Ramesseum

Ramesseum

Aerial view of Thebes' Ramesseum, showing pylons and secondary buildings
Shown within Egypt
Location	Luxor, Luxor Governorate, Egypt
Region	Upper Egypt
Coordinates	25°43′40″N 32°36′38″E / 25.72778°N 32.61056°E / 25.72778; 32.61056
Type	Sanctuary
Part of	Theban Necropolis
History
Builder	Ramesses II
Founded	13th century BC
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, iii, vi
Designated	1979 (3rd session)
Reference no.	87
Region	Arab States

The Ramesseum is the memorial temple (or mortuary temple) of Pharaoh Ramesses II ("Ramesses the Great", also spelled "Ramses" and "Rameses"). It is located in the Theban Necropolis in Upper Egypt, on the west of the River Nile, across from the modern city of Luxor. The name – or at least its French form Rhamesséion – was coined by Jean-François Champollion, who visited the ruins of the site in 1829 and first identified the hieroglyphs making up Ramesses's names and titles on the walls. It was originally called the House of millions of years of Usermaatra-setepenra that unites with Thebes-the-city in the domain of Amon.^[1] Usermaatra-setepenra was the prenomen of Ramesses II.