Marriage is sacred and important to everyone. For the emperor, the meaning of marriage is even more abundant.
In addition to choosing a satisfactory lifelong partner for themselves, as kings, they often have to set up an intricate connection between their marriage and politics. The same is true for the marriage of a generation of emperor Ramses II. It can be said that every marriage of his has a strong political need as the root. The characteristics of his marriage are also the characteristics of ancient Egyptian royal marriages. The ancient Egyptian royal family’s divine marriage system (i.e. intermarriage) and political marriages with foreign countries (including Syria, Western Taiwan, and other countries) are very common. The types of marriages of these royal families have been developed throughout the world for thousands of years. Its widespread presence. Ramses II was a pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt (reigned from 1304 to 1237), and his reign was the last strong era of the new kingdom of Egypt. His life can be said to have left countless magnificent legends and beautiful buildings. Among them, the eight queens he married also have a close relationship here. Through the analysis of his personal marriage, we can get a glimpse of the general form of ancient Egyptian royal marriages and understand their causes and processes.1. Introduce the marriage between nobles to strengthen power: Nefertari
In Ramses II's life, in addition to brilliant achievements and architectural achievements, there were eight queens and more than 100 wives, and more than 200 princes and princesses were born. Among these people, he showed unprecedented love and attention to his first queen, Nefertari. The combination of the two is a political marriage to consolidate the family's rights in the country, but it leaves a beautiful love legend in history. The murals in the tomb of Nefertari in the Queen’s Valley record many of Nefertari’s titles, including "the most beloved", "owner of charm, sweetness, and love", "hostess of Upper and Lower Egypt", " "Pharaoh's true wife", "the favored by Mu" awaits praise-such high praise and praise also hint at her noble status during her lifetime. Regarding the origin of this queen, there are two popular theories in archaeology: some scholars believe that she is the granddaughter of Egyptian pharaoh Ay (following Tutan Tameng), with a noble royal lineage; another believes that She originated from the hereditary aristocracy of Thebes in Upper Egypt no matter what, what we can be sure of is that Nefertari was from a famous family.
Ramses has the ownership that men expect, but one thing missing is the orthodox status conferred by gods. His ancestors were soldiers, and he became a pharaoh by military power rather than a true royal lineage. If Ramses, who does not have noble blood, wants to become a god, the only way is to marry Amon's concubine, so that he can become Amon's present representative and gain the legitimacy of power. For this reason, he first thought of restoring the status of a concubine. So he went to Luxor, mobilized slaves to rebuild the De Bahari burial temple dedicated to Hatshepsut, and integrated his temple with the building of the greatest concubine Hatshepsut. At the same time, he continued to promote and strengthen the greatness and sacredness of concubines in Egypt. After all the foreshadowing work is completed, what he lacks is a recognized noble concubine. At this time, he was born in a famous door in Upper Egypt, and some even said that Nefertari, who was after the pharaoh, came into his field of vision. The Ramses family, originating from the Lower Egypt Delta, marrying a daughter of a famous upper Egypt family with a glorious family background is not only decent and reasonable, but for both families, it is the strengthening of power and the formation of mutual benefit protection. According to historians, based on the many temples of Ramses the Great and the murals preserved in her tomb, Nefertari had a very high status at the time. Not only did she possess independent power and private wealth like all queens at the time, she also often presided over important religious ceremonies and state events with Ramses, and sometimes she even attended celebrations on behalf of her husband. According to records, she once wrote an official letter to Queen Xitai as a queen, discussing negotiations on the dispute between the two countries, which promoted the peace progress of the two countries. In the 33rd year after her marriage, her power rose to unprecedented heights. In the temple of Abu Simbel that Ramses built for himself, he bestowed the supreme glory of Nefertari. On the stone sculptures on the outer wall of the small temple, Nefertari, as the incarnation of the goddess Hattor, stands side by side with Pharaoh Ramses. Although there is no shortage of statues of pharaohs and their wives in Egypt, usually only pharaohs are qualified to sculpt the statues at the main entrance of the temple. Entering the temple there are also frescoes of the scene where she directly sacrifices the portrait of the god, and these are usually the rights of the pharaoh. This is not only a manifestation of petting but also a religious deification, an extraordinary courtesy. It can be said that in the early days of Ramses the Great's rule, Nefertari was both a concubine and a diplomat of the pharaoh-she was almost on par with the pharaoh. 25 years later, Nefertari, who died of illness, was buried in the tomb built for her by Ramses-this is also the most luxurious tomb in the Valley of the Queens.
