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Ramesses I

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Ramesses I
Menophres
Stone head carving of Paramessu (Ramesses I), originally part of a statue depicting him as a scribe; on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Stone head carving of Paramessu (Ramesses I), originally part of a statue depicting him as a scribe; on display at theMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston
Pharaoh
Reign1292–1290 BC or 1295–1294 BC
PredecessorHoremheb
SuccessorSeti I
Royal titulary
Horus name
Kanakht Wadj neswt
Mighty bull, he who rejuvenates the royalty
G5
E1
D44		M13M23tiiY1
Z2
Nebty name
Kha m neswt mj jtm
He who appears as a king, likeAtum
G16
N28
D36
Y1		m&tM23A44W19it
Aa15
U15
Golden Horus
Smn m3't khetawy
He who firms Maat throughout the land of the two banks
G8
smn
n		U32Aa11
M3		Aa1(tD54N23)
Prenomen (Praenomen)
Menpehtyre
Eternal is the Strength ofRe[1]
M23L2
ra
mn		F9
tt
Nomen
Ra-messes
Rehas fashioned him[1]
G39N5
ramsssww
ConsortSitre
ChildrenSeti I
FatherSeti
Died1290 or 1294 BC
BurialKV16
Dynasty19th Dynasty

Menpehtyre Ramesses I(orRamses) was the foundingpharaohofancient Egypt's19th Dynasty.The dates for his short reign are not completely known but the timeline of late1292–1290 BCis frequently cited[2]as well as1295–1294 BC.[3]While Ramesses I was the founder of the 19th Dynasty, his brief reign mainly serves to mark the transition between the reign ofHoremheb,who had stabilized Egypt in the late 18th Dynasty, and the rule of the powerful pharaohs of his own dynasty, in particular his sonSeti I,and grandsonRamesses II.

Origins[edit]

See also:Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt family tree
Pharaoh Ramses I making an offering beforeOsiris,Allard Pierson Museum

Originally called Pa-ra-mes-su, Ramesses I was of non-royal birth, being born into a noble military family from theNile Deltaregion, perhaps near the formerHyksoscapital ofAvaris.He was a son of a troop commander calledSeti.His uncle Khaemwaset, an army officer, married Tamwadjesy, the matron ofTutankhamun's[4]Harem ofAmun,who was a relative ofHuy,the viceroy ofKush,an important state post.[5]This shows the high status of Ramesses' family. Ramesses I found favor withHoremheb,the last pharaoh of the tumultuousEighteenth Dynasty,who appointed the former as hisvizier.Ramesses also served as theHigh PriestofSet[6]—as such, he would have played an important role in the restoration of the old religion following theAmarna heresyof a generation earlier, underAkhenaten.

Horemheb himself had been a nobleman from outside the immediate royal family, who rose through the ranks of the Egyptian army to serve as the royal advisor toTutankhamunandAyand, ultimately, pharaoh. Since Horemheb had no surviving children, he ultimately chose Ramesses to be his heir in the final years of his reign presumably because Ramesses I was both an able administrator and had a son (Seti I) and a grandson (the futureRamesses II) to succeed him and thus avoid any succession difficulties.

Upon his accession, Ramesses assumed aprenomen,or royal name. When transliterated, the name ismn-pḥty-rʿ,which is usually interpreted as Menpehtyre, meaning "Established by the strength ofRa".However, he is better known by hisnomen,or personal name. This is transliterated asrʿ-ms-sw,and is usually realised as Ramessu or Ramesses, meaning 'Ra bore him'. Already an old man when he was crowned, Ramesses appointed his son, the later pharaohSeti I,to serve as the Crown Prince and chosen successor. Seti was charged with undertaking several military operations during this time—in particular, an attempt to recoup some of Egypt's lost possessions inSyria.Ramesses appears to have taken charge of domestic matters: most memorably, he completed the secondpylonatKarnak Temple,begun under Horemheb.

