History UsefulNotes / AncientEgyptianHistory

Important note: While popular history holds the capital to be Thebes during this period, that's not quite right; while it was founded by the originally-Theban Eighteenth Dynasty, and the capital was Thebes throughout the Eighteenth (except for when Akhenaten moved it during his reign) and the first half of the Nineteenth Dynasty, Ramses II moved the capital to the new purpose-built capital [[{{Egopolis}} Pi-Ramesses]] in the Delta, and his successors moved it all the way back to Memphis, where it remained into the Third Intermediate Period. Moreover, even when Thebes was accorded the dignity of capital, the Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Dynasty rulers were at least as likely to be governing from Memphis as from Thebes, if not more so. Memphis was closer to the richer territories of the Delta and the Faiyum, and to Egypt's imperial holdings in Canaan and Syria (which were lucrative but also vulnerable to attack by any number of neighbors). Thutmose III is known to have maintained his court at Memphis between campaigns to Canaan and Syria, and it seems that UsefulNotes/{{Tutankhamun}}'s regime set itself up in Memphis for this very reason while dealing with the imperial fallout of the end of Akhenaten's reign. (Thebes was better for controlling Nubia, but Nubia wasn't as rich, was much more Egyptianized culturally,[[note]]Even after they won their independence after the collapse of the New Kingdom empire, the Nubians kept worshiping Egyptian gods and building pyramids. There are actually more surviving Nubian pyramids than Egyptian ones (so if you want to see a lot of pyramids, you're actually better off visiting UsefulNotes/{{Sudan}} than Egypt). The Syrians and Canaanites, while they appear to have adopted some Egyptian manners and fashions, preferred to identify their native gods with Egyptian ones rather than worship the Egyptian gods directly, and never really went in for pyramid-building.[[/note]] and there weren't any big foreign powers threatening it, so it wasn't as important to defend.)\\

For all that Tutankhamun was a physically-challenged boy-king, things looked like they might be stabilizing by about the tenth year of his reign. While he seems to have had a cleft palate and a limp, he also seems to have led a pretty active life, even going on campaign at some point in his late teens. (Armor found in his tomb bears the distinctive marks of real battle.) While he had thus far been unable to beget an heir with his queen, this was because his daughters with her had been stillborn--so his equipment clearly worked, and any problems were either chance or the pairing.[[note]]It's fairly likely that it was the pairing, given that his queen was a close relative--if not his sister, then his double first cousin, which is pretty much the same from a genetic perspective.[[/note]] Tutankhamun was still young; since even sickly kings tended to survive their 20s at least, Tutankhamun could expect at least 10 years to father an heir with a junior wife or concubine even if his queen remained barren. This was in fact almost a tradition in the Eighteenth Dynasty--both Thutmose II and Thutmose IV had been in chronic mild-to-moderate poor health[[note]]Thutmose II died in his early 30s, apparently of some plague, and while records are sketchy (the Egyptians didn't like to talk about this kind of stuff) it seems he wasn't exactly hale in life either. At a minimum, Thutmose II's mummy suggests he had some kind of skin disease, which could have been quite painful. Thutmose IV for his part is clearly recorded as having had seizures/trances.[[/note]] and been unable to produce an heir with their (closely related) queens, but did father children with their lower-born concubines/minor queens, including their ultimate successors to the throne. Since those successors were Thutmose III and Amenhotep III--i.e. two of the greatest kings Egypt had yet seen--the courtiers may well have been in a "we've seen this movie before, it turns out OK in the end" kind of mindset.\\

However, Horemheb also died without royal issue. His Grand Vizier Rameses I was therefore allowed to take power, founding the Nineteenth Dynasty. During this period, Egypt reached a new zenith as an imperial power, particularly under its second and third rulers Seti I and UsefulNotes/RamsesII "the Great", who reigned for nearly 70 years. (It never did extend as far into Syria as it had in the days of Thutmose III and Amenhotep III, though.) The world's first recorded peace treaty is from this era, settling the disputed claims of Egypt and the Hittite Empire in the Levant, and signed by Ramses II and the Hittite King Hattusili III. The rest of the Nineteenth Dynasty was a bit of a mess--Ramesses II being something of a ToughActToFollow and also having [[MassiveNumberedSiblings way too many male heirs]], leading to no small amount of political strife for the rest of the dynasty.\\

For all that Tutankhamun was a physically-challenged boy-king, things looked like they might be stabilizing by about the tenth year of his reign. While he seems to have had a cleft palate and a limp, he also seems to have led a pretty active life, even going on campaign at some point in his late teens. (Armor found in his tomb bears the distinctive marks of real battle.) While he had thus far been unable to beget an heir with his queen, this was because his daughters with her had been stillborn--so his equipment clearly worked, and any problems were either chance or the pairing.[[note]]It's fairly likely that it was the pairing, given that his queen was a close relative--if not his sister, then his double first cousin, which is pretty much the same from a genetic perspective.[[/note]] Tutankhamun was still young; since even sickly kings tended to survive their 20s at least, Tutankhamun could expect at least 10 years to father an heir with a junior wife or concubine even if his queen remained barren. This was in fact almost a tradition in the Eighteenth Dynasty--both Thutmose II and Thutmose IV had been in chronic mild-to-moderate poor health[[note]]Thutmose II died in his early 30s, apparently of some plague, and while records are sketchy (the Egyptians didn't like to talk about this kind of stuff) it seems he wasn't exactly hale in life either. Thutmose IV for his part is clearly recorded as having had seizures/trances.[[/note]] and been unable to produce an heir with their (closely related) queens, but did father children with their lower-born concubines/minor queens, including their ultimate successors to the throne. Since those successors were Thutmose III and Amenhotep III--i.e. two of the greatest kings Egypt had yet seen--the courtiers may well have been in a "we've seen this movie before, it turns out OK in the end" kind of mindset.\\

