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Primary sourceSculpturec. 1249 BCE

Temple Relief of Ramses II Praying

c. 1249 BCE

A carved sandstone relief showing Ramesses II in profile, arms raised in an act of worship, with his cartouche above him.

This relief depicts Ramesses II himself, shown in a pose of worship rather than war.

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Carved sandstone relief fragment showing an Egyptian pharaoh in profile wearing a tall crown, arms raised before him in a gesture of offering, with a cartouche of hieroglyphs above. The stone is broken at its edges and displayed against a dark background.
Temple relief of Ramesses II praying, c. 1249 BCE. State Museum of Egyptian Art.

About this source

What it is

This is a fragment of a sandstone temple relief carved in ancient Egypt around 1249 BCE. It shows an Egyptian pharaoh, identified by his cartouche, wearing a tall crown and raising his arms in an offering gesture. It is now kept in the State Museum of Egyptian Art.

Why it matters

Egyptian temples usually paired two kinds of royal image: the pharaoh as a mighty warrior, and the pharaoh as a devoted worshipper of the gods. This relief belongs to the second type. It shows how Ramesses II wanted to be remembered not only for his battles but also for his piety, reinforcing his claim to rule as a figure close to the gods.

Look closer

  • What does the pose of the figure tell you about the purpose of this image?
  • Why might temple art show a king performing religious acts rather than ruling or fighting?
  • What is missing from this broken fragment that might have told us more?

This sculpture 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

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

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