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Ramses II

Mummy of Rameses II
For an ancient statue in his image, see Luxor

Ramses II was an Egyptian pharaoh (lived c. 1320 BC to 1224 BC, reigned 1290 BC-1224 BC). His name is sometimes spelled Rameses; he is also called Ramses the Great, and was known to the Ancient Greeks as Sesostris. He was the third king of the 19th dynasty. He was a son of Seti I and his Queen Tuya[?]. The most memorable of Ramses' wives was Nefertari.

Ramses II made war expeditions as far as Beirut against the Hittites to the north and extended Egyptian control well into Ancient Ethiopia (Modern Sudan) to the south. He constructed many impressive monuments, and more statues of him exist than of any other Egyptian Pharaoh. He is also the Pharoah of whom the biblical figure Moses is believed to have demanded that his people be released from slavery.

His mummy was found at Deir-al-Bahari[?] in 1881 and placed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo 5 years later, where it is still exhibited.