Ramesses II (variously
transliterated as "
Rameses" or "
Ramses" ( or ); born ; died July or August 1213 BC; reigned 1279–1213 BC), also known as
Ramesses the Great, was the third
pharaoh of the
Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the
Egyptian Empire. His successors and later Egyptians called him the "Great Ancestor". Ramesses II led several military expeditions into the
Levant, reasserting Egyptian control over
Canaan. He also led expeditions to the south, into
Nubia, commemorated in inscriptions at Beit el-Wali and Gerf Hussein.