Latest / Ramses the Great: Egypt's Most Powerful Pharaoh — Fexingo History / Ramses the Great's Nubian Viceroy Setau The Power Behind the Throne
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- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Ramses the Great himself — his battles, his monuments, his wives. But one figure who really made his reign work behind the scenes was his Viceroy of Kush, a man named Setau. Luna: Setau — I've seen that name pop up in inscriptions, but I don't know much about him. What made him so important? Lucas: Setau wasn't just any administrator — he was effectively the governor of Nubia, the entire region south of Egypt that supplied the gold, slaves, and exotic goods that fueled Ramses's building projects. He held the title 'King's Son of Kush', which didn't mean he was actually the pharaoh's son, but rather that he acted as the pharaoh's personal representative in the south. Lucas: What's fascinating is that Setau started out as a humble scribe — a 'scribe of the treasury', according to some records. He worked his way up through the bureaucracy, eventually catching the eye of Ramses, who appointed him Viceroy around the 38th year of his reign. That's late in Ramses's 67-year rule, but Setau served for decades. Luna: So he was a self-made man, not a prince? Lucas: Exactly. And that's unusual. Most high officials in the New Kingdom came from noble families, but Setau seems to have risen purely on competence. Ramses trusted him implicitly, and he rewarded Setau with unprecedented privileges. For instance, at Wadi es-Sebua — a temple Ramses built in Lower Nubia — Setau is depicted offering incense to the pharaoh, as if he were a priest. That's a huge honor. Lucas: But Setau's most important job was managing the gold mines. Nubia was the source of Egypt's wealth — the word 'Nubia' itself might come from the Egyptian word for gold, 'nub'. Setau oversaw the mining operations in the Eastern Desert, and he also led military campaigns to keep the local Kushite tribes in check. Luna: Was there a rebellion during his time? Lucas: Yes, there's evidence of a significant uprising in the 44th year of Ramses's reign. Setau led a punitive expedition against what the texts call the 'hostile Kushites'. He crushed the rebellion, and Ramses celebrated it as a great victory — though the details are vague. Inscriptions at the temple of Beit el-Wali show Ramses smiting Nubian enemies, but it was Setau who did the real fighting. Lucas: Setau also built temples. At Wadi es-Sebua, he constructed a rock-cut temple dedicated to Ramses and the god Amun-Re. The temple has a long avenue of sphinxes, and Setau's own name appears prominently. He even had a smaller temple built for himself nearby — an unheard-of honor for a non-royal. Luna: A temple for a viceroy? That's almost like being deified. Lucas: Right. And it gets even more remarkable. Setau was granted a tomb in the Valley of the Kings — not in the main valley, but in the Western Valley, near the tomb of Amenhotep III. That's where high officials sometimes got buried, but still, it's extraordinary. His tomb, KV32, is unfinished, but it shows that Ramses wanted to honor him in death as well. Lucas: Setau's career also highlights the changing nature of the Viceroy's role. Earlier viceroys were often military men, but Setau was equally an administrator and a priest. He held titles like 'High Priest of Horus of Buhen' and 'Overseer of the Gold Lands'. He was a one-man government for the south. Luna: It sounds like Ramses really delegated a lot of power to him. Was that typical? Lucas: Not really. Ramses was famously hands-on — he personally led armies and oversaw building projects. But by the time Setau came to power, Ramses was in his 60s. He may have been less able to travel, so he relied on Setau to be his eyes and ears in Nubia. Setau's loyalty was unquestioned, and he seems to have been content to serve without challenging royal authority. Lucas: There's also a personal side to Setau. We know he had a wife named Amenemipet, who was a singer in the temple of Amun. They had several children, and some of them also served in the administration. One son, Paneb, became a 'scribe of the divine offerings' at the Ramesseum. So Setau founded a minor dynasty of officials. Luna: That's interesting — so his family continued to serve even after he died. Lucas: Yes, but the Viceroy's office itself didn't stay in his family. After Setau died, Ramses appointed another man, named Anhurnakht, as viceroy. But Setau's legacy is enormous. The temples he built, the gold he extracted, the rebellions he put down — all of it sustained Ramses's empire. Without Setau, the Nubian gold might have stopped flowing, and Ramses's building projects might have stalled. Lucas: If you've been stepping into history with us episode by episode, you know that these stories don't just come from textbooks — they come from research, travel, and time. And if you value hearing these deep dives without ads, there's a simple way to help. You can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It keeps us independent and lets us keep exploring figures like Setau. Luna: Yeah, it's a small gesture that really makes a difference. Lucas: So back to Setau — one last thing. Recent archaeological work at Wadi es-Sebua has uncovered more of his inscriptions, including a stela where he describes himself as 'the one who fills the treasury with gold'. It's a reminder that behind the pharaoh's glory, there were men like Setau who actually made the system work. Luna: It makes you wonder how many other 'Setaus' are still waiting to be discovered in the historical record. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the joy of history — there's always another layer to uncover.