Ramesses: Egypt's Greatest Pharaoh [Mass Market Paperback]

Joyce A. Tyldesley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2001

Everyone has heard of Ramesses the Great - but what is the truth behind the legend? Joyce Tyldesley's lively book explores the life and times of Egypt's greatest king. Ramesses II was the archetypal Egyptian pharoah: a mighty warrior, an extravagant builder and the father of scores of children. His monuments and image were to be found in every corner of the Egyptian empire. This is his amazing story.

Editorial Reviews

Review

In her new book, 'Tyldesley has added a new, more human dimension' to the picture we have of Ramesses and 'her book should be required reading for Egypt's imaginative tour guides' The Sunday Times

About the Author

Joyce Tyldesley is Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Archaeology, Classics, and Oriental Studies at Liverpool University and a freelance writer and lecturer on Egyptian archaeology. She is based in Bolton and her previous books include DAUGHTERS OF ISIS: WOMEN OF ANCIENT EGYPT, HATCHEPSUT: THE FEMALE PHAROAH and NEFERTITI: EGYPT'S SUN QUEEN.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); 12th printing edition (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140280979
• ISBN-13: 978-0140280975
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,132,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good update on Rameses II, November 20, 2004

By 

Fabian Boudville (BC, Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ramesses: Egypt's Greatest Pharaoh (Mass Market Paperback)

Joyce Tyldesley's 2000 book on this great Pharaoh is a nice update on KA Kitchen's 1982 'Pharaoh Triumphant' on the same Pharaoh. Ms Tyldesley's prose, while scholarly, is warm and engaging and at all not cold or repetitious. She discusses what life was like in Ancient Egypt during the Egyptian New Kingdom era with the massive statues of Ramesses II covering the land from the Mediterranean coast southwards into Abu Simbel deep in Nubia and this king's popularity with his subjects.

The author updates our knowledge of Rameses II's monumental construction including the rediscovery of the massive royal tomb KV5 in 1995 by Kent Weeks which proved to house over 150 passageways and chambers to house this king's many sons who predeceased their father, and the discovery of a Year 56 stela from his reign near Damascus. The location of the stela hints to Egyptian military activity in support of their new Hittite allies in Syria and the Levant after the signing of the Egyptian-Hittite peace treaty in Year 21 of Ramesses II.

Tyldesley notes that Ramesses II was a risk taker from the very beginning of his reign. Despite the spectacular failure of Akhenaten's decision to shift Egypt's political capital to a new city called Akhetaten (modern day El-Amarna), Ramesses proceeded to transform his father's summer palace in the Delta into a splendid new city called Pi-Ramesse Aa-nakhtu or the "House of Ramesses-Great-of-Victories." This city was about 60 miles northeast of modern day Cairo and served as both a military fortress, a springboard for his military campaigns into the Levant and a link to this region which was his family's spiritual heartland. (Ramesses II's family were northerners from the Delta) Ramesses' efforts was a great success unlike the fate which befell Akhenaten's isolated and ultimately doomed city of Akhetaten which was cut off from both Thebes and Memphis, Egypt's two great administrive centres. Pi-Ramesse Aa-nakhtu is likely the prominent Egyptian "treasure" city of 'Raamses' that the Ancient Israelites slaved in and eventually left behind in their great exodus to the Holy Land under Moses. (Exodus 1:11)

In summary, Tyldesley's book is an excellent study of the man who dominated Egyptian's lives for an unprecedented reign of 66 years. It is a real page turner and one must be amazed at how the Egyptian's reacted to the death of this larger than life figure who had provided them with so many decades of stability and wealth. To her credit, Tyldesley does not neglect to highlight the gradual and painful decline in Egypt's fortunes in the later Twentieth Dynasty under a whole host of kings named Rameses from III to XI. However, it appears that little of the blame for these events can be placed directly upon Ramses II and more on mother nature as the continuous eruption of the Thera Volcano in Iceland from 1159-1140 BC depressed Egypt's agricultural production leading to severe economic difficulties in conjuction with the arrival of the aggressive Sea Peoples and Libyan invaders on Egypt's shores during the later reign of Ramesses III. Ramses II's reputation among his subject's remained solidly intact and his accession date of III Shemu day 27 was declared a public holiday during the 20th Dynasty so that all Egyptians could pay homage to his memory.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Biography on Egypt's Greatest Pharaoh, March 20, 2005

By 

K. Spoden "British/Western Civilization Histo... (Chicago,Illinois) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ramesses: Egypt's Greatest Pharaoh (Mass Market Paperback)

Although the book is indeed a somewhat "quick read" as it as been dubbed before, this book is quite insightful on the very man who revolutionized Egypt and it's well being. This is only the main ideas one can find on the great pharaoh. There is more info on Ramesses out there; this primarily focuses on the "improtant" information you need to know about Ramesses. The book includes many things that made Ramesses so great including description of his tomb, his life as a warrior and head of the military, his alliance with adjacent kingdoms, his following of religion especially his loyalty to Re, and even describes the Pharaohs before and after Ramesses including his father Seti.

Even though a lot more could have been said about this great man, it is a very insightful book and should be a must for anyone who has interest in Egyptian history (since Ramesses reigned for nearly 60 years this book covers a lot of ground in terms of history). This is an intriguing book on Ramesses and the best and most complete one I have seen.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A quick and informative read, January 26, 2002

By 

"queentiye5" (Phoenix AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ramesses: Egypt's Greatest Pharaoh (Mass Market Paperback)

I picked up this book at the local B&N and I couldn't put it down - b4 i knew it I had already read the first chapter at the bookstore and had to buy it! This is a good book on Ramses II and the period in which he reigned - it's really well researched and the author presents it a well-organized manner. The author offers some nice descriptions and details about the Ramesside monuments I had not heard before. It made me want to hop the next plane to Egypt! It also has a nice list of books of further reading. I can't wait to pick up Tyldesly's "Daughters of Isis" or her book about Hatshepsut!