However, two powerful families gradually arose in Egypt. In the Lower Egyptian city of Het-Nesut (literally "Child of the King", known to the Greeks as Heracleopolis Magna and known today as Beni Suef, about 100 km upstream of Cairo), a line of local rulers descended from a man named Khety dominated the country from the Mediterranean coast in the north to as far as Asyut in the south; they are known as the Tenth Dynasty. In competition, a line of local rulers based in the city of Waset (literally, "City of the Sceptre", known to the Greeks as Thebes and known today as Luxor, the principal city of Upper Egypt) in Upper Egypt conquered the whole south, establishing what is now known as the Eleventh Dynasty. These two families clashed until, around 2055 BCE, the Elleventh Dynasty decisively defeated the Tenth and founded the...

Seqenenre now attacked the northern kingdom, seeking to reunite the Two Lands under his banner--and lost. He appears to have run a brilliant campaign, using combined-arms operations on the Nile to devastating effect, but was defeated in a key battle. He was then captured and brutally executed, hands tied behind his back, by an axe-blow to his temple. The northerners also [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill pierced his skull with a spear, beat his body with maces and clubs, and stabbed him repeatedly with daggers or small swords]]. His body, apparently still tied up, was then sent upriver to his family in Thebes for mummification and burial.[[note]]We don't have any direct written evidence of this, as the ancient Egyptians didn't like talking/writing about how anyone died. However, we ''do'' have Seqenenre Tao's mummy, and it shows distinctive signs of this kind of execution-style death.[[/note]]\\

Seqenenre now waged war to reunite the Two Lands under his banner--and lost. He appears to have run a brilliant campaign, using combined-arms operations on the Nile to devastating effect, but was defeated in a key battle. He was then captured and brutally executed, hands tied behind his back, by an axe-blow to his temple. The northerners also [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill pierced his skull with a spear, beat his body with maces and clubs, and stabbed him repeatedly with daggers or small swords]]. His body, apparently still tied up, was then sent upriver to his family in Thebes for mummification and burial.[[note]]We don't have any direct written evidence of this, as the ancient Egyptians didn't like talking/writing about how anyone died. However, we ''do'' have Seqenenre Tao's mummy, and it shows distinctive signs of this kind of execution-style death.[[/note]]\\

Seqenenre now waged war to reunite the Two Lands under his banner--and lost. He appears to have run a brilliant campaign, using combined-arms operations on the Nile to devastating effect, but was defeated in a key battle. He was then captured and brutally executed, hands tied behind his back, by an axe-blow to his temple. The northerners also [[NoKillLikeOverkill pierced his skull with a spear, beat his body with maces and clubs, and stabbed him repeatedly with daggers or small swords]]. His body, apparently still tied up, was then sent upriver to his family in Thebes for mummification and burial.[[note]]We don't have any direct written evidence of this, as the ancient Egyptians didn't like talking/writing about how anyone died. However, we ''do'' have Seqenenre Tao's mummy, and it shows distinctive signs of this kind of execution-style death.[[/note]]\\

# New Kingdom (18th-20th Dynasties, 1550-1069 BC): The Eighteenth Dynasty is somewhat peculiar: its founder was Ahmose I, who was either the brother or son of the last Seventeenth Dynasty king Kamose. Why Manetho (the Egyptian priest and historian in Hellenistic Egypt who assigned the dynasty numbers) calls this a new dynasty is unclear, but it seems to be based on unification of Egypt.[[note]]Though this creates almost as many questions as it answers, since Manetho did ''not'' create a break of dynasty when the Eleventh Dynasty defeated the Tenth to create the Middle Kingdom.[[/note]] In either event, Ahmose was either the son or grandson of Ahhotep, and as the king was a child, Ahhotep served as his regent during his minority.\\
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Around 1555 BCE, the Seventeenth Dynasty king Seqenenre Tao appears to have built up the base needed to strike the final blow against the Hyksos center of power in Lower Egypt. He waged a war to reunite the Two Lands under his banner--and lost. Defeated in a key battle, he was captured and brutally executed, hands tied behind his back, by an axe- or mace-blow to his temple.[[note]]We don't have any direct written evidence of this, as the ancient Egyptians didn't like talking/writing about how anyone died. However, we ''do'' have Seqenenre Tao's mummy, and it shows distinctive signs of this kind of execution-style death.[[/note]] However, his widow Ahhotep and son Kamose remained committed to the cause of reunification, and pursued renewed campaigns against the Hyksos. Kamose succeeded, driving the Hyksos back to Asia, but died shortly thereafter.
# New Kingdom (18th-20th Dynasties, 1550-1069 BC): The Eighteenth Dynasty is somewhat peculiar: its founder was Ahmose I, who was either the brother or son of the last Seventeenth Dynasty king Kamose. Why Manetho (the Egyptian priest and historian in Hellenistic Egypt who assigned the dynasty numbers) calls this a new dynasty is unclear, but it seems to be based on unification of Egypt.[[note]]Though this creates almost as many questions as it answers, since Manetho did ''not'' create a break of dynasty when the Eleventh Dynasty defeated the Tenth to create the Middle Kingdom.[[/note]] In either event, Ahmose was either the son or grandson of Ahhotep, and as the king was a child, Ahhotep served as his regent during his minority.\\

