THE GREAT TEMPLE OF THE GREATEST PHARAOH - RAMSES II. ABU SIMBEL EGYPT

Hello from Aswan. We're heading today almost 300 kilometers south to Abu Simbel. Abu Simbel is located in the heart of the Nubian region, only 20 kilometers from the Sudanese border. The location of the temples is naturally not a coincidence. During the Ramesses reign this was the Egyptian frontier. Also perceived as a source of all life as in all of Egypt, it was here where the Holy Nile flooded first. The complex of Abu Simbel was a clearly visible sign. This is where the Egyptian empire began. My childhood dream is just coming true. I've been to Egypt many times but it's the first time I'll see Abu Simbel with my own eyes. For thousands of years the temple stood on the west bank of the Nile. Today it's overlooking one of the biggest man-made lakes in the world, Lake Nasser. The complex of Abu Simbel was a part of a great building slash propaganda project commissioned by the most powerful and famous pharaohs to ever have lived, Ramesses II. Originally cut into a pinkish sandstone cliff, the great temple's facade is 38 meters wide and 33 meters high. Four colossal statues of Ramesses II, 20 meters high, are presented with crown of Upper and Lower Egypt kilt and false beard. They're looking in the southern direction watching over the kingdom's border. The space between colossal ears measures four meters and the lips with their famous mysterious and gentle smile measure over a meter. Originally these humongous works of art were sculpted directly from the rock. Today they're the largest that have survived from the ancient pharaonic era in such a great state. Only the second statue from the left was badly damaged during an earthquake, leaving only the Ramesses' head together with the part of his crown lie at the statue's feet. It lets us grasp the sheer size of the figures and take a closer look at carefully executed details. The construction lasted for 20 years and started either in 1264 BC or 20 years later in 1244 BC. It's still unresolved due to different interpretations of Ramesses' life by modern researchers. Even though the temple was officially dedicated to Ra Horati, Amun-Ra, Ptah and Ramesses II, it's quite obvious that the authority and power of the latter were to be the main focus here. And it actually wasn't anything new as Ramesses either built or appropriated temples in Egypt to present himself as a divine figure with incredible strength, accomplishing impressive and extraordinary deeds. In fact, his subjects were following this cult of personality not really out of fear, but rather out of respect, as he truly was a great ruler, hence his by-name The Great. Both his successors and common people referred to him as The Great Ancestor. Humongous statues of Ramesses are accompanied by smaller ones. It's a pharaoh's family, chief wife Nefertari, mother Tuya, two first sons, Prince Amon-Her-Her-Peshaf and Prince Ramesses, as well as his first six daughters, Bintanad, Bakhetmut, Nefertari, Meritamen, Nebetavi and Iset-Nofret. Believe it or not, but it's only a small fraction of his family as he had around 100 children, 48 to 50 sons and 40 to 53 daughters with over 200 wives and concubines. Below the throne of one of the colossi we can see a sank relief depicting two representations of Hapi, god of the annual Nile flooding, tine stems of lotus and papyrus, symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt, around the hieroglyph standing for UNITE. And below there's a row of kneeling Asiatic prisoners and on the opposite south wall African captives. These reliefs were aiming to show the power of the pharaoh over borderland enemies. And it's not only about the supremacy of Egyptians over other nations, but it also shows their imperial ambitions. Above the entrance in the middle is a niche showing god Rahorakhti with a sun disc, goddess Maat on the right and scepter called User on the left. It actually serves as a cryptogram for Ramesses II's throne name, User Maat Re, meaning justice of Re is powerful. Entering the temple we're welcomed by eight enormous figures of deified Osirian Ramesses, each about eight meters high. They're attached to massive pillars featuring mostly offering scenes. The hieroglyphs beside the statue's heads mean the good god lord of the two lands, the one who is loved by Amun, which is one of Ramesses' many many titles. In total, the interior of the temple consisting of two consecutive hypostyle halls, a vestibule and a At its very end is the Sanctum Sanctorum, the holiest place with a pedestal where thousands years ago stood a sacred bark. The sanctuary features a niche with the gods of the temple from left to right, Ptah, Amun-Ra, deified Ramesses and Rahorakhti, Ra who is Horus of the Horizons. By the way, except for the well-lit niche, this is the darkest temple I've ever been to. I actually don't understand why it's so badly lit. Not only is it extremely difficult to film anything without a lamp, which obviously was a great issue for the guardians of the temple, I simply couldn't show you the interior. But even being there in person, it's hard to see most of the reliefs, not to mention those in the higher parts of the walls. The first hypostyle hall shows a great deal of military scenes with Ramesses as the enemy slayer and great army leader, here in the chariot with his pet lion chasing enemies. And it's no wonder that he shows his military achievements, as he put a great effort to reclaim the lands lost during the reign of Akhenaten, thus restoring the Egyptian empire of Thutmose III and Amenhotep III. In numerous campaigns, Ramesses fought against Libyans, Nubians and Hittites, but perhaps his most famous and certainly the most exposed battle here at the temple was the Battle of Kadesh, during his second Syrian campaign. Multiple side chambers served as