Reign
Pharaoh Seti I - The Pharaohs - The PeopleFather to the Infamous Pharaoh Ramses II or Ramses the Great, was it Seti who taught Ramses how to be a great Pharaoh?
Reign
Pharaoh Seti I inherited the Throne from his father, Pharaoh Ramses I, and is generally considered by Egyptologists to be the greatest ruler of the 19th Dynasty, despite his son’s title as Pharaoh Ramses the Great! Unfortunately, Seti died before he could outshine his son’s immense building projects, and this is how Ramses is the greater-known Pharaoh of this period.
Pharaoh Seti I’s primary Task was to reassert Egypt’s presence as an Empire through the Foreign Policy and a rejuvenated Military.
Regnal Year 1
Pharaoh took his military and moved along the Horus Military Road which led, along the coast, from the north eastern corner of the Nile Delta to Canaan and was dotted throughout with Military Forts and Garrisons, each of which had their own internal Well for water. Egyptologists are aware of these details due to Reliefs that Pharaoh commissioned on the Northern Wall of the Hypostyle Hall at Karnak.
This was a strategic move for a newly crowned Pharaoh in order to “sure up” his weakest link. Pharaoh Akhenaten had lost Egypt’s grasp over the Hittite’s after the death of his mother left the Foreign Policy of Egypt is very less capable hands and they were now encroaching into Egypt’s lands more frequently and with more voracity. To learn more about this period, click here and scroll down to the Reign of a new Pharaoh section.
During his Campaign down the Horus Military Road, Pharaoh and his Army met and fought with local Shasu Bedouins; then in Canaan he captured the City States of Yenoam and Beth Shan; and on into Lebanon where the local Chieftains handed Pharaoh valuable Cedar Wood as a tribute to him. Egyptologists are aware of all these details due to Stelae that Pharaoh had commissioned in these Cities.
His main foe in this regard was that of the Hittite Empire and concentrating the attack on the now Syrian town of Kadesh. His Military Campaign was successful in reclaiming the City and with his son, Crown Prince Ramses II, they entered the city triumphantly.
He went on to regain most of the land that Egypt had lost during the reigns of Pharaoh Akhenaten, his son Pharaoh Tutankhamun, and Pharaoh Ay through his phenomenally successful Military Campaigns. For more information about Egypt’s ongoing dealings with the Hittite Empire, click here.
Pharaoh Seti I’s Military successes were recorded throughout Egypt in massive Reliefs on Temple Walls.
Regnal Year 3 or 4 and maybe other times
Pharaoh defeated the Libyan Tribesmen who penetrated Egypt’s border to the West although this would only force them to regroup and play havoc during the reigns of Pharaoh’s grandson and later.
Regnal Year 8
Pharaoh sent his son, Crown Prince Ramses, with the Egyptian Army to put down a revolt in Nubia.
Regnal Year 9
Pharaoh personally opened a new Quarry at Aswan and commissioned them to hew massive Statues and Obelisks for his use at Temples throughout Egypt. Regrettably these were not completed by the time of his death in Regnal Year 11, and most were finished by his son, Pharaoh Ramses II, during the first year of his reign.
