The last days of ancient Egypt

CAIRO – 18 August 2022: After the death of Ramses III, Egypt was ruled by a series of ineffective pharaohs who were also named after Ramses.

Ramses XI, who died around 1070 B.C., was the last pharaoh of the New Kingdom. The last days of the ancient Egyptians witnessed the spread of theft of royal tombs and the spread of smallpox.

For example, the mummy of Ramses V appears to have smallpox scars on his face. Historians cannot be sure if he actually died of smallpox. Records indicate that Ramses V and his family were buried in newly excavated tombs.

Some scholars suggest that this may have been one of the first isolation orders due to the spread of smallpox, and a possible indication that Egypt was plagued by an outbreak of smallpox at that time.

In addition, during the reigns of Ramses V and Ramses VI, it appears that Egypt lost control of the important copper and turquoise mines in the Sinai Peninsula, because their names were the last of the Egyptian pharaohs listed on the sites.

Eric Klein, an American historical researcher and archaeologist, says that Egypt may have completely withdrawn from Sinai and Canaan by 1140 BC.

During the reign of Ramses IX, who ruled at the end of the 12th century BC, Egypt was so shaken by a series of tomb robberies as thieves broke into the tombs of the pharaohs in search of treasures and gold.

"The reign of Ramses IX was just the beginning of a continuous period of burglaries of royal tombs, and at one point, during the reign of Ramses XI, they had to move some of the royal mummies for safekeeping," said Eric Klein.