Ramsis the third

Ramesses III was the last of the great pharaohs on the throne of ancient Egypt. He ruled at a time when the outside world of the Mediterranean was in turmoil - it was the Trojan War, the fall of Mycenae and a great surge of displaced people seeking new homes, a tidal wave that was to break upon the shores of Egypt during his reign.

The first four years of Ramesses III's reign seem to have been quiet ones. He no doubt sought to consolidate his position and continued his father Set nakhte's efforts to stabilize the country. There were no problems in the south, in Nubia, since that had now more or less achieved the status of a subdued colony. The first sign of trouble came in Year 5
with an attack from the west. The Libyans, coupled with two other tribes, the Meshwesh and the Seped endeavored to force their way out of their deserts into the fertile lands of the western Delta. The ancient Egyptian army was more than a match for them and they were annihilated, those not slain becoming slaves in Egypt. For a while the states bordering Egypt had learnt their lesson, not to meddle with Ramesses III.

In Year 8 of Ramesses III's reign, bubbling cauldron of the Middle East boiled over, no doubt exacerbated by several bad harvest years as well as the general upset of normads trying to settle. As the Great Harris Papyrus records: "The foreign countries plotted on their islands, and the people were disloged and scattered by battle all at one time and no land could stand before their arms."This was not a small skirmish but a major folk movement by people sufficiently desperate and well armed to be ale to destroy ancient Egypt's age-old enemy, the Hittite empire. This mass of people was in fact the confederation of which the nmes are listed, the Peleset (i.e. Philistines), Tjeker (possibly connected with the Teucri of the Troad), Shekelesh (possibly Sikels from Sicily), weshesh (of uncertain origin), and the Denyen or Dardany (who could be the Donaoi of Homer's Iliad). Together, the confederation made up the "Sea People".

Ramesses III and the Sea Peoples

 is recorded on the walls of his great and remarkably well-preserved mortuary temple of Medinet Habu. The written account occurs on the outer wall of the Second Pylon, north side it is the longest hieroglyphic inscription known. The graphic representations are carved on the outer north wall of the temple.

Having halted for a while in Syria, the Sea Peoples resumed their march overland to attack Egypt. This was not simply an act of war, it was with intent to force their way into Egypt and settle - they were a nation on the move, complete with women and children and family possessions piled high on ox-carts. At sea, their fleet of no mean of proportions kept station with the march. Ramesses III realized that rapid movement was called for ;dispatches were sent to the eastern frontier posts to stand firm at all costs until the main Egyptian army could be brought up. The clash came at the border and the slaughter of the invaders was great, as the reliefs depict. Ramesses III was everywhere in his chariot and according to the canon of Egyptian art, the pharaoh represented at far greater size than any of the other participants.

Although the land invasion had been scattered, there was still the threat from the sea. The Sea People's fleet made for the mouth of one of the eastern arms of the Nile, to e met there by the Egyptian fleet. What transpired is rather interesting because the Egyptians had never prided themselves on eing gret sailors. They hated the sea, wdj wr, the "Great Green", s they called the Mediterranean, but they here fighting what was virtually a landlocked battle. Ramesses III had ranks of archers lining the shore who poured volley after volley into the enemy ships as soon as they were within range. Egyptian "marine" archers are shown calmly standing on the decks firing in unison, the enemy ships being hauled alongside with grappling hooks. The enemy dead fall before the onslaught in contorted postures and Ramesses returns victorious, by the grace of Amun, the god of Thebes. This was really the beginning of the build up of the fabulous wealth of the priesthood at Amun that was to have such disastrous consequences in the new dynasty.

Although no follow-up campaign to pursue the Sea Peoples back into the the Levant is recorded in the Great Harris Papyrus, or on the walls of Medinet Habu, such a move would have been reasonable. It is interesting to note that the great entrance gateway to the temple is actually modelled on a Syrian fortified tower, a migdol, such as are clearly een on the reliefs of Seti I and Ramesses II at Karnak. Ramesses III's building was merely an ornament, an ancient Egyptian "folly" in a way, but he did have a use for it because on the walls of some of the upper rooms are scenes of him dallying with the ladies of his harem.

The Further Campaigns of Ramesses III

For thee years Egypt was quiet. Then came trouble on the western borders, again with the Libyans, allied with the Meshwesh and five other tribes. There had been a slight infiltration by immigrants into the area west of the Canopic arm of the Nile for some years, but in Year 11 it came to a head with an invasion. The frontier forts took the brunt of it as the invaders attempted to overrun the Delta. Once more Ramesses III crushed all opposition. The attackers left over 2000 dead, and their cattle and possessions were rich booty for the treasury of Amun. The campaign details occur on the inner wall, north side, of the First Pylon at Medinet Habu. At one point army scribes come before pharaoh with a tally of the enemy dead, represented by a pile of severed right hands, and the number above them, 1157, Ramesses III seems to have questioned the figure. The scribes had to recheck. The next register explains how they did it - by cttig off the phalluses of the uncircumcised enemy, shown pile on the ground with the number above them, 175. The numbers tallied, the accountants are always right!

