Ramesses V and Ramesses VI

Ramesses V and Ramesses VI were pharaohs of Egypt’s Twentieth Dynasty who ruled during the later New Kingdom. Their reigns occurred at a time of growing economic pressure, powerful temple institutions, administrative corruption, tomb robbery, and declining Egyptian influence abroad.

Ramesses V ruled only briefly, while Ramesses VI held the throne for approximately eight years. The two kings are closely connected through the royal tomb now known as KV9 in the Valley of the Kings.

The Later Twentieth Dynasty

The Twentieth Dynasty began with Setnakhte and reached its greatest strength under Ramesses III. Later rulers inherited a state facing increasingly serious financial and political challenges.

Egypt remained wealthy and culturally active, but the central government struggled to collect taxes, distribute supplies, protect royal tombs, and maintain control over distant territories.

The Legacy of Ramesses III

Ramesses III had defended Egypt against Libyan coalitions and groups known collectively as the Sea Peoples. He also made enormous donations to temples.

These gifts strengthened religious institutions, especially the estate of Amun, while reducing the resources available directly to the crown.

Ramesses IV

Ramesses IV succeeded Ramesses III after the Harem Conspiracy. He organized quarrying expeditions and attempted to maintain an ambitious royal building program.

His reign was relatively short. Ramesses V succeeded him, probably as his son, although details of the family relationship are not entirely secure.

Ramesses V

Ramesses V probably ruled from approximately 1149 to 1145 BCE. His throne name was Usermaatre Sekheperenre.

Few major monuments survive from his short reign. Administrative papyri, his unfinished tomb, and his mummy provide much of the available evidence.

Royal Family

Ramesses V was probably the son of Ramesses IV and Queen Duatentopet, although the surviving evidence is limited.

He appears to have died without a surviving heir capable of taking the throne. Ramesses VI, probably his uncle, became the next king.

Government under Ramesses V

The royal administration continued to collect taxes, survey land, manage temples, distribute grain, and supervise workers.

Documents from the reign reveal a sophisticated bureaucracy, but they also expose tensions involving property, priestly wealth, and misconduct by officials.

The Wilbour Papyrus

The Wilbour Papyrus is one of the most important administrative documents from ancient Egypt. It dates to the fourth year of Ramesses V.

The text records agricultural land, cultivators, institutions, assessments, and obligations in a region of Middle Egypt.

A Land Survey

The Wilbour Papyrus lists fields and identifies the people or institutions connected with them. Scribes measured land and calculated expected payments.

The document was designed for administration rather than as a complete map of Egyptian land ownership. Its categories remain difficult to interpret precisely.

Temple Land

The Wilbour Papyrus demonstrates that temples controlled extensive agricultural property. The estate of Amun was particularly prominent.

Temple institutions received income from land while supporting priests, farmers, scribes, craftspeople, guards, and labourers.

The Power of Amun

Amun’s temple at Karnak had accumulated land, livestock, ships, workshops, and personnel through centuries of royal donations.

This wealth allowed the priesthood to perform major religious and economic functions. It also reduced the monarchy’s direct control over a substantial portion of Egypt’s resources.

Taxation

Egyptian taxes were commonly collected in grain, livestock, linen, labour, and other products rather than coinage.

Officials measured fields, estimated harvests, and recorded obligations. The efficiency of this system depended on honest administration and reliable transportation.

Farmers and Institutions

The people named in land records were not necessarily free owners in the modern sense. They might cultivate fields belonging to temples, royal estates, or other institutions.

Rights to use land, responsibility for taxes, and legal ownership could belong to different people or organizations.

Administrative Corruption

Documents associated with the period describe accusations involving theft, abuse of office, and the misuse of temple property.

Corruption was not new in Egypt, but weakening central supervision made misconduct more difficult to prevent and punish.

The Elephantine Scandal

A papyrus records accusations against priests and officials connected with the temple of Khnum at Elephantine.

The alleged offences included theft and misconduct involving temple resources. The text reveals conflict within religious institutions as well as concern about official accountability.

Elephantine

Elephantine was an island near Egypt’s southern frontier and an important centre of trade, military activity, and worship.

Its principal deity was Khnum, a ram-headed creator god associated with the Nile and its life-giving waters.

Economic Pressure

Delayed wages and fluctuating grain supplies had already caused the workers of Deir el-Medina to strike during the reign of Ramesses III.

Similar distribution problems continued in later reigns. The government’s difficulties reflected taxation, transport, institutional demands, and declining foreign income.

Egypt’s Foreign Territories

Egyptian influence in the Levant declined during the later Twentieth Dynasty. Garrisons and administrative centres gradually disappeared.

The process was probably uneven rather than one sudden withdrawal. Changing regional powers and reduced royal resources both contributed.

Control of Nubia

Egypt still exercised authority over substantial parts of Nubia during the reigns of Ramesses V and VI.

Nubian gold, livestock, soldiers, and trade routes remained important. The southern territories were governed by the official titled King’s Son of Kush.

Royal Building under Ramesses V

Ramesses V left relatively little monumental construction because of his short reign. Some inscriptions and objects preserve his royal names.

His principal surviving architectural project was his tomb in the Valley of the Kings, which remained unfinished when he died.

Tomb KV9

Ramesses V began tomb KV9 in the central area of the Valley of the Kings. Its corridors were cut into the limestone hillside near other royal burials.

After Ramesses V’s death, Ramesses VI took control of the tomb, enlarged it, and replaced or modified parts of its decoration.

The Death of Ramesses V

Ramesses V died after only a few years on the throne. No surviving text records a definite cause of death.

His early death and incomplete tomb created practical and political problems for the royal burial and succession.

The Mummy of Ramesses V

Ramesses V’s mummy was later moved from its original burial place and concealed with other royal bodies in the tomb of Amenhotep II.

Ancient priests transferred royal mummies because tomb robbery had made the Valley of the Kings unsafe.

Possible Smallpox

The mummy has marks that have often been interpreted as evidence of smallpox. If correct, they would form important evidence for the disease in ancient Egypt.

A visual resemblance alone cannot establish a diagnosis with certainty. Whether smallpox caused the king’s death remains unresolved.

Royal Reburial

Priests repaired and rewrapped royal mummies before hiding them in caches. Inscriptions helped preserve each ruler’s identity.

These actions were intended to rescue the royal dead and protect their eternal existence, not to disrespect the original burials.

Ramesses VI

Ramesses VI succeeded Ramesses V and probably ruled from approximately 1145 to 1137 BCE. His throne name was Nebmaatre Meryamun.

He was probably a son of Ramesses III, making him a brother of Ramesses IV and an uncle of Ramesses V.

Before Becoming King

Ramesses VI may originally have been a prince named Amenherkhepeshef. Several sons of Ramesses III carried similar names and titles, making identification difficult.

He probably had military and ceremonial experience before his accession.

The Accession of Ramesses VI

No surviving evidence proves that Ramesses VI seized the throne violently. He may have succeeded because Ramesses V died without a suitable heir.

His appropriation of his predecessor’s tomb and monuments nevertheless shows a determination to secure royal resources and public memory.

Ramesses VI and the Royal Family

Ramesses VI’s principal wife was probably Queen Nubkhesbed. Their children included princes and royal daughters who held important positions.

His son Ramesses VII eventually succeeded him, preserving the family line.

Princess Iset

Ramesses VI appointed his daughter Iset as God’s Wife of Amun and Divine Adoratrice.

The office connected the royal family with Amun’s powerful Theban priesthood. It gave Iset important ritual status and access to temple resources.

The God’s Wife of Amun

The God’s Wife participated in ceremonies for Amun and represented royal women within the temple hierarchy.

The office became increasingly powerful in later centuries, when its holders controlled extensive estates and helped transfer political authority between dynasties.

Royal Administration under Ramesses VI

Ramesses VI inherited a functioning but increasingly strained government. Officials continued managing land, taxation, temples, construction, and foreign territories.

The monarchy had fewer resources than under the great rulers of Dynasties 18 and 19. Royal projects often depended on reuse and appropriation.

Appropriation of Monuments

Ramesses VI placed his name on statues, reliefs, and architectural elements originally made for earlier kings.

Such reuse was common in Egyptian history. It saved time and resources while linking the new ruler with established royal power.

The Monuments of Ramesses IV and V

Ramesses VI appropriated some work belonging to Ramesses IV and Ramesses V. Royal names could be recut without destroying the complete monument.

This practice makes reconstructing the original ownership of objects and buildings more difficult.

Building at Karnak

Ramesses VI added inscriptions and decoration at Karnak, the great temple complex of Amun.

His work reinforced the relationship between the king and the Theban god at a time when Amun’s priesthood was becoming increasingly powerful.

Medinet Habu

Ramesses VI also left inscriptions at Medinet Habu, the mortuary temple complex of Ramesses III.

The fortified site remained an important administrative, religious, and residential centre during the later Twentieth Dynasty.

Pi-Ramesses

The royal residence at Pi-Ramesses in the eastern Delta continued to serve as an administrative and military centre.

Environmental changes gradually affected the river branches supporting the city. Later rulers moved many of its monuments to Tanis.

Egypt and the Levant under Ramesses VI

Evidence for Egyptian activity in the Levant becomes increasingly limited during Ramesses VI’s reign.

Some of the last New Kingdom attestations of Egyptian authority in Canaan date to around this period. Permanent control soon disappeared.

The End of Empire

The loss of Levantine territories reduced access to tribute, strategic bases, and foreign trade routes.

Egypt remained independent and influential, but it no longer possessed the extensive empire created during Dynasty 18.

International Change

The eastern Mediterranean was undergoing major political and economic transformation. Several Late Bronze Age kingdoms had collapsed or weakened.

New regional communities and political powers emerged. Egypt had to adapt to a world in which its former imperial network no longer functioned.

Ramesses VI and Nubia

Egyptian control in Nubia appears to have remained stronger than its authority in the Levant.

Temples, officials, garrisons, and gold-production systems continued operating, although southern administration would weaken later in the dynasty.

KV9 under Ramesses VI

Ramesses VI enlarged the tomb begun by Ramesses V and made it his own royal burial place.

Workers extended the corridors, completed chambers, and added an extensive decorative program of funerary and astronomical texts.

The Tomb’s Layout

KV9 follows a descending sequence of corridors leading to pillared chambers and the burial hall.

The straightened axis reflects developments in Ramesside tomb design. Movement downward symbolized passage into the underworld.

Funerary Decoration

The tomb contains images and texts from several royal funerary compositions. These works guided the king through the night and protected his transformation.

Decoration covers walls and ceilings with gods, demons, solar boats, gates, stars, and sacred writing.

The Book of Gates

The Book of Gates describes the sun god passing through twelve divisions of the night.

Each region contains gates, guardians, divine beings, and challenges. The deceased king joins the solar journey and receives renewal at dawn.

The Book of Caverns

The Book of Caverns organizes parts of the underworld into hidden regions associated with divine beings, the blessed dead, and punished enemies.

Its scenes emphasize the sun’s power to illuminate darkness and restore those who belong to the proper cosmic order.

The Book of the Earth

The Book of the Earth presents the sun’s regeneration within the depths of the underworld.

Its imagery connects Ra with Osiris and portrays rebirth as an event occurring within the body of the earth.

The Books of the Sky

Celestial compositions decorate the burial chamber ceiling. They describe the sun’s movement across and through the sky goddess Nut.

Night and day form a continuous cycle in which the sun disappears, travels through darkness, and is born again.

The Goddess Nut

Nut is shown as an elongated woman arching across the ceiling. Her body represents the sky.

She swallows the sun in the evening and gives birth to it at dawn. Ramesses VI hoped to participate in the same cycle of renewal.

The Book of Day

The Book of Day describes the sun’s passage through the daylight sky. Divine beings accompany and protect the solar journey.

The composition complements nighttime funerary books, creating a complete vision of the solar cycle.

The Book of Night

The Book of Night follows the sun through the twelve hours of darkness within the body of Nut.

The king travels with the solar god, overcomes danger, and emerges renewed with the morning light.

Osiris and Solar Rebirth

KV9 combines the traditions of Osiris and Ra. Osiris represented death and resurrection, while Ra embodied the daily renewal of the sun.

The king could join both gods without contradiction. Egyptian funerary belief used several complementary forms of transformation.

The Sarcophagus

Ramesses VI’s burial chamber contained a large stone sarcophagus and royal coffin.

Ancient robbers smashed much of the burial equipment while searching for precious materials. Broken fragments have allowed partial modern reconstruction.

Tomb Robbery

KV9 was robbed in antiquity, and the king’s mummy was removed from its original burial.

Gold, jewellery, furniture, and other valuable objects disappeared. Damage to the sarcophagus demonstrates the violence of the robbery.

The Mummy of Ramesses VI

Priests later placed Ramesses VI’s mummy in the royal cache within the tomb of Amenhotep II.

The body had suffered severe damage, probably during ancient robbery. Priests rewrapped it in an effort to preserve the king.

Ancient Damage

Ramesses VI’s mummy was found with broken and displaced body parts. Such damage was common when robbers tore through wrappings in search of amulets and jewellery.

Ancient restorers attempted to reconstruct the body before reburial.

The Workers of KV9

Artisans from Deir el-Medina cut, plastered, painted, and inscribed the tomb.

The work required surveyors, stonecutters, scribes, draughtsmen, painters, plasterers, and labourers operating under royal supervision.

Deir el-Medina

Deir el-Medina housed the skilled workers responsible for royal tomb construction.

Documents from the village record rations, absences, illnesses, family affairs, legal disputes, prayers, and work assignments.

Construction Huts above Tutankhamun’s Tomb

Workers building KV9 constructed temporary huts in the area above the entrance to Tutankhamun’s tomb.

Debris and later activity helped conceal KV62. This accidental protection contributed to the survival of Tutankhamun’s burial equipment.

KV9 in Later Antiquity

The tomb remained accessible during Greek and Roman times. Ancient visitors left graffiti on its walls.

Some inscriptions record names, professions, admiration, and comments about the monument. They provide evidence of early tourism in the Valley of the Kings.

The Tomb’s Modern Name

KV9 was once popularly called the Tomb of Memnon because early visitors incorrectly associated it with a legendary figure.

Hieroglyphic study later established its connection with Ramesses V and Ramesses VI.

Preserved Colour

KV9 retains extensive blue, yellow, red, green, black, and white pigment.

The colours identify gods, bodies, clothing, stars, solar disks, and underworld regions while strengthening the sacred effectiveness of the scenes.

Conservation

Humidity, dust, visitor contact, salt, structural movement, and earlier repairs threaten the tomb’s decoration.

Monitoring, controlled access, lighting, barriers, and careful stabilization help protect its painted surfaces.

Ramesses VI’s Death

Ramesses VI died after approximately eight years on the throne. No surviving evidence identifies a certain cause of death.

His son Ramesses VII succeeded him, continuing the line of Ramesside rulers.

Ramesses VII

Ramesses VII inherited a monarchy facing high grain prices, reduced resources, and weakening control.

His short reign continued the pattern of limited royal construction and increasing institutional difficulty.

Royal Power and Temple Authority

The reigns of Ramesses V and VI reveal a changing balance between the crown and major temples.

Religious institutions preserved economic stability and local employment, but their vast landholdings reduced the resources controlled directly by the king.

Continuity of Egyptian Religion

Despite political and economic strain, temple rituals, funerary beliefs, festivals, and sacred writing remained highly developed.

The elaborate decoration of KV9 demonstrates that the royal court could still commission sophisticated religious art.

Historical Sources

Knowledge of the two kings comes from papyri, tomb inscriptions, statues, temple reliefs, administrative records, and examination of their mummies.

These sources provide different kinds of evidence. Formal monuments emphasize ideal kingship, while administrative documents reveal practical problems.

The Importance of the Wilbour Papyrus

The Wilbour Papyrus makes Ramesses V’s reign especially important to the study of land, taxation, and temple wealth.

Few ancient societies preserve a comparable administrative record describing agricultural obligations in such detail.

The Importance of KV9

KV9 preserves one of the most complete collections of late New Kingdom royal funerary imagery.

Its walls and ceilings bring together the underworld, earth, sky, night, and day within a single sacred architectural journey.

The Legacy of Ramesses V and VI

Ramesses V left an important record of Egypt’s agricultural and institutional economy, even though his reign was brief.

Ramesses VI preserved royal authority during a period of imperial retreat and created one of the Valley of the Kings’ most richly decorated tombs.

Together, their reigns reveal a state under pressure but still capable of complex administration, monumental art, religious innovation, and skilled craftsmanship.