Finding itself in possession of all kinds of new military tech and a series of young, dynamic rulers, Egypt began to conquer. Successive rulers pushed outward, primarily into Canaan and Syria, but also into Libya to the west and Nubia to the south. As a result, the New Kingdom is often known as the Egyptian Empire, and the Eighteenth Dynasty was the exuberant peak of Egypt as a major power of the Bronze Age Near East.\\

This expansionist phase culminated in the long and overlapping reigns of [[SheIsTheKing Hatshepsut]] and her nephew Thutmose III. Hatshepsut wasn't much of a conqueror herself, but she consolidated her ancestors' empire, built up the economic base, and forged trading and diplomatic links with Egypt's neighbors (most famously Punt). Oh, and she built a bunch of pretty monuments; her mortuary temple is one of the most beautiful and iconic works of ancient Egyptian architecture, and she contributed other, smaller works to the ancient Egyptian architectural treasury. Her efforts to legitimate her reign also had lasting effects; in particular, the story she cooked up about ''actually'' being the child of Amun [[BedTrick in disguise as her official father Thutmose I]] later became standard royal propaganda. Meanwhile, her patriarchal bureaucrats and courtiers seem to have started to use the word "Pharaoh" (which had previously meant "the Palace") to refer to the monarch to assuage their discomfort at taking orders from a woman.\\

After Hatshepsut died, much of her work was useful to Thutmose--who was technically joint monarch with her the whole time, but was just a toddler when she took the royal title--when he became sole ruler at about the age of 21. An energetic and [[EmperorScientist thoughtful]] king, he was also something of a military genius and [[YoungConqueror spent most of his early reign expanding Egyptian territory]]. Most of his campaigns were in the rich lands of Canaan and Syria, pushing farther into these regions than any previous Egyptian monarch. He crossed the River Euphrates during a raid against the Mittani, and solidified the hold his grandfather Thutmose I had established on the lands of the coastal Levant.\\

Thutmose III, unlike many young conquerors, lived long enough to enjoy his conquests, reigning over 30 years after becoming sole king. At some point he stopped seriously pursuing conquests, focusing instead on monument-building and administration. He did, however go on one last campaign/discovery expedition/pleasure cruise up the Nile late in his reign that managed to nab some extra territory in Nubia (even though it didn’t really fight anyone and wasn’t really supposed to).\\

The Eighteenth Dynasty reached the height of its splendor and territory during the century from about 1455 BCE-1355 BCE, starting with the beginning of the sole reign of Thutmose III and ending with the death of Amenhotep III. During this period, the pharaohs fought to cement their overlordship in the empire their ancestors had conquered; built themselves ever-bigger and more beautiful monuments, palaces, and tombs; maintained diplomatic links as far afield as Babylon and Mycenaean Greece; traded extensively around the Mediterranean world (and beyond); and generally enjoyed life as rulers of the premier Great Power of the Late Bronze Age. Amenhotep III in particular lived and reigned long and peacefully, building himself splendid palaces and beautiful temples during his 38 or 39 years on the throne. He also left more (surviving) statutes than any other ancient Egyptian monarch.\\

The Eighteenth Dynasty ended with the Amarna Period. Amenhotep III's son and heir Amenhotep IV was actually the SpareToTheThrone, the second son of Amenhotep III and his Great Royal Wife, the formidable Tiye. Young Amenhotep trained for a career in the priesthood while his older brother, the Crown Prince Thutmose, prepared for kingship. However, Prince Thutmose died in his late teens or early 20s (possibly from a plague that struck Egypt during the middle years of his father's reign), leaving his brother Amenhotep the new heir to the throne.\\

Fortunately for young Amenhotep, his father lived a few years longer after Prince Thutmose's death. Thus when Amenhotep III finally died, Amenhotep IV was a vigorous youth--probably in his late teens or early 20s--ready to take the reins. He had also developed a distinctive view of his role as monarch and as intermediary between the divine and the worldly, particularly focusing on the Aten, the deified representation of the disc of the sun. He thus renamed himself UsefulNotes/{{Akhenaten}} and engaged in an odd religious and artistic experiment that led him to move the capital to a brand-new city he called Akhetaten (at the modern site called El-Amarna) several hundred kilometers downriver from Thebes. The effects of his rule were sufficiently destabilizing that Egypt lost hold on much of the empire his ancestors had won, especially in the northernmost part of Syria.\\

It's possible (which isn't to say likely) that Akhenaten would have resolved these issues had he lived longer. But as it was, he died after 17-18 years on the throne. His successors did try to keep control of events, but the limited records we have suggest this was not easy.[[note]]The records are limited because someone later in history tried to [[UnPerson expunge Akhenaten and his regime]] from the historical records. While historians used to think this was someone who followed him more or less immediately, more recent research suggests that it's more likely the ''damnatio memoriae'' happened sometime in the late Nineteenth or early Twentieth Dynasty, a full century or two later.[[/note]] What records exist suggest his his widow Nefertiti ruled a few years from Akhetaten under the name of Neferneferuaten trying to reach a compromise with the old Amun priesthood while maintaining the Aten cult, but died before this could become established state policy. She would at some point be succeeded by the boy-king UsefulNotes/{{Tutankhamun}}, whose ministers Ay and Horemheb are probably responsible for abandoning both Aten and Akhetaten and moving the court to Memphis, the better to get a handle on the priesthood and on Canaan, respectively.\\

