New Kingdom
Ramesses III (Usermaatre Meryamun)
20th Dynasty · 1186-1069 BCE
Open full-size illustration →Source: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Background
Ramesses III is usually remembered as the last great pharaoh of the New Kingdom, defending Egypt from the Sea Peoples in his early reign, but his final years were marked by economic collapse, the first recorded labor strike, and a palace assassination plot that modern forensic science has since confirmed in gruesome detail. Research: UCL Digital Egypt; National Geographic.
Reign dates: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Full profile
The Sea Peoples
Ramesses III is widely considered the last great pharaoh of the New Kingdom. His reign was defined by his massive military campaigns to protect Egypt from the "Sea Peoples"—a massive confederation of displaced Mediterranean tribes that had already destroyed the Hittite Empire and the city of Ugarit. He defeated them in a brilliant two-front war, ambushing their ships in the Nile Delta and crushing their land forces in Canaan. He documented this victory extensively on the walls of his mortuary temple at Medinet Habu.
The first labor strike
Despite his military victories, Egypt's economy was in severe decline. In the 29th year of his reign, the royal tomb builders at Deir el-Medina failed to receive their monthly grain rations. Facing starvation, the workers laid down their tools and marched on local temples in protest. This event, recorded in the Turin Strike Papyrus, is the first documented labor strike in human history.
The harem conspiracy
In 1155 BCE, Ramesses III faced a bloody demise. A palace coup known as the "Harem Conspiracy" was launched against him, orchestrated by Queen Tiye, one of his secondary wives, who wished to place her son Pentawere on the throne. Modern forensic CT scans of his mummy revealed that his throat was slit by the conspirators.
Confirming the plot through DNA
A 2012 genetic and forensic study went further, examining a second mummy from the same royal cache, long known only as "Unknown Man E," whose contorted, open-mouthed expression had earned it the nickname the "screaming mummy." DNA testing showed it shared the same Y chromosome and roughly half its genetic material with Ramesses III, consistent with a father-son relationship, making it very likely, though not certain given how many sons the king had, that this is the body of Pentawere. Unlike a properly mummified pharaoh, the body had been wrapped in an impure sheepskin and left without the usual embalming rites, a punishment apparently meant to deny the condemned prince a peaceful afterlife.
Sources for this profile
- Baker, D. D. (2008). The Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs: Volume 1. Stacey International.
- Shaw, I. (Ed.). (2000). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press.
- University College London. Kings of the New Kingdom.
- Reeves, N., & Wilkinson, R. H. (1996). The Complete Valley of the Kings. Thames & Hudson.
- Dodson, A., & Hilton, D. (2004). The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson.
The complete, APA-formatted reference list is on the Academic Sources & Bibliography page.