* The last known year of his reign is the year VIII.  The lists of Manetho assign to him a reign of from twenty to forty years; Brugsch makes it out to have been thirty-four years, from 1300 to 1266 B.C., which is evidently too much, but we may attribute to him without risk of serious error a reign of about twenty years.

The last years of his life were troubled by the intrigues of princes who aspired to the throne, and by the ambition of the ministers to whom he was obliged to delegate his authority.

[Illustration:  263.jpg THE CHAPELS OF RAMSES II.  AND MINEPHTAH AT SISILEH]

     Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a photograph by Beato.

One of the latter, a man of Semite origin, named Ben-Azana, of Zor-bisana, who had assumed the appellation of his first patron, ramsesupirniri, appears to have acted for him as regent.  Minephtah was succeeded, apparently, by one of his sons, called Seti, after his great-grandfather.* Seti II. had doubtless reached middle age at the time of his accession, but his portraits represent him, nevertheless, with the face and figure of a young man.** The expression in these is gentle, refined, haughty, and somewhat melancholic.  MU It is the type of Seti I. and Ramses II., but enfeebled and, as it were, saddened.  An inscription of his second year attributes to him victories in Asia,*** but others of the same period indicate the existence of disturbances similar to those which had troubled the last years of his father.

* E. de Rouge introduced Amenmeses and Siphtah between Minephtah and Seti II., and I had up to the present followed his example; I have come back to the position of Chabas, making Seti II. the immediate successor of Minephtah, which is also the view of Brugsch, Wiedemann, and Ed. Meyer.  The succession as it is now given does not seem to me to be free from difficulties; the solution generally adopted has only the merit of being preferable to that of E. de Rouge, which I previously supported.

     ** The last date known of his reign is the year II. which is
     found at Silsilis; Chabas was, nevertheless, of the opinion
     that he reigned a considerable time.

*** The expressions employed in this document do not vary much from the usual protocol of all kings of this period.  The triumphal chant of Seti II. preserved in the Anastasi Papyrus IV. is a copy of the triumphal chant of Minephtah, which is in the same Papyrus.

[Illustration:  264.jpg STATUE OF SETI II.]

     Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a photograph.

These were occasioned by a certain Aiari, who was high priest of Phtah, and who had usurped titles belonged ordinarily to the Pharaoh or his eldest son, in the house of Sibu, “heir and hereditary prince of the two lands.”  Seti died, it would seem, without having had time to finish his tomb.  We do not know whether he left any legitimate children, but two sovereigns succeeded him who were not directly connected with him, but were probably the grandsons of the Amenmesis and the Siphtah, whom we meet with among the children of Ramses.  The first of these was also called Amenmesis,* and he held sway for several years over the whole of Egypt, and over its foreign possessions.