It is highly probable that Rameses the Great was the Sesostris of
Herodotus. This name is entirely a Greek invention, and is found on no
Egyptian monuments. The splendid tomb, first opened by Belzoni, in the
Valley of the Kings, is of the grandfather of this monarch--Rameses the
First. It is evident from the Theban sculptures and inscriptions, that
Rameses and his predecessors were engaged in a long war with a most
powerful enemy,’ and that that enemy was an Oriental people, a nation
with fair countenances and flowing robes, dwelling in a hilly and
well-wooded country. It is probable that this nation was the Assyrians,
who, according to ancient writers, invaded Egypt under Ninus and
Semiramis. Thothmes the Third and Fourth, Amunoph, and Rameses the
First, carried on this war with uncertain success. The successor of
Rameses the First, whose phonetic name is doubtful, was not unworthy
of the son whom the gods accorded to him as a reward for his valour
and magnificence. This anonymous sovereign led the war in person,
and probably against degenerate princes. On the walls of Karnak--a
sculptured scroll, more durable than those of his poets and
historians--we find him in his triumphal chariot, leading a host of
infantry and chariots, attacking fortified places, defended by lofty
walls and surrounded by water. The enemy is seen clearing their country
in advance, driving away their cattle, and felling forests to impede the
progress of the invader’s chariots; but at length the victorious Pharaoh
returns to his Nile with crowds of prisoners, bearing every variety of
rich and fantastic tribute.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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