The Foundation of Pi-Ramesse: Strengthening the Rule of the 19 th Dynasty and Displaying Egypt to the Outside World

Abstract

In the past, the statement from P. Anastasi II, that everybody left his city to settle in Pi-Ramesse, has mainly been interpreted in a somewhat propagandistic sense – everybody wanted to leave their old city to come to the marvellous new capital with all its wonders. While this interpretation might have been the author’s intention, based on the reality of a new capital, it can be interpreted in different ways: a new place needs people to function. This gave the founder of the new city the opportunity to carefully choose these people to enhance and stabilize his power. Moreover, the city, with its particular location, served as a gateway into Egypt and thus also as a showcase to foreigners. The Egyptian sovereigns could demonstrate their power and access to resources by monumental building. This contribution aims to highlight some rarely discussed motivations for the foundation of Pi-Ramesse.

‘When a dynasty achieves superiority over the previous dynasty, it must attempt to transfer the people and partisans of the previous dynasty to another region where it can be sure that it will not be secretly attacked by them.’

Ibn Khaldûn, The Muqaddimah ¹

Everybody has left his city and settles in its [i.e. Pi-Ramesse] district’

P. Anastasi II, 10 ²

Introduction

In the past, the statement from P. Anastasi II, quoted above, has mainly been interpreted in a somewhat propagandistic sense – everybody wanted to leave their old city to come to the marvellous new capital with all its wonders. While this interpretation might have been the author’s intention, based on the reality of a new capital, it can be interpreted in different ways: a new place needs people to function. This gives the founder of the new city opportunities by carefully choosing these people to enhance and stabilize his power. Moreover, not all people coming to Pi-Ramesse were Egyptian; the city, with its particular location, also served as a gateway into Egypt and thus also as a showcase to foreigners. The Egyptian sovereigns could demonstrate their power and access to resources by monumental building, knowing that the news would spread. This contribution aims to highlight some rarely discussed motivations for the foundation of Pi-Ramesse.

This contribution is dedicated to Edgar B. Pusch, without whose work for more than four decades at Qantir-Pi-Ramesse – from 1980 until he passed away in January 2023 – these ideas could not be put into a framework of archaeological results and would remain mere guesswork, without the evidence from the ground.

Founding Pi-Ramesse: Why?

Several ideas have previously been put forward to explain the foundation of Pi-Ramesses. These reasons can largely be divided into ideological, personal, and pragmatic. ³ The limits of the categories proposed above are not static and might overlap, while the ideas laid out below, after the presentation of previously stated theories, should not be seen as entirely replacing what has been said before, but as an addition:

• 1) Ideological reasons: Any foundation of a residential city or capital can be interpreted as a display of royal power and (religious) ideology: it becomes a monument of power. ⁴ John Baines calls the creation of a city an ‘essential aspect of the Egyptian performance of power’. ⁵ In the case of Pi-Ramesse this is especially obvious, given that the city’s name contains the ruler’s name. Religious reasons also play a role because the new capital is connected to the god Seth, who became much more important in the Ramesside Period and was closely associated with the royal family. ⁶ Moreover, parts of the monumental expression of the personal deification of Ramesses II are connected to Pi-Ramesse. ⁷

• 2) Personal: Personal reasons or family-related reasons have been brought forward too – this is somewhat surprising for the question of the foundation of a royal capital. The royal family of the 19^th Dynasty appears to have had a connection to the Eastern Nile Delta. ⁸

  Snape states that foundations such as Akhet-Aton or Pi-Ramesse ‘can also be seen as the somewhat egotistical projections of royal identity – the Akhenaten/Aten relationship for Amarna, and the elevation of a smallish hometown to national prominence in the case of Ramesses II.’ ⁹ This personal connection to the Eastern Delta had also been put forward by von Beckerath who saw this reason as a primary one, while describing the military function as secondary and caused by the somewhat ‘Near-Eastern’ connection of a royal family that came from the Eastern Delta. ¹⁰

• 3) Pragmatic: I define anything that is based, for instance, on the realpolitik or on environmental grounds, and changes thereof, as a pragmatic reason. It is in this field that the most convincing reasons for the foundation of Pi-Ramesse have been identified thus far: the foundation as a reaction to the geopolitical challenges of the time. Situated on an island in the easternmost branch of the Nile in the Nile Delta, it was a brilliant strategic location. ¹¹ Bietak concludes: ‘In order to keep control of the Near Eastern interests of Egypt it was necessary to relocate the political centre of the country to such a geographic position as to facilitate quick reaction to Near Eastern political developments and to have quick access to the Levant’. ¹² This is, of course, a very likely reason, but the question remains: why was Ramesses II the only one to move the capital up north? Any of his predecessors in the 18^th Dynasty could have moved north or – as had previously been the case – Ramesses could have chosen to enlarge and renew what had already been a royal military stronghold and secondary residence in the earlier 18^th Dynasty.

Another Pragmatic Reason

Murnane’s elaborations on the historic condition of the period offer the basis for an additional pragmatic reason, based on the problems arising from the royal succession at the end of the 18^th/beginning of the 19^th Dynasties, and the problems of legitimacy and the practical exercise of power:

‘[…] Its [the 19^th Dynasty] political power, grounded in Horemheb’s adoption of the family and in the administrative experience of its members, was equally shallow – shallow enough for it to fear competition in the very ranks from which it had sprung. […] The future that lay before the young Ramses II could not have inspired the greatest confidence.’ ¹³

When Ramesses II became ruler of Egypt after the death of his father Seti I, the 19^th Dynasty was only about ten years old. ¹⁴ As stressed by Murnane above, or later by Brand, the success of Ramesses II’s reign – which seems so obvious in retrospect from our modern standpoint – was far from clear in the early years of the pharaoh’s reign. ¹⁵ Ramesses II, like his father, sought to legitimize his reign by promoting the cult of his deceased father. Some signs of instability might be visible through the presence (and ultimate replacement of his representations by Ramesses II) of Mehy during the reign of Seti I. Even though Mehy’s status is far from clear, he might have been a potential contender for the crown. Ramesses II perhaps saw him as a menace to his aspirations, as Murnane supposes. ¹⁶ It is in this not yet secure situation that Ramesses II decided, right at the beginning of his reign, to move the capital to Pi-Ramesse; this location had already served his father as a residence, even though we do not yet know to what extent. ¹⁷

It is against this background that another reason for the founding of Pi-Ramesse can be sought. The hymn on Papyrus Anastasi II states that ‘everybody left his city’ to come to Pi-Ramesse. This statement is interesting for a variety of reasons. While it can be interpreted as an expression of ‘propaganda’, praising the new capital as a place where everybody wants to live, it can also be read alternatively. It relates to a reality: the new city needs inhabitants to function; from the craftsmen and builders necessary to erect and maintain the monuments to the members of the administration. While Pi-Ramesse was not founded on virgin soil, it can be assumed that a lot of people had to come to the new capital, and maybe not always voluntarily. This created hardships, especially for the lower strata of society; for instance, cutting bonds to traditional social networks while creating new ones. Such a situation would have created additional stress for the new citizens of Pi-Ramesse, even more so in a pre-modern society where distances of hundreds of kilometres mean a profound separation. ¹⁸

But seen from the king’s perspective, there is another aspect. At the moment of Pi-Ramesse’s foundation, no nationally important administrative or religious centre was located there; virtually no local, old-established national elite that needed to be included in the fabric of the new capital and its administration. Instead, the king could choose the members of the new administration who would follow him to Pi-Ramesse. Thus, the foundation of the new capital represents the process outlined by Ibn Khaldûn, just vice versa: The ‘people and partisans’ of the old dynasty had not been sent away, but instead the king moved away with his court. It is thus a concentration of power in the new royal residence. ¹⁹ While sometimes mentioned as an aspect en passant by other authors, ²⁰ to my knowledge, the effect of this has never been properly assessed. Before doing so, it needs to be stated that the importance of the network of people around the king cannot be overestimated. While not every king might have been a ‘puppet in the hands of certain groups of people’ ²¹ – groups that make the king – every king needed loyal officials, executing his political ideas and decisions. These groups were made by the king and acted as a network for him, but likely also served their own ideas and power. ²² At its core, this group might not have consisted of more than a few dozen people. ²³ Physical vicinity to the king – the ‘Raum der Königsnähe’ as Auenmüller very appropriately calls it – is a defining element of the negotiated territoriality of the functionaries. ²⁴ The founding of a new city can thus be interpreted as the king actively supporting the creation of a new, separate environment for a loyal group of people, serving him geographically distant from the old centre of power. ²⁵

The Importance of Pi-Ramesse

To decide whether the foundation of Pi-Ramesse can be interpreted in the way outlined above, evidence is needed to support the notion that Pi-Ramesse really was the place where important activities took place and members of the elite lived. This leads us to the decisive question regarding Pi-Ramesse: Can we connect important people and institutions to the city? While this contribution cannot give a full assessment, it is known that members of the network of the highest officials around Ramesses II were present at Pi-Ramesse. ²⁶ Even though the bad state of preservation of the city and its monuments, and the lack of elite burials at Pi-Ramesse, ²⁷ lead to a smaller number of monuments when compared to other sites in Egypt, there is plenty of evidence. Most evidence for people present at Pi-Ramesse comes from the door frames of villas and a couple of stelae.

Officials and institutions

One individual in particular can be named here: the vizier (Pa-)Rahotep, who often mentions Pi-Ramesse in his titles. ²⁸ This is an otherwise unknown phenomenon, which underlines the clear distinction and awareness of Pi-Ramesse as being a separate and remarkable place. As well as (Pa-)Rahotep, the ‘sn-brotherhood’ surrounding the Abydene high-priest of Osiris Wenennefer was also connected to the new residence. ²⁹ Other important people known from Pi-Ramesse are (Pa-)Rahotep’s colleague, the vizier Paser, ³⁰ as well as Tia and Tia, the sister of Ramesses II and her husband. ³¹ Evidenced by their titles, the latter couple were also included in the administrative and cultural fabric of Pi-Ramesse. ³² Several important people connected to the diplomatic service of Ramesside Egypt are also known from the inscriptional material from Pi-Ramesse. ³³ Foremost of all is Netjerwymes/Parekhnu. ³⁴ He was probably the most important diplomat involved in both the peace treaty with the Hittite Empire and the negotiations for the marriage between Ramesses II and a Hittite princess. ³⁵ Finally, based on the assumed origin of the royal family in the region, it might mean that they had an old regional network of officials at their disposal – officials that they were well accustomed to and who were loyal to them.

Of course, the courtiers of New Kingdom Egypt (including the king) were highly mobile, as set out in detail by Auenmüller, for example. ³⁶ The presence of monuments of such people at a location can thus be just one piece of evidence for the importance of Pi-Ramesse, as they were also present elsewhere. A monument just points towards their temporary presence at Pi-Ramesse, ³⁷ even though the mention of Pi-Ramesse within the titles of (Pa-)Rahotep stands out. It might be added that at the end of his career (Pa-)Rahotep took over posts as high priest of Ptah at Memphis and Ra at Heliopolis. ³⁸ This is a parallel to Netjerwjmes/Parekhnu who also held high titles at Memphis. ³⁹ One could argue that high-ranking officials who had proven their ability and loyalty to the new dynasty at Pi-Ramesse were later sent out across the country, including to the old centres, to ensure that decisive offices outside the capital were also held by proven personnel.

The presence of important institutions can also be ascertained. Besides Pi-Ramesse being the seat of the northern vizier, at least from year nineteen of Ramesses II, ⁴⁰ the ‘office of the letters of Pharaoh’, interpreted by Borchardt as a ‘foreign office’, was located there. ⁴¹ The physical presence of diplomatic correspondence can be proven by a fragmentary cuneiform tablet, found in 2003. ⁴² Thus, within the city, diplomatic relations with foreign countries were controlled and managed. Important diplomatic personnel, already outlined above, were present in the city, as was the archive, and thus the important information within.

Another very enlightening episode in this respect – the physical presence of an institution and connected information – is found in an inscription in the tomb of Mose at Saqqara. Mose travelled to Pi-Ramesse to consult the land registers in the royal treasury and the office of the granary of pharaoh. ⁴³ In this case, even written knowledge created before the foundation of Pi-Ramesse, important for the exercise of power, was moved there. This potentially left members of the old elite behind, as they were now deprived of access to this information. If only copies had been transferred to Pi-Ramesse, with the originals left at Memphis, or if copies had been left at Memphis, Mose would not have needed to proceed to Pi-Ramesse. In my opinion, this is even more significant as we know that the king and high-ranking officials were highly mobile and travelled around the country, while it might be quite safe to assume that archives were not permanently on the move.

In a pre-modern society with much slower means of communication, the geographical distance of documents and interactions was of much greater importance than today. The old centres, such as Memphis and Thebes, were located at a distance of approximately three days and about two weeks, respectively. ⁴⁴ Thus, there was a considerable delay before news of a decision reached non-members of the court. It would have taken a week from Memphis, and a month from Thebes, to go and check documents at Pi-Ramesse and then return home, if a person lived in one of these cities.

While the foundation, or the improved promotion, of the city as the major royal residence might be connected to a single point in time, the creation of the group around the king was a longer process as evidenced by individuals, such as the southern vizier Paser who already served Seti I and maybe even Ramesses I. ⁴⁵

Thus, moving the capital can be considered a decisive moment within this process of consolidating power around the beginning of Ramesses II’s reign, perhaps building on steps already taken by his father.

The military aspect

The choice of a favourable location in the military-strategic sense can also be connected to the attempt to separate the new dynasty from the exponents of the old ruling elite. While this makes sense due to the strategically brilliant position of Pi-Ramesse, as outlined above, the turn from the 18^th to the 19^th Dynasty sees a general emphasis on the military, sometimes even resulting in the designation of early Ramesside Egypt as a military dictatorship. ⁴⁶ Choosing a strategically important location, not just as a military stronghold but as a residential city, stresses once again the close connection between the military and the king. Stables of the royal chariotry and the large-scale production of metal were also located within the city, close to palatial complexes, even though their exact contemporaneity is not clear. ⁴⁷

Pi-Ramesse as setting for important events during Ramesses II’s reign

With the military at hand, and a chosen group of loyal people around the king, Pi-Ramesse could also serve as the stage – at least according to the preserved texts – to the most dangerous and most innovative events of Ramesses II’s reign, both in a domestic and an international sense, which in turn were also used to strengthen the position of the king. ⁴⁸ After the battle of Qadesh, the king returned to Pi-Ramesse; years later, the messengers bearing the peace treaty reached the king at Pi-Ramesse, as did the Hittite delegation accompanying the Hittite princess, which became the Egyptian Queen Maathorneferura. The new city became the self-designed stage on which the king operated. Not only could he choose the people who surrounded him, but also – even if he tried to attach Pi-Ramesse to existing traditions – create a new scenery made up of monumental architecture, obelisks, and statues showing the king himself and presenting his power.

The antagonism between Pi-Ramesse and the old centres

One more piece of evidence for the importance of Pi-Ramesse might be gathered from texts mentioning Pi-Ramesse and other cities. Ragazzoli points out that there are signs of a rivalry between the new Pi-Ramesse and the old city Thebes. ⁴⁹ Habachi even considered the turmoil at the end of the 20^th Dynasty as a fight between the followers of Seth and the followers of Amun who wanted revenge for having deprived Amun, Thebes, and the clergy of Thebes of their previous central position. ⁵⁰ While the purely religious aspect might not have played too large a role, and not necessarily over a period of 200 years, a kind of cultural memory kept a grudge alive at Thebes; the general sense of rivalry is certainly visible in the texts analysed by Ragazzoli, which show the consciousness regarding the concentration of power at another place. This once more points towards the reality of a new centre of power, because otherwise no rivalry would have been necessary.

The foundation of Pi-Ramesse: Conventional or extraordinary?

In contrast to Akhet-Aten, the foundation of Pi-Ramesse did not mark an explicit change in royal and religious ideology. Pi-Ramesse was founded in a region that had been inhabited for at least 700 years, since the beginning of the Middle Kingdom, and integrated older settlements, such as Avaris and probably Imet. ⁵¹ Also, the texts connect the city to the old centres of Memphis and Thebes. ⁵² Founding Pi-Ramesse was therefore as much conventional as extraordinary; it might be better compared with Middle Kingdom Itj-Tawj than Akhet-Aten. Moreover, it needs to be stated that the king himself travelled a lot and was not always present in the new capital; nevertheless, the presence of important parts of the administration, the keeping of important knowledge, and the existence of significant military installations at Pi-Ramesse underlines the impetus of the new capital’s foundation.

The international aspect

Built between ‘Palestine and Egypt’ as P. Anastasi II explicitly states, ⁵³ Pi-Ramesse is geographically situated at the edge of the Egyptian heartland and thus as close to the outside world as possible within the confines of Egypt. The statement from P. Anastasi II shows the Egyptian awareness of this situation, while the reference to the city as something about which the ruler corresponds once again underlines the awareness and the wish that news about the new city should spread beyond Egypt’s borders. ⁵⁴

The geographical position and orientation to the outside world are thus not a coincidence. While Pi-Ramesse might not have been ‘probably the vastest and most costly royal residence ever erected by the hand of man’, ⁵⁵ archaeological research proves that it was of huge dimensions, adorned with monumental buildings, the remains of which are known from Tanis and probably Bubastis where they were brought after the end of the city. ⁵⁶ Recent excavations and a magnetic survey have added to our knowledge, confirming its extent, making it one of the largest known settlements not only in Egypt, but of the Late Bronze Age in the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond. ⁵⁷ It truly was a monument representing pharaoh’s power. It brought monumental Egypt a little closer to the outside world. Its position ensured that most travellers’ first encounter with Egypt, when entering via the Pelusiac Nile Branch, was a city of huge dimensions adorned with monumental buildings already visible from a distance in the flat landscape of the Nile Delta. Moreover, the fact that Pi-Ramesse was surely one of the major ports of entry for foreign goods meant that even more foreign people saw it, spreading the message of pharaoh’s power and Egypt’s splendour. ⁵⁸ In contrast, reaching Memphis would have led to several days of travelling through the plains of the Delta – fertile and green for sure, but without a real metropolis and real expressions of the monumental display of power, so central to Pharaonic Egypt.

A monumental new capital, oriented to the outside world is part of a phenomenon visible all over the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia. Almost exactly contemporary to Pi-Ramesse are the cities of Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta in Assyria and the new Hittite capital Tarhuntašša in Southern Anatolia. Tarhuntašša was founded during the reign of Muwatalli II (c. 1310–1282 BCE) in the south of Anatolia, most likely in or near modern Kizildag. ⁵⁹ This development, during the Late Bronze Age, can be categorized as the expression of competition between the region’s territorial empires. ⁶⁰ The reasons for the foundation of Tarhuntašša are much debated, and, almost certainly, internal Hittite reasons played a role. ⁶¹ In addition, having – like Pi-Ramesse – a better strategic location within the centre of the Late Bronze Age world also seems to have influenced the decision to locate the city further to the south. ⁶² Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta followed a couple of decades later towards the end of the thirteenth century BCE. It was named after the Assyrian king Tukultī-Ninurta and thus resembled Pi-Ramesse. A contributing element to its foundation might have been the (perceived) need for a representative capital of a comparatively new, but powerful empire. ⁶³ The close exchange between the political entities and the continuous travelling of people, be it for trade, wars, or diplomatic exchange, guaranteed that the news of a new capital and its splendours would spread.

Plenty of evidence proves the presence of foreigners, both temporary and permanent, in Pi-Ramesse. We know that Hittite delegations arrived at Pi-Ramesse in relation to the peace treaty between Ramesses II and Hattušili III, and later again for the marriages with two Hittite princesses who might have subsequently lived for periods at Pi-Ramesse. ⁶⁴ A Levantine resident of Pi-Ramesse, perhaps an ambassador or trade envoy of some sort, is attested by the door frame of a villa belonging to Yapa^ca-Ba^clu, a ‘wr’ – ‘great one’ – of the coastal city of Sidon. ⁶⁵

Moreover, the material culture points towards a community using international goods and ideas. This includes technological exchange as expressed by the production of shields that followed Hittite models ⁶⁶ and the presence of large amounts of imported pottery from the Levant and the Aegean. ⁶⁷ The quality of Pi-Ramesse as a trading hub is also expressed in a hymn, recently published by Fischer-Elfert. ⁶⁸ Not only is trading an activity that connects Pi-Ramesse with the rest of the world, but the text also uses foreign words to refer to this aspect.

