Sesostris

[1] In Herodotus' Histories there appears a story told by Egyptian priests about a Pharaoh Sesostris, who once led an army northward overland to Asia Minor, then fought his way westward until he crossed into Europe, where he defeated the Scythians and Thracians (possibly in modern Romania and Bulgaria).

[5] Pliny the Elder also makes mention of Sesostris, who, he claims, was defeated by Saulaces, a gold-rich king of Colchis.

According to Professor Alan Lloyd 'The core of Herodotus’ narrative is provided by an Egyptian tradition which presented Sesostris as a model of the ideal of kingship.

This certainly contained an historical element, but it has been supplemented and contaminated by folklore, nationalist propaganda, and Greek attitudes.

[8] Diodorus also wrote that "with regard to this king not only are the Greek writers at variance with one another, but also among the Egyptians the priests and the poets who sing his praises give conflicting stories” (1.53).

"The great Sesostris", identified in this 19th-century engraving as Ramesses II during the Battle of Kadesh .
Herodotus misidentified the relief of King Tarkasnawa of Mira , as belonging to Sesostris. Karabel relief , circa 1350 BC.