Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Acorn computers

2009-05-06T12:41:17Z

KhetyD: Created page with 'Acorn was a computer manufacturer in the United Kingdom from 1978 - 1998, based in Cambridge, home to many UK computer companies at that time. From 1981 to 1994 the company had a...'

Acorn was a computer manufacturer in the United Kingdom from 1978 - 1998, based in Cambridge, home to many UK computer companies at that time. From 1981 to 1994 the company had an extremely lucrative relationship with the BBC, producing the BBC Micro and Master range of computers, whilst the BBC ran a series of educational programmes on British television about computing. These machines were almost ubiquitous in UK schools and some public sector institutions and utilities, including British Rail, one of the largest users of IT systems in Britain in the 1980's. Eventually, however, the dominance of the Windows/X86 PC platform, and it's lower cost, led to collapse of Acorn, and the dramatic decline of the computing platform it developed.

Ramses II

2009-05-06T11:36:15Z

KhetyD:

[[Image:Ram2cartouche.JPG|thumb|200px|right|Cartouche of Ramesses II's prenomen, wsr-m3't-r' stp-n-r', sits above a symbolic representation of the uniting of Upper and Lower Egypt. From a throne of the colossi of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel]]

[[Ramesses II]], also known as Ramesses The Great, was an [[Ancient Egypt|Ancient Egyptian]] [[Pharaoh]], and the most prominent ruler of the 19th Dynasty, and of the latter half of the [[New Kingdom]].

== Background ==

He ascended to the throne in circa. 1279 BC, and ruled for 67 years, until circa 1213 BC, giving him the longest reign of the New Kingdom, and the longest since the reign of [[Pepi II]] of the 6th Dynasty. He was the son of [[Seti I]], who preceded him on the throne, and a direct descendent of [[Ramesses I]], the founder of the 19th Dynasty in peaceful succession.

During his long reign he married numerous wives, including a [[Hittite]] princess, though his principle wife was Nefertari, to whom he dedicated a temple in [[Abu Simbel]], alongside his own. In total he had well over 100 sons, 12 of whom predeceased him. He died aged 91, having becoming a full god in his own right, within his own lifetime, and having celebrated at least a dozen Sed festivals. He was succeeded by his 13th son, [[Merenptah]].

== Military Campaigns ==

The [[Battle of Kadesh]] is the most well known military campaign of Ramesses II, and the most well documented. Although regarded as a personal triumph by Ramesses, and proudly displayed upon numerous monuments throughout Egypt and [[Nubia]], the battle itself ended in a stalemate, and the lands of [[Upe]] and [[Amurru]] were lost to the [[Hittites]]. The campaign was, however, only one of many conducted by Ramesses in his 67 year reign. The table below provides more complete detail of his major campaigns:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Years
! Location
! Opponents
! Outcome
|-
| 4
| Phoenecia and Southern Amurru
| Benteshina, Hittite Vassal
| Successful. Benteshina defeated, informs Hittites has had to become an Egyptian vassal.
|-
| 5
| Kadesh, Amurru
| Hittite Alliance
| Near defeat turned into stalemate at Kadesh. Following Egyptian return to Egypt, Hittite forces take Amurru and Upe.
|-
| 6
| Libya
| Nomads
| Border policing, possibly treated as a “test-run” for rebuilt forces.
|-
| 7/8
| Phoenician Coast, Edom, Moab and Amurru
| Rebel vassals in Phoenicia, Shasu nomads, Hittite vassals
| Rebel vassals pacified. Shasu infiltrators expelled, Edom and Moab temporarily become Egyptian vassals and some of Amurru accepts Egypt as overlord, but switches back to Hittites after campaign finishes.
|-
| 8/9
| Northern Amurru
| Hittite Vassals
| Capture of Tunip and Dapur, secures middle section of the Orontes, cutting of southern Amurru and Kadesh. Cities become Egyptian vassals, but return to Hittite control after Egyptian campaign forces depart.
|-
| 10
| Northern Amurru
| Daput
| Daput again conquered, recognises Ramesses as overlord. Returns to Hittite control once campaign forces depart.
|-
| 21
| n/a
| n/a
| Egyptian - Hittite Peace Treaty
|-
| ~38
| Irem
| Local Chiefs
| Successful. 7,400 captives taken, and rebel chief of Akuyata defeated and captured. Region essentially pacified for remainder of Ramesses’ reign.
|-
| 44
| Irem
| Local Population
| Minor policing action.
|-
|}

== Diplomacy ==

In his regnal year 21, Ramesses concluded a formal peace with the Hittite empire, following decades of sporadic tit for tat actions in the Levant that had brought no lasting gains for the Egyptians, despite temporarily extending the Egyptian sphere of influence into the new states of Moab and Edom east of the Jordan river. The peace treaty is one of the most famous of the ancient world, the text of which was delivered on a silver tablet to the Egyptians. Ramesses had it translated into Egyptian, and carved in [[hieroglyphs]], complete with a description of the tablet, onto the walls of [[Karnak temple]], where it can be seen today.

[[Image:Abusim.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel. The inner chambers of the temple contain numerous images of Ramesses II offering to his deified self.]]

It was the first formal peace treaty entered into by the Egyptians (though a friendship and de facto alliance had existed between the Pharaohs of the [[Mittanians|Mittani]] during the 18th Dynasty). Later in his reign, negotiations with the Hittites led to Ramesses taking a Hittite princess as a secondary wife, strengthening relations between the two empires.

[[Image:Luxpylonnight.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The pylon of Luxor Temple, with colossal statues of Ramesses II]]

The peace treaty and friendship established by Ramesses far outlived his own reign, and brought a lasting and stable peace between the two great powers of the time, allowing Ramesses to devote his resources away from military campaigns and security in his vassal states, and into his ambitious building programme.

[[Image:Ramesseum.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The hypostyle hall of the Ramesseum, Ramesses II's mortuary temple. It was described as one of the finest monuments on the Theban west bank by early visitors.]]
[[Image:Ozymandias.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The fallen colossal statue of Ramesses at the Ramesseum, known as Ozymandias in classical times. Reports of it by travellers in the 1800's inspired the poem "Ozymandias", though the statue has a smile rather than the "sneer of cold command"]]
== Building Projects ==

Ramesses built more extensively than any other Pharaoh. His major building projects spanned the length of Egypt and deep into Nubia, though he also erected stelae and statues in Asia. Many of his monuments survive today as some of the most famous images of Egypt, including the temples of [[Abu Simbel]] and the [[Ramesseum]]. He also completed the main pylon of [[Luxor Temple]] and the hypostyle hall of Karnak temple, begun by [[Seti I]], as well as completing the mortuary temple of the latter.

However his most notable achievements are less visible, including the construction of the new royal residence, the city of [[Pi-Ramesse]], adjacent to the city of [[Avaris]], which effectively became the southern district of the new city. It has been estimated by Uphill that Pi-Ramesse once boasted multiple temple complexes, some on a scale approaching that of Karnak itself, sporting colossal statues equivalent in size to that of the Ramesseum, the largest known free standing statue to have been carved in Egypt, standing over 60 feet high.

Elsewhere, large scale additions were made to the temple of [[Ptah]] at [[Memphis]] (from where another colossal statue survives), [[Heliopolis]], and almost all cities throughout Egypt saw work by him.

Ramesses also usurped earlier monuments, replacing the names of earlier Pharaohs with his own, as well as “recycling” architectural elements from old buildings into his own projects, including Pi-Ramesse, which was itself “recycled” to embellish the cities of [[Tanis]] and [[Bubastis]] in the 21st and 22nd Dynasties.

== Deification ==

Ramesses became a complete god in his own right, within his own lifetime. Although the Pharaoh was by nature a divine being (see [[Pharaoh]]), the deification of a Pharaoh in his own right as an independent god was a rare occurrence, the result of a reign that was regarded as particularly significant of successful. Ramesses’ divinity is proclaimed most spectacularly at his Abu Simbel temple, nominally dedicated to [[Ra–Horakhti|Ra]] but where the fully divine Pharaoh is most often and widely depicted, not least in his four colossal statues (compared to a single smaller image of Ra, whose image actually forms a rebus of Ramesses own name). Here is depicted with the ram horns of [[Amun–Ra|Amun]], and is depicted making offerings to his divine self.

== Legacy ==

Ramesses legacy was a victim of his own success, for his longevity and large family meant that many of the more notable elder royal princes predeceased him, and his highly unusual style of brigning the royal prices out into the open, having them depicted in numerous scenes may well have fostered competition amongst hopefuls, further undermining an orderly succession and peaceful reign by his successors. Indeed, following Ramesses II were a string of ephemeral Pharoahs with short and un-notable reigns, and it was not until [[Ramesses III]] that another great Pharaoh emerged who could truly be said to be following in the footsteps of the Ramesses the Great.

In some ways it could be said Ramesses reign was the high point of latter (post–[[Amarna]]) New Kingdom, and though Ramesses III and many others strove to defend the boundaries of the Empire and embellish the great temples, the battles post – Ramesses II became less a case of “extending the boundaries of Egypt” and increasingly defensive in nature. Despite this, the vigorous efforts of Ramesses II to rebuilt the “[[Golden Empire|New Kingdom]]” following the [[Amarna]] heresy would endure for more than 150 years, and his name became synonymous with Pharaonic greatness and power, with no less than nine Pharaohs adopting his name as their own in the 20th Dynasty, and the name remaining a popular [[Coptic]] name to this day.

