Hand colored etching from "Monumenti dell' Egitto e della Nubia" by Ippolito Rosellini from a wall relief on the Great Temple of Abu Simbel. A Syrian fortress is under attack from the army of Ramesses. Its defenders are pierced by the arrows of the pharaoh. Ramesses II (1303-1213 BC) referred to as Ramesses the Great, was the third Egyptian pharaoh (reigned 1279-1213 BC) of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire. Ramesses fought in Syria against the resurgent Hittite forces.