Merneptah

Quartigod thirteenth son of Ramesses II by Isetnofret who acceded as pharaoh c. 1213 BCE at advanced age after the deaths of his twelve elder brothers. Defeated the combined Libyan-and-Sea-Peoples invasion at Perire (year 5, c. 1208 BCE); commemorated the victory on the Merneptah Stele — which contains the canonical-earliest extra-biblical attestation of the name "Israel," the foundational-archaeological reference-point for the Late Bronze Age Israelite-emergence problem in modern scholarship.

Parentage

• father: Ramesses IIAbu Simbel reliefs (primary)
• mother: IsetnofretAswan Stela (primary)

Children

• Amenmesse
• Seti II
• Tausret

Powers

• Repel the Libyan and Sea-Peoples invasion at Perire
• Reign as the living Horus, son of Ramesses II

Relations

• father: Ramesses IIAbu Simbel reliefs (primary)
• mother: IsetnofretAswan Stela (primary)
• sibling: KhaemwesetAswan Stela; Karnak inscriptions (primary)
• half sibling: AmunherkhepeshefAbu Simbel temple reliefs (primary)
• spouse: Isetnofret IIHis Great Royal Wife (in the dominant reading also his sister); mother of Seti II.Karnak inscriptions (primary)

Sources

• existence: Merneptah Stele (Cairo Egyptian Museum CG 34025, the "Israel Stele"); Karnak Cour de la Cachette inscriptions; Theban Tomb KV8 (his royal tomb); Abu Simbel reliefs; Aswan Stela; Anastasi Papyri (primary)
• parentage: Abu Simbel reliefs (primary)