== Modern Perceptions ==

Ramesses reputation in modern times is often shaped by the poem “[[Ozymandias]]” by [[Shelley]], where he writes, fictitiously, of a statue in the desert:

<blockquote>
"I met a traveller from an antique land, 
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone 
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, 
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown 
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command, 
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read, 
Which yet survive stamped on these lifeless things, 
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; 
And on the pedestal these words appear: 
'My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; 
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!' 
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay 
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare 
The lone and level sands stretch far away." 
</blockquote>

The piece was written in honour of the arrival in the [[British Museum]] of the upper portion of a colossal statue of the Pharaoh from the Ramesseum. However, in the statue itself, as with most Egyptian royal sculpture (see: Egyptian Art), Ramesses is shown with a serene composure, and a slight smile. It is one of the most well known pieces of Egyptian art, notable for it’s masterful use of polychromatic stone, which is seen elsewhere in sculpture of Ramesses II.

Other well known modern depictions of Ramesses include Hollywood movies, including the “epic” film production “The Ten Commandments”, where Ramesses is portrayed as a scheming megalomaniac and caricature of evil. An animated film following roughly the same biblical plot was produced in the 1990’s by SKG-Dreamworks, though in this Ramesses was portrayed as a brother divided by loyalties who wanted to regain a lost childhood friendship.

The Egyptologist and writer [[Christian Jacq]] penned a series of five historical novels featuring Ramesses, one of which focuses on the Battle of Kadesh.

== Bibliography ==
<div class="references-small">
* '''Dodson, A and Hilton, D (2004)''', ''The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt'', Thames and Hudson, London
* '''Kitchen, K A (1982'''), ''Pharaoh Triumphant – The Life and Times of Ramesses II'', Aris and Phillips, Warminster
* '''Kitchen, K A (1999)''', ''Ramesside Inscriptions Vol. II – Ramesses II Royal Inscriptions'', Blackwell Publishers, Oxford
* '''Manley, B (1994)''', ''The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Egypt'', Penguin, London
* '''Quirke, S (2001)''', ''The Cult of Ra'', Thames and Hudson, London
* '''Shaw, I and Nicholson, P (2008)''', ''The British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt'', British Museum Press, London
* '''Uphill, E P (1984)''', ''The Temples of Per-Ramesses'', Aris and Phillips, Warminster
* '''Uphill, E P (1988)''', ''Egyptian Towns and Cities'', Shire Publications, Princes Risborough
* '''Van Dijk, J (2000)''', ''The Amarna Period and the Later New Kingdom'' in: Shaw, I (Ed), the Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford University Press, Oxford

[[Category: Pharaohs]]

Ramses II

2009-05-06T11:34:11Z

KhetyD: Undo revision 660324 by KhetyD (Talk)

[[Image:Ram2cartouche.JPG|thumb|200px|right|Cartouche of Ramesses II's prenomen, wsr-m3't-r' stp-n-r', sits above a symbolic representation of the uniting of Upper and Lower Egypt. From a throne of the colossi of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel]]

[[Ramesses II]], also known as Ramesses The Great, was an [[Ancient Egypt|Ancient Egyptian]] [[Pharaoh]], and the most prominent ruler of the 19th Dynasty, and of the latter half of the [[New Kingdom]].

== Background ==

He ascended to the throne in circa. 1279 BC, and ruled for 67 years, until circa 1213 BC, giving him the longest reign of the New Kingdom, and the longest since the reign of [[Pepi II]] of the 6th Dynasty. He was the son of [[Seti I]], who preceded him on the throne, and a direct descendent of [[Ramesses I]], the founder of the 19th Dynasty in peaceful succession.

During his long reign he married numerous wives, including a [[Hittite]] princess, though his principle wife was Nefertari, to whom he dedicated a temple in [[Abu Simbel]], alongside his own. In total he had well over 100 sons, 12 of whom predeceased him. He died aged 91, having becoming a full god in his own right, within his own lifetime, and having celebrated at least a dozen Sed festivals. He was succeeded by his 13th son, [[Merenptah]].

== Military Campaigns ==

The [[Battle of Kadesh]] is the most well known military campaign of Ramesses II, and the most well documented. Although regarded as a personal triumph by Ramesses, and proudly displayed upon numerous monuments throughout Egypt and [[Nubia]], the battle itself ended in a stalemate, and the lands of [[Upe]] and [[Amurru]] were lost to the [[Hittites]]. The campaign was, however, only one of many conducted by Ramesses in his 67 year reign. The table below provides more complete detail of his major campaigns:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Years
! Location
! Opponents
! Outcome
|-
| 4
| Phoenecia and Southern Amurru
| Benteshina, Hittite Vassal
| Successful. Benteshina defeated, informs Hittites has had to become an Egyptian vassal.
|-
| 5
| Kadesh, Amurru
| Hittite Alliance
| Near defeat turned into stalemate at Kadesh. Following Egyptian return to Egypt, Hittite forces take Amurru and Upe.
|-
| 6
| Libya
| Nomads
| Border policing, possibly treated as a “test-run” for rebuilt forces.
|-
| 7/8
| Phoenician Coast, Edom, Moab and Amurru
| Rebel vassals in Phoenicia, Shasu nomads, Hittite vassals
| Rebel vassals pacified. Shasu infiltrators expelled, Edom and Moab temporarily become Egyptian vassals and some of Amurru accepts Egypt as overlord, but switches back to Hittites after campaign finishes.
|-
| 8/9
| Northern Amurru
| Hittite Vassals
| Capture of Tunip and Dapur, secures middle section of the Orontes, cutting of southern Amurru and Kadesh. Cities become Egyptian vassals, but return to Hittite control after Egyptian campaign forces depart.
|-
| 10
| Northern Amurru
| Dashur
| Dashur again conquered, recognises Ramesses as overlord. Returns to Hittite control once campaign forces depart.
|-
| 21
| n/a
| n/a
| Egyptian - Hittite Peace Treaty
|-
| ~38
| Irem
| Local Chiefs
| Successful. 7,400 captives taken, and rebel chief of Akuyata defeated and captured. Region essentially pacified for remainder of Ramesses’ reign.
|-
| 44
| Irem
| Local Population
| Minor policing action.
|-
|}

== Diplomacy ==

In his regnal year 21, Ramesses concluded a formal peace with the Hittite empire, following decades of sporadic tit for tat actions in the Levant that had brought no lasting gains for the Egyptians, despite temporarily extending the Egyptian sphere of influence into the new states of Moab and Edom east of the Jordan river. The peace treaty is one of the most famous of the ancient world, the text of which was delivered on a silver tablet to the Egyptians. Ramesses had it translated into Egyptian, and carved in [[hieroglyphs]], complete with a description of the tablet, onto the walls of [[Karnak temple]], where it can be seen today.

[[Image:Abusim.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel. The inner chambers of the temple contain numerous images of Ramesses II offering to his deified self.]]

It was the first formal peace treaty entered into by the Egyptians (though a friendship and de facto alliance had existed between the Pharaohs of the [[Mittanians|Mittani]] during the 18th Dynasty). Later in his reign, negotiations with the Hittites led to Ramesses taking a Hittite princess as a secondary wife, strengthening relations between the two empires.

[[Image:Luxpylonnight.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The pylon of Luxor Temple, with colossal statues of Ramesses II]]

The peace treaty and friendship established by Ramesses far outlived his own reign, and brought a lasting and stable peace between the two great powers of the time, allowing Ramesses to devote his resources away from military campaigns and security in his vassal states, and into his ambitious building programme.

[[Image:Ramesseum.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The hypostyle hall of the Ramesseum, Ramesses II's mortuary temple. It was described as one of the finest monuments on the Theban west bank by early visitors.]]
[[Image:Ozymandias.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The fallen colossal statue of Ramesses at the Ramesseum, known as Ozymandias in classical times. Reports of it by travellers in the 1800's inspired the poem "Ozymandias", though the statue has a smile rather than the "sneer of cold command"]]
== Building Projects ==

Ramesses built more extensively than any other Pharaoh. His major building projects spanned the length of Egypt and deep into Nubia, though he also erected stelae and statues in Asia. Many of his monuments survive today as some of the most famous images of Egypt, including the temples of [[Abu Simbel]] and the [[Ramesseum]]. He also completed the main pylon of [[Luxor Temple]] and the hypostyle hall of Karnak temple, begun by [[Seti I]], as well as completing the mortuary temple of the latter.

However his most notable achievements are less visible, including the construction of the new royal residence, the city of [[Pi-Ramesse]], adjacent to the city of [[Avaris]], which effectively became the southern district of the new city. It has been estimated by Uphill that Pi-Ramesse once boasted multiple temple complexes, some on a scale approaching that of Karnak itself, sporting colossal statues equivalent in size to that of the Ramesseum, the largest known free standing statue to have been carved in Egypt, standing over 60 feet high.

Elsewhere, large scale additions were made to the temple of [[Ptah]] at [[Memphis]] (from where another colossal statue survives), [[Heliopolis]], and almost all cities throughout Egypt saw work by him.

Ramesses also usurped earlier monuments, replacing the names of earlier Pharaohs with his own, as well as “recycling” architectural elements from old buildings into his own projects, including Pi-Ramesse, which was itself “recycled” to embellish the cities of [[Tanis]] and [[Bubastis]] in the 21st and 22nd Dynasties.

== Deification ==

Ramesses became a complete god in his own right, within his own lifetime. Although the Pharaoh was by nature a divine being (see [[Pharaoh]]), the deification of a Pharaoh in his own right as an independent god was a rare occurrence, the result of a reign that was regarded as particularly significant of successful. Ramesses’ divinity is proclaimed most spectacularly at his Abu Simbel temple, nominally dedicated to [[Ra–Horakhti|Ra]] but where the fully divine Pharaoh is most often and widely depicted, not least in his four colossal statues (compared to a single smaller image of Ra, whose image actually forms a rebus of Ramesses own name). Here is depicted with the ram horns of [[Amun–Ra|Amun]], and is depicted making offerings to his divine self.