Reign length[edit]

Reliefs from the Abydos chapel of Ramesses I. The chapel was specifically built and dedicated bySeti Iin memory of his late father.
Mummyof Ramesses I

Ramesses I enjoyed a brief reign, as evidenced by the general paucity of contemporary monuments mentioning him: the king had little time to build any major buildings in his reign and was hurriedly buried in a small and hastily finished tomb.[7]According to the Jewish historianJosephus,in his bookContra Apionemwhich translatedManetho's Aegyptiaca, Manetho assigns this king a reign of 16 months, but this pharaoh certainly ruled Egypt for a minimum of 17 months based on his highest-known[clarification needed]date which is a Year 2 II Peret day 20 (Louvre C57) stela which ordered the provision of new endowments of food and priests for thetempleofPtahwithin the Egyptianfortress of Buhen.[8]In contrast, Ramesses I's son and successor, Seti I, assumed the throne five months later after the erection of this stela on III Shemu day 24 which means that Ramesses I had a minimum reign of 17 months (or one year and five months).[2]However, based on a papyrus document published by Robert J. Demarée in a 2023 publication, Demarée argues that Ramesses I's predecessor, Horemheb, died on III Shemu 22 based on evidence in Papyrus Turin Cat. 1898 + Cat. 1937 + Cat. 2094/244, which is a journal diary.[9]If confirmed, this would mean that Ramesses I actually had a reign of approximately two full years since he would have ascended to the throne around III Shemu 23 soon after Horemheb's death on III Shemu 22 and died about two years later around the very same day since Ramesses I's son, Seti I, succeeded his father on III Shemu 24.[10]

Ramesses I's only known action was to order the provision of endowments for the aforementioned Nubian temple at Buhen and "the construction of a chapel and a temple (which was to be finished by his son) at Abydos."[11]The aged Ramesses was buried in the Valley of the Kings. His tomb, discovered byGiovanni Belzoniin 1817 and designatedKV16,is small in size and gives the impression of having been completed with haste.Joyce Tyldesleystates that Ramesses I's tomb consisted of a single corridor and one unfinished room whose walls, after a hurried coat of plaster, were painted to show the king with his gods, with Osiris allowed a prominent position. The red granite sarcophagus too was painted rather than carved with inscriptions which, due to their hasty preparation, included a number of unfortunate errors.[7]

Seti I,his son and successor, later built a small chapel with fine reliefs in memory of his deceased father Ramesses I atAbydos.In 1911,John Pierpont Morgandonated several exquisite reliefs from this chapel to theMetropolitan Museum of Artin New York.[12]

Rediscovery and repatriation[edit]

Fragment of a stela showing Amun enthroned. Mut, wearing the double crown, stands behind him. Both are being offered by Ramesses I, now lost. From Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London

A mummy currently believed to be that of Ramesses I was displayed in a private Canadian museum for many years before being repatriated. The mummy's identity cannot be conclusively determined, but is most likely to be that of Ramesses I based on CT scans, X-rays, skull measurements and radio-carbon dating tests by researchers atEmory University,as well as aesthetic interpretations of family resemblance. Moreover, the mummy's arms were found crossed high across his chest which was a position reserved solely for Egyptian royalty until 600 BC.[13]

The mummy had been stolen from theRoyal CacheinDeir el-Bahariby the Abu-Rassul family of grave robbers and sold by Turkish vice-consular agent Mustapha Aga Ayat atLuxor[14][15]to Dr.James Douglaswho brought it to North America around 1860. Douglas used to purchase Egyptian antiquities for his friend Sydney Barnett who then placed it in theNiagara Falls Museum.At the time, the identity of the mummified man was unknown.[16]The mummy remained in the museum through moves toNiagara Falls, New YorkandNiagara Falls, Ontarionext to other curiosities for more than 130 years.[16]The mummy was displayed as a "A Prince of Egypt" but despite occasional speculation from visitors that he might be exactly that nothing further was done.[16]

When the owner of the museum decided to sell his property, Canadian businessmanWilliam Jamiesonpurchased the contents of the museum and, with the help of Canadian egyptologist Gayle Gibson, identified their great value.[17]In 1999, Jamieson sold the Egyptian artifacts in the collection, including the various mummies, to theMichael C. Carlos Museumat Emory University inAtlanta,Georgia for US$2 million.[16]The mummy was returned to Egypt on October 24, 2003, with full official honors and is on display at the Luxor Museum.[18]

Portrayals in fiction[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abClayton, Peter A (2012).Chronicle of the Pharaohs the reign-by-reign record of the rulers and dynasties of ancient Egypt.London: Thames & Hudson. p. 140.ISBN978-0500286289.OCLC869729880.
  2. ^abBeckerath, Jürgen von;Zabern, Verlag Philipp von (1997).Chronologie des pharaonischen Ägypten: die Zeitbestimmung der ägyptischen Geschichte von der Vorzeit bis 332 v. Chr.Mainz am Rhein. p. 190.ISBN3805323107.OCLC932193922.
  3. ^Rice, Michael (1999).Who's Who in Ancient Egypt.Routledge.p.165.
  4. ^Kawai, N., 2015:The Administrators and Notables in Nubia under Tutankhamun.In: R. Jasnow and K.M. Cooney (Ed.) with the assistance of K.E. Davis, Joyful in Thebes Egyptological Studies in Honor of Betsy M. Bryan (Material and Visual Culture of Ancient Egypt 1), Atlanta.
  5. ^Cruz-Uribe, Eugene (1978). "The Father of Ramses I: OI 11456".Journal of Near Eastern Studies.37(3): 237–244.doi:10.1086/372654.JSTOR544684.S2CID162197658.
  6. ^P. Montert,Everyday Life in Egypt in the Days of Ramesses The Great,1974, p.197.
  7. ^abTyldesley, Joyce (2001).Ramesses: Egypt's greatest pharaoh.Penguin Books. pp. 37–38.ISBN9780140280975.OCLC932221233.
  8. ^Brand, Peter J (2000).The monuments of Seti I: epigraphic, historical and art historical analysis.Leiden; Boston; Köln: Brill. pp. 289, 300 and 311.ISBN9004117709.OCLC247341737.
  9. ^Demarée, Robert J. (2023)."Two Papyrus Fragments with Historically Relevant Data".Rivista del Museo Egizio.7.doi:10.29353/rime.2023.5078.Retrieved25 November2023.
  10. ^The Monuments of Seti I and their Historical Significance: Epigraphic, Art and Historical Analysis (PDF) 1998 pp.339-341by Peter Brand
  11. ^Grimal, Nicolas-Christophe (1992).A history of ancient Egypt.Oxford, UK; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Blackwell. p. 245.ISBN0631174729.OCLC872585819.
  12. ^Ranke, Hermann (1939). "Review of The Temple of Ramesses I at Abydos".Journal of the American Oriental Society.59(2): 272–274.doi:10.2307/594071.JSTOR594071.
  13. ^"U.S. Museum to Return Ramses I Mummy to Egypt".National Geographic.April 30, 2003. Archived fromthe originalon May 2, 2003.Retrieved2008-04-13.
  14. ^Hawass & Saleem 2016,p. 32.
  15. ^Wilson 1964,p. 74.
  16. ^abcdGorr, Robbie (Winter 2022–23). "The Pharaoh of Niagara Falls".History Magazine.pp. 28–32.
  17. ^"Canada's favourite mummy hunter returns".Niagara Falls Review.Archived fromthe originalon 2017-12-04.Retrieved2017-05-17.
  18. ^"Egypt's 'Ramses' mummy returned".BBC.October 26, 2003.Retrieved2008-04-13.

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

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