This article is taken from the Figaro Hors-Série: Ramsès II, the event exhibition at the Grande Halle de la Villette.You are like Rê in everything you do. If you desire something during the night, the morning has quickly come. We have been told of a multitude of wonders since you were crowned King of the Two Lands. This is how the princes of the Court express themselves in a stele found in Kuban, which relates the drilling of a well in the desert of Lower Nubia. When it comes to finding gold, courtiers push deference quite far. Because the region is rich in deposits, but the lack of water prevents any exploitation. Seti I had already broken his teeth there. No gold without water. And in a desert, no water without a miracle. By succeeding where his father had failed, Ramses kills two birds with one stone: he enlarges the fortunes of the Crown and presents himself as the providential man. It adds a chapter to the great story of the pharaohs. Thus continues the plea of the courtiers: “If you say to the water, ‘Come out of the mountain!’, the flood will come quickly after your words, for you are Ra incarnate. ” No sooner said than done.
In 1276 BC, the third year of the reign, it is fortunate that the elements obey Pharaoh. Because the mines of wadi el-Hammamat, to the east of Thebes, no longer suffice for the expenses of the kingdom. Everywhere, one builds or one renovates – Ramses set up a service of restoration of the royal tombs in Abydos. It is not just construction sites that require such abundant resources. The kingdom of Hatti preoccupies the sovereign. A war, secretly, is preparing. To the three divisions already existing, Ramses adds a fourth, the division of Seth. That makes a total of more than twenty thousand men, infantry and charrerie combined. Among them, many foreigners, Nubian archers or Shardanes, those pirates defeated by Ramses, who now serve in the ranks of the Egyptians. But the loyalty of a mercenary is highly variable. One buys it more surely by a good balance than by fine speeches.
Pi-Ramses, the new capital, is under construction east of the Delta. Why this move of the Court to the north? No doubt the Sun King wanted to build his city, and to build it not far from the border from which the expeditions departed. The city of basins and canals, located on the edge of the “water of Rê”, an arm of the Nile, was immediately famous for its gardens. It is also for its barracks. Since his return from the festivities in Thebes, in year 1 of the reign, Ramses has had his eyes turned towards the East, where Thutmose, before him, had forged his legend. Qadesh, won by his father Seti, was taken over by the Hittite. This needs to be fixed. Finally, there is Amurru, located in the north of present-day Lebanon, a buffer region between the Hittite enemy and Phenicia, under Egyptian control. Its king, Benteshina, is also threatened by the expansionism of the Hittites. So many signs of serious competition in the Middle East, which require a response to match.
In year 4 of the reign, Ramses engages an expeditionary force in the “path of Horus”, the military track that his father had marked out with citadels, from Tjarou to Gaza. He returns two months later, having consolidated his suzerainty over Amurru. This rapid expedition is the prelude to the great campaign that Ramses has been planning with his generals since he learned that his rival Muwatalli, king of Hatti, was gathering a vast coalition against him. We are talking about a massive army, quite heterogeneous it is true, because it is made up of a multitude of vassal tribes, allies, or simply lured by gain. The Near East presents itself at this time as a mosaic of city-states subject to the influence of the Hatti in the north, of Egypt in the south. At the crossroads of Anatolia, Africa and Mesopotamia, at the confluence of caravan routes and maritime routes, this area is the object of all desires. Whoever holds it has wealth and power in Asia. Also it was already the scene of many clashes under the XVIIIth dynasty. At the heart of this region, between the steps of the Euphrates and the Mediterranean, the Orontes valley crystallizes imperial ambitions. It is in Kadesh that the inevitable conflict will take place.
Ramses II, the event exhibition at the Grande Halle de la Villette, 164 pages, €13.90, available on newsstands and on Le Figaro Store.
