Image Resource Bank
Image Gallery | 
9 of 15 
Ramses III and His Fleet in Battle with the Fleet of the Sea Peoples
This drawing of a relief shows the Egyptian pharaoh Rameses III defeating the invading “Sea Peoples.” Rameses has stepped down from his chariot and with the help of just a few soldiers, defeats a chaotic mass of enemies, who are then led away as prisoners.
The invasion of the Sea Peoples came at a time of considerable political instability across the ancient Middle East. The fact that invaders were threatening Egypt shows that the power of the Egyptian empire had declined considerably from its peak.
Name: Ramses III and His Fleet in Battle with the Fleet of the Sea Peoples
Material: Drawing of limestone relief
Size (of relief):
Width: 15 m (49 ft 2.5 in)
Height: 5.6 m (18 ft 4.5 in)
Date (of relief): ca. 1170 BCE
Place of Origin: Medinet Habu, Egypt
Location: Medinet Habu, Egypt
Source and Registration#: Oriental Institute Publication #21
Geoff Emberling
Former Chief Curator, Oriental Institute Museum of the University of Chicago
