Nineteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt

When the last pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty, Horemheb passed away without leaving an heir, his aging vizier Paramesse succeeded him under the name Ramesses I. His brief rule marked the start of the Nineteenth Dynasty and an Egyptian renaissance that was carried on by his son Seti I and reached its pinnacle during Ramesses II's extraordinarily long rule.

Ramesses II presided over 66 of the the Nineteenth Dynasty roughly 100 years of existence. Egypt flourished under the reign of Ramesses II. He built many new monuments and restored many old ones, leaving inscriptions everywhere. More monuments were erected by Ramesses II than by any other pharaoh, and he was not above appropriating many older ones. He relocated the capital from Thebes to Pi-Ramesses, a new city constructed in the delta. This was a mistake since it gave the priests of the Cult of Amun at Thebes the opportunity to gain enough authority to rival the king.

When Ramesses II died, he was succeeded by his thirteenth son Merenptah who was almost 60 years old when he came to power. Fierce rivalry between the heirs of Merenptah, drove the dynasty into chaos as different factions vyed for power.

Pharaoh Also known as Reign
1 Ramesses I Ramses I 1292–1290
2 Seti I Sethos I, Sety I 1290–1279
3 Ramesses II Rameses II, Ramses II 1279–1213
4 Merenptah Merneptah 1213–1203
5 Seti II Sethos II 1203–1200
6 Amenmesse Amenmesses, Amenmose 1203–1197
7 Siptah Merenptah Siptah 1197–1191
8 Tausret Tawosret, Twosret 1191–1190