Tristan Hughes

Paint still needs to be applied.

But the work is underway.

As the prince walks through the hall, the sounds of workmen grow louder.

He exits the northern entrance and sees a great cluster of builders.

They are gathered around the exterior wall, busy carving reliefs into it.

The prince recognises the scene instantly.

There in the wall is his victorious father, larger than any other figure, riding a chariot.

There are countless captives bound in front of him, a river filled with crocodiles and a city under siege.

The scene records his father's most recent military venture up into Syria and the Great Bastion of Kadesh, a city hotly contested between the Egyptians and their northern rivals, the Hittites.

The campaign had proven a success.

The prince's father had returned to Egypt in a stronger position, consolidating his family's new hold over the throne.

Seti was his name, Pharaoh Seti I. And his young son, then overseeing his father's achievements, being immortalized in stone, was none other than Rameses, soon to be Pharaoh Rameses II, Rameses the Great.

In this episode, we are going to cover this early story of Ramesses.

How his family, including both his father Seti and his father before him, became pharaohs of Egypt after a period of turmoil for this Bronze Age superpower, laying the foundations for Ramesses and his extraordinary reign.

A reign that included great battles, buildings and so much more.

I'm Tristan Hughes, your host, and this is the story of the rise of Ramesses with our guest, Dr. Campbell Price.

Campbell, it is such a pleasure to have you back on the show.

Hello, Tristan.

It's nice to be back.

And we've done episodes in the past up at your work home, Manchester Museum, and now you're down in our lovely studio in London.