Ramses the Great and the Sherden Pirates

Ramses the Great: Egypt's Most Powerful Pharaoh — Fexingo History · May 15, 2026 · 5m · transcript

Before the famous Battle of Kadesh, Ramses II faced a very different kind of threat from the sea. In his second year on the throne, a coalition of raiders known as the Sherden—possibly part of the later Sea Peoples—attacked Egypt's Mediterranean coast. Ramses responded swiftly, setting a naval ambush and capturing many of the pirates, whom he then integrated into his personal guard and army. This episode explores who the Sherden were, where they may have come from, and how Ramses's decisive action not only secured Egypt's shores but also added crack foreign troops to his…