Skip to main content

Primary sourceArtifactc. 1250 BCE

Temple of Wadi es-Sebua

Ramesses II · c. 1250 BCE

A sphinx-lined Nubian temple built for Ramesses II, partly using Nubian captive labour under his viceroy Setau.

This Nubian temple was commissioned by Ramesses II as part of his self-deifying building programme.

Ask Ramses II (Ramses the Great) about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
A sandstone sphinx statue with a human face and royal headdress, lying on a carved pedestal with hieroglyphic inscriptions. A tall carved figure rises behind the head. Desert sand and a blue sky are in the background.
Sphinx from the Temple of Ramesses II at Wadi es-Sebua, Nubia, c. 1250 BCE.

About this source

What it is

Wadi es-Sebua, meaning 'Valley of the Lions', is a temple complex in Nubia commissioned by Ramesses II around 1250 BCE. It takes its name from the sphinxes that line the approach to its forecourts. It now stands by Lake Nasser in Egypt.

Why it matters

The temple was overseen by Setau, Ramesses II's viceroy of Nubia, and built partly with Nubian captive labour. It is part of the king's wider programme of monumental building in Nubia, where he presented himself as a god as well as a ruler, projecting Egyptian power over the conquered region.

Look closer

  • Why might a pharaoh want sphinxes lining the path to his temple?
  • What does the use of captive labour tell us about how such monuments were built?
  • Why build temples far from Egypt's traditional heartland, in Nubia?

This artifact 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.

More Ramses II (Ramses the Great) sources

Meet the AI Ramses II (Ramses the Great) →
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

Facade of the Great Temple at Abu Simbel carved into a sandstone cliff under a clear blue sky. Four seated colossal statues of a pharaoh flank the central doorway, with a sand-covered walkway leading up to the entrance.Artifact

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

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Ramses II (Ramses the Great) now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions