Dr. Campbell Price

And it's really an emphatic point of I am a full god and I have this equivalence to the great gods.

Now, interesting to me is in the decorative scheme, as the interior of this structure was being completed, the decoration, which is probably the 20s of the reign, right?

Yes, okay.

And it seems to be a developing idea because there are clear scenes.

I know you've been to the temple and it's worth looking out on the walls if you go.

There are clearly scenes where there were gods, Amun, the great god of Karnak, his wife, the goddess Mut.

And the figure of Ramesses has been inserted as an afterthought.

So it's not part of the original scheme.

So someone has had the thought of,

actually will put the king here.

It's rare you can see a developing theology but that is something where the idea of Ramses' god has not been originally planned but developed with the building.

Yeah, he must be proud of the military, albeit we might consider it a drawn out.

But it's kind of a challenge, and we know other earlier kings did this, a challenge to his successors to maintain his boundaries and maintain his sphere of influence, if we want to call it that.

And because he lived so long, we know this in various instances throughout history, if you spend a long time on the throne, it is more difficult for the eventual successor, especially if, like Rama says, you have 50 sons.

And sure, many of them died.

He was eventually succeeded by his 13th son, Mirabhatta.

But there are other sons.

I mean, the fourth son is especially interesting to me, Prince Khayyam Waset.

He is credited by some with being the first Egyptologist because he is the one who goes around labeling the pyramids.

So he's the high priest of the god Ptah at Memphis, so near modern Cairo.