History UsefulNotes / RamsesII

* AdaptationDyeJob: Despite the discovery he was red-haired in his youth (his mummy still has wispy red hair on its scalp), every portrayal after 1994 still portrays him with black hair. Probably because a red haired Egyptian would run into both RealityIsUnrealistic and BlackVikings territory and some might perceive it as a RaceLift with ''very'' UnfortunateImplications [[note]]A now discredited [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynastic_race_theory racist theory]] attributes all the achievements of the ancient Egyptians to a "pharaonic race" that somehow kept ruling over the place for millennia and which was white or at least whiter than today's Egyptians. This is of course [[ArtisticLicenseBiology impossible]] even ''with'' all the incest the Egyptian royal families were known for through the ages. The Egyptians themselves will often annoyedly comment that there are and more or less always have been Egyptians of all skin and hair colors, the country being a crossroads and melting pot for millennia; to this day, although Egyptians can be plenty xenophobic, color-based "racism" isn't exactly a common vice.[[/note]]

Also known as Ramses The Great, Ramses II (1303 BC -- 1213 BC) is popularly considered the greatest and most famous of all Ancient Egyptian pharaohs. To modern Egyptians, he's a national hero - sort of the equivalent of King Arthur, part real man and part legend - whereas to the rest of the world he is best known for his portrayal as the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Believers actually claim that it's more likely that one of the pharaohs of the earlier Eighteenth Dynasty (the one with Thutmose and Hatshepsut and Akhenaten/Sun God Guy) was the one in Exodus. (Ramses himself was the third monarch of the Nineteenth Dynasty.) However, Egyptian rule in Canaan continued throughout that time and through his entire reign, making a founding of Israel unlikely at that time. One of the few clues in the Bible as to the time of the Exodus is that the Hebrews laboured to build the cities of Pithom and Pi Ramses, which are now known to have been constructed or greatly expanded in his reign. Also, the first mention of Israel outside of the Bible occurs in a record made sometime after his death, during his son's period on the throne, which indicates possible involvement.

* DarkSkinnedRedhead / PhenotypeStereotype: Unlike his portrayal in movies, where it is Black, when not shaved off, examinations of his mummy showed that he had red hair.

* Orlando from ''TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' was sold as a slave to Ramses II as a youth, until he grew "older than the king prefered his boys". When Orlando visited Egypt millenia later to view the stone monuments left behind by Ramses, he notes that the famous statue doesnt resemble the real Ramses much, not having his weak chin or chubby jowls. Orlando himself notes that Ramses II, while not a tyrant or a bad leader by any means, had been self-absorbed and vain.

* AnneRice's ''Ramses The Damned''

* AdaptationDyeJob: Despite the discovery he was red-haired in his youth (his mummy still has wispy red hair on its scalp), every portrayal after 1994 still portrays him with black hair. Probably because a red haired Egyptian would run into both RealityIsUnrealistic and BlackVikings territory and some might perceive it as a RaceLift with ''very'' UnfortunateImplications [[note]]A now discredited [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynastic_race_theory racist theory]] attributes all the achievements of the ancient Egyptians to a "pharaonic race" that somehow kept ruling over the place for millennia and which was white or at least whiter than today's Egyptians. This is of course [[YouFailBiologyForever impossible]] even ''with'' all the incest the Egyptian royal families were known for through the ages. The Egyptians themselves will often annoyedly comment that there are and more or less always have been Egyptians of all kinds of shades and hair colors, the country being a crossroads and melting pot for millennia; to this day, although Egyptians can be plenty xenophobic, "racism" isn't exactly a common vice.[[/note]]

* AdaptationDyeJob: Despite the discovery he was red-haired in his youth (his mummy still has wispy red hair on its scalp), every portrayal after 1994 still portrays him with black hair. Probably because a red haired Egyptian would run into both RealityIsUnrealistic and BlackVikings territory and some might perceive it as a RaceLift with ''very'' UnfortunateImplications [[note]]A now discredited [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynastic_race_theory racist theory]] attributes all the achievements of the ancient Egyptians to a "pharaonic race" that somehow kept ruling over the place for millennia and which was white or at least whiter than today's Egyptians. This is of course [[YouFailBiologyForever impossible]] even ''with'' all the incest the Egyptian royal families were known for through the ages.[[/note]]

* He appeared as "King Ramses" in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog''. He actually scared quite a few viewers.