== Legacy ==

Ramesses legacy was a victim of his own success, for his longevity and large family meant that many of the more notable elder royal princes predeceased him, and his highly unusual style of brigning the royal prices out into the open, having them depicted in numerous scenes may well have fostered competition amongst hopefuls, further undermining an orderly succession and peaceful reign by his successors. Indeed, following Ramesses II were a string of ephemeral Pharoahs with short and un-notable reigns, and it was not until [[Ramesses III]] that another great Pharaoh emerged who could truly be said to be following in the footsteps of the Ramesses the Great.

In some ways it could be said Ramesses reign was the high point of latter (post–[[Amarna]]) New Kingdom, and though Ramesses III and many others strove to defend the boundaries of the Empire and embellish the great temples, the battles post – Ramesses II became less a case of “extending the boundaries of Egypt” and increasingly defensive in nature. Despite this, the vigorous efforts of Ramesses II to rebuilt the “[[Golden Empire|New Kingdom]]” following the [[Amarna]] heresy would endure for more than 150 years, and his name became synonymous with Pharaonic greatness and power, with no less than nine Pharaohs adopting his name as their own in the 20th Dynasty, and the name remaining a popular [[Coptic]] name to this day.

== Modern Perceptions ==

Ramesses reputation in modern times is often shaped by the poem “[[Ozymandias]]” by [[Shelley]], where he writes, fictitiously, of a statue in the desert:

<blockquote>
"I met a traveller from an antique land, 
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone 
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, 
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown 
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command, 
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read, 
Which yet survive stamped on these lifeless things, 
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; 
And on the pedestal these words appear: 
'My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; 
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!' 
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay 
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare 
The lone and level sands stretch far away." 
</blockquote>

The piece was written in honour of the arrival in the [[British Museum]] of the upper portion of a colossal statue of the Pharaoh from the Ramesseum. However, in the statue itself, as with most Egyptian royal sculpture (see: Egyptian Art), Ramesses is shown with a serene composure, and a slight smile. It is one of the most well known pieces of Egyptian art, notable for it’s masterful use of polychromatic stone, which is seen elsewhere in sculpture of Ramesses II.

Other well known modern depictions of Ramesses include Hollywood movies, including the “epic” film production “The Ten Commandments”, where Ramesses is portrayed as a scheming megalomaniac and caricature of evil. An animated film following roughly the same biblical plot was produced in the 1990’s by SKG-Dreamworks, though in this Ramesses was portrayed as a brother divided by loyalties who wanted to regain a lost childhood friendship.

The Egyptologist and writer [[Christian Jacq]] penned a series of five historical novels featuring Ramesses, one of which focuses on the Battle of Kadesh.

== Bibliography ==
<div class="references-small">
* '''Dodson, A and Hilton, D (2004)''', ''The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt'', Thames and Hudson, London
* '''Kitchen, K A (1982'''), ''Pharaoh Triumphant – The Life and Times of Ramesses II'', Aris and Phillips, Warminster
* '''Kitchen, K A (1999)''', ''Ramesside Inscriptions Vol. II – Ramesses II Royal Inscriptions'', Blackwell Publishers, Oxford
* '''Manley, B (1994)''', ''The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Egypt'', Penguin, London
* '''Quirke, S (2001)''', ''The Cult of Ra'', Thames and Hudson, London
* '''Shaw, I and Nicholson, P (2008)''', ''The British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt'', British Museum Press, London
* '''Uphill, E P (1984)''', ''The Temples of Per-Ramesses'', Aris and Phillips, Warminster
* '''Uphill, E P (1988)''', ''Egyptian Towns and Cities'', Shire Publications, Princes Risborough
* '''Van Dijk, J (2000)''', ''The Amarna Period and the Later New Kingdom'' in: Shaw, I (Ed), the Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford University Press, Oxford

[[Category: Pharaohs]]

Ramses II

2009-05-06T11:33:44Z

KhetyD: my mistake

[[Image:Ram2cartouche.JPG|thumb|200px|right|Cartouche of Ramesses II's prenomen, wsr-m3't-r' stp-n-r', sits above a symbolic representation of the uniting of Upper and Lower Egypt. From a throne of the colossi of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel]]

[[Ramesses II]], also known as Ramesses The Great, was an [[Ancient Egypt|Ancient Egyptian]] [[Pharaoh]], and the most prominent ruler of the 19th Dynasty, and of the latter half of the [[New Kingdom]].

== Background ==

He ascended to the throne in circa. 1279 BC, and ruled for 67 years, until circa 1213 BC, giving him the longest reign of the New Kingdom, and the longest since the reign of [[Pepi II]] of the 6th Dynasty. He was the son of [[Seti I]], who preceded him on the throne, and a direct descendent of [[Ramesses I]], the founder of the 19th Dynasty in peaceful succession.

During his long reign he married numerous wives, including a [[Hittite]] princess, though his principle wife was Nefertari, to whom he dedicated a temple in [[Abu Simbel]], alongside his own. In total he had well over 100 sons, 12 of whom predeceased him. He died aged 91, having becoming a full god in his own right, within his own lifetime, and having celebrated at least a dozen Sed festivals. He was succeeded by his 13th son, [[Merenptah]].

== Military Campaigns ==

The [[Battle of Kadesh]] is the most well known military campaign of Ramesses II, and the most well documented. Although regarded as a personal triumph by Ramesses, and proudly displayed upon numerous monuments throughout Egypt and [[Nubia]], the battle itself ended in a stalemate, and the lands of [[Upe]] and [[Amurru]] were lost to the [[Hittites]]. The campaign was, however, only one of many conducted by Ramesses in his 67 year reign. The table below provides more complete detail of his major campaigns:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Years
! Location
! Opponents
! Outcome
|-
| 4
| Phoenecia and Southern Amurru
| Benteshina, Hittite Vassal
| Successful. Benteshina defeated, informs Hittites has had to become an Egyptian vassal.
|-
| 5
| Kadesh, Amurru
| Hittite Alliance
| Near defeat turned into stalemate at Kadesh. Following Egyptian return to Egypt, Hittite forces take Amurru and Upe.
|-
| 6
| Libya
| Nomads
| Border policing, possibly treated as a “test-run” for rebuilt forces.
|-
| 7/8
| Phoenician Coast, Edom, Moab and Amurru
| Rebel vassals in Phoenicia, Shasu nomads, Hittite vassals
| Rebel vassals pacified. Shasu infiltrators expelled, Edom and Moab temporarily become Egyptian vassals and some of Amurru accepts Egypt as overlord, but switches back to Hittites after campaign finishes.
|-
| 8/9
| Northern Amurru
| Hittite Vassals
| Capture of Tunip and Dapur, secures middle section of the Orontes, cutting of southern Amurru and Kadesh. Cities become Egyptian vassals, but return to Hittite control after Egyptian campaign forces depart.
|-
| 10
| Northern Amurru
| Dashur
| Dashur again conquered, recognises Ramesses as overlord. Returns to Hittite control once campaign forces depart.
|-
| 31
| n/a
| n/a
| Egyptian - Hittite Peace Treaty
|-
| ~38
| Irem
| Local Chiefs
| Successful. 7,400 captives taken, and rebel chief of Akuyata defeated and captured. Region essentially pacified for remainder of Ramesses’ reign.
|-
| 44
| Irem
| Local Population
| Minor policing action.
|-
|}

== Diplomacy ==

In his regnal year 31, Ramesses concluded a formal peace with the Hittite empire, following decades of sporadic tit for tat actions in the Levant that had brought no lasting gains for the Egyptians, despite temporarily extending the Egyptian sphere of influence into the new states of Moab and Edom east of the Jordan river. The peace treaty is one of the most famous of the ancient world, the text of which was delivered on a silver tablet to the Egyptians. Ramesses had it translated into Egyptian, and carved in [[hieroglyphs]], complete with a description of the tablet, onto the walls of [[Luxor temple]], where it can be seen today.

[[Image:Abusim.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel. The inner chambers of the temple contain numerous images of Ramesses II offering to his deified self.]]

It was the first formal peace treaty entered into by the Egyptians (though a friendship and de facto alliance had existed between the Pharaohs and the [[Mittanians|Mittani]] during the 18th Dynasty). Later in his reign, negotiations with the Hittites led to Ramesses taking a Hittite princess as a secondary wife, strengthening relations between the two empires.

[[Image:Luxpylonnight.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The pylon of Luxor Temple, with colossal statues of Ramesses II]]

The peace treaty and friendship established by Ramesses far outlived his own reign, and brought a lasting and stable peace between the two great powers of the time, allowing Ramesses to devote his resources away from military campaigns and security in his vassal states, and into his ambitious building programme.

[[Image:Ramesseum.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The hypostyle hall of the Ramesseum, Ramesses II's mortuary temple. It was described as one of the finest monuments on the Theban west bank by early visitors.]]
[[Image:Ozymandias.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The fallen colossal statue of Ramesses at the Ramesseum, known as Ozymandias in classical times. Reports of it by travellers in the 1800's inspired the poem "Ozymandias", though the statue has a smile rather than the "sneer of cold command"]]
== Building Projects ==

Ramesses built more extensively than any other Pharaoh. His major building projects spanned the length of Egypt and deep into Nubia, though he also erected stelae and statues in Asia. Many of his monuments survive today as some of the most famous images of Egypt, including the temples of [[Abu Simbel]] and the [[Ramesseum]]. He also completed the main pylon of [[Luxor Temple]] and the hypostyle hall of Karnak temple, begun by [[Seti II]], as well as completing the mortuary temple of the latter.

However his most notable achievements are less visible, including the construction of the new royal residence, the city of [[Pi-Ramesse]], adjacent to the city of [[Avaris]], which effectively became the southern district of the new city. It has been estimated by Uphill that Pi-Ramesse once boasted multiple temple complexes, some on a scale approaching that of Karnak itself, sporting colossal statues equivalent in size to that of the Ramesseum, the largest known free standing statue to have been carved in Egypt, standing over 60 feet high.

