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Ramesses II

Ramesses II  (variously also spelt Rameses or Ramses (Ancient Egyptian: rꜥ-ms-sw "Ra is the one who bore him" > Koinē Greek: Ῥαμέσσης, romanized: Rhaméssēs); c. 1303 BC – July or August 1213; reigned 1279–1213 BC), also known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom. His successors and later Egyptians called him the "Great Ancestor".
He is known as Ozymandias in Greek sources (Koinē Greek: Οσυμανδύας Osymandýas), from the first part of Ramesses' regnal name, Usermaatre Setepenre, "The Maat of Ra is powerful, Chosen of Ra".Ramesses II led several military expeditions into the Levant, reasserting Egyptian control over Canaan. He also led expeditions to the south, into Nubia, commemorated in inscriptions at Beit el-Wali and Gerf Hussein. The early part of his reign was focused on building cities, temples, and monuments. He established the city of Pi-Ramesses in the Nile Delta as his new capital and used it as the main base for his campaigns in Syria. At fourteen, he was appointed prince regent by his father, Seti I. He is believed to have taken the throne in his late teens and is known to have ruled Egypt from 1279 to 1213 BC. Manetho attributes Ramesses II a reign of 66 years and 2 months; most Egyptologists today believe he assumed the throne on May 31, 1279 BC, based on his known accession date of III Season of the Harvest, day 27. Estimates of his age at death vary; 90 or 91 is considered most likely. Ramesses II celebrated an unprecedented thirteen or fourteen Sed festivals (the first held after 30 years of a pharaoh's reign, and then, every three years) during his reign—more than any other pharaoh. On his death, he was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings; his body was later moved to a royal cache where it was discovered in 1881, and is now on display in the Egyptian Museum.

Some guys just want to watch the world burn.

Villains and Bad Guys

Unforgettable Film Characters

John "Jigsaw" Kramer wants to know how far you'll push yourself just to stay alive. Like, will you cut yourself open? Take out someone else? Watch an entire Saw movie? Or 8 of them?

I Want to Play a Game

Villains

It seems <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/most-popular-movie-villain-year-you-were-born/mike-mcgranaghan" target="_blank">every year</a>, new iconic villains are coming out of the woodwork. While some of us tend to <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/movie-villains-who-wore-out-their-welcome/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">despise movie villains</a>, plenty of movie-goers&nbsp;favor some of these antagonists. Whether that&#39;s due to a cool accent, <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/over-the-top-comic-book-movie-performances/tyler-mitchell" target="_blank">an over-the-top performance</a>, or an intimidating disposition, some villains just stand out - and <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/actors-who-got-big-after-playing-bad-guys/orrin-grey" target="_blank">redefine the actors playing them</a>.&nbsp;For instance, who doesn&#39;t have some type of fondness for Hannibal Lecter? How about the evil Darth Vader for that matter?&nbsp;Who are the greatest villains of all time? These movie bad guys are the scourge of the movie universe - and that&#39;s to say nothing of their <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/which-henchman-would-win-in-a-battle/matthew-ludwinski" target="_blank">loyal, powerful henchmen</a> - and you can now vote on the meanest villain ever to appear on film.

These are the greatest, most vile movie characters <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-hateable-villains-in-comedy-movies/elle-tharp" target="_blank">we love to hate</a>&nbsp;(or even <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/funny-villains-in-serious-movies/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">laugh at</a>) ranked by the wisdom of the crowd, which makes this ranking an accurate, real-time reflection of the crowd&#39;s collective opinion.

Loki

The Greatest Movie Villains Of All Time

Film character

Best Movie Villains of All Time | List of Top Film Bad Guys

Ranker Community

History

The way we experience technology today, it&#39;s hard to comprehend how much information we&#39;re missing out on - even though we have it all at our fingertips. Thankfully, this technology also makes&nbsp;it possible for us to learn new things&nbsp;every day. It&#39;s still possible to learn fun and weird facts about even well-known historical figures like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/whoa-queen-elizabeth-ii-facts/alby-thompson" target="_blank">Queen Elizabeth II</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/whoa-cleopatra-facts/mallory-weiler" target="_blank">Cleopatra</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/whoa-napoleon-bonaparte-facts/mallory-weiler" target="_blank">Napoleon Bonaparte,</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/whoa-abraham-lincoln-facts/mallory-weiler" target="_blank">Abraham Lincoln</a>&nbsp;- just to name a few.&nbsp;There&#39;s a plethora of quirky, hidden facts about historical figures that we just didn&#39;t learn in school.

Vote up the ones you&#39;re glad you know now.

15 Facts About Historical Figures We Just Learned This Week

Mallory Weiler

A look at major events that happened a long time ago and the people who played the biggest roles in shaping the world as we know it.