* AdaptationDyeJob: Despite the discovery he was red-haired in his youth, every portrayal after 1994 still portrays him with black hair. Probably because a red haired Egyptian would run into both RealityIsUnrealistic and BlackVikings territory and some might perceive it as a RaceLift with ''very'' UnfortunateImplications [[note]]A now discredited [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynastic_race_theory racist theory]] attributes all the achievements of the ancient Egyptians to a "pharaonic race" that somehow kept ruling over the place for millennia and which was white or at least whiter than today's Egyptians. This is of course [[YouFailBiologyForever impossible]] even ''with'' all the incest the Egyptian royal families were known for through the ages.[[/note]]

* FolkHero: Even today the Egyptians regard him as a national hero and many claim proudly to be his descendants. Given the number of his children (ninety-six sons and sixty daughters) such a claim is more than probable.

Although he has often been accused of exaggerating his own achievments, Ramses remains one of the most powerful figures of ancient history. He was a courageous warrior, indefatigable ladies man, builder of enormous temples (some of them dedicated to himself), and is notorious for being one of the two kings to sign the first peace treaty between superpowers in all of recorded History.

Also known as Ramses The Great, Ramses II (1303 BC – 1213 BC) is popularly considered the greatest and most famous of all Ancient Egyptian pharaohs. To modern Egyptians, he's a national hero - sort of the equivalent of King Arthur, part real man and part legend - whereas to the rest of the world he is best known for his portrayal as the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Believers actually claim that it's more likely that one of the pharaohs of the earlier Eighteenth Dynasty (the one with Thutmose and Hatshepsut and Akhenaten/Sun God Guy) was the one in Exodus. (Ramses himself was the third monarch of the Nineteenth Dynasty.) However, Egyptian rule in Canaan continued throughout that time and through his entire reign, making a founding of Israel unlikely at that time. One of the few clues in the Bible as to the time of the Exodus is that the Hebrews laboured to build the cities of Pithom and Pi Ramses, which are now known to have been constructed or greatly expanded in his reign. Also, the first mention of Israel outside of the Bible occurs in a record made sometime after his death, during his son's period on the throne, which indicates possible involvement.


Although he has often been accused of exaggerating his own achievments, Ramses remains one of the most powerful figures of ancient history. He was a courageous warrior, indefatigable ladies man, builder of enormous temples (some of them dedicated to himself), and is notorious for being one of the two kings to sign the first peace treaty between superpowers in all of recorded History.

[[AC:{{Anime}}]]

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

[[AC: {{Music}}]]

[[AC:{{Video Games}}]]

[[AC:{{Western Animation}}]]

* BigBad or PredecessorVillain: In adaptations of the Exodus, which he is depends on whether or not he is the Pharaoh of the Exodus or the Pharaoh of the Oppression. If he is the former, then either his father Seti I or his grandfather Ramses I will be the latter. If he is the latter, then his son Merneptah will be the former.

* AdaptationDyeJob: Despite the discovery he was red-haired in his youth, every portrayal after 1994 still portrays him with black hair. Probably because a red haired Egyptian would run into both RealityIsUnrealistic and BlackVikings territory and some might perceive it as a RaceLift with ''very'' UnfortunateImplications [[note]]A now discredited racist theory attributes all the achievements of the ancient Egyptians to a "pharaonic race" that somehow kept ruling over the place for millennia and which was white or at least whiter than today's Egyptians. This is of course [[YouFailBiologyForever impossible]] even ''with'' all the incest the Egyptian royal families were known for through the ages.[[/note]]

* AdaptationDyeJob: Despite the discovery he was red-haired in his youth, every portrayal after 1994 still portrays him with black hair.

* He appears as the Pharaoh of the Exodus for the 1995 film "Moses" where he was played by Creator/ChristopherLee.

* {{Folkhero}}: Even today the Egyptians regard him as a national hero and many claim proudly to be his descendants. Given the number of his children (ninety-six sons and sixty daughters) such a claim is more than probable.

* {{Folkhero}}: Even today the Egyptians regard him as a national hero and many claim proudly to be his descendants. Given the number of his children (between eighty and a hundred) such a claim is more than probable.

!!Relevant Tropes:

* BadassFamily: He was the son of warrior pharaoh Seti I, widely considered to have been one of the greatest of all times. It is often suggested that everything Ramses achieved was because he refused to be overshadowed by his notorious father.
* AChildShallLeadThem: Depending on who you ask, Ramses became king at age 16, 18 or 20. But he was already prince regent long before that, and was in command of at least some military forces.
* CityOfGold: His capital city, Pi-Ramses, was said to be the richest in Egypt and described by historians as "dazzling with halls of lapis and turquoise" (about which the Egyptians were quite crazy; they ''[[HeavenlyBlue loved]]'' the color blue). It was so awesome that when the branch of the Nile it sat upon silted up and rendered the site unusable, the pharaohs just moved everything--including buildings, stone by stone--to their new capital at Tanis, which was a fair distance west.

