Ramesses II was the son of pharaoh King Seti I and Queen Tuya. Ramesses was extraordinarily long-lived for his age, and outlived at least 13 of his sons.

Ramesses became co-ruler with his father, Seti I, when he was a teenager. He joined his father on many campaigns and at the age of just 22 Ramesses went on a campaign in Nubia with two of his own sons!

In 1290 BC Seti I died and Ramesses became pharaoh. He immediately started a war against the Syrians. This war included the famous Battle of Kadesh which Ramesses II claimed to have won and which he had sculpted on many walls including the temple at Karnak.