Ramesses VII - Reign Length

Reign Length

Ramesses VII's seventh year is also attested in Ostraca O. Strasbourg h 84 which is dated to II Shemu day 16 of his 7th Regnal Year. In 1980, C.J. Eyre demonstrated that a Year 8 papyri belonged to the reign of Ramesses VII. This papyri, P. Turin Cat. 1883 + 2095, dated to Year 8 IV Shemu day 25 (most likely Ramesses VII), details the record of the commissioning of some copper work and mentions two foreman at Deir El-Medina: Nekhemmut and Hor. The foreman Hormose was previously attested in office only during the reign of Ramesses IX while his father and predecessor in this post—a certain Ankherkhau—served in office from the second decade of the reign of Ramesses III through to Year 4 of Ramesses VII where he is shown acting with Nekhemmut and the scribe Horisheri. The new Year 8 papyri proves that Hormose succeeded to his father's office as foreman by Year 8 of Ramesses VII. Dominique Valbelle regards C.J. Eyre's attribution of this document to Ramesses VII as uncertain since the chief workman Hormose was previously only securely attested in office in Years 6 and 7 of Ramesses IX instead. However, this papyrus clearly bears the cartouche of Usermaatre Setepenre--the prenomen of Ramesses VII--at its beginning whereas the royal name of Ramesses IX was Neferkare--which rules out Ramesses IX as the king whose Year 8 is recorded in the P. Turin 1883 + 2095 document. The presence of Hormose's contemporary--the foreman Nekhemmut--also establishes that this papyri document dates to the mid-20th dynasty most probably to the reign of Ramesses VII since Nekhemmut is attested in office "from the second year of Ramesses IV until the seventeenth year of Ramesses IX."

Since Ramesses VII's accession is known to have occurred around the end of III Peret, the king would have ruled Egypt for 7 years and 5 months when this document was drawn up provided that it belonged to his reign as seems probable from the royal name given in the papyrus. The respected German Egyptologist Jürgen von Beckerath also accepts C.J. Eyre's evidence that Year 8 IV Shemu day 25 was Ramesses VII's highest known date. However, the accession date of his successor, Ramesses VIII, has been fixed by Amin Amer to an 8 month period between I Peret day 2 and I Akhet day 13. or about 4-5 months after the Year 8 IV Shemu day 25 date. Therefore, Ramesses VII himself would have been on the throne for a minimum reign of 7 years and 8 or 9 months.

Very little is known about his reign, though it was evidently a period of some turmoil as grain prices soared to the highest level.