Other campaigns are mentioned in the inscriptions in the mortuary temple of Medinet Habu. Some of the scenes, however, are suspect. Ramesses III is depicted in a Nubian campaign which finds no other mention and would be highly unlikely in view of the subordination of that area. Other scenes show Ramesses III invading territories to the north, going into the country of the Amurru, Khatti and Syrians, none of whom existed any longer as political entities. These reliefs seem in fact to e copies of earlier ones from a building of Ramesses II. Ramesses III is merely modelling himself on his illustrious predecessor who, despite their proximity in numerical sequence, was unrelated to him.

The Royal Family of Ramesses III

Despite the length of Ramesses III's reign (31 years and 41 days according to the Great Harris Papyrus), little is known about the ladies of the cuort and the royal children. Ramesses III chief queen seems to have been named Isis, but for some curious reason he cartouches in the Medinet Habu temple where the queen's name would normally appear have been left blank. Possibly Isis was of Asiatic extraction since her mothers name was Habadjilat, a distinctly un-Egyptian name. Queen Isis had her tomb in the Valley of the Queens (QV 51) and was the mother of Raamesses VI. Ramesses III not only had several wives but also a number of sons (probably at least ten), many of whom predeceased him- as is revealed by the number of their tombs in the Valley of the Queens. Notable amongst the tombs for their preservation and brightly colored wall paintings are those of Amenhirkhhopshef (QV 55) and Khaemwaset (QV 44) and Sethirkhopshef (QV 43). All four sons held offices under their father concerned with the royal horses Chariotry.

There are several other unnamed tombs of princes and princesses in the area, a number of which appear to date from Ramesses III's reign and may belong to some of his other children. One of the larger tombs, that of a Queen Titi (QV52), lacks ay proper indication of her royal status, but an analysis of her titles suggests that she was possibly a daughter and, ,subsequently, wife of Ramesses III who outlived him. No less than 43 times does her title as "mistress of the Two Lands"appear she is called "Chief Royal Wife" 33 times, "King's Daughter", "King's Beloved Daghter of his Body" and "His Beloved Daughter" 20 times, "King's Sister" 4 times but, more importantly, "King's Mother" 8 times- her son could possibly be Ramesses IV. The majority of the tombs in the Valley of the Queens, including the finest, that of Ramesses II's queen Nefertari, were found by the Italian Egyptologist Ernesto Schiaparelli in 1903-4.

The Conspiracy to Kill Ramesses III

Another remarkable papyrus from the reign of Ramesses II has a great deal of information on the structure and workings of the court, but from an unusual angle. Known as the Harem Conspiracy Papyrus, it exists in three portions (of which the largest section, the Judicial Papyrus, in Turin) and concerns the trial of a group who plotted to murder the king. The chief defendant was one of Ramesses III's minor queens, Tiy, who hoped to see her son, Pentewere, succeed to the throne. Her name seems to be corrected but that of the prince is a circumlocution, as are the names of a number of the other defendants, i.e. they have been given fictitious names such as Mesedsure, "Re Hates Him", to indicate how great was their crime.

Fortunately for the king the plot was discovered and the guilty arrested. Ramesses III himself commissioned the prosecution; however, since he is spoken of later n the papyrus as "the great god, i.e. dead, he must have died during the course of the trial, although not necessarily from any effect of the plot. Fourteen officials were called to sit in judgment, including seven royal butlers (a high office, cf.Joseph), two treasury overseas, two army standard bearers, two scribes and a herald. Interestingly, several of their names betray foreign origins. The commission was given full powers to call whatever evidence was necessary and, most unusually, power to deliver and carry out the verdict - even the death penalty, which was normaly reserved to the king.

The majority of the conspirators were all personally close tot the king, specially officials in the harem, which indicates how dangerous the situation was. Evidence also emerged of a plot to incite a revolt outside the palace to coincide with the intended coup within. Over 40 people were implicated and were tried in groups. The record of Queen Tiy's trial has not survived, but she would not have been allowed to live in the first prosecution, almost certainly to death. The second prosecution condemned six people, who were forced to commit suicide within the court itself. In the third prosecution, the four people involved, who invluded the misguided prince Pentewere, were likewise condemned to suicide, although not immediately within the court, but presumably in their cells.

The fourth prosecution throws a curious light on the whole case. The defendants were not conspirators but three of the judges and two of officers, who were charged that, after their appointment to the commission, they knowingly entertained several of the women conspirators and a general named Peyes. One of the judges was found to be innocent, the others were condemned to have their ears and nose amputated. Pebes, a bulter who was one of the convicted judges, cocmmitted suicide before the sentence could be carried out.

Ramesses III, as mentioned seems to have died before the verdicts were reached. He was buried in a large tomb int he Valley of the Kings (KV 11) which has an unusual plan by virtue of its having been taken over from an earlier excavation. It is also unusual among the royal tombs in having some secular scenes,, of which the paintings of the two blind male harpists are well known. although now sadly much damaged when compared to the early copies made by Sir John Gardner Wilkinson. The tomb is often referred to in the literature as "The Tomb of the Harpers", or as "Bruce's Tomb", after its discovered, James Bruce, n 1769.