| The man who had
to follow such a great king was one of Ramesses's many sons, Merneptah
(c. 1212 - 1202). As soon as he acceded to the throne, he had to crush a revolt that had
broken out in Syria. While he was in the area, he sent grain to alleviate the sufferings
of the Hittites, who were enduring something of a famine at the time. In year 5 of his
short reign, there was a rebellion in Nubia and the western oases by the Libyans, which
was crushed by a pre-emptive strike. Merneptah
was buried in KV8, close to the tomb of Ramesses II, but slightly higher up so it hasn't
suffered from the water damage that has so disfigured Ramesses's tomb. His granite
sarcophagus was found in the intact tomb of King Psusennes at Tanis (the only intact
pharaoh's tomb ever discovered). When his mummy was not amongst those discovered at Deir
el-Bahari in 1881, there was considerable speculation that he had been the pharaoh drowned
when Moses escaped through the Red Sea. However, such speculation was laid to rest when
the tomb of Amenhotep was opened in 1898 - Merneptah's mummy was found there.
There was a brief period of instability following Merneptah's death, as the Crown Prince
Seti-Merneptah was usurped by Amenmesses (c. 1202 - 1199, buried in
KV10). The Crown Prince regained his rightful place soon after though, as King Seti
II (c. 1199 - 1193). As was traditional when you hated your predecessor, Seti
destroyed all the cartouches belonging to Amenmesses.
Seti was followed by Siptah (c. 1193 - 1187), who was buried in KV47 and
was found to have had a clubfoot when his mummy was discovered in Amenhotep II's tomb in
1898.
Siptah was in turn followed by his stepmother, Queen Twosret (c. 1187 -
1185, buried in KV14). Her death brought the 19th dynasty to a close.
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