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During his long reign (1279-1213 BC), Ramesses II left his mark on ancient Egypt, bringing prosperity, justice and order in a golden age during which cultural life thrived. As a builder he created spectacular monuments - the two temples at Abu Simbel, the royal city of Piramesse and the Ramesseum, his mortuary temple, whose ruins inspired Shelley's poem, Ozymandias. As a warrior, Ramesses the Great expanded Egyptian sovereignty from Nubia in the south to Syria in the west. Drawing upon original government documents of the royal offices, as well as the magnificent record of his military victories and religious rites, recounted in wall paintings, bas-reliefs and colossal statues, this book builds up a picture of this exceptional pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty, who did so much to shape Egypt.