Ramses the Great's Food Riots: Hunger and Unrest in Pi-Ramesses

In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore a little-known crisis of Ramses II's reign: the food riots that broke out in his glittering capital, Per-Ramesses. Despite the pharaoh's grand building projects and military triumphs, grain shortages—exacerbated by low Nile floods and the demands of a vast workforce—sparked protests and even a strike by tomb workers at Deir el-Medina. Lucas walks Luna through the logistics of ancient Egyptian grain storage, the role of the granaries, and the political tightrope Ramses walked between feeding his people and feeding his ambitions. They discuss the Papyrus Salt 124, which records a worker's complaint about stolen rations, and the larger implications of food insecurity in a state that presented itself as divinely ordered. The episode also touches on the limits of pharaonic power and how hunger could shake the throne. #RamsesII #PerRamesses #FoodRiots #DeirElMedina #PiRamesses #AncientEgypt #GrainStorage #PapyrusSalt124 #NileFlood #Strike #TombWorkers #UserrenputAanehktu #Famine #Egyptology #History #FexingoHistory #19thDynasty #Kemet Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo