Latest / Ramses the Great: Egypt's Most Powerful Pharaoh — Fexingo History / Ramses the Great's Family Drama: The Succession Crisis After 67 Years
Transcript
- Lucas: You know, we've talked a lot about Ramses the Great's monuments, his wars, his diplomacy. But there's one thing about his reign that I think we haven't really touched on — and it's kind of a ticking time bomb. Luna: What do you mean? Lucas: The fact that he ruled for sixty-seven years. He was on the throne so long that he outlived most of his children — including many of his sons who were meant to succeed him. That created a massive succession crisis that had consequences for generations. Luna: Wait, he outlived his own kids? How many sons did he even have? Lucas: Well, the records are a bit fuzzy, but we know of at least forty-eight sons and around fifty daughters. Ramses was incredibly prolific. But the problem was that he was also incredibly long-lived. He died in his early nineties, and by that time, most of his older sons had already died. Luna: So who actually inherited the throne? Lucas: It ended up being his thirteenth son, Merenptah. And by the time he became pharaoh, Merenptah was already in his late sixties or early seventies. He was an old man, not exactly the vigorous warrior king you'd want to lead Egypt against the rising threats of the day. Luna: Thirteenth son — that's a huge jump. What happened to the first twelve? Lucas: Many of them died young, likely from disease or accidents. The firstborn son, Amunherkhepeshef — named after Ramses himself — died around his mid-twenties. Another son, Ramses, named after his father, died even earlier. But the most interesting case is probably Khaemwaset. Luna: Khaemwaset — I've heard that name before. Wasn't he the one who restored old monuments? Lucas: Exactly. Khaemwaset was the fourth son of Ramses, and he was, in many ways, the most remarkable. He served as the high priest of Ptah in Memphis, and he's often called the world's first Egyptologist — he went around the country restoring ancient temples and tombs, including the Step Pyramid of Djoser, which was already over a thousand years old in his time. Luna: That's incredible — he was basically a preservationist before that was even a thing. Lucas: Exactly. He even inscribed his name on some of those monuments, saying something like 'I have restored the temple of my ancestor.' He also built a series of underground galleries at the Serapeum in Saqqara, where the sacred Apis bulls were buried. Luna: So he was clearly being groomed for the throne, right? A capable, educated prince. Lucas: It certainly seems that way. Khaemwaset was a prominent figure in his father's court, and he even served as a sort of co-regent in the later years of Ramses' reign. But he died before his father — we're not sure exactly when, but it was probably in Ramses' fifty-fifth year or so. That left the path open for younger brothers. Luna: So the guy who would have been a great pharaoh never got the chance. That's heartbreaking. Lucas: It really is. And it gets more complicated because Ramses had multiple wives and consorts. The sons from his chief queens — Nefertari and Isisnofret — were given the highest status. But Nefertari's sons all died young, including the firstborn Amunherkhepeshef. Isisnofret's sons fared better — Khaemwaset was her second son, and Merenptah was her fourth. Luna: And Merenptah was the one who actually became pharaoh. How did he handle the pressure? Lucas: Well, Merenptah had a pretty eventful reign, even if it was short — about ten years. He had to deal with the first major incursions of the Sea Peoples, which he managed to repel in a battle, and he also campaigned in Nubia. But he was already old and in poor health when he took the throne, so he couldn't be as active as his father. Luna: And after Merenptah? Did the succession problems continue? Lucas: Oh, it got much worse. After Merenptah's death, there was a rapid succession of short-lived pharaohs — Seti II, Amenmesse, Siptah, Twosret — a period of instability that eventually led to the end of the Nineteenth Dynasty. It's a classic case of a dynasty collapsing under the weight of its own founder's success. Luna: So in a way, Ramses living too long actually hurt his legacy. Lucas: That's a really good point. If Ramses had died even ten years earlier, Khaemwaset might have taken the throne, and the Nineteenth Dynasty might have lasted longer. Instead, by the time Ramses finally died, the line of succession was so thinned out that the only remaining heirs were either too old, too young, or too weak to hold the kingdom together. Luna: It makes you wonder — did Ramses even think about this? Did he try to plan for his succession? Lucas: We have evidence that he did. In his later years, he promoted Khaemwaset to a kind of regent role, and after Khaemwaset died, he promoted Merenptah. But the problem was that he kept living so long that his plans kept getting disrupted by death. It's one of those ironic tragedies of history: a man who achieved so much inadvertently sowed the seeds of his dynasty's downfall. Luna: I never really thought about that side of Ramses. We focus so much on his building projects and his battles. Lucas: And honestly, that's the fun part. But behind the scenes, there was this quiet, ticking crisis. And it's a reminder that even the most powerful pharaohs couldn't control everything. Luna: Yeah, human mortality is the one thing no amount of monuments can fix. Lucas: Speaking of which — if today was actually useful to you, the way these stay ad-free is listener support. If you want to help us keep exploring stories like this, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it's a simple way to say thanks, and it really does help us keep the show going. Lucas: Anyway, back to the succession — there's another figure I want to mention, and that's Queen Nefertari. She was Ramses' great love, and her children were given the highest rank. But all of her sons died before they could reach their full potential. Luna: Do we know why? Was it just bad luck? Lucas: Probably a combination of things. Child mortality was high in ancient Egypt, even in the royal family. But it's worth noting that Nefertari herself died around Year 24 of Ramses' reign, so her children lost their mother's influence and protection. Some of her sons might have been pushed aside by the sons of Isisnofret, who lived longer. Luna: So there was a kind of palace rivalry between the queens' factions. Lucas: Exactly. And we see that in the archaeological record. For example, in the Ramesseum, Ramses' mortuary temple, there's a scene showing the procession of his sons. The firstborn son, Amunherkhepeshef, is followed by his brothers in order of birth — but later, some of those names were erased and replaced, suggesting a power struggle. Luna: Wow, so even the monuments were being edited to reflect the political shifts. Lucas: That's right. The pharaohs of Egypt weren't shy about rewriting history. And in this case, the succession crisis left visible traces on the walls of temples and tombs. Luna: What about the daughters? Did any of them play a role in the succession? Lucas: Some of them did. Ramses married several of his own daughters, which was a common practice to keep the royal bloodline pure. But it's not clear that they had a direct say in who became pharaoh. Still, they were important as symbols of dynastic continuity. Luna: So in the end, the empire Ramses built was passed to a tired old man who had to fight off the first waves of the Sea Peoples. Lucas: And that's exactly what happened. Merenptah's victory over the Sea Peoples is recorded on the Merenptah Stele, which also contains the earliest known reference to Israel. But that's a story for another day. Luna: Right, we should probably stop there. But I think this really gives a deeper understanding of Ramses' reign. Lucas: Absolutely. It shows that even the greatest pharaohs had to deal with the same basic human problems — family, mortality, and the challenge of passing on what they built.