For all that Tutankhamun was a physically-challenged boy-king, things looked like they might be stabilizing by about the tenth year of his reign. While he seems to have had a cleft palate and a limp, he also seems to have led a pretty active life, even going on campaign at some point in his late teens. (Armor found in his tomb bears the distinctive marks of real battle.) While he had thus far been unable to beget an heir with his queen, this was because his daughters with her had been stillborn--so his equipment clearly worked, and any problems were either chance or the pairing.[[note]]It's fairly likely that it was the pairing, given that his queen was a close relative--if not his sister, then his double first cousin, which is pretty much the same from a genetic perspective.[[/note]] Tutankhamun was still young; since even sickly kings tended to survive their 20s at least, Tutankhamun could expect at least 10 years to father an heir with a junior wife or concubine even if his queen remained barren. This was in fact almost a tradition in the Eighteenth Dynasty--both Thutmose II and Thutmose IV had been in chronic mild-to-moderate poor health[[note]]Thutmose II died in his early 30s, apparently of some plague, and while records are sketchy (the Egyptians didn't like to talk about this kind of stuff) it seems he wasn't exactly hale in life either. Thutmose IV for his part is clearly recorded as having had seizures/trances.[[/note]] and been unable to produce an heir with their (closely related) queens, but did father children with their lower-born concubines/minor queens, including their ultimate successors to the throne. Since those successors were Thutmose III and Amenhotep III--i.e. two of the greatest kings Egypt had yet seen--the courtiers may well have been in a "we've seen this movie before, it turns out OK in the end" kind of mindset.\\

In short, Tutankhamun was hardly the kind of [[RoyallyScrewedUp impotent palace-bound monarch that might cause a dynasty concern]].[[note]]Or for European history fans, he was less [[UsefulNotes/WarOfTheSpanishSuccession Charles II of Spain]] or [[UsefulNotes/RevolutionsOf1848 Ferdinand I of Austria]] and more [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfTudor Edward VI]].[[/note]] Thus for a moment, around the ninth and tenth years of the boy-king's reign, it seemed like the Eighteenth Dynasty, the bloodline of Seqenenre Tao and Ahmose I and Thutmose III and Amenhotep III, would endure with a new lease on life.\\

Alas, it was not to be. Tutankhamun died at about the age of 19, apparently in a chariot accident.[[note]]Really. After all that. They really should make a BlackComedy about the last days of Tutankhamun.[[/note]] He had no surviving issue. After a weird incident in which Tutankhamun's widow asked the Hittites to send her a prince to marry and therefore serve as king,[[note]]It's a long story...[[/note]] Ay, advisor to the late king (and possibly his grandfather or great-uncle) took the throne. However, Ay was an old man without any clear male heirs (he may have had at least one son, but none who were directly related to the royal house) and generally understood to be something of a caretaker until the Egyptian elite could pick a new ruler. Eventually, Horemheb--Tutankhamun's top general-was chosen,[[note]]It seems this might have happened after a short civil war between supporters of Horemheb and supporters of Ay's eldest son (who did not have a direct blood tie to the Eighteenth Dynasty royals). However, records are so sketchy we can't be sure.[[/note]] and he married a princess to cement his relationship with the royal house.\\

However, Horemheb also died without royal issue. His Grand Vizier Rameses I was therefore allowed to take power, founding the Nineteenth Dynasty. During this period, Egypt reached a new zenith as an imperial power, particularly under its second and third rulers Seti I and UsefulNotes/RamsesII "the Great", who reigned for nearly 70 years. (It never did extend as far into Syria as it had in the days of Thutmose III and Amenhotep III, though.) The world's first recorded peace treaty is from this era, settling the disputed claims of Egypt and the Hittite Empire in the Levant, and signed by Ramses II and the Hittite King Hattusili III. The rest of the Nineteenth Dynasty was a bit of a mess--Ramesses II being something of a ToughActToFollow and also having [[MassiveNumberedSiblings way too many male heirs]], leading to no small amount of political strife for the rest of the dynasty.\\

The New Kingdom ends with the Twentieth Dynasty, which started strong with Ramesses III's long and successful reign. However, the Twentieth Dynasty coincided with the general [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Bronze_Age_collapse Late Bronze Age collapse]] across the whole Eastern Mediterranean region. One of Ramesses III's big achievements as pharaoh was repelling the Sea Peoples, which was an integral part of the turmoil of the era, but even this victory could not stop the general chaos from setting in. Ramesses III himself was assassinated by a conspiracy of courtiers surrounding his junior consort Tiye[[note]]Not to be confused with Queen Tiye, chief consort of Amunhotep III and mother of Amunhotep IV/Akhenaten[[/note]] trying to get her son elevated over his chosen successor; they failed (the chosen successor took the throne as Ramesses IV and had the conspirators tried and executed/"[[OrderedToDie allowed]]" to [[LeaveBehindAPistol commit suicide]]), but this could not stem the tide. Egypt's strength sapped and the whole Levant in disarray, the empire retreated into [[VestigialEmpire splendid isolation]]. \\

