Ramses II

(reigned 1279-1212 BC)

Ramses II , ancient Egyptian king, third ruler of the 19th Dynasty, the son of Seti I. During the early part of his reign Ramses fought to regain the territory in Africa and western Asia that Egypt had held during the 16th and 15th centuries BC. His principal opponents were the Hittites, a powerful people of Asia Minor, against whom he waged a long war. The major battle of this war was fought in 1274 at Kadesh, in northern Syria, and was hailed by Ramses as a great triumph. Neither power achieved a conclusive victory, however, and in 1258 BC a treaty was signed whereby the contested lands were divided and Ramses agreed to marry the daughter of the Hittite king. The remaining years of his rule were distinguished by the construction of such monuments as the rock-hewn temple of Abu Simbel, the great hypostyle hall in the Temple of Amon at El-Karnak, and the mortuary temple at Thebes, known as the Ramesseum.