Dr. Campbell Price

Campbell, always a pleasure.

Thank you for having me.

Yes, I mean, Ramesses II is a well-known household name, but it's interesting to consider how he became the great and why people later thought he was so great.

Yeah.

Some would tell you, some rather uncharitable people might say it well past the zenith of ancient Egypt in terms of artistic production.

And there is a sense, I'm sure it'll come up as we're talking, that Ramesses II is trying to recapture a few centuries before when Egypt was really expanding, not so much an empire, I hesitate to use the word empire, but it's kind of field of influence.

So he's trying to influence...

people and places, neighbouring countries, neighbouring cultures, in ways his predecessors would have thought.

Yeah, he's got a bar, I think, in his head where he's trying to reach back to it.

So yeah, we're talking about the 1200s BCE, but, you know, 1300s, 1400s, you're really getting the, for want of a better term, the imperial conquest.

Well, as you already said, he is exceptional because he rules for 66 years.

With one exception, he's probably the longest reigning Egyptian pharaoh.

So given it was a dangerous job being the king of any ancient power, you must have some personal charisma and command to not be attacked, you know, rebelled against or been bumped off by your family.

So I think he knows his grandfather.

He follows in a fairly new dynasty, a kind of Arabist dynasty.

Group of military people.

And he has 100 children.

Wow.

Okay, you save that.

We'll save that till his later reign.