The name "Ramses" was given to 11 pharaohs. The best known of these pharaohs were: Ramses I, who reigned from 1314 to 1312 bc and founded the 19th dynasty; Ramses II (1301-1235 bc), who mandated the construction of the great Karnak Temple; and Ramses III (1198-1166 bc), who built the burial temple of Medinet Habu. Considered as living gods, the pharaohs believed that, after death, they left the earth to rejoin ôRe,ö the sun-god. Right after they died, the pharaohs were mummified to preserve their bodies, which were believed to be containers for the soul. The brain and entrails were removed and replaced by strips of cloth. Then the bodies were wrapped in more cloth strips and placed in sarcophagi (stone or wooden coffins that were made-to-measure so they would conform to the shape of the bodies).
