" But it is not probable that the exodus itself took place in Rameses’ reign. It seems more likely that the Israelites broke out under his successor, Merneptah. A victory stele of this pharaoh has survived and been dated 1220 BC. It relates that he won a battle beyond Sinai, in Canaan, and refers to the defeated as ‘Israel’. He may not have won, as pharaohs often presented their defeats or stalemates as triumphs, but it is clear that he fought some kind of engagement with the Israelites outside his territory, so they had already left. This is the first non-Biblical reference to Israel. "

― Paul Johnson , A History of the Jews