The historical classification of Ramses II and the broader ancient Egyptian population is a subject of significant and ongoing debate among historians, archaeologists, and scholars. While mainstream Egyptology has long considered ancient Egyptians to be an indigenous population of the Nile Valley, distinct from their neighbors, the perspective that they were of African descent is increasingly emphasized, particularly in Afrocentric scholarship.

Proponents of this view point to several key pieces of evidence. The ancient Egyptians themselves referred to their land as Kemet, which translates to “The Black Land,” a term that some scholars interpret as a reference to the dark, fertile soil of the Nile River, while others see it as a reflection of the people’s racial identity. Additionally, ancient Egyptian art frequently depicts pharaohs and commoners with dark skin tones. There were also undeniable cultural, political, and genetic ties between ancient Egypt and its southern neighbor, Nubia, a powerful civilization that was distinctly African. For these reasons, many historians argue that ancient Egypt should be understood as a civilization with deep African roots.

The mainstream academic view, however, is more nuanced. It suggests that ancient Egyptians were a diverse population indigenous to the Nile Valley, with genetic and cultural ties to both North Africa and the Near East. Recent genetic studies on mummified remains have found that the ancient inhabitants of one site, Abusir el-Meleq, had a genetic profile most similar to ancient and modern populations from the Levant, but these findings have been noted to have limitations and cannot be extrapolated to represent all of Egypt’s vast geography and timeline. Ultimately, while the modern concepts of “African” or “black” may not directly apply to ancient populations, the debate over Ramses II’s heritage is part of a larger, critical discussion about the African identity of one of the world’s greatest civilizations.