Ramesses II (Egypt)

Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great, was one of Egypt’s most powerful pharaohs and ruled during the 19th Dynasty. He is often connected to the historical background of the Exodus tradition because the Book of Exodus says the Israelites were forced to build the store-cities of Pithom and Raamses. The Bible does not mention a pharaoh named Ramesses as a character; it only mentions the city/place-name Raamses, which is associated by many scholars with the royal city of Pi-Ramesses in the Nile Delta. Because Ramesses II had major building projects in this region, some theories identify his reign as the setting of Israelite oppression in Egypt, or connect him to the wider memory behind the Exodus story.