Important note: While popular history holds the capital to be Thebes during this period, that's not quite right; while it was founded by the originally-Theban Eighteenth Dynasty, and the capital was Thebes throughout the Eighteenth (except for when Akhenaten moved it during his reign) and the first half of the Nineteenth Dynasty, Ramses II moved the capital to the new purpose-built capital [[{{Egopolis}} Pi-Ramesses]] in the Delta, and his successors moved it all the way back to Memphis, where it remained into the Third Intermediate Period. Moreover, even when Thebes was accorded the dignity of capital, the Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Dynasty rulers were at least as likely to be governing from Memphis as from Thebes, if not more so. Memphis was closer to the richer territories of the Delta and the Faiyum, and to Egypt's imperial holdings in Canaan and Syria (which were lucrative but also vulnerable to attack by any number of neighbors). Thutmose III is known to have maintained his court at Memphis between campaigns to Canaan and Syria, and it seems that UsefulNotes/{{Tutankhamun}}'s regime set itself up in Memphis for this very reason while dealing with the imperial fallout of the end of Akhenaten's reign. (Thebes was better for controlling Nubia, but Nubia wasn't as rich, was much more Egyptianized culturally,[[note]]Even after they won their independence after the collapse of the New Kingdom empire, the Nubians kept worshiping Egyptian gods and building pyramids. There are actually more surviving Nubian pyramids than Egyptian ones (so if you want to see a lot of pyramids, you're actually better off visiting UsefulNotes/{{Sudan}} than Egypt). The Syrians and Canaanites, while they appear to have adopted some Egyptian manners and fashions, preferred to identify their native gods with Egyptian ones rather than worship the Egyptian gods directly, and never really went in for pyramid-building.[[/note]] and there weren't any big foreign powers threatening it, so it wasn't as important to defend.)\\

Also, for most of this period, the palace housing the RoyalHarem was at the palace of Merwer[[note]]We should note that the Egyptian royal harem was a place of seclusion, yes, but not ''forced'' seclusion. The Egyptian royal ladies did most commonly live in the harem palace and spend most of their time there, as did most of the royal children, but the more senior royal wives had extensive public duties that frequently took them to Memphis, Thebes, or elsewhere (one of Thutmose IV's wives went to Sinai, for example). Certain royal ladies were also expected to take roles as priestesses, whose duties were likewise public. Moreover, even those royal ladies who did stay at the harem palace were intimately integrated into the social and economic life of the area around them; indeed, one of the main functions of the harem palace was the production of a particular kind of fine linen cloth, handmade by the women of the royal household (including queens and princesses) which was both provided to temples to clothe the images of the gods and put on the market for sale to noble families with goods the royal family wanted/needed. The palace was thus more a country retreat for the Egyptian royals, a place they could let go of public duties and focus on the more pedestrian tasks of being big landowners and on family life. So Merwer was less like the Seraglio and more like [[UsefulNotes/TheBritishRoyalFamily Sandringham House]].[[/note]] in the Faiyum, which is 5-6 times closer to Memphis than Thebes.[[note]]Something of note: Thebes was pretty much always the largest city in Upper Egypt, but Lower Egypt was usually more heavily populated and economically productive, and its cities were usually larger--unless it was recovering from an invasion or plague, to which it was more susceptible than the south. (Being closer to the Mediterranean trade routes was great for the economy, but bad for security and public health.) This even holds true today; modern Luxor (literally built atop the ancient Thebes) remains the largest city in Upper Egypt by a solid margin, but it's only the sixth-largest urban area in the country. The top 5 metros are all in Lower Egypt--chief among them being Cairo, whose urban area encompasses ancient Memphis and which is built pretty much on top of Memphis's ancient twin city Iunu/Heliopolis.[[/note]] This last bit meant that while Thebes was "capital", home to the largest palace, and center of the cult of the chief state god Amun, pharaohs were likely to have been born in or near Memphis and view that as their home.\\

# New Kingdom (18th-20th Dynasties, 1550-1069 BC): The Eighteenth Dynasty is somewhat peculiar: its founder was Ahmose I, who was either the brother or son of the last Seventeenth Dynasty king Kamose. Why Manetho (the Egyptian priest and historian in Hellenistic Egypt who assigned the dynasty numbers) calls this a new dynasty is unclear, but it seems to be based on unification of Egypt.[[note]]Thought this creates almost as many questions as it answers, since Manetho did ''not'' create a break of dynasty when the Eleventh Dynasty defeated the Tenth to create the Middle Kingdom.[[/note]] In either event, Ahmose was either the son or grandson of Ahhotep, and as the king was a child, Ahhotep served as his regent during his minority.\\

# New Kingdom (18th-20th Dynasties, 1550-1069 BC): The Eighteenth Dynasty is somewhat peculiar: its founder was Ahmose I, who was either the brother or son of the last Seventeenth Dynasty king Kamose. Why Manetho (the Egyptian priest and historian in Hellenistic Egypt who assigned the dynasty numbers) calls this a new dynasty is unclear, but it seems to be based on unification of Egypt. In either event, Ahmose was either the son or grandson of Ahhotep, and as the king was a child, Ahhotep served as his regent during his minority.\\

However, two powerful families gradually arose in Egypt. In the Lower Egyptian city of Het-Nesut (literally "Child of the King", known to the Greeks as Heracleopolis Magna and known today as Beni Suef, about 100 km upstream of Cairo), a line of local rulers descended from a man named Khety dominated the country as far south as Asyut; they are known as the Tenth Dynasty. In competition, a line of local rulers based in the city of Waset (literally, "City of the Sceptre", known to the Greeks as Thebes and known today as Luxor, the principal city of Upper Egypt) in Upper Egypt conquered the whole south, establishing what is now known as the Eleventh Dynasty. These two families clashed until, around 2055 BCE, the Elleventh Dynasty decisively defeated the Tenth and founded the...

