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An Ancient Spindoctor | National Geographic


00:00:00[Music]

00:00:13this is not the Egypt of Khufu’s day the

00:00:17Pharaoh is no longer beyond criticism

00:00:19and Rama ceases failure to take Kadesh

00:00:22could dangerously undermine his position

00:00:27ramasees hatches a face-saving plan will

00:00:30suited to this more critical era he

00:00:33reaches for another weapon one even more

00:00:36effective than chariots and the bronze

00:00:37swords propaganda this is a wonderful

00:00:46opportunity for Ramses to broadcast

00:00:48something to his audience that will make

00:00:52him the king that he will someday become

00:00:55ramasees Commission’s a series of stone

00:00:58reliefs to commemorate the Battle of

00:01:00Kadesh on temple walls the length and

00:01:02breadth of the kingdom was a part of

00:01:06these of the heavy spin put on to the

00:01:08onto the whole Kadesh campaign clearly

00:01:11is to make sure that his image remains

00:01:13what he wants it to be that of the

00:01:15all-powerful all-conquering Pharaoh well

00:01:21when he sets up his record of the Battle

00:01:23of Kadesh Ramses proves that he’s the

00:01:25greatest spin-doctor of the ancient

00:01:26world the carvings tell the story not of

00:01:30an inconclusive truth but a clear-cut

00:01:33victory

00:01:37ramasees is portrayed as the hero of the

00:01:39hour who separated from his troops

00:01:41stands alone against the hit item bush

00:01:48he claims he wept and good but he didn’t

00:01:54he’s not going to show what really

00:01:57happened he’s going to show what he

00:02:00wants to have happened so the image that

00:02:02he has depicted there is one that shows

00:02:06him routing the hittites pretty much

00:02:09single-handedly leading the way sending

00:02:12them fleeing trampling them under his

00:02:14horses and chariots and really creating

00:02:18a sense of Egypt and Ramses himself as

00:02:21the personification of Egypt is the

00:02:23ultimate

00:02:27it’s a political masterstroke

00:02:30ramasees has rewritten history and set

00:02:33his version of events in stone for all

00:02:35time

00:02:42but the young Kings lifelong talent for

00:02:45self-promotion has only just begun

00:02:52[Music]