Historical Facts & Figures

Historical Figures

This is a list of the most <a href="/list/important-historical-figures-not-taught-in-school/genevieve-carlton" target="_blank">influential people</a> of all of human history. This means that the individuals on this list have had a significant effect on how regular people live their lives today and have had a large impact on how modern society works. The names on this list include iconic religious figures, recognizable scientists and inventors, and some of the most powerful&nbsp;<a href="/crowdranked-list/the-most-important-leaders-in-world-history" target="_blank">important leaders in world history</a>. Vote for your top choices and re-rank this list your way.&nbsp;

What makes an individual worthy of a spot on a list of the most influential people ever? Certainly, some of the <a href="/list/greatest-minds-of-all-time/walter-graves" target="_blank">greatest minds of all time</a> deserve to be ranked highly. Examples include Leonardo da Vinci, Sir Isaac Newton, and certainly <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/whoa-historical-figure-facts-09252020/mallory-weiler" target="_blank">Albert Einstein</a>. Each one of these incredible and inspirational&nbsp;people used the power of their minds to change the world. Not surprisingly, several names on this list are also among the most <a href="/crowdranked-list/famous-role-models-we_d-like-to-meet-in-person" target="_blank">famous role models we&#39;d like to meet in person</a>.

Featuring historical figures, interesting men, and impactful people, this list of the world&#39;s most legendary figures have had all kinds of effects on the biggest and historic events.

And modern-era figures also deserve to be listed here. Can anyone argue that Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg aren&#39;t among the <a href="/crowdranked-list/the-most-influential-contemporary-americans" target="_blank">most influential contemporary Americans</a>? It&#39;s time to add your opinions on who you believe are the most&nbsp;influential&nbsp;people&nbsp;in&nbsp;history, with your votes and your rankings.

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Royalty

Kings and queens wield a lot of power - and sometimes, they let that power go to their heads. Just look at the petty figures of historical royalty who started wars over minor slights, or publicly snubbed people for upsetting them. Queen Victoria ignored her daughter Beatrice for months after Beatrice said she wanted to get married, and the&nbsp;Queen Mother was <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/queen-mother-small-poignant-details/gordon-cameron" target="_blank">so angry at Wallis Simpson</a>&nbsp;that she pretended the divorcee dating her son didn&#39;t exist. One king put a mouse on trial, while another ordered his soldiers to whip the sea when his bridge collapsed.

Petty moments could also hurt royals. When Queen Anne&#39;s former friend <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/queen-anne-duchess-of-marlborough-facts/genevieve-carlton" target="_blank">leaked secrets about the monarch</a>, it ruined Anne&#39;s reputation for centuries. Maybe that&#39;s why so many historical kings and queens gave into their pettiness.

Vote up the pettiest moments in royal history.

15 Times Historical Royals Were So Petty It Sounds Made Up - But Isn’t

General

Times Historical Royals Were So Petty It Sounds Made Up

Genevieve Carlton

Entertainment

Period pieces and historical dramas are the only references that most people have for <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-most-influential-people-of-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">famous historical figures</a> and events, but movies shouldn&#39;t be trusted to be 100% accurate. Most historical films tend to fudge the details at least a little bit, and often the most obvious example is the casting of real life historical figures. Instead of casting someone who actually looks like the person they are portraying, Hollywood tends to go with whatever A-list <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/actors-versus-the-people-they-played/matt-manser" target="_blank">actor</a> happens to be hot that year. This can lead to some pretty inauthentic portrayals&nbsp;at best, and blatant inaccuracy at worst.

One of the greatest challenge of portraying a genuine historical figure is the lack of accurate depictions that exist in the history textbooks. We simply don&#39;t know what William Shakespeare really looked like, but scientific researchers and historians are getting closer to the truth every day. Thanks to radical new technology, researchers can now recreate these long-dead figures whose faces have been lost to history. These <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/3d-recreations-of-historical-figures/stephanroget" target="_blank">CGI recreations</a> are often stunning in their detail. Check out these side-by-side comparisons to see which actors nailed the looks of the historical figures they played, and which ones missed the mark.

Thanks To 3D CGI Recreations, We Can See How Actors Compare To The Historical Figures They Play

Comparing Actors To 3D Recreations Of The Historical Figures They Played

Eric Luis

Lists about modern and historical heads of state and world leaders—their struggles, their actions, their eccentricities, and other things written about them by their admirers and their enemies.

The People in Power

World Leaders

They don&#39;t hand out nicknames like &quot;the Great&quot; to just anyone. History has seen its share of the Greats, with the works and deeds of such titleholders varying as much as their origins, eras, and cultures. How does one achieve &quot;the Great&quot; status, or quantify such a distinction? Plenty of ways. The number of buildings or statues constructed, for example. Or the amount of art produced. How about progress in science, technology, or medicine? Improvements to political structures?

