Ramesses II ruled from 1279 BC, when he was 30 years old, to 1213 BC, that is 66 years. In his long life he had 200 wives, 96 sons and 60 daughters.

He is famous for having colossal statues made of himself. As a result of his successful campaigning he was made a god in his lifetime, and also called Ramesses the Great.

The Abu Simbel temples are two massive rock temples in Abu Simbel southern Egypt. The two temples were carved out of the mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II. The larger temple (shown below) has four colossal seated statues of Ramesses himself, and the smaller one has four seated statues of his queen, Nefertari.

They were built as a memorial to Ramesses' victory at the Battle of Kadesh, of which Ramesses was very proud. The temples show Ramesses trampling the Hittites (who he beat) and also showing them being carried away as slaves.

The temple complex is at the southern end of Egypt and it was originally built beside the River Nile, so that anyone visiting Egypt from the south would be in no doubt who controlled the land.