Tristan Hughes

Indeed.

And to talk about the rise of Ramesses II, first of all, and his dynasty, the 19th dynasty.

I mean, a 66-year reign, isn't that correct?

Around that time.

And normally, if someone says Ramesses II or Ramesses the Great, you might think this is the pinnacle of ancient Egypt.

This is when it's at the top of its military might, its wealth, its art and architecture.

Is that a fair assessment?

So actually he's kind of looking back to a golden age of years past, in a revival time almost.

And paint us a bit more of a picture, briefly, before we delve into the details.

A quick picture of Ramesses the man, what we should get an idea of, how we should picture him before we delve into the origins of his rule and of his family.

This is a man who's royalty throughout his life.

You know, he's not the man who wins a coup or anything like that.

Well, the 18th dynasty, that is where we need to begin.

So we're going back more than a century before Ramesses' reign.

And the 18th dynasty, it is full of these incredible large-than-life figures, isn't it?

Tutankhamun, Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, Akhenaten.

I mean, paint us a picture of the 18th dynasty, quick.

The whole dynasty, it's a time of kind of wealthy art and architecture, amazing structures like the obelisks, warrior kings, but also powerful queens as well like at Shepset.

So as you mentioned right at the start, this actually feels like the real zenith of ancient Egypt rather than the 19th dynasty that follows.

Exactly.