According to Hindu beliefs, God took/takes dashavatar all showing evolution of life. In the order of appearance are: 1. Matsya - The Fish, life in water 2. Kurma- The Tortoise, an amphibian 3. Varaha- The Boar, wildlife on earth 4. Narasimha- The Man-Lion, midway between man and wild animal 5. Vamana - The Dwarf 6. Parasurama - The Warrior, full fledged man but still prone to anger and voilence 7. Sri Rama - The King, epitome of right living 8. Krishna - the cowherd, the one who preached the Gita and explained the philosophy of life... and so on.
Of all these, till Krishna no avatar knew that they are incarnation of God. So Ram did not know that he was an incarnation of God. He was merely living as a human being all the while setting an example for others.
When Jesus started his preachings, people in present day Israel/Palestine were uncivilized and voilent. However, the teachings of Jesus was radically different and appealed to all people. When people living in caves of Europe realized the beauty of his teachings, they started following his principles. "Be the change that you want to see in the world" - Jesus was an example of this. Similarly Ram was an example of simple and honest living. Hope you got it.