2. Marriage to consolidate one's rights in Lower Egypt: Isetnofret (Isetnofret)
If Ramses II’s first queen, Nefertari, is a symbol of the noble lineage and divinity of Upper Egypt, then his second queen is the embodiment of power and wisdom in Lower Egypt.
Isnovot was born after a noble family in Lower Egypt. Although compared to Nefertari, Isnovot does not seem to be very favored. The records of her in the preserved historical data are no matter in terms of quantity. The level of detail is still far behind the former, but she is undoubtedly the queen who has had the greatest impact on future generations: not only is she the biological mother of Merenptah, the heir to the throne of Ramses II, she also gave birth to Khaemwese, the highest daughter of Memphis. The priest and Bint-Anath, another queen favored by Ramses. There is no exact record of when Isnovot married the Pharaoh. Compared with Nefertari's diplomatic and sacrificial authority, she may have been helping Ramses to deal with issues related to judicial and nuclear administration. There is no exact historical record of when she died, but historians speculate that she became Rafa’s main wife after Nefertari, and has maintained such a noble status until her death. Unfortunately, until now we have not been able to find the place where her tomb is. 2. Renovation marriage to keep the frontier stable: Princess Xitai Ramses II married princesses from Xitai twice in his later years, one is Princess Maathomeferure (Maathomeferure), and there is another Xitai Princess (one of Maathomeferure's) who did not leave her exact name. younger sister). Except for titles, these two princesses have not left many records in history. Why did Ramses II marry the princess of Xitai twice in his later years and become the queen? Why did these two queens only leave titles and did not leave such a prominent record like the previous queens? Let's start with the history of Egypt and the Western Taiwan Empire. From the end of the 15th century BC to the middle of the 13th century BC, the Western Taiwan Empire, which originated in Asia Minor, and the Egyptian Empire, which annexed West Asia and North Africa, were both in their strongest periods. In the process of expanding outward, these two countries continue to clash for absolute control over Syria. Ramses II’s life has been recorded the most and the most praised feat happened here: The Qadesh War (The Qadesh War) of Egypt against the Xitai tribe. At the end of April 1275 BC, Pharaoh Ramses led 20,000 soldiers and 200 chariots to conquer Kadesh, an important town established by the Xitai tribe in Syria. The king of Xitai Muwatallish led 1 Ten thousand soldiers and more than 3,500 tanks came to challenge.
However, Ramses took it lightly before the war. The Pharaoh credulously believed the two captives who claimed to be deserters of the Xitai tribe, thinking that the enemy army was still a long way from Kadesh, and it would be difficult to reach here to fight him for a while. So Ramses, who felt like he was winning, had not waited for the army to be assembled and led a small detachment to the destination alone. He soon discovered that he had been in an ambush by the enemy. The Xitai tribe stomping inside the castle suddenly launched an offensive, and the Pharaoh's army was caught off guard and broke. At this time, God favored him. The greedy Xitai soldiers and the Pharaoh’s follow-up troops arrived in time to completely reverse the whole battle situation. The subsequent Egyptian soldiers surrounded the Xitai soldiers who were still picking up the scattered property. The two sides fought fiercely, and Pharaoh won the final victory. Although the war was won, the huge costs and losses also exhausted the energy of both parties. At the same time, in order to jointly resist the constant harassment from the Assiri, they chose to live in peace. After the Battle of Kadesh, Hattushilish, the successor of King Mowataris of West Taiwan, signed the earliest existing international treaty in human history with Ramses. According to the treaty, the two peoples will no longer start wars, help each other when attacked by the enemy, protect each other's rights and interests, and extradite prisoners who have taken refuge in each other's country. In this way, at that time the two most powerful empires on the Asian and African continents formed alliances. In order to continuously maintain and consolidate mutual trust and friendly relations, Shuangfa has acquiesced to the continuous marriage between the royal families this is the most reliable and direct choice recognized by each other. But generally speaking, the princesses who had been married in such a political marriage were only a formal symbol of peace and friendship. In order to prevent the safety of royal blood and the subversion of foreigners, most of them had very few rights. So today, we can’t even find the name of the last queen. 3. Intermarriage between relatives for the sake of descent: sister and daughter Another notable feature of Egyptian royal marriage is the marriage of close relatives. Throughout the history of Egypt, there are countless examples of marriages such as brothers and sisters, uncles, and nieces. Among the eight queens whom Ramses II married in his lifetime, there was one of his own sister and two of his daughters. After the death of Queen Nefertari, Ramses married two of his own daughters: he and Nefertari's eldest daughter Meryetamun, and his and Isnovot daughter Bint-Anath. He also married his sister Henutmire, the same father and mother.
