Ramesses: Egypt's Greatest Pharaoh

Ramesses II ruled Egypt for more than six decades and became one of the most recognisable pharaohs in Egyptian history: warrior king, prolific builder, husband of Nefertari and father of an enormous royal family. His monuments and carefully constructed image survived across Egypt and helped create the legend of “Ramesses the Great”. In this accessible biography, Egyptologist Joyce Tyldesley looks beyond that enduring image to reconstruct the ruler and the world in which he lived.

Using historical and archaeological evidence, Tyldesley examines Ramesses’ long reign, his military campaigns, monumental building programme, family and presentation of kingship, while distinguishing the evidence from the reputation created by royal propaganda and later tradition. The result places a famous individual within the politics, society and culture of New Kingdom Egypt and offers an approachable account of why Ramesses II became—and remains—such a dominant figure in popular understandings of ancient Egypt.