Then again, this lofty title is often bestowed upon those who earned it the hard way - the bloody way. You can&#39;t expand borders, conquer armies, and exponentially enhance wealth without breaking a few eggs. Some so-called Greats have broken the boundaries, taboos, or social structures of their time. Some have been tyrants, others beneficent caretakers, and others still have been various shades in between. From&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/the-battles-of-alexander-the-great/reference" target="_blank">Alexander</a> to Peter to Catherine, here are the historical figures who have been bestowed with that rare and simple title: the Great. Vote up the Greats most worthy of the name.

Historical Leaders Called 'The Great,' Ranked By Greatness

Renata Carmen

Lists about the true stories that inspired books, films, TV, and other stories you think you know. 

What Really Happened

It&#39;s impossible for a movie based on historical events to be 100% <a href="/list/least-accurate-biopics-ever/setareh-janda" target="_blank">accurate</a>. If it were, that would make for a boring movie. Still, it&#39;s one thing for a&nbsp;movie about medieval&nbsp;England&nbsp;to have&nbsp;the wrong candlesticks; it&#39;s another thing entirely for a movie to completely misrepresent real people for the sake of a better story. And just as&nbsp;historical movies can make people like Scottish knight&nbsp;<a href="/list/life-of-robert-the-bruce/genevieve-carlton?ref=search" target="_blank">William Wallace</a> much more heroic than he was in real life, they can also make someone much more villainous than they actually were.&nbsp;

Earlier historical figures lived so long ago that it&#39;s impossible for modern historians to know exactly what they were like. Often, everything known about a distant historical figure comes from later historians who had a vested interest in portraying them negatively. In those cases, a movie might just be continuing&nbsp;a longstanding tradition of trashing someone&#39;s reputation. But with more recent historical figures, about whom we have plenty of information, it&#39;s clear that certain movies&nbsp;have&nbsp;turned&nbsp;them into villains for the sake of entertainment. Stories do need conflict,&nbsp;after all.&nbsp;

Here are some&nbsp;historical figures&nbsp;who were much less villainous than movies would have you believe.

Movies That Unnecessarily Made Real People Into Villains

Jim Rowley

Think the whole world revolves around you? Read about some Very Important Historical Figures and the fascinating lives they led while changing the world and having no idea that you even exist.

People of the Past

There are more than 8 million species walking, swimming, and flying around Planet Earth. Here are lists about a few worthy of your attention. 

Unbelievable Animals

World History

Dogs may be man’s best friend, but it’s not exactly an exclusive relationship; historical figures with pets definitely bear out this truth. Humanity, and the unique individuals who comprise it, has entered into all manner of partnership with the animal kingdom over the centuries. Countless <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-most-influential-people-of-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">important historical figures</a>&nbsp;have warmed our hearts with their furry friendships, but most of these are of the basic&nbsp;cat-or-dog variety, like Bo Obama or Checkers, the Nixon dog. That makes the historical figures who do have interesting and unique animal companions really stand out.Some of the names associated with these bizarre animal sidekicks are so famous that it seems strange that their beastly buddies aren’t more well known. John Quincy Adams shared an alligator with Marquis de Lafayette, Tycho Brahe's&nbsp;drunk moose is the stuff of real legend, and <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/weird-mozart-stories/philgibbons">Mozart</a> composed his brilliant work with a friendly little starling.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/crazy-salvador-dali-facts/stephanroget">Dal&iacute;</a>&nbsp;and Babou the Ocelot were a couple of adorable buddies, and that’s to say nothing of the “useful” pets like Ramesses II’s vicious battle lion. Gaze upon the sheer awesomeness of these human-animal collaborations, and, perhaps, take the time to think twice before committing to a dog or cat next time you’re looking for a pet. There might just be a more interesting option available!

Historical Figures With Animal Sidekicks

13 Historical Figures With Animal Sidekicks

Stephan Roget

Politics

Modern technology has done a lot to aid in our understanding of the past;&nbsp;from DNA tests to satellite imagery to audio engineering, scholars and non-scholars&nbsp;alike can explore what life was like for our ancestors and how they&nbsp;continue&nbsp;to impact the world around us. Through the shared efforts of archaeologists, forensic scientists, and graphic artists, we&#39;ve gained a better&nbsp;understanding of individuals and&nbsp;produced&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/3d-recreations-of-historical-figures/stephanroget" target="_blank">facial reconstructions of historical figures</a>. But bringing history alive isn&#39;t always easy, especially when there&#39;s a paucity of historical evidence with which to&nbsp;work.