* CoolPet: He kept a lion and seemingly took it to battle with him.
* {{Egopolis}}: Often accused of being a megalomaniac for moving the capital of Egypt to a city called Per-Ramses ("House of Ramses"). This is misleading, though, because the city was actually first built as a summer palace by his grandfather Ramses I; he only expanded it. Ok, he also filled it with huge statues of himself...
* TheEmperor: Ramses was one of the two most powerful men in the world during his lifetime (the other being the Hittite king, his nemesis), and like all pharaohs he was a political, military and spiritual leader all at once.

* {{Fiery Redhead}}: Analysis on his mummified body revealed that he had red or reddish-blond hair in his youth.

* GodEmperor: All pharaohs were supposed to be this to some extent but Ramses took it to the extreme, claiming to be directly descended from the gods and building lots of temples dedicated to his own cult. Even after his death he was still worshipped as a god in parts of Egypt and Nubia.
* GlorySeeker: To the point of leaving his name written almost everywhere in Egypt (even in the temples, monuments and statues of other pharaohs). The temple he dedicated to himself, today known as the Ramesseum, was originally called the Mansion of Millions of Years, as he expected it would remind everyone of his glory forever.
* AGodAmI: All pharaohs were considered semi-divine, but it is sometimes said that Ramses took this to the limit, claiming to be the son of Amon (the top god at the time) and erecting quite a few temples dedicated to himself. It was not only him, though; he was actually worshipped as a god in Egypt and Nubia long after his death.
** Partially justified due to the fact that he was one of the few pharaohs to celebrate a Sed Festival during his 30th year as Pharaoh, becoming formally deified.
* HotConsort: Nefertari. According to the inscriptions on the walls of her tomb, they were HappilyMarried, too--by the standards of a pharaoh, of course (which included other wives and concubines).
* IdiotBall: It is said that his arrogance caused him to commit a big strategic mistake during a decisive battle that almost cost him his life.
* InvincibleHero: At least this is how he describes himself in his accounts of the Battle of Kadesh, in which he supposedly defeated hundreds of men single-handedly, with a little help from the god Amon.
* LikeFatherLikeSon
* TheMagnificent: There were quite a few pharaohs named Ramses, but only Ramses II is known as "The Great"
* MagnificentBastard
* PropagandaMachine: Like all pharaohs, he operated a massive one.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Rameses and Ramesses are other common ways to spell his name.
* WarriorPrince
* WorthyOpponent: The Hittites
* YouHaveFailedMe: After the battle of Kadesh, in which he claimed to have faced the enemy alone when his men fled in fear during an ambush, Ramses personally executed several of his officers deeming them as cowards and traitors.
* YoungConqueror: He took power in his early twenties, but was already an experienced warrior by then.

Also known as Ramses The Great, Ramses II (1303 BC – 1213 BC) is popularly considered the greatest and most famous of all Ancient Egyptian pharaohs. To modern Egyptians, he's a national hero- sort of the equivalent of King Arthur, part real man and part legend- whereas to the rest of the world he is best known for being often portrayed as the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Yeah, on that. [note] Believers actually in point of fact claim that it's more likely that one of the pharaohs of the earlier Eighteenth Dynasty (the one with Thutmose and Hatshepsut and Akhenaten/Sun God Guy) was the one in Exodus. (Ramses himself was the third monarch of the Nineteenth Dynasty.)However, Egyptian rule in Canaan continued throughout that time and through his entire reign, making a founding of Israel unlikely at that time. However, one of the few clues in the Bible as to the time of the Exodus is that the Hebrews laboured to build the cities of Pithom and Pi Ramses, which are now known to have been constructed or greatly expanded in his reign. Also the first mention of Israel outside of the Bible occurs in a record made sometime after his death, during his son's period on the throne. So, its likley that he was at least involved.
[/note]

Also known as Ramses The Great, Ramses II (1303 BC – 1213 BC) is popularly considered the greatest and most famous of all Ancient Egyptian pharaohs. To modern Egyptians, he's a national hero- sort of the equivalent of King Arthur, part real man and part legend- whereas to the rest of the world he is best known for being often portrayed as the Pharaoh of the Exodus.
There is really no evidence that suggests he really was, though; in point of fact, it's more likely that one of the pharaohs of the earlier Eighteenth Dynasty (the one with Thutmose and Hatshepsut and Akhenaten/Sun God Guy) was the one in Exodus. (Ramses himself was the third monarch of the Nineteenth Dynasty.)