However, two powerful families gradually arose in Egypt. In the Lower Egyptian city of Het-Nesut (literally "Child of the King", known to the Greeks as Heracleopolis Magna and known today as Beni Suef, about 100 km upstream of Cairo), a line of local rulers descended from a man named Khety dominated the country as far south as Asyut; they are known as the Tenth Dynasty. In competition, a line of local rulers based in the city of Waset (literally, "City of the Sceptre", known to the Greeks as Thebes and known today as Luxor) in Upper Egypt conquered the whole south, establishing what is now known as the Eleventh Dynasty. These two families clashed until, around 2055 BCE, the Elleventh Dynasty decisively defeated the Tenth and founded the...

# First Intermediate Period (7th-11th Dynasties, 2181-2055): [[VestigialEmpire Dynasties of kings continued to exist, but had little power outside their home territories]] (fans of Chinese history, think of the [[UsefulNotes/DynastiesFromShangToQing Zhou Dynasty]]). However, powerful families in Heracleopolis in Lower Egypt and Thebes in Upper Egypt succeeded in gradually uniting their respective parts of the country; inevitably, they clashed. In about 2055 BC, the Theban 11th Dynasty decisively defeated the Heracleopolitan Tenth Dynasty and founded the...
# Middle Kingdom (11th-13th Dynasties, 2055-c.1720 BC): The first period during which the capital was at Thebes. That said, the Twelfth Dynasty later moved it to the new city of Itjtawy (now the archaeological site at Lisht, about halfway between Cairo--and thus Memphis--and Beni Suef).\\

It's possible (which isn't to say likely) that Akhenaten would have gotten control of events had he lived longer. But as it was, he died after 17-18 years on the throne. His successors did try to keep control of events, but the limited records we have suggest this was not easy.[[note]]The records are limited because someone later in history tried to [[UnPerson expunge Akhenaten and his regime]] from the historical records. While historians used to think this was someone who followed him more or less immediately, more recent research suggests that it's more likely the ''damnatio memoriae'' happened sometime in the late Nineteenth or early Twentieth Dynasty, a full century or two later.[[/note]] What records exist suggest his his widow Nefertiti ruled a few years from Akhetaten under the name of Neferneferuaten trying to reach a compromise with the old Amun priesthood while maintaining the Aten cult, but died before this could become established state policy. She would at some point be succeeded by the boy-king UsefulNotes/{{Tutankhamun}}, whose ministers Ay and Horemheb are probably responsible for abandoning both Aten and Akhetaten and moving the court to Memphis, the better to get a handle on the priesthood and on Canaan, respectively.\\

Akhenaten's successors did try to keep control of events, but the limited records we have suggest this was not easy.[[note]]The records are limited because someone later in history tried to [[UnPerson expunge Akhenaten and his regime]] from the historical records. While historians used to think this was someone who followed him more or less immediately, more recent research suggests that it's more likely the ''damnatio memoriae'' happened sometime in the late Nineteenth or early Twentieth Dynasty, a full century or two later.[[/note]] What records exist suggest his his widow Nefertiti ruled a few years from Akhetaten under the name of Neferneferuaten trying to reach a compromise with the old Amun priesthood while maintaining the Aten cult, but died before this could become established state policy. She would at some point be succeeded by the boy-king UsefulNotes/{{Tutankhamun}}, whose ministers Ay and Horemheb are probably responsible for abandoning both Aten and Akhetaten and moving the court to Memphis, the better to get a handle on the priesthood and on Canaan, respectively.\\

Alas, it was not to be. Tutankhamun died at about the age of 19, apparently in a chariot accident.[[note]]Really. After all that. They really should make a BlackComedy about the last days of Tutankhamun, ideally InTheStyleOf Creator/PGWodehouse.[[/note]] He had no surviving issue. After a weird incident in which Tutankhamun's widow asked the Hittites to send her a prince to marry and therefore serve as king,[[note]]It's a long story...[[/note]] Ay, advisor to the late king (and possibly his grandfather or great-uncle) took the throne. However, Ay was an old man without any clear male heirs (he may have had at least one son, but none who were directly related to the royal house) and generally understood to be something of a caretaker until the Egyptian elite could pick a new ruler. Eventually, Horemheb--Tutankhamun's top general-was chosen,[[note]]It seems this might have happened after a short civil war between supporters of Horemheb and supporters of Ay's eldest son (who did not have a direct blood tie to the Eighteenth Dynasty royals). However, records are so sketchy we can't be sure.[[/note]] and he married a princess to cement his relationship with the royal house.\\

Alas, it was not to be. Tutankhamun died at about the age of 19, apparently in a chariot accident. He had no surviving issue. After a weird incident in which Tutankhamun's widow asked the Hittites to send her a prince to marry and therefore serve as king,[[note]]It's a long story...[[/note]] Ay, advisor to the late king (and possibly his grandfather or great-uncle) took the throne. However, Ay was an old man without any clear male heirs (he may have had at least one son, but none who were directly related to the royal house) and generally understood to be something of a caretaker until the Egyptian elite could pick a new ruler. Eventually, Horemheb--Tutankhamun's top general-was chosen,[[note]]It seems this might have happened after a short civil war between supporters of Horemheb and supporters of Ay's eldest son (who did not have a direct blood tie to the Eighteenth Dynasty royals). However, records are so sketchy we can't be sure.[[/note]] and he married a princess to cement his relationship with the royal house.\\

