User blog:Elgb333/Duel of the Beastmasters: Ramses II vs Marcus Aurelius



In the whole animal kingdom, from the shy herbivores to the aggressive carnivores, we humans currently reign supreme. While we may not have scary fangs, poison, wings or claws, we do make up for our sheer intellect and cunning. We are the most dominant, and certainly the deadliest, non-microbe species to date, and even mother nature herself couldn't handle our awesomeness and got "hot".

But remove our brains and all our accomplishments and what do we got? A skinny body, two pairs of fists, some fingers, grinding teeth, five senses worth shit, and only two legs! In terms of design, our weak fragile bodies are laughable compared to what other badass animals have with them, molded through evolution and survival. Even the most brutally badass, testosterone-sweating, awesome-loving human warriors in motherfucking history, are worthless pieces of shit when up against a tiger, a lion, a bear, or any other predators naked. Take away our huge brains and were nothing but tasty, high grade furless walking meatsacks for our natural predators to enjoy. And don't even bother running, your two legs ain't gonna help you one bit.

So in this battle, we're going to take a look at how deadly a mix of human intellect and animal ferocity can be. How great leaders of the past harness the power of the animal kingdom to wreck havoc and annihalate their foes. And if you think getting shot, stabbed or slashed by a human is horrible enough, then you have no idea what predators, with bodies designed to be actual weapons, can do to your feeble human body. Today, we'll be pitting two of the most famous beast master warriors to ever lead in a battlefield.

Ramses II: The power-hungry Egyptian king who took on the most powerful empires of his times to build his own

vs

Marcus Aurelius: The brutal yet wise Roman Emperor who jump started one of the largest empires in history

Who is Deadliest?!

Ramses II
Ramesses II, referred to as Ramesses the Great, was the third Egyptian pharaoh (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC) of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire. His successors and later Egyptians called him the "Great Ancestor." Ramesses II led several military expeditions into the Levant, re-asserting Egyptian control over Canaan. He also led expeditions to the south, into Nubia, commemorated in inscriptions at Beit el-Wali and Gerf Hussein. He is forever immortalized for his (debatable) victory at the Battle of Kadesh, leading the battle with his pet lion.

The early part of his reign was focused on building cities, temples and monuments. He established the city of Pi-Ramesses in the Nile Delta as his new capital and main base for his campaigns in Syria. This city was built on the remains of the city of Avaris, the capital of the Hyksos when they took over, and was the location of the main Temple of Set. He is also known as Ozymandias in the Greek sources, from a transliteration into Greek of a part of Ramesses's throne name, Usermaatre Setepenre, "Ra's mighty truth, chosen of Ra".

Weapons
Short= Khopesh Khopesh is the Egyptian version of the Canaanite "sickle-sword". A typical khopesh is 50–60 cm (20–24 inches) in length, though smaller examples do also exist. This blade was designed for hooking an opponent's shield or disarming them. These weapons changed from bronze to iron in the late period.The blade is only sharpened on the outside portion of the curved end. The khopesh evolved from the epsilon or similar crescent shaped axes that were used in warfare. Note, however, that the khopesh is not an axe. Unlike an axe, the khopesh did not make push-cuts, but rather slashes, like a sabre. While the Hyksos compsite bow is the image we associate with Egyptian bows in "general", bows during Ramses II time where actually single-arched longbows. In his most famous heiroglyphical drawing, Ramses is seen riding a chariot with a longbow in hand. While it doesn't have the power of a composite double-arched bow, it does make up for being easier to fire both on foot and on chariots, giving it tremendous rate of fire. While Egyptian used metal as arrowheads, traditional ivory-tipped arrows were also used that are just as strong.
 * Sickle-shaped blade
 * 50-60 cm
 * Bronze
 * -|Long= Egyptian Bow
 * Range varies. Used in conjunction with chariot.
 * Metal-tipped or ivory-tipped.

The Egyptian war chariot was a state of the art technology of its time. What made it revolutionary to other chariots was that it was light-framed and had spoke wheels. While it carries fewer people, it was faster, more maneuverable and durable than other chariots. Egyptians utilized the chariot with infantry, using it in hit-and-run tactics to disrupt enemies, open holes in army formations, and fire arrows at enemy weak spots with accuracy.
 * -|Special= War Chariot

In depictions of Ramses, he is shown to be able to drive his war chariot and shoot his bow at the same time (by tying traditionally tying the harness to his waist). Egyptian chariots were usually drawn by just one horse. Ramses kept an adult male lion, Antam~nekt, whose Egyptian name has been variously translated as “slayer of his foes”, “he who repels the enemy” or even “invincible”. The lion was not only a palace pet, but also an aid during battle, and the pharaoh was said to have had the lion by his side during his famous battle at Kadesh against the Hitites. Some sources even state that the lion was among the few members of Ramses’ army who didn’t flee in panic when the Hitites ambushed the Egyptian camp. Ramses’ pet lion is depicted charging at the Hitites by his side, forever immortalized along with his master.
 * -|Animal BFF= War Lion
 * Jaws and Claws
 * Full grown male lion

Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius, in full Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus, original name (until 161 ce) Marcus Annius Verus (born April 26, 121 ce, Rome—died March 17, 180, Vindobona [Vienna], or Sirmium, Pannonia) Roman emperor (ce 161–180), best known for his Meditations on Stoic philosophy. Marcus Aurelius has symbolized for many generations in the West the Golden Age of the Roman Empire. As carved in his own column in Rome, Marcus Aurelius is one of a few Roman commanders, who have successfully utilized dog legions in warfare.

