Ramses II, also called Ramesses, was a pharaoh of the old Egyptian kingdom who reigned from 1332 to 1298 B.C. He made war with the Hittites in Asia Minor and built large temple complexes at Abu Simbel. Ramses was one of the first names that Champollion {see planet  (3414)} could read by translation of the Egyptian hieroglyphs. (M 18142) _ _.