — and bringing back prisoners. One scene shows a scribe counting the severed hands of the enemy dead for the tally. Brutal, but standard practice. Luna: Severed hands as a body count — that's something we've heard about from other ancient cultures too. Lucas: Exactly. The Egyptians did it, the Assyrians did it later, and the practice continued for centuries. It was a grim but efficient way to verify kills. The reliefs at the Ramesseum show piles of hands being recorded by scribes. It's a stark reminder that ancient warfare was not romantic. Luna: And Ramses had no problem immortalizing that in stone. Lucas: No, he wanted it known. The entire Dapur inscription is about power — the power of the pharaoh, the power of Egypt, and the power of the gods. The text ends with a speech by Ramses to his troops: 'Be steadfast, my soldiers! See, I am with you, my sword protects you!' It's almost like a pep talk carved in stone. Luna: It's interesting how personal he makes it. He's not just a distant king — he's right there with them. Lucas: That's the key to his image. Ramses understood that a pharaoh had to be seen as a warrior. Even in peacetime, he commissioned war scenes. The Dapur siege, though a relatively small campaign, got the same monumental treatment as Kadesh. It shows that every victory, no matter how modest, was amplified to reinforce the idea of a glorious reign. Luna: And that's really the legacy we're left with — the curated version. Lucas: Absolutely. But archaeology can sometimes cut through the spin. For instance, at the site of Dapur, if it's ever positively identified, excavations might reveal destruction layers, arrowheads, or siege ramps. That would give us a more grounded picture. Until then, we rely on the Egyptian accounts — biased but still rich with detail. Luna: Has anyone found a likely candidate for Dapur? Lucas: There are a few candidates. One is Tell Nebi Mend, which is ancient Kadesh itself — but that doesn't fit. Another is Tell Asharneh, but the evidence is thin. The most current guess is Tell Dahab, near the Orontes, but it's tentative. The name 'Dapur' might even be a variant of 'Tabor', which appears in the Amarna letters. So the hunt continues. Luna: It's amazing how much we still don't know about such a famous pharaoh's campaigns. Lucas: That's what keeps Egyptology interesting. Every new discovery can rewrite a chapter. For now, the siege of Dapur stands as a testament to Ramses's ambition and the grinding reality of Bronze Age warfare. It's not Kadesh — but it's a story worth remembering.