Per Ramessu, ancient Egyptian capital in the 15th (c. 1630–c. 1530 bce), 19th (c. 1292–c. 1191 bce), and 20th (c. 1190–c. 1077 bce) dynasties. Situated in the northeastern delta about 62 miles (100 km) northeast of Cairo, the city lay in ancient times on the Bubastite branch of the Nile River.
In the early Middle Kingdom (c. 1980–c. 1760 bce) the city witnessed the gradual influx of Palestinian peoples, and it became the Hyksos capital about 1540 bce. Sacked by the victorious pharaoh Ahmose I about 1521 bce, it remained obscure until the advent of the 19th dynasty, whose home was nearby. Sometime during this period the Hebrews settled in this area.
Seti I (c. 1290–79 bce) built a palace on the site and started a faience-manufacturing industry. His successor, Ramses II, decided to move his capital there to utilize the military potential of the site. Early in his reign large temples, residences, storehouses, docks, and military facilities were built (whence the biblical name “treasure cities” stemmed, Exodus 1:11). The city was divided into four quarters, each dedicated to a deity; Amon and Wadjet were the Egyptian gods, Seth and Astarte the Asiatic, as Ramses strove to bind the religions of Syria and Egypt. In the center of the city, the cult of the king himself was dominant. The city was not only the royal residence but also the administrative capital, as various government bureaucracies were moved there. A rich agricultural and riverine hinterland provided food and recreation for the populace. Oriented toward Egypt’s empire in Syria-Palestine, the city began to decline after the loss of the Asiatic territory in the mid-20th dynasty. Toward the end of that dynasty, the town of Tanis, 15 miles (24 km) to the north, superseded Per Ramessu. The final blow was the transfer of the royal residence to Tanis in the 21st dynasty (c. 1076–c. 944 bce). It was the large-scale plunder and reuse of the stone of Per Ramessu that led to great confusion over the location of the Ramesside capital. Excavations started in the 1940s by Egyptian archaeologists and carried forward by an Austrian expedition since 1975 have firmly located Ramses II’s capital at Per Ramessu and also have elucidated the Hyksos period of the city.