Egypt history - Ramses the Second

Ramses II - the greatest ruler of Egypt's Pharaohs - ruled Egypt for 67 years - the second longest-ruling Pharaoh - and lived to 87, an amazing achievement in an era when life expectancy was around 40. Yet although he is known for his prolific building projects, Ramses was also a playboy.

Ramses II was a man's man, conquering vast areas, erecting huge edifices to himself and impregnating harem-fulls of women. He dominated vast areas: during his time as Pharaoh he attempted to take Syria no fewer than five times. He built more monuments than any other Pharaoh, including the biggest pyramid, constructed his own tombs and temples and - for good measure - also inscribed messages and scenes on buildings and statues built by others. His most famous creations are Abu Simbel, the temples of Luxor and Karnak, as well as the huge Ramesseum temple on Luxor's West Bank.

While Ramses was populating Egypt with monuments, he chased the ladies. He had over ninety-nine children with five or six main wives - the actual number of spouses is unknown but is thought to number around 40. There are many statues that have been unearthed that depict erotic scenes of Ramses with eight to ten women at a time. Ramses took pride in this area, but his favourite wife sits with him in front of the Temple at Abu-Simbel: Nefartari.

He so long that he outlived many of his own children. It even seemed that he even lasted longer than other pharaohs too: not only is his mummy intact, it remains one of the best preserved of ancient Egyptian rulers ever found.