Within Egypt, Amenhotep I initiated building pro-
jects at the temple of KARNAKin THEBES. This temple,
oneof the most remarkable religious complexes in the
world, covered 250 acres. The building programs of
Amenhotep I added to the original shrine, begun in the
Middle Kingdom, and set the standard for later pharaohs
ofthe New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.E.), who continued
the work there for centuries. Because of his military
defenses and his building programs, Amenhotep was
very popular during his lifetime. He also used the SINAI
mines and the various quarries. Egypt, unified and free
of the Asiatic HYKSOS(defeated by ’Ahmose), prospered.
His popularity only increased after his death in 1504
B.C.E. He and Queen ’Ahmose-Nefertari were proclaimed
the patron deities of Thebes. A shrine was dedicated to
them on the western shore of the Nile at the capital,
Thebes.
AH’HOTEP(2), a sister of Amenhotep I, was his Great
Wife, or ranking queen. Secondary consorts were ’AH-
MOSE MERYTAMONand SATKAMOSE. Ah’hotep bore the son
and heir, but the child died in infancy. Because there was
no one to succeed him, Amenhotep chose TUTHMOSIS I
from among his military officials. Tuthmosis was proba-
bly from a secondary royal line. A relative named
’Ahmose was given to Tuthmosis as consort to consoli-
date his claims and to link him in yet another fashion to
the royal family.
Amenhotep I was the first pharaoh to separate his
tomb from his mortuary temple and burial complex. Nor-
mally the MORTUARY TEMPLES of the pharaohs were
erected at the gravesites to allow priests to make daily
offerings and to conduct rituals of eternal rest for the
deceased. Looters reached the burial chambers of such
complexes, tearing apart the mummies and sometimes
burning them. Amenhotep wanted to escape destruction
at the hands of such grave robbers, who were possibly
given aid by the priests themselves, in returnfor a share
in the goods. His original tomb is now unknown but was
listed in the inspection done by RAMESSES IX(1131–1112
B.C.E.) as being located at Dra Abu el-Nuga. Amenhotep
I’s mummy was rewrapped by priests of the Twenty-first
Dynasty (1070–945 B.C.E.)after his original tomb was
vandalized, taken to DEIR EL-BAHRI, and placed in the
mummy cache there. During this second burial, delphini-
ums were used to adorn his remains, along with other
red, yellow, and blue flowers. A wasp settled onto one of
the flowers and died there, keeping the pharaoh company
through the centuries.
Amenhotep I was five and one-half feet tall, with a
long, oval skull and sloping forehead. His strong jaw
marks him as the son of ’Ahmose. Statues of him were
carried through the streets of Thebes as an oracle, or
prophet, called “the judge of the living and the dead.”
The cult of Amenhotep I continued through the Twenti-
eth Dynasty (1196–1070 B.C.E.).
Amenhotep II (Akhepruré)(d. 1401 B.C.E.) Seventh
ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty
The son of TUTHMOSIS IIIand Queen MERYT-RE-HATSHEP-
SUT, Amenhotep II reigned from 1427 B.C.E. until his
death. He was reportedly not the original heir. A brother,
Amenemhet, believed to be the son of Tuthmosis III and
Queen NEFERU-RÉ, died before he could inherit the
throne. Amenhotep II was handsome, tall, and athletic.
He was a warrior delighting in hand-to-hand combat,
executing prisoners personally in elaborate ceremonies.
When he was made coregent, Amenhotep added
Hegaiunu to his name, meaning “the ruler of Iunu,”
HELIOPOLIS.
His entire life was spent in preparing for his reign as
he underwent the usual education for princes and heirs.
He excelled in archery and horsemanship, and he com-
manded the vast Egyptian naval base at PERU-NEFERnear
Memphis. Experienced in war, Amenhotep II moved
quickly in the second year of his reign against the cities
on the Mediterranean Sea that were in open revolt. He
marched into Palestine to Shemesh-Edom and subdued
each city-state all the way to the Orontes River, to mod-
ern Lebanon and Syria. At Tikishi he captured seven
princes and brought them to Egypt. Amenhotep moved
on to the Euphrates River in modern Iraq, where he
erected a stela alongside the ones raised up there by his
father and great grandfather (TUTHMOSIS I, r. 1504–1492
B.C.E.), the founders of the empire. He also rescued Egyp-
tian troops surrounded at another battle site in the area.
Returning to Egypt, Amenhotep brought prisoners and
considerable booty to THEBES.
In Egypt, Amenhotep II left monuments at DEN-
DEREH,HELIOPOLIS,GEBEL EL-SILSILEH,TOD,ELKAB,GIZA,
ERMENT, and MEDAMUD. In his third year, Nubian rebel-
lions brought Amenhotep to ASWANand the ELEPHANTINE
Island. The princes captured in the region of the Orontes
River the year before accompanied Amenhotep on this
voyage. All seven of them hung head downward from the
prow of his ship. The bodies were later displayed in other
prominent sites. Amenhotep II reportedly delighted in
the slaughter of his enemies. In his seventh year he went
to CARCHEMISH, in Syria, to subdue another revolt.
Amenhotep II’s consorts were SITAMON and then
MERYT-AMUN(2), his sister, but another consort, Queen
TEO, bore his heir,TUTHMOSIS IV. His mother, Meryt-Re-
Hatshepsut, however, remained the Great Wife, or rank-
ing queen. Amenhotep II had several sons and daughters.
Amenhotep’s mummy was discovered in his tomb in the
VALLEY OF THE KINGSon the western shore of the Nile at
Thebes. He had wavy brown hair, graying at the temples.
His mummified skin was studded with small tubercules,
possibly the result of embalming. Believed to have died at
the age of 45, Amenhotep suffered from rheumatism and
some sort of systemic disease, no doubt from tooth prob-
lems. Signs of severe dental decay are evident in his
mummy.30 Amenhotep II