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Secondary sourcePainting1853

Ramesses II on his Chariot at Kadesh

Joseph Bonomi · 1853

An 1853 engraving by Joseph Bonomi, based on an ancient Egyptian relief, showing Ramesses II fighting from his chariot at the Battle of Kadesh.

This engraving, after an ancient relief, depicts Ramesses II in battle at Kadesh, a key event of his reign.

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Black-and-white line drawing of an Egyptian pharaoh in a crown standing on a horse-drawn chariot, holding reins and a bow, with a quiver of arrows. Horses wear plumed headdresses. A cheetah runs below, and an archer kneels at right.
Joseph Bonomi, Ramesses II on his chariot at Kadesh, after an ancient Egyptian relief, 1853.

About this source

What it is

This is a nineteenth-century engraving made by Joseph Bonomi in 1853, copied from an ancient Egyptian relief. It shows Ramesses II standing in a horse-drawn chariot, wearing a crown and holding reins and a bow, with a quiver of arrows and a running cheetah below, while an archer kneels nearby. It was later reused to illustrate an article on Egyptian wars in a military encyclopedia published in Saint Petersburg in 1912.

Why it matters

The original Egyptian relief that inspired this image was created to celebrate Ramesses II's role at the Battle of Kadesh, a major event used to glorify his reign. Bonomi's engraving shows how later European artists and publishers reproduced ancient Egyptian royal propaganda for new audiences centuries afterward.

Look closer

  • How is Ramesses II posed and equipped, and what impression does this give of him?
  • Why might a pharaoh want a battle scene carved in such a dramatic way?
  • What might be left out of a scene designed to celebrate a ruler's victory?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Ramses II (Ramses the Great) on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Two clay cuneiform tablets on a clear acrylic stand against a red background. The larger tablet is broken into several fragments, covered in dense wedge-shaped writing. A smaller tablet fragment sits at lower right, also inscribed.Document

Primary source

Egyptian–Hittite Peace Treaty

c. 1258 BCE

Sepia photograph of the facade of the Abu Simbel temple in Egypt, with four seated colossal statues of Ramesses II carved into the rock. A small standing man at lower left shows scale. A doorway lies between the middle statues, and hieroglyphs are carved across the upper wall.Photograph

Secondary source

Abu Simbel Temple Colossi

Pascal Sébah · 1875

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Primary source

Abu Simbel

Ramesses II · c. 1273 BCE

Sepia photograph of the Abu Simbel temple facade in Egypt. A colossal seated stone statue of a pharaoh with a striped headdress dominates the right. Beside it stands a statue of a falcon-headed god wearing a sun disk. Relief carvings and hieroglyphs cover the wall, and a small seated man at the bottom gives scale. Caption reads Abou Simbel, Gd Temple, Le dieu Soleil Ra et Rhamses II, P. Sébah.Photograph

Secondary source

Facade Detail of Abu Simbel Showing Ramesses II and Ra

Pascal Sébah · 1875

Sepia photograph of the ruined Ramesseum temple at Luxor, Egypt. Four fallen-headed colossal seated statues stand before a sandstone gateway with carved hieroglyphs on its lintel. A broken statue lies in the foreground, and a small figure sits near the base of the statues. Desert and a column are visible on the left.Photograph

Secondary source

Ramesseum Colossi in Ruins

Pascal Sébah · c. 1875

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