During his reign, the Empire defeated a revitalized Parthian Empire in the East: Aurelius' general Avidius Cassius sacked the capital Ctesiphon in 164. In central Europe, Aurelius fought the Marcomanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians with success during the Marcomannic Wars, although the threat of the Germanic tribes began to represent a troubling reality for the Empire. A revolt in the East led by Avidius Cassius failed to gain momentum and was suppressed immediately. Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, written in Greek while on campaign between 170 and 180, are still revered as a literary monument to a philosophy of service and duty, describing how to find and preserve equanimity in the midst of conflict by following nature as a source of guidance and inspiration.

Weapons
Short= Gladius The Gladius, also known as the Gladius Hispaniensis (Latin: Spanish Sword) was the standard sword of the Roman Army for the 3rd century BC onwards. The was, as the name suggested, based on earlier Spanish swords the Romans encountered on their military campaigns in the region. Previously, early roman swords had looked similar to the Greek Xiphos. While different variants of the blade existed, such as the Mainz and Pompeii variants (named for places where they were found), the sword had a blade of 60-68 centimeters and a wooden grip with a cup-shaped guard and a roughly spherical pommel. The gladius could be used to for cutting and slashing attacks, however, its main purpose was as a stabbing weapon, used for thrusting while protected behind a large square shield. The pilum was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) long overall, consisting of an iron shank about 7 millimetres (0.28 in) in diameter and 60 centimetres (24 in) long with pyramidal head. The shank was joined to the wooded shaft by either a socket or a flat tang. The iron shank was the key to the function of the pilum. The weapon had a hard pyramidal tip but the shank was made of softer iron. This softness would cause the shank to bend after impact, thus rendering the weapon useless to the enemy who might throw it back. However, there are many cases where the whole shank was hardened, making the pilum more suitable as a close quarters melee weapon Before the advent of the iconic rectangular scutum Romans used in their famous military formations, Early Roman Empire used a more oval type of scutum. The scutum was a large shield made from three sheets of wood glued together and covered with canvas and leather, usually with a spindle shaped boss along the vertical length of the shield. Improved thicker planks and metal edges increased the protection of the shield from melee and missile weapons, while also being light enough to be carried by one hand. They were also effective weapons for cavalrymen at that time. Roman Emperors, and the Roman people in general, are crazy about animals. If these guys aren't tormenting and killing wild beasts in their colloseums, you'll see them parading their wicked collections of exotic pets. Emperor Nero had a pet tigress named Phoebe which he fed his dinner guests, Caligula had his favorite horse Incitatus which he made a consul, Consul Licinius Muraena had a pool of murray eels, and the poet Virgil had a housefly as a pet (Yeah they were pretty crazy). Marcus Aurelius stands out among other Romans for his usage of specialized dog legions in his battles.
 * Double-edged straight blade
 * 75-80 cm
 * Iron
 * -|Long= Pilum
 * Effective range is up to 15–20 m (50–70 ft).
 * Legionaries often carried two or more pila, with some used for range and some for melee.
 * -|Special= Oval Scutum
 * -|Animal BFF= Molossus Dogs

Romans have always used dogs in combat since it's earliest days. Many columns, paintings and sculpture depicted Romans using dogs in battle, though how they train or use them is till debated. Romans favored the heavily built, but now extinct, Molossus dogs for combat. They often coated them in protective spiked metal collars and mail armor, and arranging them into attack formations. In Marcus Aurelius' column in Rome, dogs were depicted attacking enemy ranks and armored soldiers in battle, and were also useful in scaring away war horses.
 * Male mastiff-type dogs
 * Some wore protective covering such as spiked metal collars and male armor.
 * For the purpose of this match, Marcus will have three war dogs in his disposal.

X-Factors
Experience

Both warriors were excellently trained at the young age, and have amazing military careers and achievements under their belt. Ramses II is famous for his miracle at the Battle of Kadesh, as well as campaigns against the Hittites, Syria, Nubia and Libya. Being one of the great emperors of Rome, Marcus Aurelius campaigns, such as Parthia, Germania as well as internal revolts and fighting, helped expand Roman territories further. However, in terms of quantity, Ramses seems to have fought in more battles and campaigns than the Roman Emperor.

Intelligence

It's no question that these two were great tactical geniuses in their prime, but one is just smarter and wiser of the two. Ramses II's military prowess, while brilliant, is still questionable at best. An example of this was during the battle of Kadesh. While he did turn an almost defeat into a victory, it wouldn't have happened if he wasn't brash and reckless in the first place. In Kadesh, he got overexcited, and columns of his army fell victim to Hittite traps. Marcus Aurelius may not have the same caliber of military brilliance as Caesar or Augustus, nor did he had magnificent victories that went down in military history. He was still somwehat successful in most of his campaigns. Add to that he was also a cunning politician and philosopher to boot (his ideas are still being studied today).

Brutality

Simply put, Ramses II is an epitomy of that spoiled rich kid who's too young and too hungry to be in power. While he did became briliiant in his adulthood, he was still a brutal and bloodthirsty glory-seeking hound. He killed anyone in his sights and put to death even his own generals when they failed him. Marcus Aurelius on the other hand, was a wise and accomplished leader. While he was a brutal warrior, he was still compassionate to his people.