Ramisis the second also known as Rameses or Ramses was an Egyptian pharaoh who led the nation with great zeal and was looked upon by his subjects as a warrior who fought for his people. Previously, Egypt was ruled by chiefs who had the jurisdiction of governing a tribe. Whenever one chief ruled his village and managed to conquer a neighboring state, the village would be elevated to be a city state. Chiefs continued conquering other states until the country had two rulers who were known as kings in the lower and Upper Egypt. Eventually, Menes a king in Upper Egypt managed to overcome Lower Egypt and he became the first king ruling the country. Thus, by the time Ramisis the second was born, the country was unified and only one king ruled the country at a time. In this paper, I will discuss the life of Ramisis the second and his historical achievements that made him one of the best pharaohs that ruled Egypt.
Background
In Egypt, rulers passed down the mantle of leadership to their eldest son. Ramses 1 was the grandfather to Ramses II. Interestingly, Ramses 1 was not from a loyal family but was a soldier during the reign of king Horemheb. Horemheb did not have any sons and thus appointed Ramses 1 as a co-ruler translating to the fact that after his death, Ramses 1 would become king. Ramses 1 was aged by the time he came in to power and only ruled for a few years. His eldest son Seti took over and became a great ruler who helped his nation regain its influence in the region. Seti then married a woman from a military family named Toya. Together they had a son who died and then later Ramses the second was born in the year 1304 BC (Fitzgerald, 30). Ramses the second later become a king in Egypt.
Early Life
From an early age of ten years, Ramses the second had started training for the hard leadership role that awaited him after his father’s death. At ten years, Ramses II was appointed as a commander in chief of the army. As a commander in chief he learnt skills such as horse riding, bowing and riding a chariot (Fitzgerald, 31). It was expected that a king in Egypt was physically fit such that he was able to fight at the forefront of his army in the battle fields.