Elsewhere, large scale additions were made to the temple of [[Ptah]] at [[Memphis]], [[Heliopolis]] (where a colossal statue survives), and almost all cities throughout Egypt saw work by him.

Ramesses also usurped earlier monuments, replacing the names of earlier Pharaohs with his own, as well as “recycling” architectural elements from old buildings into his own projects, including Pi-Ramesse, which was itself “recycled” to embellish the cities of [[Tanis]] and [[Bubastis]] in the 21st and 22nd Dynasties.

== Deification ==

Ramesses became a complete god in his own right, within his own lifetime. Although the Pharaoh was by nature a divine being (see [[Pharaoh]]), the deification of a Pharaoh in his own right as an independent god was a rare occurrence, the result of a reign that was regarded as particularly significant of successful. Ramesses’ divinity is proclaimed most spectacularly at his Abu Simbel temple, nominally dedicated to [[Ra–Horakhti|Ra]] but where the fully divine Pharaoh is most often and widely depicted, not least in his four colossal statues (compared to a single smaller image of Ra, whose image actually forms a rebus of Ramesses own name). Here is depicted with the ram horns of [[Amun–Ra|Amun]], and is depicted making offerings to his divine self.

== Legacy ==

Ramesses legacy was a victim of his own success, for his longevity and large family meant that many of the more notable elder royal princes predeceased him, and his highly unusual style of brigning the royal prices out into the open, having them depicted in numerous scenes may well have fostered competition amongst hopefuls, further undermining an orderly succession and peaceful reign by his successors. Indeed, following Ramesses II were a string of ephemeral Pharoahs with short and un-notable reigns, and it was not until [[Ramesses III]] that another great Pharaoh emerged who could truly be said to be following in the footsteps of the Ramesses the Great.

In some ways it could be said Ramesses reign was the high point of latter (post–[[Amarna]]) New Kingdom, and though Ramesses III and many others strove to defend the boundaries of the Empire and embellish the great temples, the battles post – Ramesses II became less a case of “extending the boundaries of Egypt” and increasingly defensive in nature. Despite this, the vigorous efforts of Ramesses II to rebuilt the “[[Golden Empire|New Kingdom]]” following the [[Amarna]] heresy would endure for more than 150 years, and his name became synonymous with Pharaonic greatness and power, with no less than nine Pharaohs adopting his name as their own in the 20th Dynasty, and the name remaining a popular [[Coptic]] name to this day.

== Modern Perceptions ==

Ramesses reputation in modern times is often shaped by the poem “[[Ozymandias]]” by [[Shelley]], where he writes, fictitiously, of a statue in the desert:

<blockquote>
"I met a traveller from an antique land, 
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone 
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, 
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown 
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command, 
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read, 
Which yet survive stamped on these lifeless things, 
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; 
And on the pedestal these words appear: 
'My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; 
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!' 
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay 
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare 
The lone and level sands stretch far away." 
</blockquote>

The piece was written in honour of the arrival in the [[British Museum]] of the upper portion of a colossal statue of the Pharaoh from the Ramesseum. However, in the statue itself, as with most Egyptian royal sculpture (see: Egyptian Art), Ramesses is shown with a serene composure, and a slight smile. It is one of the most well known pieces of Egyptian art, notable for it’s masterful use of polychromatic stone, which is seen elsewhere in sculpture of Ramesses II.

Other well known modern depictions of Ramesses include Hollywood movies, including the “epic” film production “The Ten Commandments”, where Ramesses is portrayed as a scheming megalomaniac and caricature of evil. An animated film following roughly the same biblical plot was produced in the 1990’s by SKG-Dreamworks, though in this Ramesses was portrayed as a brother divided by loyalties who wanted to regain a lost childhood friendship.

The Egyptologist and writer [[Christian Jacq]] penned a series of five historical novels featuring Ramesses, one of which focuses on the Battle of Kadesh.

== Bibliography ==
<div class="references-small">
* '''Dodson, A and Hilton, D (2004)''', ''The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt'', Thames and Hudson, London
* '''Kitchen, K A (1982'''), ''Pharaoh Triumphant – The Life and Times of Ramesses II'', Aris and Phillips, Warminster
* '''Kitchen, K A (1999)''', ''Ramesside Inscriptions Vol. II – Ramesses II Royal Inscriptions'', Blackwell Publishers, Oxford
* '''Manley, B (1994)''', ''The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Egypt'', Penguin, London
* '''Quirke, S (2001)''', ''The Cult of Ra'', Thames and Hudson, London
* '''Shaw, I and Nicholson, P (2008)''', ''The British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt'', British Museum Press, London
* '''Uphill, E P (1984)''', ''The Temples of Per-Ramesses'', Aris and Phillips, Warminster
* '''Uphill, E P (1988)''', ''Egyptian Towns and Cities'', Shire Publications, Princes Risborough
* '''Van Dijk, J (2000)''', ''The Amarna Period and the Later New Kingdom'' in: Shaw, I (Ed), the Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford University Press, Oxford

[[Category: Pharaohs]]

ZX Spectrum

2009-05-05T14:30:12Z

KhetyD: more detail

The Sinclair '''ZX Spectrum''' is a home [[computer]] that was popular in the early and mid 1980's, developed by Sinclair Research, in Cambridge, United Kingdom as an evolution of the earlier ZX81.

It is based around the Zilog Z80 CPU clocked at 3.5Mhz, which was initially developed for pocket calculators, where Sir Clive Sinclair had originally begun his entry into mass market electronics. The Z80 is still in production, and remains used in many scientific and graphical calculators. The use of this CPU allowed both he ZX81 and the Spectrum successors to undercut other brands on price in the fiercely competetive 80's home computer market. All Spectrums use the CP/M operating system.

== Family ==
There was a whole generation of Spectrum class computers, though all shared the low-cost philosophy.

* Spectrum 16k/48k: The main model, with a small case and rubber keyboard and RF output only, and choice of 16k or 48k models. Aside from the ZX81, they were amongst the cheapest turn-key home computers available in the UK.

* Spectrum+: Essentially a 48k with improved keyboard and a bigger, stronger external case. Apart from a reset button, it is identical to the 48k in terms of electronics. Soon after it's release, it outsold the basic model by a 2:1 ratio, despite retailing for around £25 more. It was possible to buy a kit to convert an existing 48k to the "+" specification, which was easy to perform since no modification of the motherboard was needed.

* Spectrum 128k: A joint venture with a Spanish company (Investronica), where Sinclair had always had an important market, this was the first spectrum to support the Spanish character set and OS. The joint venture also dramatically updated the basic design of the Spectrum, introducing a modern sound chip with MIDI support (the Yamaha/General Instruments AY-3-8910, as used on the Atari ST, Apple II, and most other computers of the era), RGB monitor output, serial port and a much larger 32kb ROM with improved BASIC that also took advantage of the new features. An external numeric keypad was also available in Spain. This would be the last major development of the basic Spectrum design, and soon after, a financially struggling Sinclair Research was purchased by Amstrad for just £5 million.

* Spectrum +2: A cost reduced version of the 128k with a built in tape deck, still a common external data storage medium at the time for home computers. The keyboard from the Amstrad CPC range was also used instead of the previous Sinclair design. Came in a grey case, rather than the normal Sinclair black.

* Spectrum +3: As above but with a unusual 3" disk drive format, as used by Amstrad on the CPC and PCW range of computers instead of the tape deck, and in a black case.

== Peripherals ==

Sinclair Research originally provided a wide array of external devices for the Spectrum, especially since many models lacked the standard I/O ports. These included a miniscule thermal printer, network adapter and external high speed tape drives. In addition 3rd party manufacturers made numerous other devices and port adapters to allow use of disk drives, printers etc.

== Popular Culture ==

The Spectrum is widely and fondly remembered in Britain by those who grew up in the 1980's, and many of the games developed for the system by home programmers paved the way for many of the leading European software houses of today. It also taught a generation the basics of computer science and programming, due to the popularity of "program your own game" articles in Spectrum fan magazines, as well as numerous contests. In addition due to the limited functionality of the basic machine, many users "hacked" their computer to add additional functionality.

== Soviet and Eastern Bloc Clones ==

Spectrum compatible machines were widely produced in the Eastern Bloc and Soviet Union up until the mid 1990's. They were produced by various different enterprises, often only semi-officially. The clones served in a much wider variety of uses than in Europe, and were used in schools and other institutions as well as for home use, and as such some were considerably more advanced than the basic low-cost models in Europe, including models clocked at up to 25Mhz. Due to this several attempts were made to import them once the iron curtain came down, as they had considerable appeal to hardware enthusiasts who did not want to abandon the Spectrum platform for the "conformity" of the PC. However, copyright issues prevented this.

[[Category:Information technology]]

Ramses II

2009-05-05T13:44:17Z

KhetyD: /* Military Campaigns */

[[Image:Ram2cartouche.JPG|thumb|200px|right|Cartouche of Ramesses II's prenomen, wsr-m3't-r' stp-n-r', sits above a symbolic representation of the uniting of Upper and Lower Egypt. From a throne of the colossi of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel]]

[[Ramesses II]], also known as Ramesses The Great, was an [[Ancient Egypt|Ancient Egyptian]] [[Pharaoh]], and the most prominent ruler of the 19th Dynasty, and of the latter half of the [[New Kingdom]].

== Background ==

He ascended to the throne in circa. 1279 BC, and ruled for 67 years, until circa 1213 BC, giving him the longest reign of the New Kingdom, and the longest since the reign of [[Apepi]] of the 15th Dynasty. He was the son of [[Seti I]], who preceded him on the throne, and a direct descendent of [[Ramesses I]], the founder of the 19th Dynasty in peaceful succession.

