Ramesses The Great: Egypt’s Kings of Kings

REVIEW BY CATHIE BRYAN Ramesses II is notorious for his self-promotion and propaganda, rather than being famous for his many achievements and cultural advances. To adjust the balance, Wilkinson addresses what Ramesses, the only king of Egypt known as ‘the Great’, did to deserve this epithet. He infers what might have been his character and motives through consideration of the evidence for his ‘preoccupations and preferences’ in the archaeological and textual record. Egypt’s empire was at its height in terms of power and wealth when Ramesses became king in 1279 BC, giving him the resources to operate on a grander scale than was possible for earlier pharaohs. Descended from a f