Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/778

* BAMESES. 686 RAMIE. the city did not surrender. In the fighting around Kadesli, Rameses, with a detachment of his troops, was cut off from the main ljod-. and was for a time in personal dan-er. His exploits on this occasion form the theme of the so-called poem of Pentaur (q.v.), in which they are cele- brated with gross exaggeration. The war con- tinned with varying success for a number of years, but finally a peace was arranged by the terms of which Eg:ipt retained Phoenicia as far as Byhlus aiid a strip of territory to the north of Palestine. In his twenty-first year Rameses concluded an ofl'ensive and defensive alliance with the King of the Hittites and cemented it by mar- rying his daughter. The remainder of Rameses's lonsj" reign was peaceful, and is chiefly remark- able for the large number of important edifices constructed by the King, who, as a Iniilder, sur- passed all other Pharaohs. Among the many splendid temples erected or added to by him those of Abu Simbel, Karnak, Luxor, Abydos, jMemphis, and Bubastis, and the Ramesseuin at Thebes deserve special mention. Rameses also usurped many monuments of his predecessors, cutting away their names and inserting his own name in their stead. By his many wives and concubines he had a numerous progeny. Ifi2 of his children being mentioned by name on the monuments. He died after a reign of 07 years, and his mummy, at first Iniried at Bil)an-el- jMulfik, was subsequently concealed from grave robbers in the shaft at Deir-el-Bahri, where it was found in 1881. Rameses II. was formerly regarded as the Pharaoh of the Oppression, and his son, ]Ier-en-Ptah, as the Pharaoh of the Exodus; see, however, the section on ancient liis- tory under Egypt. See Plate with Egyptian Art. Rameses III., the second Pharaoh of Dynasty XX., reigned for 3'^ years from about 12.30 B.C., or perhaps a little later. In the fifth year of his reio-n he expelled the Libyans who had taken advantage of the weakness of Egypt at the end of Dynasty XIX. to establish themselves in the western part of the Delta. In the eighth year of his reicn he attacked and made tributary the piratical Pulasta' or Philistines, who had recently effected a settlement in Palestine and were mak- ing incursions into the Delta. Three years later he repelled a Libyan ilhvasion. and in his twelfth year he raided "the Amorite district north of Palestine. From this campaign he brought back ■rich booty which he lavished upon the temples of Egypt, and especially upon the national sanctu- ary of Amnion of fhelies. He made, however, no permanent conquests in Asia, and Egyptian influence in that quarter soon sank to a very low ebb. Rameses III., like Rameses II., was a great builder. The great temple of Medinet Habu (q.v.) is his work, and he restored, or made additions to, temples in many parts of Egj'pt. The King's mummy was among those found at Deir-el-Bahri in 1881. He was fol- lowed by nine kings of little importance, all bearing "the name of Rameses (Rameses IV.- XII.), whose reigns mark a steady decline in the affairs of Egypt. Through the enormous wealth lavished upon the temples by many suc- cessive Pharaohs, the ecclesiastical interest had by this time attained a preimnderating influence in the State, and the feeble successors of Rameses III. were mere puppets in the hands of the pow- erful priesthood of Amnion. Finally, about B.C. 1100. Heri-lior, the high priest of Amnion of Thebes, dethroned Rameses XII. and made him- self King in name as well as in fact. Consult: Wiedemann, Aegyptische Geschichie (Gotha, 1884-88) ; E. Meyer, Geschichte des alien Aegyptens (Berlin, 1887) ; Budge, .1 history of Egypt (New York, l!t02) ; Muller, Der Bundiiis- vertrag Jlumcscs' II. wid des Cheliterkoiiigs (Berlin, 1002) ; Die alten Aegypter als Krieger vnd Eroherer in Asien (Leipzig, 1903). EAM'ESSE'UM (Xeo-Lat., from Rameses). A tenqile built by Rameses II. on the west bank of the Nile at Thebes and dedicated to the god Amnion. The temple is now in a ruined condi- tion. The entrance is formed by a great pylon of which the inner face is well preserved and is covered with sculptures representing scenes from Rameses's Syrian campaigns. The outer court was originally inclosed by a wall and had a colonnade on "either side. At the upper end, near the entrance to the inner court, lie the broken fragments of a colossal statue of Rameses II. The inner court was colonnaded on all four sides and the upper end is a terrace leading to the great hypostyle hall, which in plan resembles that of Karnak (q.v.). Sculptures on the south- ern half of the east wall represent the storming of a Hittite fortress in which Rameses and his sons take part. Consult: Lepsius, Denkmiilcr (Berlin, 1840-58): Wilkinson, Topography of Thehrs (London, 1835) ; Marictte, Monuments of Upper Egypt (ib., 1877) ; Diimichen, Gesehiehte des alten Aegyptens (Berlin, 1878) ; Quibell, The liamesseum (London, 1898). BAMESWARAM, ra-mes'wu-riim', or BA- MISSEBAM. A sniall island in the Gulf of jSIanar. forming the western end of the line of black rocks stretching from the Indian Peninsula to Ceylon and known as Adam's Bridge (Map: India," C 7), It is low and sandy and covers an area of 53 square miles. A temple here is believed to have been founde<l by Rama and has been vis- ited for centuries by pilgrims from all over India. The chief town is Painbam, at the western end. The population of the island in 1891 was 17,854, chiefly Brahmins. i RAMIE (Malay name), Boehmerin tcnacis- sima. or nirea : CiiiNA Grass. A nettle-like but I I RAMIE. non-stinging East Indian shrub of the natural order Urticacea". The upright stems produced by the perennial rootstock furnish one of the most