Ramesses III

Ramesses III was the second pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty during the New Kingdom. He was the son of Setnakhte and Queen Tiy-Merenese, taking the throne after his father's brief restoration of domestic order. Consciously modelling his royal persona, monuments, and military posture on Ramesses II, he governed Egypt from the northern capital of Pi-Ramesses during an era of mounting geopolitical upheaval throughout the ancient Mediterranean world.

He reigned about 1186 to 1155 BC, with dates uncertain by about five years. Ramesses III faced major external threats during his thirty-one-year reign. In his fifth, eighth, and eleventh regnal years, he repelled massive incursions by Libyan confederacies and the coalition of migrant maritime populations known as the Sea Peoples, whose movements had toppled several contemporary Near Eastern kingdoms. He recorded these victories across the walls of his massive mortuary temple at Medinet Habu on the West Bank of Thebes.

Domestically, the pharaoh oversaw ambitious building programmes, including the mortuary complex at Medinet Habu and a temple dedicated to Khonsu within the Karnak precinct. However, his later years suffered from administrative strain, economic difficulties that led to the first recorded workmen's strike at Deir el-Medina, and court intrigues. An internal harem conspiracy aimed at securing the succession for Prince Pentawere resulted in an assassination attempt against the pharaoh's life, though the royal line was successfully maintained through his chosen heir, Ramesses IV.

Scholars know Ramesses III through extensive monument reliefs, royal papyri detailing state trials, and official administrative texts. His royal tomb, KV11, is among the most elaborate in the Valley of the Kings, and his well-preserved mummy was identified after its recovery from the royal cache at Deir el-Bahari.

Monuments

• Medinet Habu
• Karnak Temple of Khonsu
• KV11

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