Latest / Ramses the Great: Egypt's Most Powerful Pharaoh — Fexingo History / Ramses the Great and the Nubian Viceroy Setau
Transcript
- Lucas: We've talked a lot about Ramses's monuments, his battles, his wives. But today I want to look at someone who rarely gets mentioned — the man who basically ran Nubia for him. Luna: A viceroy? Lucas: Exactly. The viceroy of Kush. And the most important one under Ramses was a man named Setau. Now, this isn't just some bureaucrat. Setau was a high priest, a temple builder, a military commander — he was effectively the king of Nubia, but answerable to Ramses. Luna: So what do we know about Setau? Lucas: Quite a lot, actually. We have his inscriptions at several sites — his own temple at Gerf Hussein, reliefs at Wadi es-Sebua, and a famous text at the fortress of Tombos. He served from around Year 38 of Ramses's reign until at least Year 63. That's a quarter-century in one of the toughest jobs in the empire. Lucas: Nubia, or Kush as the Egyptians called it, was Egypt's southern frontier — and its gold mine. Literally. The gold from the eastern desert, especially the Wadi Allaqi and the Wadi Hammamat, funded Ramses's building projects. But Nubia also supplied incense, ebony, ivory, cattle, and soldiers. Losing it would have been catastrophic. Luna: So Setau was basically guarding the source of Egypt's wealth. Lucas: Yes. And he did it with a combination of force and diplomacy. The old kingdom of Kerma had been destroyed centuries earlier, but the Nubian chiefs were still powerful. Setau's approach was to co-opt them — to make them part of the Egyptian system. He built temples dedicated to Amun and Ramses, and he made sure the local elite got titles and positions. Lucas: One of his most impressive achievements is the temple of Gerf Hussein, which he built as a monument to Ramses but also to himself. It's a rock-cut temple, like Abu Simbel but smaller. Inside, Setau had himself depicted alongside the pharaoh — which was an extraordinary honor for a non-royal. Luna: That's huge. He's basically putting himself on the same level as the king. Lucas: Right. And he doesn't stop there. At Wadi es-Sebua, there's a scene of Setau being rewarded by Ramses with gold collars and other gifts. The inscription says he was 'praised by the king for his pleasant character and his skill in executing commands.' He was clearly a favorite. Luna: Was Setau Egyptian or Nubian? Lucas: That's a great question. His name is Egyptian — Setau means 'he of Set' — but some scholars think he might have been a Nubian who was fully Egyptianized. The evidence is ambiguous. He never mentions his parentage. But he was definitely a product of the Egyptian system — he started as a royal scribe and worked his way up. Lucas: And there's another possibility — that he was a member of the Nubian royal family who was raised in Egypt. That was a common strategy: take the sons of Nubian chiefs to Thebes, teach them Egyptian, and then send them back to rule. They were more loyal that way. Luna: So Setau might have been a kind of colonial administrator who was also a local. Lucas: Exactly. And his loyalty paid off. He was given vast estates, priests, and even the title 'Overseer of the Gold Lands of Amun.' That's a huge source of power — the gold literally went to the temple of Amun, but Setau controlled the flow. Lucas: He also built a temple at the town of Kawa, which was an ancient religious center. There, he installed an oracle of Amun that became famous. People would come from all over Nubia to ask the god questions. It was a way of consolidating religious authority under Egyptian control. Luna: So Setau was also a religious leader. Lucas: Yes. He was the high priest of Amun in Nubia, and he held the title 'First Prophet of Amun in the Southern Lands.' That made him the direct representative of the god in the region. And since Ramses himself was considered the son of Amun, Setau was the link between the pharaoh and the Nubian people. Lucas: But his power wasn't absolute. There's a fascinating inscription at Tombos where Setau reports to Ramses about a rebellion in Nubia. It says he 'crushed the tribes of the wretched Kush' — using the same language Ramses used for his enemies. But then he had to ask for permission to execute the prisoners. He couldn't act unilaterally. Luna: Interesting. So Ramses kept a tight leash on him. Lucas: He did. But Setau was clearly trusted. He served for decades, and he was one of the few officials who had a temple built for himself. That's unprecedented for a viceroy. Usually, only the pharaoh got that honor. Setau's temple at Gerf Hussein is essentially a mortuary temple for his own cult. Lucas: And here's where it gets really interesting. After Setau's death, his successors — men like Hori and Merymose — tried to emulate him, but none of them reached his level. Setau was unique. He basically created the model for how Egypt ruled Nubia for the rest of the New Kingdom. Luna: So Setau isn't just a minor figure. He's a key player in Egyptian imperialism. Lucas: Absolutely. And his story tells us a lot about how Ramses governed. It wasn't just about military might. It was about finding the right people, giving them power, and making sure they stayed loyal. Setau was the perfect instrument: capable, ambitious, but ultimately loyal to the crown. Lucas: There's also a personal side to him. We have letters from Setau to the vizier Paser, complaining about delays in supplies. He sounds frustrated. He says 'I have done everything the king commanded, but my men are hungry.' So even the viceroy of Kush had to deal with bureaucracy. Luna: That humanizes him a lot. Lucas: It does. And it reminds us that the great empire of Ramses ran on practical, everyday decisions made by people like Setau. He wasn't a pharaoh, but he shaped the empire just as much. Lucas: So when we look at the colossal statues of Ramses at Abu Simbel, we should remember that the gold that paid for them came from Nubia, and that Setau was the man who made sure it kept flowing. He's the forgotten architect of Ramses's wealth.