Luckily, ancient Egyptian&nbsp;mummification&nbsp;methods offer unique insights into the faces of famous pharaohs. Using skeletons and&nbsp;masks, alongside an extensive understanding of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/everyday-life-in-ancient-egypt/katia-kleyman" target="_blank">daily life in ancient Egypt</a>,&nbsp;professionals across disciplines are bringing&nbsp;new life to some of the best-known rulers who have&nbsp;ever lived.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Here’s What Famous Pharaohs Looked Like When They Were Alive

Innovative CGI Programs Show What Egyptian Pharaohs Actually Looked Like

Melissa Sartore

How tall were leaders in the past? As in the 21st century, historical famous leaders&#39; height varied considerably, as did definitions of how tall or short a person was. But whether big or small, all of these rulers cast a shadow that exceeded&nbsp;their physical height.

Physical shapes and sizes were often useful political tools for hereditary monarchs and elected officials alike to validate their authority. But though society has used sizes to celebrate or denigrate those in power, these features never impacted a leader&#39;s ability to rule. From an enormous medieval king who stood head and shoulders above his subjects, to a short president of Mexico who had giant influence, historical leaders prove that a person&#39;s physical appearance or size does not determine their skills.

The Different Physical Sizes Of Historical Rulers

Setareh Janda

Men in power have always loved getting married or taking mistresses in order to have plenty of heirs, but who are the&nbsp;rulers with the most kids?&nbsp;Sometimes, these guys have gone a bit overboard when it comes to fathering children to carry on the family legacy and genetic heritage, fathering dozens or even hundreds of children. With all these royal babies running around, it's surprising there aren't more <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/babies-who-took-the-throne/nida-sea" target="_blank">child rulers in history</a>.&nbsp;So, which&nbsp;king had the most bastards? That honor probably goes to Augustus&nbsp;the Strong,&nbsp;born a German prince and elected king of Poland in 1697. He didn't like keeping it in his pants, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=BA_CCwAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PT72&amp;dq=augustus+the+strong+illegitimate+children+354&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiew_yCnfPTAhXJ5CYKHeQCAdYQ6wEILjAB#v=onepage&amp;q=augustus%20the%20strong%20illegitimate%20children%20354&amp;f=false" target="_blank">fathering</a> a reported&nbsp;354 illegitimate children in his spare time. Other allege&nbsp;sex addict kings in history include Pharaoh Ramesses II, a&nbsp;famous ruler of&nbsp;ancient Egypt, who had so many wives and concubines that he spawned over 100 kids. And Moroccan sultan Ismail Ibn Sharif <a href="http://blogs.plos.org/neuroanthropology/2014/04/05/man-1000-children-limit-male-fertility/" target="_blank">begat</a> anywhere from 850 to upwards of 1000 babies. Let's learn about these lustful rulers, and their utterly overwhelming fecundity.&nbsp;

World Leaders With The Most Children

Leaders Ranked By How Many Illegitimate Kids They Had

Carly Silver

Records of kings, emperors, saints and other <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-most-influential-people-of-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">famous historical figures</a> are often obscured by bias, idealization, and apotheosis. The <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/ganbrood-ai-what-historical-figures-looked-like/gordon-cameron" target="_blank">figures</a> best traits (or sometimes their worst) are exemplified in both text and art to express a specific image for later generations, but very rarely have these sources shown accurate portrayals of historical people. There are other methods, however, to see what figures actually looked like.

Since antiquity people have created death masks,&nbsp;plaster molds of the deceased&#39;s face. These masks are perfect renditions of an individual intended to be kept by loved ones to cherish, display, and venerate. In recent years&nbsp;new technology and methodology has allowed us to have an even better glimpse of the past.&nbsp;Anthropologists, forensic scientists, and CGI artists&nbsp;have used their combined knowledge and skills to make facial reconstructions of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/3d-recreations-of-historical-figures/stephanroget" target="_blank">historical figures</a>. These practitioners use&nbsp;skeletal remains to recreate human faces. This is done by generating a 3D model of a human skull through CT scan, then using tissue data or relevant historical data, including known diet and lifestyle,&nbsp;to fill out the soft tissue. It&#39;s become a popular method of recreating the past, but since its introduction, the method has been scrutinized by audiences for what they believed were artistic liberties. Certain figures like Egyptian Queen Nefertiti or the 10,000 year-old&nbsp;&quot;Cheddar Man&quot; from &nbsp;Somerset, England were criticized for having a different skin color than people expected, while the 9,000 year old Greek Avgi received criticism for looking angry.&nbsp;

CGI reconstructions may not be the most realistic (or sometimes the most satisfying) renditions of these historical figures because granted they are a both science and art, but as of yet, they are the best insight to know what famous historical figures really looked like.&nbsp;

Ramesses II

Ramesses II is listed on