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Ramses the 2nd and His Time

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Ramses II And His Time takes up the story from the end of Velikovsky's book Oedipus And Akhnaton. The author revises the accepted period of the Chaldean or Neo-Babylonian empire. He makes a rather convincing case that these Chaldeans were not indigenous to the city of Babylon but that they were really the Hittites of Asia Minor. He draws parallels between the emperors of Babylon and the Chaldean kings. At the same time in Egypt, Velikovsky identifies the 19th dynasty of Seti and Ramses with the 26th dynasty of Psamtik, Necho and Apries.

This period in Velikovsky's revised history starts with the first confrontation between what the author considers the contemporaries Ramses II and Nebuchadnezzar and ends with the Persian conquest of Libya and Egypt, from where the story continues in the aforementioned book Peoples Of The Sea. In between there are informative discussions of the origin of the alphabet, the pictographic script of the Hittites, the ruins of Yazilikaya and other monuments of Asia Minor, the Israel stele of Merneptah and the lamentations of Jeremiah.

The epilogue is devoted to the counterarguments that Velokovsky expected from the critics. The pieces here include titles like Tanis And Sais, How Long Did Seti And Ramses II Reign?, Two Suppiluliumas, Bronze And Iron, Scarabs And Stratigraphy. The synchronical tables that follow lays out his revised history of this era for Egypt, Judah, Chaldea, Lydia-Phrygia, Media-Persia and Greece.

There are 30 black and white illustrations including the Steles of Essarhaddon and Ramses II at Nahr El Kelb, the sarcophagus of Ahiram, The Lion Gate Of Hattussas, The Israel Stele Of Merneptah and The Mummy Of Ramses II. The book concludes with a thorough index.

The fact that Ramses II lived at the end of the 7th century BC and was the same person as Pharao Necho II of the Scriptures may not be widely accepted, but Velikovsky's brilliant writing style certainly sparked a renewed interest in ancient history and still provides great reading pleasure. I recommend this classic of alternative history to all those who are interested in the ancient history of the Middle East, Egyptology and biblical archaeology.