Ramses the Great accompanied his father in military campaigns to quell rebellions in Canaan. He also supported him in the war against the Hittites who had occupied the territories of Syria, traditionally belonging to the Egyptian empire, but lost several years ago due to the weakness of King Akhenaten. Already as commander, he carried out a campaign against Kush (Nubia), in the 8th year of Seti's reign.
It is said that Ramses was in Kush when Seti died. He returned to Egypt where, together with his mother, Tuya, he performed the funeral ceremonies of his father in the Theban necropolis. During the first five years of his reign he carried out five military actions that ensured the peace and prosperity of the people:
Naval battle: On the part of the Stele of Tanis, occurred in the Delta, before the attack of shardana pirates. Ramses defeated them and recruited the prisoners as soldiers for his army. These shardana are mentioned in the Pentaur Poem as members of the Egyptian army
Expeditions to Asia: Shortly after beginning his reign alone, Ramses had to react to the threat of the Hittites. Perhaps they considered the new king weaker than his powerful father, since they began numerous skirmishes in the borders invading the land of Retenu until the Egyptian army was forced to react. The first expedition was to pacify Canaan, as a step prior to the conquest of Syria.
The battle of Qadesh: In the fifth year of his reign Pharaoh decided to cut off the Hittite attacks, proof of this is the famous battle of Qadesh, north of Syria, where they finally found the Egyptian armies of Ramses II with the alliance Syrian-Hittite of King Muwatalli II.
Conquests in Libya: Ramses also made incursions into Libya, where he established several colonies and built several fortresses to guard them, forming a defensive line from Racotis (now Alexandria) to El Alamein.
Reform of the army: Ramses II took advantage of the bad result of the battle of Qadesh to change the military of high rank, placing his sons in front of the different bodies. He also created elite bodies with foreigners, Nubian warriors, Libyans, Asians and Shardanas, bodies that were loyal to the person of Pharaoh.