The Eighteenth Dynasty reached the height of its splendor and territory during the century from about 1455 BCE-1355 BCE, starting with the beginning of the sole reign of Thutmose III and ending with the death of Amenhotep III. During this period, the pharaohs fought to hold on to the empire their ancestors had conquered; built themselves ever-bigger and more beautiful monuments, palaces, and tombs; maintained diplomatic links as far afield as Babylon and Mycenaean Greece; traded extensively around the Mediterranean world (and beyond); and generally enjoyed life as rulers of the premier Great Power of the Late Bronze Age. Amenhotep III in particular lived and reigned long and peacefully, building himself splendid palaces and beautiful temples during his 38 or 39 years on the throne. He also left more (surviving) statutes than any other ancient Egyptian monarch.\\

Finding itself in possession of all kinds of new military tech and a series of young, dynamic rulers, Egypt began to conquer. Successive rulers pushed outward, primarily into Canaan and Syria, but also into Libya to the west and Nubia to the south. As a result, the New Kingdom is often known as the Egyptian Empire, and the Eighteenth Dynasty was the exuberant peak of Egypt as a major power.\\

Around 1555 BCE, the Seventeenth Dynasty king Seqenenre Tao appears to have built up the base needed to strike the final blow against the Hyksos center of power in Lower Egypt. He waged a war to reunite the Two Lands under his banner--and lost a key battle, ending up captured and brutally executed, hands tied behind his back, by an axe- or mace-blow to his temple.[[note]]We don't have any direct written evidence of this, as the ancient Egyptians didn't like talking/writing about how anyone died. However, we ''do'' have Seqenenre Tao's mummy, and it shows distinctive signs of this kind of execution-style death.[[/note]] However, his widow Ahhotep and son Kamose remained committed to the cause of reunification, and pursued renewed campaigns against the Hyksos. Kamose succeeded, driving the Hyksos back to Asia, but died shortly thereafter.

Finding itself in possession of all kinds of new military tech and a series of young, dynamic rulers, Egypt began to conquer. Successive rulers pushed outward, primarily into Canaan and Syria, but also into Libya to the west and Nubia to the south. As a result, the New Kingdom is often known as the Egyptian Empire.\\

For all that Tutankhamun was a physically-challenged boy-king, things looked like they might be stabilizing by about the tenth year of his reign. While he seems to have had a cleft palate and a limp, he also seems to have led a pretty active life, even going on campaign at some point in his late teens. (Armor found in his tomb bears the distinctive marks of real battle.) While he had thus far been unable to beget an heir with his queen, this was because his daughters with her had been stillborn--so his equipment clearly worked, and any problems were either chance or the pairing.[[note]]It's fairly likely that it was the pairing, given that his queen was a close relative--if not his sister, then his double first cousin, which is pretty much the same from a genetic perspective.[[/note]] Tutankhamun was still young; since even sickly kings tended to survive their 20s at least, Tutankhamun could expect to father an heir with a junior wife or concubine even if his queen remained barren. This was in fact almost a tradition in the Eighteenth Dynasty--both Thutmose II and Thutmose IV had been in chronic mild-to-moderate poor health[[note]]Thutmose II died in his early 30s, apparently of some plague, and while records are sketchy (the Egyptians didn't like to talk about this kind of stuff) it seems he wasn't exactly hale in life either. Thutmose IV for his part is clearly recorded as having had seizures/trances.[[/note]] and been unable to produce an heir with their (closely related) queens, but did father children with their lower-born concubines/minor queens, including their ultimate successors to the throne. Since those successors were Thutmose III and Amenhotep III--i.e. two of the greatest kings Egypt had yet seen--the courtiers may well have been in a "we've seen this movie before, it turns out OK in the end" kind of mindset.\\

For all that Tutankhamun was a physically-challenged boy-king, things looked like they might be stabilizing by about the tenth year of his reign. While he seems to have had a cleft palate and a limp, he also seems to have led a pretty active life, even going on campaign at some point in his late teens. (Armor found in his tomb bears the distinctive marks of real battle.) While he had thus far been unable to beget an heir with his queen, this was because his daughters with her had been stillborn--so his equipment clearly worked, and any problems were either chance or the pairing.[[note]]It's fairly likely that it was the pairing, given that his queen was a close relative--if not his sister, then his double first cousin, which is pretty much the same from a genetic perspective.[[/note]] Tutankhamun was still young, so he could look forward to a long life full of additional wives and children even if things didn't work out with his queen. This was in fact almost a tradition in the Eighteenth Dynasty--both Thutmose II and Thutmose IV had been in chronic mild-to-moderate poor health[[note]]Thutmose II died in his early 30s, apparently of some plague, and while records are sketchy (the Egyptians didn't like to talk about this kind of stuff) it seems he wasn't exactly hale in life either. Thutmose IV for his part is clearly recorded as having had seizures/trances.[[/note]] and been unable to produce an heir with their (closely related) queens, but did father children with their lower-born concubines/minor queens, including their ultimate successors to the throne. Since those successors were Thutmose III and Amenhotep III--i.e. two of the greatest kings Egypt had yet seen--the courtiers may well have been in a "we've seen this movie before, it turns out OK in the end" kind of mindset.\\

The Eighteenth Dynasty reached the height of its splendor and territory during the century from about 1455 BCE-1355 BCE, starting with the beginning of the sole reign of Thutmose III and ending with the death of Amenhotep III. During this period, the pharaohs fought to hold on to the empire their ancestors had conquered; built themselves ever-bigger and more beautiful monuments, palaces, and tombs; maintained diplomatic links as far afield as Babylon and Mycenaean Greece; traded extensively around the Mediterranean world (and beyond); and generally enjoyed life as rulers of the premier Great Power of the Late Bronze Age. Amenhotep III in particular lived and reigned long and peacefully, building himself splendid palaces and beautiful temples, as well as more (surviving) statutes than any other ancient Egyptian monarch.\\

