Tuthmosis III 415The mummified remains identified as those of Tuth-
mosis I were found with a cache of bodies in DEIR EL-
BAHRI, reburied there when later dynasties discovered the
original royal tombs had been vandalized. The corpse of
the ruler was bald, showing signs of arthritis and poor
teeth. Tuthmosis I had a narrow face and an arched nose.
There have been questions as to the true identity of the
corpse over the years, with some scholars holding the
opinion that it is not Tuthmosis I because of the apparent
age discrepancies.
Tuthmosis II (Akheperneré)(d. 1479 B.C.E.) Fourth
ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty
He reigned from 1492 B.C.E. until his death. The son of
TUTHMOSIS Iand MUTNOFRET(1), a lesser-ranked wife and
possibly a sister of Queen ’AHMOSE, the wife of TUTHMOSIS
I, Tuthmosis II was not ambitious or entirely healthy.
There has been considerable doubt about the military
capacities of this heir to the throne. Frail and sickly, he
was overshadowed by HATSHEPSUT, his queen, throughout
his reign. However, it is recorded that he conducted at
least one campaign against the Asiatics. One fragmented
document states that he even entered Syria with his army
and conducted another campaign in NUBIA. This cam-
paign, however, is recorded in another place as having
been accomplished by others in his name. He is supposed
to have come to the area to view the trophies of victory.
There he also began to take Nubian princes to be raised
as Egyptians.
Tuthmosis II added to the KARNAKshrine but left no
other monuments to his reign except a funerary chapel.
He had a daughter, NEFERU-RÉ, the offspring of Hatshep-
sut, and a son, TUTHMOSIS III, from a HAREM woman
named ISET(1). This son was declared his heir before
Tuthmosis II died at the age of 29 or 30.
His mummified remains give evidence of a systemic
illness, possibly from tooth decay, an affliction quite com-
mon in that period. He was heavyset, without the charac-
teristic Tuthmossid muscular build, but his facial features
resembled those of his warrior father. No tomb has been
discovered, but his mummy was found in the cache of
royal remains at DEIR EL BAHRI.
Tuthmosis III (Menkheperré)(d. 1425 B.C.E.) Fifth
ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty, called “the Napoleon of
Egypt”
He reigned from 1479 B.C.E. until his death. He was the
son of TUTHMOSIS IIand ISET(1), a HAREMwoman, and
was named heir before Tuthmosis II’s death. On later
monuments he inscribed an almost miraculous account
of that event. The god AMUNwas supposed to have forced
the bearers of his sacred ark to kneel during a festival cel-
ebration. The ark was saluting a novice of the temple,
Prince Tuthmosis, serving a type of novitiate in a separate
cult reserved for the princes of Egypt. Amun and the
bearers of the sacred ark prostrated themselves in front of
the prince, and Tuthmosis III rose up as the heir to the
throne.
He was, however, too young to rule at the time of his
father’s death and HATSHEPSUT, Tuthmosis’s queen, was
named regent. She allowed Tuthmosis’s coronation and
perhaps married him to her daughter, NEFERU-RÉ. Two
years later, however, with the help of her courtiers and the
priests of Amun, led by HAPUSENEBand SENENMUT, she
took the throne in her own name, adopting masculine
attire, and became queen-pharaoh. Tuthmosis III was
allowed to wear the robes and crowns of a king, but he
was relegated to the background. That situation continued
until c. 1469 B.C.E., when Neferu-Ré and Senenmut died,
leaving Hatshepsut vulnerable. She died or was otherwise
removed from power and Tuthmosis came to full powers.
He had conducted some military campaigns during
Hatshepsut’s reign, and he had spent a great deal of time
preparing the land and naval forces of Egypt for his own
expeditions. Tuthmosis III began his true reign by attack-
ing the king of KADESH, a northern Mediterranean region,
and his allies. Territories throughout western Asia were in
revolt, and Tuthmosis III had to combat them in order to
reestablish Egyptian suzerainty. He led his own regi-
ments, sending ships to the Palestinian coast to meet
him, and faced the army at the fortress of Ar-MEGIDDO,
Armageddon. The Asiatics expected that he would attack
them directly, but Tuthmosis turned direction at Aruna
and took his troops single file over Mount Carmel, sur-
prising the enemy from behind. The Egyptian cavalry,
much feared in this era, sent the panic-stricken Asiatics
fleeing into Ar-Megiddo.
Tuthmosis III laid siege to the fort as a result, build-
ing a wall around the outer defenses. He left a token force
there while he raided the lands of the neighboring rulers
and chieftains. The campaign lasted only a few weeks,
and on his return to Thebes, Tuthmosis III stopped with
his troops to harvest the crops of the Asiatics. Egypt was
flooded with treasure, tribute, and dignitaries from every
land and city-state in the region as a result of its newly
gained imperial status.
Tuthmosis III regulated the internal affairs in the
nation as well, setting the standards for viziers and court
officials and using their talents to launch building pro-
jects, although after a decade, many of his agents set
about destroying the monuments of Hatshepsut and her
cohorts in an effort to erase her memory. The demolition
of the woman ruler’s monuments and the construction
boom were related to Egypt’s new economic prosperity.
Tuthmosis III was one of Egypt’s greatest generals.
He conquered lands from the fifth cataract of the Nile to
the Euphrates River, where he raised a STELA, and kept
his empire securely under Egyptian control. He was pos-
sibly married to Neferu-Ré, who died young, and then to
SITIAH, a short-lived queen. MERYT-RE-HATSHEPSUT
became the Great Wife, and they had a son, AMENHOTEP