Ramses the Great's Scarab Beetle Propaganda Machine

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore one of the most ingenious propaganda tools of Ramses the Great's reign: the commemorative scarab beetle. These small stone amulets, inscribed with royal announcements, were mass-produced and distributed across the empire and beyond — from the marshes of the Nile Delta to the palaces of Ugarit. We trace the evolution of the scarab from a simple seal to a sophisticated medium of state messaging, focusing on the famous series from Year 1 and 2 of Ramses's reign that celebrated his first Nubian campaign and the arrival of a rare wild bull. We examine the craftsmanship of the scarab cutters, the hieroglyphic texts that blend historical fact with divine propaganda, and the archaeological detective work that revealed these objects were manufactured in official workshops at Per-Ramesses. Along the way, we touch on the political context of Ramses's early years, the role of the god Khepri, and how these tiny artifacts shaped perceptions of the pharaoh's power for centuries. #RamsesTheGreat #AncientEgypt #ScarabBeetle #Khepri #PerRamesses #Nubia #Propaganda #Hieroglyphs #Amulets #NewKingdom #EgyptianArtifacts #FexingoHistory #LucasAndLuna #Ugarit #Kemet #Userrenputaanehktu #Archaeology #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo