Is immortality possible? Despite great accomplishments by the paramount influential leaders of any era, sooner or later their legacies seem to be swallowed by history. Events occur in irreversible succession. Anything built eventually crumbles; deeds fade and are forgotten. Nevertheless, a single powerful person can initiate vast changes, leave grand monuments, and be remembered for millennia. This, then, must be the measure of earthly human immortality. The Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II, known as Ramses the Great, was arguably the most influential pharaoh of the New Kingdom of Egypt; for a monarch such as he, success was measured in military victories, number of offspring, and monument building. Since Ramses excelled in each of these categories and left an enduring mark, in so doing, he achieved a measure of immortality.
Ramses was an excellent and relentless propagandist who counted battles fought by earlier pharaohs and his own defeats as stunning victories. In addition, he had many victories of his own, including battles against the Libyans, Syrians, Nubians (who were reduced to a de facto province of Egypt during his reign), and, most famously, the Hittites. Indeed, Ramses' descriptive title "the Great" came from an early victory over the Hittites at Kadesh. Later battles eventually concluded with history's first peace treaty, between Egypt and the Hittite Empire. This treaty contributed to several decades of peace and prosperity. Under Ramses' leadership, the slow contraction of Egypt's borders was reversed and almost all territory held at the height of Egyptian power was regained. These military victories spread Ramses' fame widely throughout the ancient world.
Though military victories were considered an important measure of success for the pharaohs of Egypt, royal fertility was nearly as important. Infant mortality rates were estimated at 33% in the population in general. In addition, the extremely high prevalence of inbreeding among the royal family is thought to have contributed to a marked incidence of birth defects and congenital illnesses. These factors made it difficult for many pharaohs to produce an heir, a vital step for continuation of the dynasty. When Ramses died at the age of 92, he had outlived many of his children and even some of his grandchildren. He was succeeded by his 13th son, the oldest surviving male heir at the time of his death. In such a climate, any pharaoh that could produce many children was justifiably proud of that fact, and was accorded great respect. Ramses' children are featured on dozens of monuments and temple walls throughout Egypt. It is generally agreed that at least 30 sons of principal wives survived to adulthood. Given that Ramses likely had approximately as many daughters as sons, had wives who produced stillbirths, had children who died as adolescents or earlier, and had uncounted children by lesser wives, it is estimated that, all told, he fathered perhaps 200 children. This is an impressive number by any standard and would mean his descendants comprise a notable portion of the current world population.
Finally, Ramses built dozens of monuments to memorialize his victories and his family. Many famous and beautiful tombs, temples, and monuments that have survived to this day date back to his rule, including the tomb of his favorite wife, Nefertari, temples at Abu Simbel, additions to the Luxor and Karnak Temples, and most famously, the Ramesseum (Ramses' mortuary temple). Indeed, a broken colossus that stood in front of that temple inspired the poem Ozymandias , by Percy Bysshe Shelley, who used it as an example of the ultimate futility of all human endeavor. But was Shelley's choice a good example? The statue in question was not destroyed by the ravages of time, but was instead defaced by 5th century monks. Ramses' mortuary temple has lasted well over three thousand years, and is a famous, and still substantial, structure today. Even Ramses' mummified body still exists and has been exhibited on tours, which have spanned the globe.
Many Egyptologists assert that Ramses placed the indelible stamp of his personality upon modern-day Egypt. Further, many Egyptian citizens carry his genes. Certainly no earlier rulers, and few later ones, have left as large a legacy. That Shelley, three thousand years later, could even choose one of Ramses' works as an example for his poem, argues against the poem's basic premise. If any measure of earthly immortality can be said to be attainable, then Ramses achieved it.