For all that Tutankhamun was a physically-challenged boy-king, things looked like they might be stabilizing by about the tenth year of his reign. While he seems to have had a cleft palate and a limp, he also seems to have led a pretty active life, even going on campaign at some point in his late teens. (Armor found in his tomb bears the distinctive marks of real battle.) While he had thus far been unable to beget an heir with his queen, this was because his daughters with her had been stillborn--so his equipment clearly worked, and any problems were either chance or the pairing.[[note]]It's fairly likely that it was the pairing, given that his queen was a close relative--if not his sister, then his double first cousin, which is pretty much the same from a genetic perspective.[[/note]] Tutankhamun was still young, so he could look forward to a long life full of additional wives and children even if things didn't work out with his queen. This was in fact almost a tradition in the Eighteenth Dynasty--both Thutmose II and Thutmose IV had been in chronic mild-to-moderate poor health and been unable to produce an heir with their (closely related) queens, but did father children with their lower-born concubines/minor queens, including their ultimate successors to the throne. Since those successors were Thutmose III and Amenhotep III--i.e. two of the greatest kings Egypt had yet seen--the courtiers may well have been in a "we've seen this movie before, it turns out OK in the end" kind of mindset.\\

For all that Tutankhamun was a physically-challenged boy-king, things looked like they might be stabilizing by about the tenth year of his reign. While he seems to have had a cleft palate and a limp, he also seems to have led a pretty active life, even going on campaign at some point in his late teens. (Armor found in his tomb bears the distinctive marks of real battle.) While he had thus far been unable to beget an heir with his queen, this was because his daughters with her had been stillborn--so his equipment clearly worked, and any problems were either chance or the pairing.[[note]]It's fairly likely that it was the pairing, given that his queen was a close relative--if not his sister, then his double first cousin, which is pretty much the same from a genetic perspective.[[/note]] Tutankhamun was still young, so he could look forward to a long life full of additional wives and children even if things didn't work out with his queen. This was in fact almost a tradition in the Eighteenth Dynasty--both Thutmose II and Thutmose IV were both in chronic mild-to-moderate poor health and been unable to produce an heir with their (closely related) queens, but did father children with their lower-born concubines/minor queens, including their ultimate successors to the throne. Since those successors were Thutmose III and Amenhotep III--i.e. two of the greatest kings Egypt had yet seen--the courtiers may well have been in a "we've seen this movie before, it turns out OK in the end" kind of mindset.\\

For all that Tutankhamun was a physically-challenged boy-king, things looked like they might be stabilizing by about the tenth year of his reign. While he seems to have had a cleft palate and a limp, he also seems to have led a pretty active life, even going on campaign at some point in his late teens. (Armor found in his tomb bears the distinctive marks of real battle.) While he had thus far been unable to beget an heir with his queen, this was because his daughters with her had been stillborn--so his equipment clearly worked, and any problems were either chance or the pairing.[[note]]It's fairly likely that it was the pairing, given that his queen was a close relative--if not his sister, then his double first cousin, which is the same from a genetic perspective.[[/note]] Tutankhamun was still young, so he could look forward to a long life full of additional wives and children even if things didn't work out with his queen. This was in fact almost a tradition in the Eighteenth Dynasty--both Thutmose II and Thutmose IV had been unable to produce an heir with their (closely related) queens, but were succeeded by sons of concubines or queens of lower rank (born either as commoners or low nobility), both of whom acquitted themselves rather well (Thutmose III and Amenhotep III, i.e. the greatest kings of the dynasty).\\

In short, he was hardly the kind of [[RoyallyScrewedUp impotent palace-bound monarch that might cause a dynasty concern]].[[note]]Or for European history fans, he was less [[UsefulNotes/WarOfTheSpanishSuccession Charles II of Spain]] or [[UsefulNotes/RevolutionsOf1848 Ferdinand I of Austria]] and more [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfTudor Edward VI]].[[/note]] Thus for a moment, around the ninth and tenth years of Tutankhamun's reign, it seemed like the Eighteenth Dynasty, the bloodline of Seqenenre Tao and Ahmose I and Thutmose III and Amenhotep III, would endure with a new lease on life.\\

For all that Tutankhamun was a physically-challenged boy-king, things looked like they might be stabilizing by about the tenth year of his reign. While he seems to have had a cleft palate and a limp, he also seems to have led a pretty active life, even going on campaign at some point in his late teens. (Armor found in his tomb bears the distinctive marks of real battle.) While he had thus far been unable to beget an heir with his queen, this was because his daughters with her had been stillborn--so his equipment clearly worked, and any problems were either chance or the pairing. And he was still young, so he could look forward to a long life full of additional wives and children even if things didn't work out with his queen. In short, he was hardly the kind of [[RoyallyScrewedUp impotent palace-bound monarch that might cause a dynasty concern]]--he was not an ancient [[UsefulNotes/WarOfTheSpanishSuccession Charles II of Spain]] or [[UsefulNotes/RevolutionsOf1848 Ferdinand I of Austria]]. Thus for a moment, around the ninth and tenth years of Tutankhamun's reign, it seemed like the Eighteenth Dynasty, the bloodline of Seqenenre Tao and Ahmose I and Thutmose III and Amenhotep III, would endure with a new lease on life.\\