Ancient Egyptian History

1650 BCE to 343 BCE - The Second Intermediate Period, The New Kingdom and The Late Period

Amenhotep II was succeeded by his son Thutmose IV (1419 to 1386 BCE) in 1419 BCE. Thutmose IV embarked on two major campaigns during is rule, both in Asia. His campaigns ended when he was able to make peace with by marrying his daughter to the King of Mitann. Upon his death in 1386 BCE, was succeeded by his son Amenhotep III (1386 to 1349 BCE). The reign of Amenhotep III is arguably the greatest reign of any of the Egyptian Pharaoh’s. Under Amenhotep’s steady hand Egypt reached the height of her power and achieved a level of prosperity that would never again be matched. Most people who are unfamiliar with Ancient Egyptian history consider the reign of Rameses II to be the greatest due to his military exploits. But Rameses was already ruling over a dying body, Egypt was long past her pinnacle by the time Rameses ruled Egypt and many of Rameses exploits were altered by his propaganda to elevate his image. The pinnacle of Egyptian power came under the rule of Amenhotep III.

Amenhotep III was one of several sons of Thutmose IV. From what we know from archeological evidence, Amenhotep was fairly young when he came to the throne, so it is most likely that he mother ruled as regent until he came of age. Unlike most rulers of Egypt he did not marry into his own family, instead he chose a commoner to be his wife. In a brilliant move, he used his marriage as political tool in order to increase his popularity among the masses. His wife, Queen Tiye, was said to be quite beautiful and intelligent, as she was heavily involved in politics. The fact that she had correspondence with the king of the Hittites suggests her political importance. Amenhotep’s marriage to Queen Tiye was celebrated in the most elaborate way possible. Amenhotep had a private lake built for his queen so she could go boating in private. Queen Tiye can be seen in many of monuments of Amenhotep, taking the places normally reserved for a goddess. Perhaps the thing that is most significant about Queen Tiye is that she worshiped Aten, a monotheistic sun god. Although the cult of Aten had existed before Amenhotep became Pharaoh, his wife made the cult prominent and powerful. This is very significant, as Amenhotep’s son, Akhenaten would attempt to replace all the Egyptian gods with that of Aten. This is also incredibly significant if we are to believe the basic elements of the story of Moses from the Old Testament, as Queen Tiye’s influence may have helped give birth to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

During all of Amenhotep’s reign there is only one known war. In the fifth year of his reign Amenhotep led an expedition into Nubia to collect slaves and most importantly to cement Egyptian dominance in the region. However, Amenhotep’s biggest contribution to Egypt came not through warfare, but through diplomacy. Amenhotep was able to protect the borders of Egypt through peaceful negotiations with the other powers in the region. By entertaining their requests he was able to protect Egypt’s trade routes and dramatically increase her prosperity. Amenhotep gifts did not only extend to foreign diplomacy, he was also an able administrator. During his reign Amenhotep made significant chances to Egypt’s bureaucracy. In order to curb the growing power of the officials in Thebes, Amenhotep made military service a requirement for high-ranking bureaucratic positions. This helped to close the gap between the bureaucracy and the military, it also helped to remove those bureaucrats that had gained too much power in Thebes, and lastly it gave military a chance to satisfy their ambitions. Amenhotep died in 1349 BCE, after a reign of thirty-eight years. During his reign, Amenhotep had been able to secure trade routes without needlessly wasting resources through warfare. His efforts largely pacified the Middle East for the duration of his reign. Under Amenhotep’s rule Egypt reached the pinnacle of its wealth and influence.

Akhenaten (1367 to 1350 BCE) is certainly one of the most interesting Pharaoh’s of the New Kingdom. Of all the Egyptian Pharaoh’s it is perhaps Akenaten that has had the greatest influence on western civilization. Initially Akhenaten took the name Amenhotep IV upon becoming Pharaoh, but when he attempted to overthrow Egypt’s religion in an attempt to make the cult of Aten the supreme religion in Egypt he changed his name to Akenaten, which means “In Service of Aten”. It is unknown whether Akhenaten shared a co regency with his father Amenhotep III. There is no evidence to suggest that he did share a co regency. Lack of evidence does not mean that he did not; much of what we know about Egyptian history is based on precious few bits of information. In third year of his reign, Akenaten used the Sed Festival, the traditional festival where the Pharaoh is recrowned and the public gives thanks to the gods, to unveil his plans to make Aten the primary god of Egypt. At the Sed Festival, Akenaten had all the major gods statues replaces with statues of Aten, all of the other gods’ statues were replaced with statues of him. After the Sed Festival, Akhenaten began the process of erecting temples in devotion to Aten across Egypt.

In the fifth year of his reign, Akhenaten began his most ambitious project. Akhenaten planned to move the capital of Egypt. Many scholars cite this as something revolutionary, but after taking into account the numerous times that other Egyptian kings and Pharaohs moved the capital, there is really nothing spectacular about it. The city he founded, Akhetaten, is known today as Amarna. By the ninth year of his reign, enough of the city had been constructed so that his entire court could take up residence at the new capital. Although we lack the records to give a exact date, Akhenaten, most likely married his famous wife Nefertiti before he became Pharaoh. In the later years of Akhenaten’s reign, Nefertiti seems to have taken a more significant place in Egypt. Her picture can be seen on several reliefs at Karnak. In these reliefs she is depicted as a priestess. There is a theory that some scholars share that later in Akhenaten’s reign she became a coregent of equal power. This theory is based on very scant information, and as such it cannot be taken as anything more than theory. There are a lot of theories regarding Akhenaten. Perhaps the most controversial is the one raised by feminist scholars. According to several feminist scholars, Akhenaten and Nefertiti are in fact the same person. This theory explains the highly feminine look of Akhenaten in Egyptian art, but it is largely a theory full of holes. During the period of Akhenaten’s rule, a highly naturalistic artistic style flourished. This is very unique, as this art style disappears after Akhenaten’s death and it has no precursor to suggest why it began. The only thing that can be suggested is that it ties in with Akhenaten’s religious changes.

Next: 1650 BCE to 343 BCE - The Second Intermediate Period, The New Kingdom and The Late Period - Continued
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