During his long reign he married numerous wives, including a [[Hittite]] princess, though his principle wife was Nefertari, to whom he dedicated a temple in [[Abu Simbel]], alongside his own. In total he had well over 100 sons, 12 of whom predeceased him. He died aged 91, having becoming a full god in his own right, within his own lifetime, and having celebrated at least a dozen Sed festivals. He was succeeded by his 13th son, [[Merenptah]].

== Military Campaigns ==

The [[Battle of Kadesh]] is the most well known military campaign of Ramesses II, and the most well documented. Although regarded as a personal triumph by Ramesses, and proudly displayed upon numerous monuments throughout Egypt and [[Nubia]], the battle itself ended in a stalemate, and the lands of [[Upe]] and [[Amurru]] were lost to the [[Hittites]]. The campaign was, however, only one of many conducted by Ramesses in his 67 year reign. The table below provides more complete detail of his major campaigns:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Years
! Location
! Opponents
! Outcome
|-
| 4
| Phoenecia and Southern Amurru
| Benteshina, Hittite Vassal
| Successful. Benteshina defeated, informs Hittites has had to become an Egyptian vassal.
|-
| 5
| Kadesh, Amurru
| Hittite Alliance
| Near defeat turned into stalemate at Kadesh. Following Egyptian return to Egypt, Hittite forces take Amurru and Upe.
|-
| 6
| Libya
| Nomads
| Border policing, possibly treated as a “test-run” for rebuilt forces.
|-
| 7/8
| Phoenician Coast, Edom, Moab and Amurru
| Rebel vassals in Phoenicia, Shasu nomads, Hittite vassals
| Rebel vassals pacified. Shasu infiltrators expelled, Edom and Moab temporarily become Egyptian vassals and some of Amurru accepts Egypt as overlord, but switches back to Hittites after campaign finishes.
|-
| 8/9
| Northern Amurru
| Hittite Vassals
| Capture of Tunip and Dashur, secures middle section of the Orontes, cutting of southern Amurru and Kadesh. Cities become Egyptian vassals, but return to Hittite control after Egyptian campaign forces depart.
|-
| 10
| Northern Amurru
| Dashur
| Dashur again conquered, recognises Ramesses as overlord. Returns to Hittite control once campaign forces depart.
|-
| 31
| n/a
| n/a
| Egyptian - Hittite Peace Treaty
|-
| ~38
| Irem
| Local Chiefs
| Successful. 7,400 captives taken, and rebel chief of Akuyata defeated and captured. Region essentially pacified for remainder of Ramesses’ reign.
|-
| 44
| Irem
| Local Population
| Minor policing action.
|-
|}

== Diplomacy ==

In his regnal year 31, Ramesses concluded a formal peace with the Hittite empire, following decades of sporadic tit for tat actions in the Levant that had brought no lasting gains for the Egyptians, despite temporarily extending the Egyptian sphere of influence into the new states of Moab and Edom east of the Jordan river. The peace treaty is one of the most famous of the ancient world, the text of which was delivered on a silver tablet to the Egyptians. Ramesses had it translated into Egyptian, and carved in [[hieroglyphs]], complete with a description of the tablet, onto the walls of [[Luxor temple]], where it can be seen today.

[[Image:Abusim.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel. The inner chambers of the temple contain numerous images of Ramesses II offering to his deified self.]]

It was the first formal peace treaty entered into by the Egyptians (though a friendship and de facto alliance had existed between the Pharaohs and the [[Mittanians|Mittani]] during the 18th Dynasty). Later in his reign, negotiations with the Hittites led to Ramesses taking a Hittite princess as a secondary wife, strengthening relations between the two empires.

[[Image:Luxpylonnight.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The pylon of Luxor Temple, with colossal statues of Ramesses II]]

The peace treaty and friendship established by Ramesses far outlived his own reign, and brought a lasting and stable peace between the two great powers of the time, allowing Ramesses to devote his resources away from military campaigns and security in his vassal states, and into his ambitious building programme.

[[Image:Ramesseum.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The hypostyle hall of the Ramesseum, Ramesses II's mortuary temple. It was described as one of the finest monuments on the Theban west bank by early visitors.]]
[[Image:Ozymandias.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The fallen colossal statue of Ramesses at the Ramesseum, known as Ozymandias in classical times. Reports of it by travellers in the 1800's inspired the poem "Ozymandias", though the statue has a smile rather than the "sneer of cold command"]]
== Building Projects ==

Ramesses built more extensively than any other Pharaoh. His major building projects spanned the length of Egypt and deep into Nubia, though he also erected stelae and statues in Asia. Many of his monuments survive today as some of the most famous images of Egypt, including the temples of [[Abu Simbel]] and the [[Ramesseum]]. He also completed the main pylon of [[Luxor Temple]] and the hypostyle hall of Karnak temple, begun by [[Seti II]], as well as completing the mortuary temple of the latter.

However his most notable achievements are less visible, including the construction of the new royal residence, the city of [[Pi-Ramesse]], adjacent to the city of [[Avaris]], which effectively became the southern district of the new city. It has been estimated by Uphill that Pi-Ramesse once boasted multiple temple complexes, some on a scale approaching that of Karnak itself, sporting colossal statues equivalent in size to that of the Ramesseum, the largest known free standing statue to have been carved in Egypt, standing over 60 feet high.

Elsewhere, large scale additions were made to the temple of [[Ptah]] at [[Memphis]], [[Heliopolis]] (where a colossal statue survives), and almost all cities throughout Egypt saw work by him.

Ramesses also usurped earlier monuments, replacing the names of earlier Pharaohs with his own, as well as “recycling” architectural elements from old buildings into his own projects, including Pi-Ramesse, which was itself “recycled” to embellish the cities of [[Tanis]] and [[Bubastis]] in the 21st and 22nd Dynasties.

== Deification ==

Ramesses became a complete god in his own right, within his own lifetime. Although the Pharaoh was by nature a divine being (see [[Pharaoh]]), the deification of a Pharaoh in his own right as an independent god was a rare occurrence, the result of a reign that was regarded as particularly significant of successful. Ramesses’ divinity is proclaimed most spectacularly at his Abu Simbel temple, nominally dedicated to [[Ra–Horakhti|Ra]] but where the fully divine Pharaoh is most often and widely depicted, not least in his four colossal statues (compared to a single smaller image of Ra, whose image actually forms a rebus of Ramesses own name). Here is depicted with the ram horns of [[Amun–Ra|Amun]], and is depicted making offerings to his divine self.

== Legacy ==

Ramesses legacy was a victim of his own success, for his longevity and large family meant that many of the more notable elder royal princes predeceased him, and his highly unusual style of brigning the royal prices out into the open, having them depicted in numerous scenes may well have fostered competition amongst hopefuls, further undermining an orderly succession and peaceful reign by his successors. Indeed, following Ramesses II were a string of ephemeral Pharoahs with short and un-notable reigns, and it was not until [[Ramesses III]] that another great Pharaoh emerged who could truly be said to be following in the footsteps of the Ramesses the Great.

In some ways it could be said Ramesses reign was the high point of latter (post–[[Amarna]]) New Kingdom, and though Ramesses III and many others strove to defend the boundaries of the Empire and embellish the great temples, the battles post – Ramesses II became less a case of “extending the boundaries of Egypt” and increasingly defensive in nature. Despite this, the vigorous efforts of Ramesses II to rebuilt the “[[Golden Empire|New Kingdom]]” following the [[Amarna]] heresy would endure for more than 150 years, and his name became synonymous with Pharaonic greatness and power, with no less than nine Pharaohs adopting his name as their own in the 20th Dynasty, and the name remaining a popular [[Coptic]] name to this day.

== Modern Perceptions ==

Ramesses reputation in modern times is often shaped by the poem “[[Ozymandias]]” by [[Shelley]], where he writes, fictitiously, of a statue in the desert:

<blockquote>
"I met a traveller from an antique land, 
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone 
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, 
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown 
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command, 
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read, 
Which yet survive stamped on these lifeless things, 
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; 
And on the pedestal these words appear: 
'My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; 
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!' 
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay 
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare 
The lone and level sands stretch far away." 
</blockquote>

The piece was written in honour of the arrival in the [[British Museum]] of the upper portion of a colossal statue of the Pharaoh from the Ramesseum. However, in the statue itself, as with most Egyptian royal sculpture (see: Egyptian Art), Ramesses is shown with a serene composure, and a slight smile. It is one of the most well known pieces of Egyptian art, notable for it’s masterful use of polychromatic stone, which is seen elsewhere in sculpture of Ramesses II.

Other well known modern depictions of Ramesses include Hollywood movies, including the “epic” film production “The Ten Commandments”, where Ramesses is portrayed as a scheming megalomaniac and caricature of evil. An animated film following roughly the same biblical plot was produced in the 1990’s by SKG-Dreamworks, though in this Ramesses was portrayed as a brother divided by loyalties who wanted to regain a lost childhood friendship.

The Egyptologist and writer [[Christian Jacq]] penned a series of five historical novels featuring Ramesses, one of which focuses on the Battle of Kadesh.

