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Ramesses 2nd Pharaoh 20th Dynasty III
- Preferred Name: Ramesses 2nd Pharaoh 20th Dynasty III[1] [2]
- Alternate Name: Usermaatre Meryamun Ramesses III III
- Gender: M
- Burial: 1155 BC in Thebes, Luxor, Qinå, Egypt at LATI: N5.6977 LONG: E2.6421
- Death: 1155 BC in Pi-Ramesses, Qantir, Ash Sharqiyah, Egypt at LATI: N0.8028 LONG: E1.8398
- http://familysearch.org/v1/TitleOfNobility: 2nd Pharaoh of Egypt - 20th DynastyBET 1186 BC AND 1155 BC
- Occupation: PharaohBetween 1186 and 1155 BC in Pi-Ramesses, Qantir, Ash Sharqiyah, Egypt at LATI: N0.8028 LONG: E1.8398
- Birth: 1217 BC in Pi-Ramesses, Qantir, Ash Sharqiyah, Egypt at LATI: N0.8028 LONG: E1.8398
- FSID: L78D-2JD
- Notes:
=== Life Sketch ===
Ramses III, Ramses also spelled Ramesses or Rameses, (died 1156 BCE, Thebes, Egypt), king of ancient Egypt (reigned 1187–56 BCE) who defended his country against foreign invasion in three great wars, thus ensuring tranquillity during much of his reign. In his final years, however, he faced internal disturbances, and he was ultimately killed in an attempted coup d’état.
Son of Setnakht (reigned 1190–87 BCE), founder of the 20th dynasty (1190–1075 BCE), Ramses found Egypt upon his accession only recently recovered from the unsettled political conditions that had plagued the land at the end of the previous dynasty. In the fifth year of his reign, a coalition of Libyan tribes invaded the western Nile River delta on the pretext that the pharaoh had interfered in their chief’s succession. The Libyans had in fact encroached upon Egyptian lands, a perennial problem during the 19th and 20th dynasties, and were soundly defeated in a battle in the western delta.
After two years of peace, another, more dangerous coalition, the Sea People, a conglomeration of migrating peoples from Asia Minor and the Mediterranean islands who had previously destroyed the powerful Hittite empire in Asia Minor and devastated Syria, advanced against Egypt by land and by sea. Ramses’ land army checked the enemy’s advance in southernmost Palestine, and the hostile ships were trapped after being lured into the waterways of the delta. Egypt averted conquest by the northerners, but two of the invading peoples settled on the coast of Palestine, between Gaza and Mount Carmel. The attempted invasion ended Egyptian pretensions to a Syro-Palestinian hegemony.
Two more years of peace ensued, but in Ramses’ 11th year a new coalition of Libyan tribes infiltrated the western delta. Compelled to wage yet another war, he defeated the Libyans after capturing their chief. After this final conflict, Ramses was able to finish his great funerary temple, palace, and town complex at Madīnat Habu, in western Thebes. He also built additions to Karnak, the great Theban temple complex, and encouraged trade and industry, dispatching a seaborne trading expedition to Punt, a land on the Somali coast of Africa, and exploiting the copper mines at Sinai and probably also the gold mines of Nubia, Egypt’s province to the south.
After a prosperous middle reign, administrative difficulties and conspiracy troubled Ramses’ last years. About year 28 of the king’s reign, the vizier of Lower Egypt was ousted because of corruption. A year later the workers employed on the royal tombs at Thebes went on strike because of delay in the delivery of their monthly rations. Only the intervention of the Upper Egyptian vizier, who had assumed responsibility for the whole country, ended the work stoppage.
Toward the end of Ramses’ reign, one of his secondary wives, seeking to place her son on the throne, plotted to assassinate the king. Written sources show that the coup failed and that the conspirators were successfully brought to trial. However, it remained unclear from the documents whether Ramses had survived the assassination attempt. The king’s mummy displayed no obvious wounds, and questions about his fate were left open to speculation for many years. In 2012 researchers announced that a CT scan had revealed a deep knife wound in the mummy’s throat, indicating that Ramses was indeed murdered by the conspirators. He died at Thebes in the 32nd year of his reign and was succeeded by the crown prince Ramses IV.
