| Ramesses VI[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Also written Ramses and Rameses | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Image of Ramesses VI on display at the Louvre |
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| Pharaoh of Egypt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reign | 1145–1137 BC, 20th Dynasty | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Ramesses V | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Ramesses VII | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Consort(s) | Nubkhesbed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | Ramesses VII, Iset or Isis, Amonherkhopsef, Panebenkemyt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Father | Ramesses III | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mother | Iset Ta-Hemdjert | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 1137 BC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Burial | KV9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ramesses VI (also written Ramses and Rameses) was the fifth ruler of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt who reigned from 1145 BC to 1137 BC and a son of Ramesses III by Iset Ta-Hemdjert. His royal tomb, KV9, is located near Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings.
Ramesses' prenomen or royal name was Nebmaatre-meryamun meaning "Lord of Justice is Re, Beloved of Amun" while his royal epithet—Amunherkhepshef Netjer-heqa-iunu—translates as "Amun is his Strength, God Ruler of Heliopolis.[2] His 8th Regnal Year is attested in a graffito which names the then serving High Priest of Amun, Ramessessnakht. Based on Raphael Ventura's successful reconstruction of Turin Papyrus 1907+1908, Ramesses VI is generally assumed to have enjoyed a reign of 8 full Years.[3][4] The latest scholarly publication on Egyptian chronology in 2006 also assigned Ramesses VI 8 years of rule.[5] He lived for two months into his brief 9th Regnal year before dying and was succeeded by his son, Ramesses VII.
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Ramesses VI's chief queen was Nubkhesbed who is "mentioned on a stela of Iset E (her daughter) from Koptos, and also in tomb KV13 in the Valley of the Kings."[6] This pharaoh would be succeeded on the throne by his son Ramesses VII.
Egypt's political and economic decline continued unabated during Ramesses VI's reign; he is the last king of Egypt's New Kingdom whose name is attested in the Sinai.[7] At Thebes, the power of the chief priests of Amun Ramessesnakht grew at the expense of Pharaoh despite the fact that Isis, Ramesses VI's daughter, was connected to the Amun priesthood "in her role as God's Wife of Amun or Divine Adoratice."[8]
Shortly after his burial, his tomb was penetrated and ransacked by grave robbers who hacked away at his hands and feet in order to gain access to his jewelry. A medical examination of his mummy which was found in KV35 in 1898 revealed severe damage to his body, with the head and torso being broken into several pieces by an axe used by the tomb robbers.[4] This damage was caused by tomb robbers who were robbing the dead king's body of his jewelry. The creation of Ramesses VI's tomb, however, protected Tutankhamon's own intact tomb from grave robbers since debris from its formation was dumped over the tomb entrance to the boy king's tomb.
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