Ramesses

An army scattered. A young king surrounded. And a battle he was never supposed to win.
In 1274 BC, on the banks of a river in western Syria, Pharaoh Ramesses II rode into the greatest chariot battle the ancient world had ever seen, and very nearly rode straight into disaster. False intelligence. A shattered division. An empire's entire fate resting on the nerve of one young ruler surrounded on all sides.
What happened next would be carved into temple walls across Egypt for the next three thousand years.
Few people know that the treaty Ramesses signed to end his war with the Hittites still exists today, in two different languages, discovered in two cities thousands of kilometers apart. Fewer still know the hidden truth behind his most famous "victory," and why historians still argue about what actually happened at Kadesh.
Ramesses: War, Diplomacy, and the Monumental Reign of Egypt's Greatest Pharaoh takes you inside the sixty six year rule of the man who built Abu Simbel, married a Hittite princess, fathered a hundred children, and became one of history's first great masters of his own legend.
This book matters because Ramesses didn't just rule Egypt, he redefined what it meant to be remembered. You'll discover how a battle he arguably lost became the victory the world remembers, how peace was forged between two of the ancient world's fiercest rivals, and how a mountainside in Nubia became one of the most extraordinary building projects in human history.
Whether you're a lifelong lover of ancient history, a reader drawn to stories of power and legacy, or simply curious what a poet meant when he wrote "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair," this is the reign that answers the question.
What you're about to discover will change how you see one of history's most powerful men, and how far a king will go to make sure his story outlives him.