Ramesses II, a great leader, his popularity is evident in all his statutes which have been developed in Egypt. Actually, art is the technique of creating masterpieces which have a story to tell on their own. Although they are unable to speak and cannot tell their own objective directly, they have much significance. Sometimes, they are created just for the sake of art itself but still, analysing the art can provide the analyst with a lot of information about the period in which it was developed. The same can be said about the Monumental Statue of the Pharaoh Ramesses II. Although the statue does not explain anything about it directly, it has a lot of cultural and historical significance. The statue was created in the thirteenth century with the use of granodiorite. In addition to it, it was from Egyptian culture. Actually, a lot of people take interest in the comprehension of Ramesses II because he has been renowned for his military victories (The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 2020).

In general, Egypt has been participating in the construction of different temples and monuments which hold a lot of significance in terms of culture and religion. Ramesses is also known as Ramses II. He was actually the third kind of ancient Egypt in the 19^th dynasty. His reign was recognised as the second-longest in the history of Egypt. In addition to his battles with the Libyans and Hittites, he is recognised for detailed and thorough building programs and for many of his large statues found throughout Egypt. In the 19^th dynasty of ancient Egypt, Ramesses II was the 3^rd pharaoh and he reigned to 1213 BCE from 1279 BCE. It is known that he had begun to exercise some power before the actual acquisition and ownership of the throne. It is also believed that it was Seti I, his father who had recruited him as a coregent at quite a young age. As a sole ruler, his tenure was quite remarkable as he ruled Egypt for sixty-six years.

The fine details of the statue and the material from which it has been made tell significant details about how well Ramesses II was respected in his period and how much authority he possessed. A large number of military campaigns were undertaken by Ramesses II and one of the most significant campaigns were culminated in the Kadesh Battle. It was in his fourth year as a kind that he set out to re-establish the imperial holdings and authority in Asia, much of which had been seemingly lost and had been acquired by the Hittites. At Kadesh, Egyptian and Hittite forces met and they clashed. Initially, the battle looked to be the Egyptian forces’ rout but the timely and strong arrival of the reinforcements of Egypt resulted in a quick stalemate. Ramesses II continued to campaign in the territory for approximately sixteen years until the two empires finally signed the first treaty of peace in history.

Egypt is responsible for the development of significant and quite famous structures and statutes. In fact, there are so many artefacts which make analysts marvel at the capability of Egypt. It tells that throughout their history, Egyptians have developed the statutes of those who influenced them greatly. For instance, in the reign of Ramesses II as well, various projects were developed. In fact, Ramesses II was responsible for the commission of countless building projects and some of them had been initiated in the reign of his father. Some examples include the temple at Abydos, the Hypostyle Hall, the funerary temple of Seti I, and Abu Simbel temple.

The statute of Ramesses II also indicates that Ramesses II was quite an influential person in his time. In fact, he was quite a renowned and admired pharaoh both after his life and during his life. What made him popular was the combination of his abilities as a propagandist and the peace which was experienced by Egypt under his rule. In spite of the reason, he was outlasted significantly by his appeal by quite a while. For instance, 9 different pharaohs seemed to take his name and it indicated his popularity (Bull, 1943).

Other than this specific statute, there are many other statues of Ramesses II as well. All of them indicate his popularity and that is one of the main reasons why there are so many of his statues in the first place. It was recognised by Ramesses II that extensive publication relations campaigns and diplomacy could serve to mitigate any type of military shortcomings. In addition to it, his renowned building accomplishments including the structures at Abu Simbel and Karnak seemed to reflect his objective and vision of a great and prosperous nation. He wanted to be one of the great rules and that is why he invested so much time and efforts in the development of colossal structures in the first place. For instance, he developed more statutes and monuments than all other pharaohs. Due to it, he has been recognised as the Great Ramesses and his rule of 66 years is considered the height of glory and power of Egypt.

Actually, it was his grandfather who was responsible for elevating their common family to the ad ranks and standards of royalty through his capability in the military. The father of Ramesses II secured the wealth of nation by opening quarries and mines. Furthermore, the northern frontier was fortified by him against the Hittites. An opportunity was seen by them to test Ramesses II and his northern border. Thus, they invaded and they took over Kadesh’s significant trading town in modern-day Syria. Forces were led by Ramesses II for recapturing Kadesh. However, spies duped him into believing that the Hittites were not near the Egyptian camp. Instead of it, they were waiting and they attacked. Actually, the Egyptians were about to be defeated when supporting forces arrived and the battle was won by Ramesses II. However, he did not win the whole war. Although the battle was won, he did not win the whole war.

Ramesses II, as a sign and indication of diplomatic faith, married the Hittite king’s eldest daughter. He married approximately 200 women and he had 100 children. The wealth and popularity of Ramesses II are quite evident in all the structures of him which have been developed. It is also evident in his building campaign which is one of the largest undertaken by any Egypt’s pharaoh. In fact, the temples at Abu Simbel and Karnak are among the greatest wonders in Egypt. Additionally, the Ramesseum, his funerary temple contained a large library of approximately 10,000 papyrus scrolls. Both he and his father were honoured when he completed his temples. The sheer number of statutes that belong to Ramesses II indicates that it was practically venerated as a deity. The reputation of Ramesses II resulted in an exceptional and great period which is referred to as the Ramesside period.

Actually, during the twentieth dynasty, although not all descendants, many kings took the name of Ramesses just to ensure that they would emulate him. However, there were not many kings which came close to the works done by Ramesses II. Ramesses III was the only king who came close to the achievements of his predecessor. In this manner, the name of Ramesses II continued to live on as many coming rulers continued to adopt his name. The Egyptian language is quite different from modern languages and that is why a lot of time was consumed by experts in deciphering their language. This is how the ancient rulers were identified. However, experts did not have to spend a lot of time in determining who Ramesses was because although his name had been corrupted in recent times, his name was still remembered by people because of all his efforts. As it had been explained above, even though a statute or piece of art is unable to tell anything about itself directly, it has a lot of cultural, historical, and religious significance. The same can be said about the Monumental Statue of the Pharaoh Ramesses II. Even though the statue is not perfect and it is also broken, it still has a lot of significance (Fitzgerald, 2008).

Conclusion of Cultural Context of Pharaoh

Overall, it can be said that art is the technique of creating masterpieces which have a story to tell on their own. Although they are unable to speak and cannot tell their own objective directly, they have much significance. Sometimes, they are created just for the sake of art itself but still, analysing the art can provide the analyst with a lot of information about the period in which it was developed. The fine details of the statue and the material from which it has been made tell significant details about how well Ramesses II was respected in his period and how much authority he possessed. Even though the statue is broken, it still has a lot of cultural and historical significance in Egypt. It can also be said that Ramesses II was one of the famous kings in Egypt, as his region was the second-longest in the history of Egypt, which shows cultural and social value of a leader. It is not easy for a ruler to rule for sixty-six years, but he did it successfully and became one of the remarkable rulers of Egyptian history. It is also important to say that statute of Ramesses II is not the only statue or piece of art to be remembered, but the history of Egypt is full of such art, which had great deep cultural roots.
References of Cultural Context of Pharaoh

Bull, L. (1943). Fragment of a Statue of Ramesses II. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 1(7), 219-221.

Fitzgerald, S. (2008). Ramses II: Egyptian Pharaoh, Warrior, and Builder. Capstone.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. (2020). Monumental Statue of the Pharaoh Ramesses II Enthroned . Retrieved from https://www.mfah.org/downloads/dea71366-d374-4df5-91c8-463a512fbcd2/view/