
The Ramesseum is an Ancient Egyptian mortuary temple built by Pharaoh Ramesses II in the Theban Necropolis during the 13th century BC. The structure was intended to serve as Ramesses' memorial temple, where pilgrims could worship the pharaoh, and where his memroy would have been kept alive after his death. The temple was erected shortly after Ramesses acceded to the throne in 1279 BC and continued for 20 years. The Ramesseum includes scenes of war and the route of the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh, while the temple was located near a smaller temple to Ramesses' mother Tuya and wife Nefertari and another temple of Seti I, Ramesses' father. The temple served as a Christian church during the Roman era, and it was visited by Jean-Francois Champollion in 1829 and identified as Ramesses' temple.