== Bibliography ==
<div class="references-small">
* '''Dodson, A and Hilton, D (2004)''', ''The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt'', Thames and Hudson, London
* '''Kitchen, K A (1982'''), ''Pharaoh Triumphant – The Life and Times of Ramesses II'', Aris and Phillips, Warminster
* '''Kitchen, K A (1999)''', ''Ramesside Inscriptions Vol. II – Ramesses II Royal Inscriptions'', Blackwell Publishers, Oxford
* '''Manley, B (1994)''', ''The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Egypt'', Penguin, London
* '''Quirke, S (2001)''', ''The Cult of Ra'', Thames and Hudson, London
* '''Shaw, I and Nicholson, P (2008)''', ''The British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt'', British Museum Press, London
* '''Uphill, E P (1984)''', ''The Temples of Per-Ramesses'', Aris and Phillips, Warminster
* '''Uphill, E P (1988)''', ''Egyptian Towns and Cities'', Shire Publications, Princes Risborough
* '''Van Dijk, J (2000)''', ''The Amarna Period and the Later New Kingdom'' in: Shaw, I (Ed), the Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford University Press, Oxford

[[Category: Pharaohs]]

Ramses II

2009-05-05T13:43:47Z

KhetyD: minor corrections

[[Image:Ram2cartouche.JPG|thumb|200px|right|Cartouche of Ramesses II's prenomen, wsr-m3't-r' stp-n-r', sits above a symbolic representation of the uniting of Upper and Lower Egypt. From a throne of the colossi of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel]]

[[Ramesses II]], also known as Ramesses The Great, was an [[Ancient Egypt|Ancient Egyptian]] [[Pharaoh]], and the most prominent ruler of the 19th Dynasty, and of the latter half of the [[New Kingdom]].

== Background ==

He ascended to the throne in circa. 1279 BC, and ruled for 67 years, until circa 1213 BC, giving him the longest reign of the New Kingdom, and the longest since the reign of [[Apepi]] of the 15th Dynasty. He was the son of [[Seti I]], who preceded him on the throne, and a direct descendent of [[Ramesses I]], the founder of the 19th Dynasty in peaceful succession.

During his long reign he married numerous wives, including a [[Hittite]] princess, though his principle wife was Nefertari, to whom he dedicated a temple in [[Abu Simbel]], alongside his own. In total he had well over 100 sons, 12 of whom predeceased him. He died aged 91, having becoming a full god in his own right, within his own lifetime, and having celebrated at least a dozen Sed festivals. He was succeeded by his 13th son, [[Merenptah]].

== Military Campaigns ==

The [[Battle of Kadesh]] is the most well known military campaign of Ramesses II, and the most well documented. Although regarded as a personal triumph by Ramesses, and proudly displayed upon numerous monuments throughout Egypt and [[Nubia]], the battle itself ended in a stalemate, and the lands of [[Upe]] and [[Amurru]] were lost to the [[Hittites]]. The campaign was, however, only one of many conducted by Ramesses in his 67 year reign. The table below provides more complete detail of his major campaigns:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Years
! Location
! Opponents
! Outcome
|-
| 4
| Phoenecia and Southern Amurru
| Benteshina, Hittite Vassal
| Successful. Benteshina defeated, informs Hittites has had to become an Egyptian vassal.
|-
| 5
| Kadesh, Amurru
| Hittite Alliance
| Near defeat turned into stalemate at Kadesh. Following Egyptian return to Egypt, Hittite forces take Amurru and Upe.
|-
| 6
| Libya
| Nomads
| Border policing, possibly treated as a “test-run” for rebuilt forces.
|-
| 7/8
| Phoenician Coast, Edom, Moab and Amurru
| Rebel vassals in Phoenicia, Shasu nomads, Hittite vassals
| Rebel vassals pacified. Shasu infiltrators expelled, Edom and Moab temporarily become Egyptian vassals and some of Amurru accepts Egypt as overlord, but switches back to Hittites after campaign finishes.
|-
| 8/9
| Northern Amurru
| Hittite Vassals
| Capture of Tunip and Dashur, secures middle section of the Orontes, cutting of southern Amurru and Kadesh. Cities become Egyptian vassals, but return to Hittite control after Egyptian campaign forces depart.
|-
| 10
| Northern Amurru
| Dapur
| Dashur again conquered, recognises Ramesses as overlord. Returns to Hittite control once campaign forces depart.
|-
| 31
| n/a
| n/a
| Egyptian - Hittite Peace Treaty
|-
| ~38
| Irem
| Local Chiefs
| Successful. 7,400 captives taken, and rebel chief of Akuyata defeated and captured. Region essentially pacified for remainder of Ramesses’ reign.
|-
| 44
| Irem
| Local Population
| Minor policing action.
|-
|}

== Diplomacy ==

In his regnal year 31, Ramesses concluded a formal peace with the Hittite empire, following decades of sporadic tit for tat actions in the Levant that had brought no lasting gains for the Egyptians, despite temporarily extending the Egyptian sphere of influence into the new states of Moab and Edom east of the Jordan river. The peace treaty is one of the most famous of the ancient world, the text of which was delivered on a silver tablet to the Egyptians. Ramesses had it translated into Egyptian, and carved in [[hieroglyphs]], complete with a description of the tablet, onto the walls of [[Luxor temple]], where it can be seen today.

[[Image:Abusim.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel. The inner chambers of the temple contain numerous images of Ramesses II offering to his deified self.]]

It was the first formal peace treaty entered into by the Egyptians (though a friendship and de facto alliance had existed between the Pharaohs and the [[Mittanians|Mittani]] during the 18th Dynasty). Later in his reign, negotiations with the Hittites led to Ramesses taking a Hittite princess as a secondary wife, strengthening relations between the two empires.

[[Image:Luxpylonnight.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The pylon of Luxor Temple, with colossal statues of Ramesses II]]

The peace treaty and friendship established by Ramesses far outlived his own reign, and brought a lasting and stable peace between the two great powers of the time, allowing Ramesses to devote his resources away from military campaigns and security in his vassal states, and into his ambitious building programme.

[[Image:Ramesseum.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The hypostyle hall of the Ramesseum, Ramesses II's mortuary temple. It was described as one of the finest monuments on the Theban west bank by early visitors.]]
[[Image:Ozymandias.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The fallen colossal statue of Ramesses at the Ramesseum, known as Ozymandias in classical times. Reports of it by travellers in the 1800's inspired the poem "Ozymandias", though the statue has a smile rather than the "sneer of cold command"]]
== Building Projects ==

Ramesses built more extensively than any other Pharaoh. His major building projects spanned the length of Egypt and deep into Nubia, though he also erected stelae and statues in Asia. Many of his monuments survive today as some of the most famous images of Egypt, including the temples of [[Abu Simbel]] and the [[Ramesseum]]. He also completed the main pylon of [[Luxor Temple]] and the hypostyle hall of Karnak temple, begun by [[Seti II]], as well as completing the mortuary temple of the latter.

However his most notable achievements are less visible, including the construction of the new royal residence, the city of [[Pi-Ramesse]], adjacent to the city of [[Avaris]], which effectively became the southern district of the new city. It has been estimated by Uphill that Pi-Ramesse once boasted multiple temple complexes, some on a scale approaching that of Karnak itself, sporting colossal statues equivalent in size to that of the Ramesseum, the largest known free standing statue to have been carved in Egypt, standing over 60 feet high.

Elsewhere, large scale additions were made to the temple of [[Ptah]] at [[Memphis]], [[Heliopolis]] (where a colossal statue survives), and almost all cities throughout Egypt saw work by him.

Ramesses also usurped earlier monuments, replacing the names of earlier Pharaohs with his own, as well as “recycling” architectural elements from old buildings into his own projects, including Pi-Ramesse, which was itself “recycled” to embellish the cities of [[Tanis]] and [[Bubastis]] in the 21st and 22nd Dynasties.

== Deification ==

Ramesses became a complete god in his own right, within his own lifetime. Although the Pharaoh was by nature a divine being (see [[Pharaoh]]), the deification of a Pharaoh in his own right as an independent god was a rare occurrence, the result of a reign that was regarded as particularly significant of successful. Ramesses’ divinity is proclaimed most spectacularly at his Abu Simbel temple, nominally dedicated to [[Ra–Horakhti|Ra]] but where the fully divine Pharaoh is most often and widely depicted, not least in his four colossal statues (compared to a single smaller image of Ra, whose image actually forms a rebus of Ramesses own name). Here is depicted with the ram horns of [[Amun–Ra|Amun]], and is depicted making offerings to his divine self.

== Legacy ==

Ramesses legacy was a victim of his own success, for his longevity and large family meant that many of the more notable elder royal princes predeceased him, and his highly unusual style of brigning the royal prices out into the open, having them depicted in numerous scenes may well have fostered competition amongst hopefuls, further undermining an orderly succession and peaceful reign by his successors. Indeed, following Ramesses II were a string of ephemeral Pharoahs with short and un-notable reigns, and it was not until [[Ramesses III]] that another great Pharaoh emerged who could truly be said to be following in the footsteps of the Ramesses the Great.

In some ways it could be said Ramesses reign was the high point of latter (post–[[Amarna]]) New Kingdom, and though Ramesses III and many others strove to defend the boundaries of the Empire and embellish the great temples, the battles post – Ramesses II became less a case of “extending the boundaries of Egypt” and increasingly defensive in nature. Despite this, the vigorous efforts of Ramesses II to rebuilt the “[[Golden Empire|New Kingdom]]” following the [[Amarna]] heresy would endure for more than 150 years, and his name became synonymous with Pharaonic greatness and power, with no less than nine Pharaohs adopting his name as their own in the 20th Dynasty, and the name remaining a popular [[Coptic]] name to this day.

== Modern Perceptions ==

Ramesses reputation in modern times is often shaped by the poem “[[Ozymandias]]” by [[Shelley]], where he writes, fictitiously, of a statue in the desert:

<blockquote>
"I met a traveller from an antique land, 
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone 
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, 
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown 
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command, 
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read, 
Which yet survive stamped on these lifeless things, 
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; 
And on the pedestal these words appear: 
'My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; 
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!' 
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay 
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare 
The lone and level sands stretch far away." 
</blockquote>

The piece was written in honour of the arrival in the [[British Museum]] of the upper portion of a colossal statue of the Pharaoh from the Ramesseum. However, in the statue itself, as with most Egyptian royal sculpture (see: Egyptian Art), Ramesses is shown with a serene composure, and a slight smile. It is one of the most well known pieces of Egyptian art, notable for it’s masterful use of polychromatic stone, which is seen elsewhere in sculpture of Ramesses II.

Other well known modern depictions of Ramesses include Hollywood movies, including the “epic” film production “The Ten Commandments”, where Ramesses is portrayed as a scheming megalomaniac and caricature of evil. An animated film following roughly the same biblical plot was produced in the 1990’s by SKG-Dreamworks, though in this Ramesses was portrayed as a brother divided by loyalties who wanted to regain a lost childhood friendship.

The Egyptologist and writer [[Christian Jacq]] penned a series of five historical novels featuring Ramesses, one of which focuses on the Battle of Kadesh.

== Bibliography ==
<div class="references-small">
* '''Dodson, A and Hilton, D (2004)''', ''The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt'', Thames and Hudson, London
* '''Kitchen, K A (1982'''), ''Pharaoh Triumphant – The Life and Times of Ramesses II'', Aris and Phillips, Warminster
* '''Kitchen, K A (1999)''', ''Ramesside Inscriptions Vol. II – Ramesses II Royal Inscriptions'', Blackwell Publishers, Oxford
* '''Manley, B (1994)''', ''The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Egypt'', Penguin, London
* '''Quirke, S (2001)''', ''The Cult of Ra'', Thames and Hudson, London
* '''Shaw, I and Nicholson, P (2008)''', ''The British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt'', British Museum Press, London
* '''Uphill, E P (1984)''', ''The Temples of Per-Ramesses'', Aris and Phillips, Warminster
* '''Uphill, E P (1988)''', ''Egyptian Towns and Cities'', Shire Publications, Princes Risborough
* '''Van Dijk, J (2000)''', ''The Amarna Period and the Later New Kingdom'' in: Shaw, I (Ed), the Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford University Press, Oxford

[[Category: Pharaohs]]

Ramses II

2009-05-05T13:37:30Z

KhetyD: Spelling and names

[[Image:Ram2cartouche.JPG|thumb|200px|right|Cartouche of Ramesses II's prenomen, wsr-m3't-r' stp-n-r', sits above a symbolic representation of the uniting of Upper and Lower Egypt. From a throne of the colossi of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel]]

[[Ramesses II]], also known as Ramesses The Great, was an [[Ancient Egypt|Ancient Egyptian]] [[Pharaoh]], and the most prominent ruler of the 19th Dynasty, and of the latter half of the [[New Kingdom]].

== Background ==

He ascended to the throne in circa. 1279 BC, and ruled for 67 years, until circa 1213 BC, giving him the longest reign of the New Kingdom, and the longest since the reign of [[Apepi]] of the 15th Dynasty. He was the son of [[Seti I]], who preceded him on the throne, and a direct descendent of [[Ramesses I]], the founder of the 19th Dynasty in peaceful succession.

During his long reign he married numerous wives, including a [[Hittite]] princess, though his principle wife was Nefertari, to whom he dedicated a temple in [[Abu Simbel]], alongside his own. In total he had well over 100 sons, 12 of whom predeceased him. He died aged 91, having becoming a full god in his own right, within his own lifetime, and having celebrated at least a dozen Sed festivals. He was succeeded by his 13th son, [[Merenptah]].

== Military Campaigns ==

The [[Battle of Kadesh]] is the most well known military campaign of Ramesses II, and the most well documented. Although regarded as a personal triumph by Ramesses, and proudly displayed upon numerous monuments throughout Egypt and [[Nubia]], the battle itself ended in a stalemate, and the lands of [[Upe]] and [[Amurru]] were lost to the [[Hittites]]. The campaign was, however, only one of many conducted by Ramesses in his 67 year reign. The table below provides more complete detail of his major campaigns:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Years
! Location
! Opponents
! Outcome
|-
| 4
| Phoenecia and Southern Amurru
| Benteshina, Hittite Vassal
| Successful. Benteshina defeated, informs Hittites has had to become an Egyptian vassal.
|-
| 5
| Kadesh, Amurru
| Hittite Alliance
| Near defeat turned into stalemate at Kadesh. Following Egyptian return to Egypt, Hittite forces take Amurru and Upe.
|-
| 6
| Libya
| Nomads
| Border policing, possibly treated as a “test-run” for rebuilt forces.
|-
| 7/8
| Phoenician Coast, Edom, Moab and Amurru
| Rebel vassals in Phoenicia, Shasu nomads, Hittite vassals
| Rebel vassals pacified. Shasu infiltrators expelled, Edom and Moab temporarily become Egyptian vassals and some of Amurru accepts Egypt as overlord, but switches back to Hittites after campaign finishes.
|-
| 8/9
| Northern Amurru
| Hittite Vassals
| Capture of Tunip and Dashur, secures middle section of the Orontes, cutting of southern Amurru and Kadesh. Cities become Egyptian vassals, but return to Hittite control after Egyptian campaign forces depart.
|-
| 10
| Northern Amurru
| Dapur
| Dashur again conquered, recognises Ramesses as overlord. Returns to Hittite control once campaign forces depart.
|-
| 21
| n/a
| n/a
| Egyptian - Hittite Peace Treaty
|-
| ~38
| Irem
| Local Chiefs
| Successful. 7,400 captives taken, and rebel chief of Akuyata defeated and captured. Region essentially pacified for remainder of Ramesses’ reign.
|-
| 44
| Irem
| Local Population
| Minor policing action.
|-
|}

== Diplomacy ==

In his regnal year 21, Ramesses concluded a formal peace with the Hittite empire, following decades of sporadic tit for tat actions in the Levant that had brought no lasting gains for the Egyptians, despite temporarily extending the Egyptian sphere of influence into the new states of Moab and Edom east of the Jordan river. The peace treaty is one of the most famous of the ancient world, the text of which was delivered on a silver tablet to the Egyptians. Ramesses had it translated into Egyptian, and carved in [[hieroglyphs]], complete with a description of the tablet, onto the walls of [[Karnak temple]], where it can be seen today.

[[Image:Abusim.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel. The inner chambers of the temple contain numerous images of Ramesses II offering to his deified self.]]

It was the first formal peace treaty entered into by the Egyptians (though a friendship and de facto alliance had existed between the Pharaohs of the [[Mittanians|Mittani]] during the 18th Dynasty). Later in his reign, negotiations with the Hittites led to Ramesses taking a Hittite princess as a secondary wife, strengthening relations between the two empires.

[[Image:Luxpylonnight.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The pylon of Luxor Temple, with colossal statues of Ramesses II]]

The peace treaty and friendship established by Ramesses far outlived his own reign, and brought a lasting and stable peace between the two great powers of the time, allowing Ramesses to devote his resources away from military campaigns and security in his vassal states, and into his ambitious building programme.

[[Image:Ramesseum.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The hypostyle hall of the Ramesseum, Ramesses II's mortuary temple. It was described as one of the finest monuments on the Theban west bank by early visitors.]]
[[Image:Ozymandias.JPG|thumb|200px|right|The fallen colossal statue of Ramesses at the Ramesseum, known as Ozymandias in classical times. Reports of it by travellers in the 1800's inspired the poem "Ozymandias", though the statue has a smile rather than the "sneer of cold command"]]
== Building Projects ==

Ramesses built more extensively than any other Pharaoh. His major building projects spanned the length of Egypt and deep into Nubia, though he also erected stelae and statues in Asia. Many of his monuments survive today as some of the most famous images of Egypt, including the temples of [[Abu Simbel]] and the [[Ramesseum]]. He also completed the main pylon of [[Luxor Temple]] and the hypostyle hall of Karnak temple, begun by [[Seti I]], as well as completing the mortuary temple of the latter.

However his most notable achievements are less visible, including the construction of the new royal residence, the city of [[Pi-Ramesse]], adjacent to the city of [[Avaris]], which effectively became the southern district of the new city. It has been estimated by Uphill that Pi-Ramesse once boasted multiple temple complexes, some on a scale approaching that of Karnak itself, sporting colossal statues equivalent in size to that of the Ramesseum, the largest known free standing statue to have been carved in Egypt, standing over 60 feet high.

Elsewhere, large scale additions were made to the temple of [[Ptah]] at [[Memphis]] (from where another colossal statue survives), [[Heliopolis]], and almost all cities throughout Egypt saw work by him.

Ramesses also usurped earlier monuments, replacing the names of earlier Pharaohs with his own, as well as “recycling” architectural elements from old buildings into his own projects, including Pi-Ramesse, which was itself “recycled” to embellish the cities of [[Tanis]] and [[Bubastis]] in the 21st and 22nd Dynasties.

== Deification ==

Ramesses became a complete god in his own right, within his own lifetime. Although the Pharaoh was by nature a divine being (see [[Pharaoh]]), the deification of a Pharaoh in his own right as an independent god was a rare occurrence, the result of a reign that was regarded as particularly significant of successful. Ramesses’ divinity is proclaimed most spectacularly at his Abu Simbel temple, nominally dedicated to [[Ra–Horakhti|Ra]] but where the fully divine Pharaoh is most often and widely depicted, not least in his four colossal statues (compared to a single smaller image of Ra, whose image actually forms a rebus of Ramesses own name). Here is depicted with the ram horns of [[Amun–Ra|Amun]], and is depicted making offerings to his divine self.

== Legacy ==

Ramesses legacy was a victim of his own success, for his longevity and large family meant that many of the more notable elder royal princes predeceased him, and his highly unusual style of brigning the royal prices out into the open, having them depicted in numerous scenes may well have fostered competition amongst hopefuls, further undermining an orderly succession and peaceful reign by his successors. Indeed, following Ramesses II were a string of ephemeral Pharoahs with short and un-notable reigns, and it was not until [[Ramesses III]] that another great Pharaoh emerged who could truly be said to be following in the footsteps of the Ramesses the Great.

In some ways it could be said Ramesses reign was the high point of latter (post–[[Amarna]]) New Kingdom, and though Ramesses III and many others strove to defend the boundaries of the Empire and embellish the great temples, the battles post – Ramesses II became less a case of “extending the boundaries of Egypt” and increasingly defensive in nature. Despite this, the vigorous efforts of Ramesses II to rebuilt the “[[Golden Empire|New Kingdom]]” following the [[Amarna]] heresy would endure for more than 150 years, and his name became synonymous with Pharaonic greatness and power, with no less than nine Pharaohs adopting his name as their own in the 20th Dynasty, and the name remaining a popular [[Coptic]] name to this day.

== Modern Perceptions ==

Ramesses reputation in modern times is often shaped by the poem “[[Ozymandias]]” by [[Shelley]], where he writes, fictitiously, of a statue in the desert:

<blockquote>
"I met a traveller from an antique land, 
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone 
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, 
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown 
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command, 
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read, 
Which yet survive stamped on these lifeless things, 
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; 
And on the pedestal these words appear: 
'My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; 
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!' 
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay 
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare 
The lone and level sands stretch far away." 
</blockquote>

The piece was written in honour of the arrival in the [[British Museum]] of the upper portion of a colossal statue of the Pharaoh from the Ramesseum. However, in the statue itself, as with most Egyptian royal sculpture (see: Egyptian Art), Ramesses is shown with a serene composure, and a slight smile. It is one of the most well known pieces of Egyptian art, notable for it’s masterful use of polychromatic stone, which is seen elsewhere in sculpture of Ramesses II.

Other well known modern depictions of Ramesses include Hollywood movies, including the “epic” film production “The Ten Commandments”, where Ramesses is portrayed as a scheming megalomaniac and caricature of evil. An animated film following roughly the same biblical plot was produced in the 1990’s by SKG-Dreamworks, though in this Ramesses was portrayed as a brother divided by loyalties who wanted to regain a lost childhood friendship.

The Egyptologist and writer [[Christian Jacq]] penned a series of five historical novels featuring Ramesses, one of which focuses on the Battle of Kadesh.

== Bibliography ==
<div class="references-small">
* '''Dodson, A and Hilton, D (2004)''', ''The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt'', Thames and Hudson, London
* '''Kitchen, K A (1982'''), ''Pharaoh Triumphant – The Life and Times of Ramesses II'', Aris and Phillips, Warminster
* '''Kitchen, K A (1999)''', ''Ramesside Inscriptions Vol. II – Ramesses II Royal Inscriptions'', Blackwell Publishers, Oxford
* '''Manley, B (1994)''', ''The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Egypt'', Penguin, London
* '''Quirke, S (2001)''', ''The Cult of Ra'', Thames and Hudson, London
* '''Shaw, I and Nicholson, P (2008)''', ''The British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt'', British Museum Press, London
* '''Uphill, E P (1984)''', ''The Temples of Per-Ramesses'', Aris and Phillips, Warminster
* '''Uphill, E P (1988)''', ''Egyptian Towns and Cities'', Shire Publications, Princes Risborough
* '''Van Dijk, J (2000)''', ''The Amarna Period and the Later New Kingdom'' in: Shaw, I (Ed), the Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford University Press, Oxford

[[Category: Pharaohs]]

TOS

2009-05-05T13:06:40Z

KhetyD: MultiTOS and MiNT

'''TOS''' was the operating system used on the [[Motorola]] 68k based computer systems released by [[Atari]] in mid 1980's and early 1990's, the ST, Mega, TT and Falcon systems. An official explanation for the acronym was never given by Atari, but it is often said to simply mean "The Operating System", or perhaps "Tramiel Operating System", after the owner of Atari Corporation at the time, [[Jack Tramiel]].

== Characteristics ==
TOS is stored on non-rewritable [[ROM]] chips attached to the motherboard, giving the system an "instant on" capability. However if no disk was present (either hard or floppy) the system would usually wait a considerable time before booting to chance for one to be inserted.

The TOS ROM's contain the GEM (Graphical Environment Manager) GUI from Digital Research, and is similar to the MAC-OS "classic" GUI of the mid 1980's. Early versions of this (prior to TOS 2.06) were restricted in that additional icons could not be placed on the desktop for quick launching. Later versions were much more flexible. In addition it was possible to use any number of third party "replacement" desktops (and even complete GUI's).

TOS allows for co-operative multi-tasking. This is done by the use of "Accessories", specially designed programs that are launched on startup and accessed from the "Desk" menu. They are distinguished by having an *.acc extension and must be stored in the parent or BOOT directory on a disk or hard drive. Normal (*.PRG) programs cannot be used as accessories. Up to 6 accessories may be available on any one boot partition. Only one *.PRG program may be used at once.

== MiNT Becomes MultiTOS ==

In the early 90’s it became clear that a true multi-tasking was the future of operating systems. Although TOS had been greatly improved by a mix of incremental developments, particularly with the release of the Atari Falcon, it was also the release of this more sophisticated system that showed the limitations of the system.

An independent programmer from Canada, called Eric Smith had already been exploring such options when he realised the difficulty of porting UNIX programs over to TOS. He developed a multi-tasking operating system that was fully TOS compatible, but contained better, though still limited, multi-tasking, and several UNIX similarities, making porting programs from UNIX much simpler.

Smith had released his work on the internet as a GNU project, and a prominent programmer at Atari itself, Allan Pratt, became aware of the project, and suggested that Atari use MiNT as a kernel for a new and improved version of TOS that would be able to take advantage of multi-tasking and also improve it’s networking skills. Later Atari systems had, after all, been released with both AppleTalk networking ports, and the Falcon sported as DSP port, which it was anticipated would be used for a sophisticated type of analogue modem, which ultimately never surfaced.

The proposal for MiNT forming the basis of a new version fo TOS was accepted, and MultiTOS was born.

== MultiTOS Features ==

MultiTOS was a major leap forward for TOS, and in some ways this was it’s downfall. The new AES, which handled graphical calls and essentially acted as the bridge between the operating system itself as the GEM desktop was a dramatic step forward from previous versions, including three dimensional and colour icon support, as well as extended colour depths and all the slightly weird screen resolutions that the Falcon supported with it’s entirely new VIDEL graphics chip. This, combined with the heavier MiNT kernel made the OS slow and somewhat bloated. It was the only version of TOS since v1.0 to be supplied on floppy disk (a further performance bottleneck) rather than ROM.

In addition, MultiTOS supported true multi-tasking, improving on MiNT's early restrictions of being able to support multiple command line ("TOS applications"), but not but programs that used the GUI ("GEM applications").

MultiTOS also included support for all the hardware of the Falcon that was unique to it within the range of Atari computers, such as it's IDE interface (other Atari systems used SCSI and ACSI, an Atari propieatry system similar to SCSI), the DSP chip and dedicated DSP port.

The problems were far from insurmountable, and a few relatively modest hardware and software tweaks could have made the standard Falcon / MultiTOS system a usable if not spectacular combination, but Atari had since shifted their focus from computers to games consoles, and the decision was made to completely abandon support for MultiTOS and the entire computer line, and focus on the Jaguar console, leaving behind several almost completed improvements and new developments.

==MultiTOS Becomes MiNT==

As Atari abandoned MultiTOS, Smith persuaded Atari to release the MultiTOS code onto the internet, to allow further community development. Atari agreed, and MultiTOS and MiNT ultimately swapped roles, MultiTOS becoming the foundations for a new generation MiNT operating system. As open source and third party development of Atari based hardware developed, the bottlenecks imposed by the Falcon hardware were mostly overcome, and MiNT has been able to develop increasingly sophisticated features, incorporating advances from both other TOS projects as well as the Linux world.

[[Category:Software]]

Atari

2009-03-31T16:16:16Z

KhetyD: New page: '''Atari''' were a once giant home computer and console manufacturer and software house based in Sunnyvale, CA, United States that made some of earliest popular videogames, and invented th...

'''Atari''' were a once giant home computer and console manufacturer and software house based in Sunnyvale, CA, United States that made some of earliest popular videogames, and invented the concept of home video games consoles in the 1970's.

They company grew rapidly through the 70's and 80's, with it's earliest console, the Atari VCS being a huge hit. It also released a series of 8-bit home microcomputers that were successful in the US, and a 16 and 32 bit series of home computers that were very popular in Europe. However in the mid 1980's Atari began to fall behind in console development as it's VCS (now the "2600") technology began to fall behind more sophisticated systems from Nintendo, and lacked backward compatibility with the huge and much loved range of 2600 titles. Atari's answer with the 5600 console was expensive and difficult to program, though technologically impressive.

Atari corrected it's mistakes early, developing the 7800 by 1984. However management changes and cash flow issues forced the machine, which at the time was one of the most advanced at the time, to be delayed for almost 4 years. By the time it was properly released in 1987 it was already obsolete. Atari, despite coming up with numerous other technologically sophisticated ideas would never be able to regain the market, and despite having an excellent group of experienced engineers and a strong brand essentially struggled from one management and marketing crisis to another. The first palmtop computer, first 16-bit handheld console, first 64-bit console and also several firsts in business computing, including the first MS-DOS palmtop computer and first small office affordable DTP and UNIX workstations all failed to make an impact.

Atari was sold, in 1996, to JTS, a small hard drive manufacturer. All development work on new computers and consoles had ceased several years before, despite several prototypes being fully functional and practically ready for commercial release.

TOS

2009-03-31T16:01:38Z

KhetyD: New page: '''TOS''' was the operating system used on the Motorola 68k based computer systems released by Atari in mid 1980's and early 1990's, the ST, Mega, TT and Falcon systems. An officia...