storerooms, probably for war tributes, and places for rituals. Apart from the first hypostyle hall, the temple is adorned with votive scenes, displaying Ramesses sometimes accompanied by his chief wife Nefertari. It's indeed hard to believe that the entire temple, with its decorations, statues, chambers and corridors, was moved, like many other Nubian temples, during the UNESCO international campaign, which saved ancient wonders from the rising water of the Nile River. Relocation process of the great temple took place in 1968. More than 800 blocks weighing up to 30 tons, 20 on average, were moved 300 meters further inland and 65 meters higher up from the original location. But let's focus on ancient history and the Battle of Kadesh. After previous victorious campaigns, Ramesses wished like his father, Seti I, around 10 years earlier, to enter triumphantly the city of Kadesh, the valuable stop on the trade routes. But to do so, he had to meet on the battlefield with the most serious opponent he'd ever faced before, the Hittite Empire under King Muwatali II. You can learn more about the Hittites from one of my Turkey episodes, I linked it in the description below. In his fifth regnal year, more than 3200 years ago, in 1274 BC, Ramesses assembled an army, divided into four units, Ra, Ptah, Seth, and Amun which he led himself, and approached Kadesh. He captured and interrogated two Bedouins who told him that the Hittite army was far away, near the city of Aleppo, and that Hittites were afraid of the mighty Egyptian army. Confident of the victory, Ramesses hastily rushed towards the city, cutting his division off from the rest of his army, to find himself surrounded by the Hittites. Because, as it turned out, two Bedouins were Hittite spies. Kadesh had already been strongly secured, and Muwatali had been waiting with his enormous army just over the next hill. Ramesses repelled two waves of Hittite chariots before reinforcements arrived that eventually saved Ramesses and his army and pushed the Hittites back. The records of the battle can be found in two sources, the Bulletin and the Poem of Pentor. The latter presents Ramesses' account, which might not be quite credible, as he states that he won the battle single-handedly. Not one of my princes, of my chief men and my great, was with me, not a captain, not a knight. For my warriors and chariots had left me to my fate. Not one was there to take his part in fight. Here I stand, all alone. There is no one at my side. My warriors and chariots effured, have deserted me. None heard my voice. When to their cravens I, their king, for Sakur cried. But I find that Amun's grace is better far to me than a million fighting men and ten thousand chariots be. Interestingly, both sides claimed Kadesh as a triumph, but in truth the outcome was inconclusive, or even according to some historians, the Egyptian army strategically lost, as they were unable to control the city or territory around it. However, it didn't stop the young pharaoh from depicting the battle as a great victory. The north wall in the first hypostyle hall was entirely dedicated to the famous battle, displaying pharaoh's council of war, camp guarded by the soldiers, interrogation of two Hittites and some of the most iconic Egyptian reliefs. Ramesses II in his chariot with his army below advancing the fortified city of Kadesh, surrounded by the Orontes river, as well as a fierce battle, struggle of horses and chariots, and obviously Hittite commander running away. South and north of the facade are located two chapels, this southern one was dedicated to Toth, god of science and knowledge, and the shrine probably served as Mamisi, symbolic birthplace of the god. Its walls were made of mud brick, and the small chapel was hewn in the rock. The northern shrine was devoted to Rahorakhti and is known as the Sun Chapel, discovered only in 1910. In antiquity, it was used for solar rituals. Its eastern wall, featuring two towers, still displays reliefs of the pharaoh sacrificing before Rahorakhti and Amun, the statues of Toth in the baboon form, scarab beetles, two small obelisks and two altars, were found inside the chapel. Today, they are exhibited in the Nubia Museum in Asur. Dread to think that this marvel would have never been found as it was lost to the world for centuries, exactly until 1813, when it was discovered by the Swiss explorer Johann Burckhardt. However, he couldn't manage to explore it as the whole area was almost entirely covered by sand. The first one to excavate the site was already known to us Mr. Belzoni in 1817. Supposedly, a young boy named Abu Simbel led Belzoni here, hence the name of the complex. Not only chapels but also rock-cut steles are to be found to the south of the great temple. I actually hadn't known about their existence until I visited the site myself. They depict a man adoring seated king, Ramesses II before the guards, again adoration of the pharaoh, Ramesses II, guards and Hekanacht, viceroy of Kush, Ramesses in a chariot with inscription of Mary, troops commander above it. There's also Seti II, grandson of Ramesses II, smiting enemies, and the devil Stele displaying Ramesses in a similar scene with viceroy of Kush, Setor. The great temple makes an amazing impression and just makes you think, how did they do it? It's no surprise that the site is one of the symbols of Egypt and so famous all over the world. As mentioned before, the complex features the Temple of Hato, known as the small temple, which I'll show you in one of my next episodes. Thank you for watching! If you'd like to see more and stay up to date with brand new episodes, please subscribe to my channel. I would be honored and delighted if you like, comment, and share my videos with your friends. It will make my content more visible to the YouTube algorithm. And see you on another ancient site!