Isnovot was born after a noble family in Lower Egypt. Although compared to Nefertari, Isnovot does not seem to be very favored. The records of her in the preserved historical data are no matter in terms of quantity. The level of detail is still far behind the former, but she is undoubtedly the queen who has had the greatest impact on future generations: not only is she the biological mother of Merenptah, the heir to the throne of Ramses II, she also gave birth to Khaemwese, the highest daughter of Memphis. The priest and Bint-Anath, another queen favored by Ramses. There is no exact record of when Isnovot married the Pharaoh. Compared with Nefertari's diplomatic and sacrificial authority, she may have been helping Ramses to deal with issues related to judicial and nuclear administration. There is no exact historical record of when she died, but historians speculate that she became Rafa’s main wife after Nefertari, and has maintained such a noble status until her death. Unfortunately, until now we have not been able to find the place where her tomb is. 2. Renovation marriage to keep the frontier stable: Princess Xitai Ramses II married princesses from Xitai twice in his later years, one is Princess Maathomeferure (Maathomeferure), and there is another Xitai Princess (one of Maathomeferure's) who did not leave her exact name. younger sister). Except for titles, these two princesses have not left many records in history. Why did Ramses II marry the princess of Xitai twice in his later years and become the queen? Why did these two queens only leave titles and did not leave such a prominent record like the previous queens? Let's start with the history of Egypt and the Western Taiwan Empire. From the end of the 15th century BC to the middle of the 13th century BC, the Western Taiwan Empire, which originated in Asia Minor, and the Egyptian Empire, which annexed West Asia and North Africa, were both in their strongest periods. In the process of expanding outward, these two countries continue to clash for absolute control over Syria. Ramses II’s life has been recorded the most and the most praised feat happened here: The Qadesh War (The Qadesh War) of Egypt against the Xitai tribe. At the end of April 1275 BC, Pharaoh Ramses led 20,000 soldiers and 200 chariots to conquer Kadesh, an important town established by the Xitai tribe in Syria. The king of Xitai Muwatallish led 1 Ten thousand soldiers and more than 3,500 tanks came to challenge.
However, Ramses took it lightly before the war. The Pharaoh credulously believed the two captives who claimed to be deserters of the Xitai tribe, thinking that the enemy army was still a long way from Kadesh, and it would be difficult to reach here to fight him for a while. So Ramses, who felt like he was winning, had not waited for the army to be assembled and led a small detachment to the destination alone. He soon discovered that he had been in an ambush by the enemy. The Xitai tribe stomping inside the castle suddenly launched an offensive, and the Pharaoh's army was caught off guard and broke. At this time, God favored him. The greedy Xitai soldiers and the Pharaoh’s follow-up troops arrived in time to completely reverse the whole battle situation. The subsequent Egyptian soldiers surrounded the Xitai soldiers who were still picking up the scattered property. The two sides fought fiercely, and Pharaoh won the final victory. Although the war was won, the huge costs and losses also exhausted the energy of both parties. At the same time, in order to jointly resist the constant harassment from the Assiri, they chose to live in peace. After the Battle of Kadesh, Hattushilish, the successor of King Mowataris of West Taiwan, signed the earliest existing international treaty in human history with Ramses. According to the treaty, the two peoples will no longer start wars, help each other when attacked by the enemy, protect each other's rights and interests, and extradite prisoners who have taken refuge in each other's country. In this way, at that time the two most powerful empires on the Asian and African continents formed alliances. In order to continuously maintain and consolidate mutual trust and friendly relations, Shuangfa has acquiesced to the continuous marriage between the royal families this is the most reliable and direct choice recognized by each other. But generally speaking, the princesses who had been married in such a political marriage were only a formal symbol of peace and friendship. In order to prevent the safety of royal blood and the subversion of foreigners, most of them had very few rights. So today, we can’t even find the name of the last queen. 3. Intermarriage between relatives for the sake of descent: sister and daughter Another notable feature of Egyptian royal marriage is the marriage of close relatives. Throughout the history of Egypt, there are countless examples of marriages such as brothers and sisters, uncles, and nieces. Among the eight queens whom Ramses II married in his lifetime, there was one of his own sister and two of his daughters. After the death of Queen Nefertari, Ramses married two of his own daughters: he and Nefertari's eldest daughter Meryetamun, and his and Isnovot daughter Bint-Anath. He also married his sister Henutmire, the same father and mother.
