Ramses the Great and the Sherden Pirates

Before the famous Battle of Kadesh, Ramses II faced a very different kind of threat from the sea. In his second year on the throne, a coalition of raiders known as the Sherden—possibly part of the later Sea Peoples—attacked Egypt's Mediterranean coast. Ramses responded swiftly, setting a naval ambush and capturing many of the pirates, whom he then integrated into his personal guard and army. This episode explores who the Sherden were, where they may have come from, and how Ramses's decisive action not only secured Egypt's shores but also added crack foreign troops to his forces. We'll look at the inscriptions from the walls of the Ramesseum and Tanis that record the battle, the evidence of Sherden mercenaries in subsequent campaigns, and the broader context of Late Bronze Age migration and raiding. Lucas also touches on the ongoing debate about the Sherden's origins—Sardinia, the Aegean, or Anatolia—and how Ramses's integration policy foreshadowed later Roman and Byzantine military practices. It's a story of adaptation and empire-building that reveals a less familiar side of Egypt's warrior pharaoh. #RamsesII #Sherden #SeaPeoples #EgyptianNavy #NavalWarfare #LateBronzeAge #Mediterranean #Piracy #Mercenaries #Ramesseum #Tanis #Kemet #Pharaoh #FexingoHistory #History #AncientHistory #MilitaryHistory #BronzeAgeCollapse Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo