Great and Small Temples of Abu Simbel one of the greatest pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. He ruled for 67 years during the 19th dynasty and spent much of the time trying to secure the borders of the kingdom. During his reign, Ramesses II embarked on an extensive building program throughout the country. Although his capital was in the Nile Delta, he did not neglect the southern border at Nubia, a land very important to the Egyptians because it was a source of gold and many other precious trade goods. He therefore built several grand temples there in order to impress upon the Nubians Egypt’s might and Egyptianize
Great and Small Temples of Abu Simbel the people of Nubia. The most famous temples are the rock-cut temples in Meha, now called Abu Simbel, at the Second Nile Cataract, the border between Lower Nubia and Upper Nubia. There are two temples, the Great Temple – dedicated to Ramesses II himself – and the smaller but no less impressive Small Temple – dedicated to his beloved chief wife Queen Nefertari. The Great Temple at Abu Simbel was dedicated to three gods: Amun, Re-Horakhty and Ptah. The Great Temple was also dedicated to Ramesses II as a deified king. The Great Temple is meant to be Ramesses II’s