=== !NOTE: GEDCOM File : Corrie Hale Familie ===
!NOTE: GEDCOM File : Corrie Hale Families 12-4-02.ged !MARRIAGE: GEDCOM File : Corrie Hale Families 12-4-02.ged
Preferred Parents:
Father: Setnakhte Userkhaure Setepenre 1st Pharaoh 20th Dynasty, b. 1239 BC in Pi-Ramesses, Qantir, Ash Sharqiyah, Egypt d. 1186 BC in Pi-Ramesses, Qantir, Ash Sharqiyah, Egypt
Mother: Tiye-Mereniset Egypt Princess, b. 1229 BC in Pi-Ramesses, Qantir, Ash Sharqiyah, Egypt d. in Pi-Ramesses, Qantir, Ash Sharqiyah, Egypt
Family 1: Titi of Egypt,
Family 2: Isis Ta-Hemdjert, Queen of Egypt, b. B.C. 1205 in Of, Egypt d. in QV51, Valley of the Queens, Egypt
- Montjuhirkopshef ben Ramesses III III, b. ABT 1190 BC d. AFT 1155 BC
Sources:
- Title: Wikiwand: Ramesses III
Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ramesses_III;
Note: Usermaatre Ramesses III (also written Ramses and Rameses) was the second Pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty in Ancient Egypt. He is thought to have reigned from 1186 to 1155 BC and is considered to be the last great monarch of the New Kingdom to wield any substantial authority over Egypt. His long reign saw the decline of Egyptian political and economic power, linked to a series of invasions and internal economic problems that also plagued pharaohs before him. He has also been described as "warrior Pharaoh" due to his strong military strategies. He led the way by defeating the invaders known as "the Sea People," who had caused destruction in other civilizations and empires. He was able to save Egypt from collapsing at the time when many other empires fell during the Late Bronze Age; however, the damage of the invasions took a toll on Egypt.
Ramesses III was the son of Setnakhte and Queen Tiy-Merenese. He was assassinated in the Harem conspiracy led by one of his secondary wives, Tiye, her son Pentawer, and a group of high officials.
Name
Ramesses' two main names transliterate as wsr-mꜢʿt-rʿ–mry-ỉmn rʿ-ms-s–ḥḳꜢ-ỉwnw. They are normally realized as "Usermaatre-Meryamun Rameses-Heqaiunu," meaning "The Ma'at of Ra is strong, Beloved of Amun, Born of Ra, Ruler of Heliopolis."
Ascension
Ramesses III is believed to have reigned from March 1186 to April 1155 BC. This is based on his known accession date of I Shemu day 26 and his death on Year 32 III Shemu day 15, for a reign of 31 years, 1 month and 19 days.[2] Alternative dates for his reign are 1187–1156 BC.
In a description of his coronation from Medinet Habu, four doves were said to be "dispatched to the four corners of the horizon to confirm that the living Horus, Ramses III, is (still) in possession of his throne, that the order of Maat prevails in the cosmos and society."
Tenure of constant war
Further information: Battle of Djahy, Battle of the Delta, and Bronze Age collapse
During his long tenure in the midst of the surrounding political chaos of the Greek Dark Ages, Egypt was beset by foreign invaders (including the so-called Sea Peoples and the Libyans) and experienced the beginnings of increasing economic difficulties and internal strife which would eventually lead to the collapse of the Twentieth Dynasty. In Year 8 of his reign, the Sea Peoples, including Peleset, Denyen, Shardana, Meshwesh of the sea, and Tjekker, invaded Egypt by land and sea. Ramesses III defeated them in two great land and sea battles. Although the Egyptians had a reputation as poor seamen, they fought tenaciously. Rameses lined the shores with ranks of archers who kept up a continuous volley of arrows into the enemy ships when they attempted to land on the banks of the Nile. Then, the Egyptian navy attacked using grappling hooks to haul in the enemy ships. In the brutal hand-to-hand fighting which ensued, the Sea People were utterly defeated. The Harris Papyrus states:
"As for those who reached my frontier, their seed is not, their heart and their soul are finished forever and ever. As for those who came forward together on the seas, the full flame was in front of them at the Nile mouths, while a stockade of lances surrounded them on the shore, prostrated on the beach, slain, and made into heaps from head to tail."
Ramesses III incorporated the Sea Peoples as subject peoples and settled them in southern Canaan. Their presence in Canaan may have contributed to the formation of new states in this region such as Philistia after the collapse of the Egyptian Empire in Asia. Ramesses III was also compelled to fight invading Libyan tribesmen in two major campaigns in Egypt's Western Delta in his Year 5 and Year 11 respectively.
Economic turmoil
The heavy cost of these battles slowly exhausted Egypt's treasury and contributed to the gradual decline of the Egyptian Empire in Asia. The severity of these difficulties is stressed by the fact that the first known labour strike in recorded history occurred during Year 29 of Ramesses III's reign, when the food rations for the favoured and elite royal tomb-builders and artisans in the village of "Set Maat her imenty Waset" (now known as Deir el-Medina), could not be provisioned. Something in the air (possibly the Hekla 3 eruption) prevented much sunlight from reaching the ground and also arrested global tree growth for almost two full decades until 1140 BC. The result in Egypt was a substantial increase in grain prices under the later reigns of Ramesses VI–VII, whereas the prices for fowl and slaves remained constant. Thus the cooldown affected Ramesses III's final years and impaired his ability to provide a constant supply of grain rations to the workmen of the Deir el-Medina community.
These difficult realities are completely ignored in Ramesses' official monuments, many of which seek to emulate those of his famous predecessor, Ramesses II, and which present an image of continuity and stability. He built important additions to the temples at Luxor and Karnak, and his funerary temple and administrative complex at Medinet-Habu is among the largest and best-preserved in Egypt; however, the uncertainty of Ramesses' times is apparent from the massive fortifications that were built to enclose the latter. No temple in the heart of Egypt prior to Ramesses' reign had ever needed to be protected in such a manner.
Conspiracy and death
Main article: Harem conspiracy
Thanks to the discovery of papyrus trial transcripts (dated to Ramesses III), it is now known that there was a plot against his life as a result of a royal harem conspiracy during a celebration at Medinet Habu. The conspiracy was instigated by Tiye, one of his three known wives (the others being Tyti and Iset Ta-Hemdjert), over whose son would inherit the throne. Tyti's son, Ramesses Amenherkhepshef (the future Ramesses IV), was the eldest and the successor chosen by Ramesses III in preference to Tiye's son Pentaweret.
The trial documents show that many individuals were implicated in the plot. Chief among them were Queen Tiye and her son Pentaweret, Ramesses' chief of the chamber, Pebekkamen, seven royal butlers (a respectable state office), two Treasury overseers, two Army standard bearers, two royal scribes and a herald. There is little doubt that all of the main conspirators were executed: some of the condemned were given the option of committing suicide (possibly by poison) rather than being put to death. According to the surviving trial transcripts, a total of three separate trials were started, while 38 people were sentenced to death. The tombs of Tiye and her son Pentaweret were robbed and their names erased to prevent them from enjoying an afterlife. The Egyptians did such a thorough job of this that the only references to them are the trial documents and what remains of their tombs.
Some of the accused harem women tried to seduce the members of the judiciary who tried them but were caught in the act. Judges who were involved were severely punished.
It is not certain whether the assassination plot succeeded since Ramesses IV, the king's designated successor, assumed the throne upon his death rather than Pentaweret, who was intended to be the main beneficiary of the palace conspiracy. Moreover, Ramesses III died in his 32nd year before the summaries of the sentences were composed,[14] but the same year that the trial documents record the trial and execution of the conspirators.
Although it was long believed that Ramesses III's body showed no obvious wounds, a recent examination of the mummy by a German forensic team, televised in the documentary Ramesses: Mummy King Mystery on the Science Channel in 2011, showed excessive bandages around the neck. A subsequent CT scan that was done in Egypt by Ashraf Selim and Sahar Saleem, professors of Radiology in Cairo University, revealed that beneath the bandages was a deep knife wound across the throat, deep enough to reach the vertebrae. According to the documentary narrator, "It was a wound no one could have survived." The December 2012 issue of the British Medical Journal quotes the conclusion of the study of the team of researchers, led by Zahi Hawass, the former head of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquity, and his Egyptian team, as well as Albert Zink from the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman of the European Academy of Bolzano/Bozen in Italy, which stated that conspirators murdered pharaoh Ramesses III by cutting his throat. Zink observes in an interview that:
"The cut [to Ramesses III's throat] is...very deep and quite large, it really goes down almost down to the bone (spine) - it must have been a lethal injury."
A subsequent study of the CT scan of the mummy of Ramesses III's body by Sahar Saleem revealed that the left big toe was likely chopped by a heavy sharp object like an ax. There were no signs of bone healing so this injury must have happened shortly before death. The embalmers placed a prosthesis-like object made of linen in place of the amputated toe. The embalmers placed six amulets around both feet and ankles for magical healing of the wound for the life after. This additional injury of the foot supports the assassination of the Pharaoh, likely by the hands of multiple assailants using different weapons. Before this discovery it had been speculated that Ramesses III had been killed by means that would not have left a mark on the body. Among the conspirators were practitioners of magic, who might well have used poison. Some had put forth a hypothesis that a snakebite from a viper was the cause of the king's death. His mummy includes an amulet to protect Ramesses III in the afterlife from snakes. The servant in charge of his food and drink were also among the listed conspirators, but there were also other conspirators who were called the snake and the lord of snakes.
In one respect the conspirators certainly failed. The crown passed to the king's designated successor: Ramesses IV. Ramesses III may have be..
- Title: Ramses III King of Egypt
Author: Encyclopaedia-Britannica
Publication: Name: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ramses-III;
Note: Ramses III, Ramses also spelled Ramesses or Rameses, (died 1156 BCE, Thebes, Egypt), king of ancient Egypt (reigned 1187–56 BCE) who defended his country against foreign invasion in three great wars, thus ensuring tranquility during much of his reign. In his final years, however, he faced internal disturbances, and he was ultimately killed in an attempted coup d’état.
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