Tristan Hughes

Pharaoh Rameses II, Rameses the Great.

In last week's episode, we explored how Ramesses' dynasty, the Ramessids, came to rule Egypt after a period of turmoil and decline.

How first Ramesses' grandad, and then his father, Seti I, set about consolidating their power, paving the way for young Ramesses to inherit an Egypt ready to show its might once more.

We ended by looking into Ramesses' earliest years on the throne, epitomized by his famous clash against the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh.

A battle that he would go on to immortalize in great hall of reliefs across his kingdom.

Now we're continuing the story.

What do we know about the rest of his reign?

How did he want to be remembered?

We'll also cover what happened after this Titan's death, how his successors soon faced new troubles, including from the Sea Peoples.

This is the continued story of the Ramessid dynasty, with our guest, Dr. Campbell Price.

Campbell, welcome back to the show.

Hello, Tristan.

Hello again.

It feels like a long time.

It hasn't been.

It hasn't.

We did, of course, last time we chatted about the rise of Ramesses and looking at his background and how his granddad and his dad consolidate the position and then he rises to the fore.

And Kadesh, the Basav Kadesh, five years in, it's almost a humiliation for him, but he's able to transform it, you know, as a base for then him becoming, in our eyes at least, later on one of the most well-known, arguably successful pharaohs of all.

Oh, okay.

So it wasn't as if he thought he was deceiving the gods by spinning it.