Ramesses II

My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!

The strong bull, beloved of Maat, stable of heart, whose will is effective in Thebes and Heliopolis.

I have made the foreign lands like women before me.

I had been chosen by the gods, that I was of divine essence and therefore entitled to rule Egypt.

His Majesty was confident, an unstoppable fighting force. Everything near him was ablaze with fire – all the foreign lands were blasted by his scorching breath. He slaughtered all the troops of the doomed Hittite, his nobleman and his brothers, along with the chiefs of all the countries which had supported him.

Appease the ka-force of Amun.

I boasted that I had fathered 80 sons and around 60 daughters.

The narrative designed for internal consumption was fiction moulded around a kernel of fact: the pharaoh was indeed cut off from his army, he did face a chariot onslaught while outnumbered, and he did inflict casualties. He lost, but so what? As politics continues to show, even dubious achievements can become triumphs after sufficient amplification and trumpeting.

I am the King of Kings, the Pharaoh of all Pharaohs, the Lord of all Lords. I am the one who brings peace and order to the land, who vanquishes all foes, and whose strength is unmatched.

My majesty went forth, my chariot was of electrum, my horses were swift, my charioteer was strong, my heart was firm, my might was great, my strength was more than that of a million men.

There was no other like me, no other king who could stand before me, for I am the chosen of Ra, the son of Osiris, the living Horus on earth.

All lands bow before my sandals, all foreign countries tremble at my name, for I am the one who sets the boundaries of Egypt and extends its might to the ends of the earth.