Here is why King Ramses’ courage should still terrify and inspire us today. Let’s set the scene: 1274 BCE. The banks of the Orontes River in modern-day Syria. Ramses is roughly 30 years old—young for a pharaoh, arrogant, and eager to prove himself. The Hittite Empire, a brutal superpower to the north, is threatening Egypt’s borders.
Critics will tell you this was propaganda to cover a military disaster. But even propaganda cannot invent the physics of a single man charging 2,500 chariots. Ramses fought so fiercely that the ancient texts claim the god Amun held his hand. In reality, it was sheer, bloody-minded audacity. king ramses courage
That takes a level of audacious, terrifying self-belief that most CEOs and world leaders today can only dream of. He didn't wait for history to judge him. He grabbed history by the throat and forced it to look at his face. Ramses II died around 1213 BCE, at the age of 90 or 91—an almost mythological lifespan in the Bronze Age. His body was buried in the Valley of the Kings, but eventually, priests had to move him to a secret cache to protect him from tomb robbers. Here is why King Ramses’ courage should still
Then, he does something irrational. Something insane. He straps on his war armor, mounts his chariot, and charges alone into the Hittite line. Ramses is roughly 30 years old—young for a
Charge the line. Build the monument. Live so loudly that the future has no choice but to remember your name.