After Ramesses III, eight more kings named Ramesses ruled until c. 1069 BC. None matched the great kings of the past. Over about a century, the New Kingdom slowly came apart: the empire in Asia was lost, prices rose, tombs were robbed, and power shifted to the priests of Amun at Thebes.
Key idea
Signs of trouble
- The empire: by the reign of Ramesses VI, Egyptian rule in Canaan had ended.
- Grain: prices at Thebes rose sharply under the later Ramesses.
- Security: Libyan groups raided around Thebes, and work at Deir el-Medina was often stopped.
- Tomb robbery: under Ramesses IX, officials investigated robberies of royal tombs; the trial records, such as the Abbott and Leopold-Amherst papyri, survive.
- Priests: a high priest of Amun had himself shown at the same size as Ramesses IX, a sign of new power.
Why it works
The last Ramesses
Under Ramesses XI, the high priests of Amun (Herihor and Piankh; which came first is debated) ruled Thebes, using some royal titles, while Smendes governed from the Delta. The Report of Wenamun, a story set in these years, tells of an envoy of Amun who sails to Byblos for cedar and is treated with scorn there, a far cry from the days of empire. Whether it is a real report or a literary work is debated.
Worked example: Sudden or slow?
- The empire was lost over decades, under several kings.
- Robberies, rising prices and strikes are spread across many reigns.
- The high priests gained power step by step until Ramesses XI's death.
Answer: No: a slow decline of about a century.
Common mistake