Latest / Ramses the Great: Egypt's Most Powerful Pharaoh — Fexingo History / Ramses II's Children: The Royal Nursery of the 19th Dynasty
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked about Ramses the builder, Ramses the warrior, Ramses the diplomat. But today I want to look at something that's always in the background of those stories, and that's his family. And I don't just mean Nefertari or Isetnofret, I mean the kids. Ramses II had more children than any other pharaoh we know of. Estimates go up to a hundred sons and daughters, though the actual number is debated. Luna: A hundred kids? That's a lot of mouths to feed. Lucas: Exactly, and it's not just about feeding them. Each one was a political asset, a potential heir, a diplomatic card. The royal nursery was basically a small city within the palace compound at Per-Ramesses. We have scenes from the Ramesseum and Abu Simbel that show the princes and princesses in ranked order, each with their name inscribed. It's like a school photo, but with a lot more gold. Lucas: The eldest son, Amunherkhepeshef, was the crown prince for most of Ramses's reign. He appears in battle scenes at Kadesh and Dapur, riding his chariot alongside his father. He was groomed for the throne from a young age, but he died before his father, which meant the succession had to shift. And that's a pattern we see over and over. Ramses outlived at least a dozen of his sons. Luna: That must have been heartbreaking, but also politically tricky. Lucas: It was. Each death meant a new crown prince, and each change had ripple effects in the court. The sons who survived longest were the ones who mattered most. Khaemwaset, the fourth son, became a high priest of Ptah at Memphis and was famous for restoring ancient monuments. He's often called the first Egyptologist. Merenptah, the thirteenth son, eventually became pharaoh after Ramses died, but by then he was already in his sixties. Lucas: The daughters also had roles. Several became Great Royal Wives, like Bintanath, who was both a daughter and a wife, which was a tradition in Egyptian royal families to keep the bloodline pure. They also managed estates and temple revenues. The women in the royal family were not just ornaments; they were administrators and priestesses with real power. Luna: So it's like a whole corporation, but with more incest. Lucas: Ha, yeah, you're not wrong. But the scale is what's staggering. The royal nursery at Per-Ramesses must have been enormous. We have records of tutors and nurses and servants dedicated to the royal children. The princes were educated in writing, in chariot warfare, in religious rituals. They went on campaigns with their father, they oversaw building projects, they even led diplomatic missions. It was a training ground for the future elite of Kemet. Luna: And they're all depicted on the monuments, right? Lucas: Yes, on the facade of Abu Simbel, there are statues of Ramses, and next to him are smaller figures of his children, each labeled. The daughters are on the sides, and the sons are in front. It's a way of displaying his dynasty, his legacy. But it also tells us who mattered at which point. The order changed over the years as sons died and others were promoted. Lucas: If you're following along with us through these conversations about Kemet, you know that we try to get behind the idea of the lone ruler and see the people around him. And there's a parallel with what we do here at Fexingo. The show is a small team effort, and every episode depends on listeners who value that independent, ad-free approach. If you ever want to support what we do, you can buy me a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a small gesture that keeps the microphones on and the research flowing. Luna: Yeah, I think that's a nice parallel. And it does take a village. Lucas: It does. So back to the children. One of the most fascinating figures is Khaemwaset. He's the one who restored the pyramid of Unas at Saqqara and left an inscription there. He was known for his wisdom and his magical powers, and he appears in later Egyptian literature as a kind of folk hero. But he never became king. He died before his father, which again changed the succession. Luna: So there was a constant jockeying for position? Lucas: Probably. We don't have direct evidence of infighting, but with so many ambitious sons, it's hard to imagine it was all harmony. There's a scene in the Ramesseum where a group of sons are shown in a specific order, and some scholars think that order reflects their rank in the court at that time. The fact that Merenptah eventually succeeded suggests he was either the most capable or the most politically savvy, or just the last one standing. Lucas: The daughters, too, played key roles. Bintanath, who was the eldest daughter of Isetnofret, became a Great Royal Wife and had her own tomb in the Valley of the Queens. Her titles included 'King's Daughter, King's Wife, King's Sister.' That's a lot of roles in one person. And she may have acted as a regent or at least a powerful figure in her own right. Luna: I never really thought about the children as individual people. Lucas: That's what I hope we bring out. They had their own personalities, their own careers. For example, the son named Ramesses-Meryamun, the second son, was involved in diplomatic missions to Hatti. Another son, Setepenre, was a priest of Amun at Karnak. They're not just names on a wall; they were real people with responsibilities and dreams. Lucas: And then there's the question of what happened to them after Ramses died. Merenptah became pharaoh, but he was old. His reign was short, and then the 19th dynasty dissolved into chaos. The empire that Ramses built was strong, but the succession crisis after his death shows just how much depended on a single strong hand. His children were the pillars of his reign, but without him, the whole structure started to wobble. Luna: It's like a dynasty that was too big to survive its founder. Lucas: Exactly. Ramses tried to plan for the future by giving his sons titles and responsibilities, but he also lived so long that they couldn't build their own power bases. By the time Merenptah took over, he was old and the court was filled with aging princes and their descendants. The glory days were over. Lucas: But what's remarkable is the legacy of those children. Khaemwaset became a legend, and even today we have stories about him. The marriage stelae at Abu Simbel and Karnak list the names of the Hittite princess's children, showing that Ramses integrated them into the royal family. It's a saga of family, power, and mortality, all carved in stone. Luna: I think that's a good way to think about it — a saga. Lucas: Yeah. And it's one of those stories that makes you appreciate the human side of ancient history. These were real people, with birthdays and rivalries and grief. And we can see some of that in the records. For instance, we have a letter from a son to his father, or a poem from a princess. It's not just stone and gold. Lucas: One interesting artifact is a papyrus from Deir el-Medina that mentions a royal nurse named Lady Iny, who was buried with honors. She was probably a wet nurse to one of the princes. So even the support staff were remembered. The royal family was a world unto itself, with its own hierarchy and its own stories. Luna: That's a nice detail. It makes it feel more real. Lucas: It does. And I think that's what I love about studying this period. The monuments are grand, but the people were ordinary in their emotions. Ramses was a king, but he was also a father who outlived many of his children. That's a universal sorrow. Lucas: So next time you're at Abu Simbel or the Ramesseum, take a look at those small figures at the feet of the colossi. They're not just decoration. They're the sons and daughters of a pharaoh, and they have their own stories to tell.