Garo Nalbandian

Stretching some 500 feet in length, the mortuary temple of Ramesses III dominates the site of Medinet Habu, located in the western part of Thebes. The reliefs depicting the Egyptians’ victory over the Sea Peoples, in the eighth year of the pharaoh’s reign (1176 B.C.), cover the northern wall of the temple’s exterior. The chaotic battle scenes are accompanied by text, in which Ramesses boasts of his military might: “[The Sea Peoples] are capsized and overwhelmed where they are. Their heart is taken away, their soul is flown away. Their weapons are scattered upon the sea.”