Image Details

VLADISLAV GAJIC / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

WRATHFUL PHARAOH. Son and successor to the great Ramesses II, Merneptah (r. 1213–1203 B.C.E.) continued Egyptian dominance over the southern Levant. To quell rebellious elements in the region, he mounted a military campaign to Canaan that ended tragically for Gezer. This fragmented granite statue of the pharaoh, which was once painted in brilliant colors, comes from Merneptah’s mortuary temple in Thebes.