Latest / Ramses the Great: Egypt's Most Powerful Pharaoh — Fexingo History / Ramses the Great's 67-Year Reign: The Longest Rule in Egyptian History
Transcript
- Lucas: You know, when we talk about Ramses the Great, one thing that always amazes me is just how long he ruled. Sixty-seven years on the throne. That's not just a long time in human terms — it reshaped the entire Egyptian state. Luna: Wait, sixty-seven years? That's more than twice as long as most pharaohs. Lucas: Exactly. He came to the throne as a young man in his twenties, around 1279 BCE, and he was still ruling into his nineties. To put it in perspective, he outlived most of his own children. He had over a hundred sons and daughters, but many of them died before him. Lucas: That created a real problem. In ancient Egypt, the crown prince was expected to take over, but Ramses's firstborn, amun her khepeshef, died around Year 20. Then another son, Ramses B, died. And so it went. The heir who finally succeeded him was his thirteenth son, Merenptah, and by that time Merenptah was already in his sixties. Luna: So Merenptah was basically waiting in the wings for decades. Lucas: Exactly. And that's a lot of tension in the royal court. You have all these princes jostling for position, each thinking they might be the next in line. Ramses managed to keep the family drama from boiling over, but it must have taken a lot of political skill. Lucas: One of the key figures who helped stabilize things was another son, Khaemwaset. He was Ramses's fourth son, and he became the High Priest of Ptah at Memphis. Now, Khaemwaset is a fascinating character — some people call him the world's first Egyptologist because he restored ancient monuments and studied inscriptions. Lucas: But more than that, he was a religious power broker. As High Priest of Ptah, he controlled one of the most important cults in the country. And he also oversaw the Serapeum at Saqqara, the burial place of the Apis bulls. That gave him enormous influence. Luna: He sounds like someone Ramses really trusted. Lucas: Absolutely. Khaemwaset was probably Ramses's right hand for decades. He organized royal ceremonies, including the Heb Sed festival — that's the jubilee festival that a pharaoh celebrated after 30 years on the throne to renew his strength. Ramses celebrated his first Heb Sed around Year 30, and then he went on to hold at least 13 more of them. Luna: Thirteen? So every few years he'd do this ritual renewal? Lucas: Exactly. The Heb Sed was traditionally a one-time event, but Ramses turned it into a recurring spectacle. It was a way to remind everyone that he was still vital, still the living god Horus. Each festival involved processions, offerings, and a ritual run where the pharaoh had to run a course to prove his fitness. When you're in your 80s, that's quite a statement. Lucas: But even with all that, the succession question kept looming. Khaemwaset himself died around Year 50, before his father. So he never became pharaoh. That left Merenptah, who was not the most obvious choice because he wasn't the firstborn, but he was the one who survived. Luna: How did Ramses prepare Merenptah for rule? Lucas: He gave him important military and administrative roles. Merenptah was appointed as a general, and he oversaw campaigns, especially in the western desert against the Libyans. He also served as a sort of co-regent in the final years, though that's debated. But there's evidence that he was actively ruling alongside his aging father. Lucas: Think about what it meant for Egypt to have the same leader for 67 years. The entire bureaucracy, the priesthoods, the military — they all knew Ramses as the only pharaoh they'd ever served. When he finally died, there must have been a huge psychological shift. It's a bit like when Queen Victoria died after 63 years — an entire era ended. Luna: And Merenptah had to step into that enormous shadow. Lucas: He did, and he actually handled it well. He was already an old man, but he launched his own campaigns, including a major victory against the Sea Peoples in his Year 5. He also built his own mortuary temple and took on the traditional pharaonic titles. But he only ruled for about ten years before he died. Luna: So after all that waiting, his own reign was relatively short. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the thing about Ramses's long rule — it created a bottleneck. So many potential heirs were lost, and the dynasty started to fray after Merenptah. Within a few generations, the 19th Dynasty collapsed and was replaced by the 20th. Some historians argue that Ramses's very success in living so long actually destabilized the succession. Lucas: Now, I want to tie this into something I've been thinking about. This show is possible because listeners like you support it. If you've been coming along with us through these conversations about North Africa and the pharaohs, you know we keep it ad-free and focused on the history. That's because of listeners who chip in at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it really does make a difference. Even a small contribution helps keep the episodes coming without interruptions. Lucas: So if you've enjoyed today's deep dive into Ramses's long reign, consider tossing a few coins our way. It's a simple way to say you value this kind of history. And speaking of long reigns — let's talk about one more aspect of Ramses's 67 years: how his building projects were a direct reflection of his longevity. Luna: Oh, I'd love to hear about that. He built so much. Lucas: Right. Ramses didn't just build for himself; he built for eternity. The Ramesseum, his mortuary temple, was one of the largest ever constructed. And Abu Simbel, of course, was carved into the cliff face. But what's interesting is that many of his projects were actually expansions of older temples. He added his own reliefs and inscriptions to sites like Karnak and Luxor, literally writing himself into the history of every major cult center. Lucas: This was a deliberate policy. By associating himself with the great gods of the past, he was ensuring that his name would be recited in rituals for generations. And it worked — his name is everywhere. But it also meant that later pharaohs had a hard time erasing him. When the 20th Dynasty came along, they had to deal with this colossal presence that still dominated the landscape. Luna: So in a way, his long reign made him literally larger than life. Lucas: Exactly. And that's part of why we're still talking about him today. The man who outlived his own children ended up outliving his own dynasty. His monuments still stand, and his story is still being told. There's something almost mythic about that. Luna: It's a remarkable legacy. Lucas: And a complex one. Next time, we'll look at the lesser-known figures of his court — the people who made that 67-year reign possible.