The construction of monumental expressions of the ruler’s power at the border of Egypt connects well with Ramesses’ construction projects in the south of the country. There, another much smaller settlement (called pA-dmj) was also named Pi-Ramesse. ⁶⁹ But while this settlement is much smaller and located in a barren environment, the nearby monumental temple of Abu Simbel fulfils a similar function: a monumental entrance gate to Egypt, signalling the power and capabilities of pharaoh. Another similarity to the capital is the presence of colossal statues of the king on the temple’s façade that bear individual names. ⁷⁰ Amara West, even further south, also bears the name of Pi-Ramesse and has quite a large temple of Ramesses II. Interestingly, Amara West was first given the name Pi-Men[maatre] before its name was changed to Pi-Ramesse. ⁷¹ This could be evidence for what Uphill had already presumed, namely that Pi-Ramesse in the Delta might have been Pi-Seti first. ⁷² While this cannot be proven, it is a charming idea that might point towards Seti I as progenitor of the concept of both moving the capital to the Delta and marking the borders to the north and south with cities and towns named after the king and containing monumental architecture.

To conclude, it can be said that even though some of the reasons for founding the respective new capitals might have been individual, the display of power certainly was important. This holds especially true for Pi-Ramesse, which was in a pivotal position for the trade and traffic in and out of Egypt. The new Egyptian capital became a part of the political and economic landscape of the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond – a showcase of Egypt and its wealth and power for every traveller. Central visual and ideological elements of Pi-Ramesse, such as monumentality and named colossal statues of the deified ruler, are paralleled in Nubia at the southern entrance into Egypt where Abu Simbel and the other Nubian temples of Ramesses II provided an equally grand entry into Egypt.

Was the Foundation of Pi-Ramesse Successful?

It is hard to estimate how successful founding Pi-Ramesse was. Given the long reign of Ramesses II, it surely seems not to have affected his time on the throne in a negative way and was probably one element that secured his rule and the dynasty’s power. How long the effect of having an environment shaped by and for the king remained in vigour cannot be estimated for certain and the sustainability for his successors must be questioned, given the events towards the end of the 19^th Dynasty. While Amenmesse was most likely never up in the north during his reign, Tausret and Bay might very well have been. This is shown, for example, by two sphinxes, found at Tell Nebeshe, neighbouring Pi-Ramesse (and probably a part of it), which bear traces of an inscription by Bay. ⁷³ Thus, the new capital had become the centre of a now-established network that was no longer controlled by a strong and active king. Instead, the network at Pi-Ramesse, or in which Pi-Ramesse was involved, also contained the people ‘making the king’ which Ramesses II might have sought to escape.

Nonetheless, Pi-Ramesse remained important at the beginning of the 20^th Dynasty. Sethnakht is known to have used Pi-Ramesse and renovated the stables of the chariotry. ⁷⁴ The same holds true under Ramesses III, who is known to have been at Pi-Ramesse in person and who at least planned to celebrate his Sed-festival there. ⁷⁵ The exact involvement of important people of Pi-Ramesse in the so-called Harem Conspiracy, which seems to have taken place at Thebes, is unclear, though there is evidence that Iyry, one of the conspirators, had a villa at Pi-Ramesse. ⁷⁶ Towards the later 20^th Dynasty, the picture becomes blurred once more, and nothing can be said regarding the frequency of the royal presence and the institutions beyond speculation, because monuments and any kind of evidence are almost totally missing. ⁷⁷

How impressive the new capital was for non-Egyptians who visited is equally hard to estimate. The afterlife of Pi-Ramesse adds to this rather ambiguous image. While the physical aspect almost completely vanished from the surface of the Nile Delta, leading to a long discussion regarding the location of Pi-Ramesse, immaterial traces of it remain enshrined in the cultural memory of the three large monotheistic religions.

Conclusion

The foundation of Pi-Ramesse can best be explained by pragmatic reasons, partially complemented by ideological motivations. However, it needs to be stressed that all of these causes played a role and are intertwined; if one of them was most prevalent, and if so, which of them, cannot be answered at this time. These reasons can be summarised as follows:

1) The need of the new dynasty to establish itself and to distance itself from some of the potentially disloyal protagonists of the old ruling elite. Founding Pi-Ramesse was thus a conscious creation of distance and the separation of important knowledge from old elites.

2) The personal connection of the 19^th Dynasty to the Eastern Delta might have meant that the new dynasty could rely on old local or regional networks in the region for their rule.

3) The brilliant strategic location was favourable given the geopolitical situation, and connected well with the military connections of the ruling family.

4) The 19^th Dynasty sees a further opening of Egypt to the outside world. Founding a new grand capital served as a tool to enhance the visibility of the power and wealth of Egypt and its ruling family to all visitors from the Eastern Mediterranean who had their first encounter with Egypt at Pi-Ramesse and then spread the news.