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
Abu Simbel temples Remarkably, this is one of very few instances in Egyptian art where the statues of the king and his consort have equal size. Traditionally, the statues of the queens stood next to those of the pharaoh, but were never taller than his knees. Ramesses went to Abu Simbel with his wife in the 24th year of his reign. As the Great Temple of the king, there are small statues of princes and princesses next to their parents. In this case they are positioned symmetrically: on the south side (at left as one faces the gateway) are, from left to right,