of the court. AMUN, the god of Thebes, honored by the
Montuhoteps of the Eleventh Dynasty, became the
supreme deity of Egypt and the occupied territories.
Costly offerings and gifts were presented to the god at
KARNAKand the LUXORtemples, which were expanded
during this era.
AMENHOTEP I(r. 1525–1504 B.C.E.), the second king
of the New Kingdom period, followed in his father’s foot-
steps, but it was his successor, TUTHMOSIS I, who began
the empire in earnest. He fought against enemies in far-
flung lands and conquered territories all the way to the
Euphrates River, where he put up a STELAof victory to
commemorate his success. His grandson, TUTHMOSIS III,
would be one of the greatest warrior kings in Egypt’s his-
tory, called the “Napoleon of the Nile.”
Tuthmosis III (r. 1479–1425 B.C.E.) was named as
heir to the throne by his father, TUTHMOSIS II, but he was
unable to assume the throne because Queen HATSHEPSUT
usurped the titles and the role of pharaoh. She ruled
Egypt from 1473 to 1458 B.C.E., and her reign was a time
of comparative peace and stability. It was also a period of
intense building in the northern and southern regions of
Egypt. Hatshepsut remained powerful with the support of
the priests of Amun and her able courtiers until SENEN-
MUTand NEFERU-RE’, her daughter, died. Then the forces
of Tuthmosis III began to press for her abdication. She
disappeared while Tuthmosis was on his first major mili-
tary campaign at Ar-Megiddo.
Tuthmosis III not only conquered vast territories but
set in place an imperial system. He placed his own offi-
cials in the palaces of vassal rulers and brought back the
young nobles of other lands to be educated as Egyptians
sothat they could returnto rule in his name. Treaties,
tributes, a standing army, a vast naval force, and garrisons
installed throughout the Mediterranean consolidated his
military conquests. Tuthmosis’s son, AMENHOTEP II
(1427–1401 B.C.E.), maintained the same firm hold on
the territories and loved hand-to-hand combat and
sports. His son, TUTHMOSIS IV, did not undertake many
military campaigns, because the lands won by his ances-
tors remained firmly in Egyptian hands. He is remem-
bered for his restoration of the SPHINXat Giza.
AMENHOTEP IIIcame to the throne in 1391 B.C.E.,
when Egypt’s empire was at its height. He was not particu-
larly martial or attentive to his duties, but his commoner
wife, Queen TIYE(1),worked with talented officials to
keep the government stable. Amenhotep III also cemented
ties with other lands by marrying their royal princesses,
including one from Babylon. His son Amenhotep IV,
called AKHENATEN (r. 1353–1335 B.C.E.), abandoned
Thebes and the god Amun and initiated the ’AMARNA
period, a time of great artistic innovation and political dis-
aster. He remained isolated in his new capital, where he
worshiped the god ATEN, and the empire almost collapsed
around him. When he died in 1335 B.C.E., Egypt had lost
its imperial territories, and its allies had suffered severe
military setbacks. After the brief reigns of Kings
SMENKHARE’, TUT’ANKHAMUN, and AYA (2), General
HOREMHAB(r. 1319–1307 B.C.E.) came to the throne. He
worked to restore lost lands and to bring cohesion and
order to the government of the nation. His laws were stern
and effective, and he managed to lift Egypt to greatness
again. Horemhab died childless and left the throne to a
military companion in arms, RAMESSES I.
The Ramessid Period began in 1307 B.C.E., and lasted
until 1070 B.C.E., with the Nineteenth and Twentieth
Dynasties. Ramesses I did not rule more than a year, but
his son, SETI I(r. 1306–1290 B.C.E.), was a trained mili-
tary commander who was anxious to see the empire fully
restored. He and his son, RAMESSES II (r. 1290–1224
B.C.E.), called the Great, took the field against Near East-
ern powers, gaining territories and securing Egypt’s
prominence. Ramesses II also endowed Egypt with a mul-
titude of monuments honoring his reign. The kings fol-
lowing Ramesses II were not as vigorous or talented,
although MERENPTAH(r. 1224–1214 B.C.E.) stopped an
invasion of the SEA PEOPLESin the Delta. The Nineteenth
Dynasty came to a close with the reign of the widow of
Seti II, TWOSRET. She had served as regent for the young
ruler SIPTAHand had usurped the throne with the aid of
BAY, her foreign-born counselor.
The Twentieth Dynasty began with SETHNAKHTE, who
started his royal line in 1196 B.C.E. RAMESSES III (r.
1194–1163 B.C.E.), another military giant, managed to
maintain the trappings of empire and restored Egypt’s
artistic and cultural traditions. Ramesses III was followed,
however, by eight additional rulers named Ramesses,
each one having little military or administrative compe-
tence. The Twentieth Dynasty and the New Kingdom
were destroyed when the powerful priests of Amun
divided the nation and usurped the throne.
The New Kingdom was a time of flowering, both mil-
itarily and artistically. Egypt received tribute from lands
from the Sudan to the Euphrates, and vassal kings waited
upon the pharaoh in his palace. The original capital of
the New Kingdom was Thebes, but the Ramessids had
come from Avaris, the former Asiatic capital in the Delta,
and returned there to build a splendid new city called
PER-RAMESSES.
Thebes was a wondrous site, and the Greeks, coming
upon it centuries later, sang the praises of the ancient
capital. Homer, in fact, spoke of its hundred gates and of
its eternal charms. Other magnificent sites, such as ABU
SIMBEL,MEDINET HABU, Abydos, Deir el-Bahri, and count-
less shrines and temples up and down the Nile stand as
reminders of the glories of this age.
THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD
(1070–712 B.C.E.)
After the fall of the New Kingdom, Egypt entered a
period of decline and foreign domination. This era was
marked by the rise of the Amunite priests, who usurped12 2 Egypt