Merneptah

Merneptah was the fourth pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty, who ruled during a period of relative peace just before the catastrophic Santorini eruption. He ruled from 774 to 764 B.C. Merneptah succeeded his father Ramesses II, and was succeeded by several of his feuding sons, along with 22nd Dynasty and Tanite 21st Dynasty usurpers.

Merneptah was the thirteenth son of Ramesses II, and only became king because his older brothers had died during the lengthy reign of their father. Ramesses II was the son of Seti I, who was the son of Ramesses I. Merneptah had three sons of note to the revised history, Seti II, Amenmesse, and Siptah.

In 774 B.C., Ramesses II finally died, probably in his mid-nineties. His oldest surviving son, Merneptah, became pharaoh. Merneptah fought off attacks by Libyans from the west in his fifth year (770 B.C.), and claimed to have conquered Israel during the reigns of Jeroboam II, Amaziah, and Uzziah.

However, in 765 B.C., a volcano in the Mediterranean exploded, causing the catastrophic Santorini eruption. Merneptah's sons probably took this as a sign that his rule was no longer favored by the gods, and they began to rule in the south near Thebes. Merneptah died in this time of peril, and for the next five years no pharaoh would be the sole claimant to the throne of the 19th Dynasty.

The evidence for the revised history can be found at Displaced Dynasties. Evidence pertaining to this pharaoh specifically can be found here.