414 TuthmosisIn his 18th year, Tut’ankhamun died, apparently from
a head wound. The nature of the wound, which was in
the region of the left ear, makes it likely to be the result of
a battle injury or an accident, and not the work of an
assassin, although there is a debate about this. When he
was buried in the VALLEY OF THE KINGS, two mummified
fetuses were found in COFFINSsealed with his name. It is
believed that they were his children, born prematurely.
After his death, Queen Ankhesenamon made the
extraordinary offer of herself and the throne of Egypt to
the Hittite king SUPPILULIUMAS I. The HITTITEprince sent
to marry Ankhesenamon as a result of her invitation was
slain at Egypt’s border. She married Aya and then disap-
peared.
The wealth of Tut’ankhamun’s mortuary regalia has
mesmerized the modern world. It is believed that his
canopic coffinettes were originally intended for
Smenkharé. Other tomb treasures were taken from the
’Amarna necropolis as well. The tomb of Tut’ankhamun
would have been vandalized if the treasurer of HOREMHAB,
MAYA, had not intervened to protect it. Maya was able to
preserve this resting place, thus offering the modern
world spectacular treasures. Tut’ankhamun is also cred-
ited with a mortuary temple in the area of MEDINET HABU.
He had designed colossal statues of himself for this
shrine, but they were usurped by his successors.
Suggested Readings:El Mahdy, Christine. Tutankhamun:
The Life and Death of the Boy-King.New York: St. Martin’s
Press, 2000; James, T.G. Henry, Araldo de Luca, and Elis-
abetta Ferrero. Tutankhamun.New York: Friedman/Fair-
fax, 2000; Reeves, C.N., and Nicholas Reeves. The
Complete Tutankhamun: The King, the Tomb, the Royal
Treasure.New York: Thames and Hudson, 1995.
Tuthmosis (fl. 14th century B.C.E.) Prince of the Eigh-
teenth Dynasty
He was the ranking son and heir of AMENHOTEP III(r.
1391–1353 B.C.E.) and Queen TIYE(1). Tuthmosis was
made the high priest of PTAHat MEMPHISand the supervi-
sor of all priests throughout Egypt. He initiated the rites
for the burial of the APISbull in Memphis and then died
suddenly before he could inherit the throne. Amenhotep
IV (AKHENATEN) became the heir. Tuthmosis fashioned a
unique sarcophagus for his cat. He was depicted in a
relief of the historical period and remained popular, as
the Apis rituals continued for centuries.
Tuthmosis I (Akheperkaré)(d. 1492 B.C.E.)Third
ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty and the founder of the Egyp-
tian Empire
He reigned from 1504 B.C.E. until his death. Not the heir
to the throne of Amenhotep I, Tuthmosis I was probably a
prince of a collateral line or an heir of the Theban nome
aristocracy. His mother, SENISONBE, is identified only as
“King’s Mother,” but she reportedly had political power of
her own.
Tuthmosis I married ’AHMOSE(1), a possible sister of
Amenhotep I, and was named heir when the king died
childless. ’Ahmose bore Tuthmosis two daughters,
NEFERUKHEBand HATSHEPSUT, and two sons, WADJMOSE
and AMENMOSE. These two sons were militarily active but
predeceased their father. TUTHMOSIS II, born to MUT-
NOFRET(1), a lesser-ranked royal woman and perhaps a
nome heiress, became the heir.
Assuming the throne, Tuthmosis I began many build-
ing projects, including the extension of the great temple
of AMUNat KARNAK. Aided by INENI, the famed architect
of the era, Tuthmosis I added pylons, courts, and statues
to the shrine, setting the standard for the eventual mag-
nificence of the temple. He also led a military campaign
into NUBIA(modern Sudan) in his second regnal year,
fighting the local warrior clans and penetrating beyond
the second cataract. Some records indicate that Tuthmosis
battled the chief of the Nubians there. A hand-to-hand
combat cost the Nubian his life and his territory. Tuthmo-
sis returned to Thebes with the body of the chief hanging
from the prow of his ship. After defeating the local inhab-
itants, Tuthmosis started a new series of FORTRESSESon
the Nile and named a new viceroy of Nubia to handle the
affairs below the cataracts. He also cleared the ancient
canals at the various cataracts.
His greatest military exploits, however, were con-
ducted in the lands beyond the eastern borders of Egypt.
Like others of his line, he smarted over the recent domi-
nation of the HYKSOS, or Asiatics, in the Delta region of
Egypt. He felt that the Egyptians needed to avenge them-
selves for the shame and led an army against several Asi-
atic territories in order to subdue tribes and to create
buffer states and vassals. Tuthmosis I managed to reach
the Euphrates River near CARCHEMISHin modern Syria,
erecting a stela there to commemorate his victory. His
exploits allowed him to boast that he had enlarged the
boundaries of Egypt to match the circuit of the sun. He
made the Euphrates Egypt’s new border. Tuthmosis I also
fought the MITANNIchariot corps.
At Karnak, to commemorate his victories and to
bolster his popularity, he had a HYPOSTYLE HALLbuilt
entirely of cedarwood columns and added a copper and
gold door, OBELISKS, and FLAGSTAFFStipped with ELEC-
TRUM. The tomb of Tuthmosis I was also begun early in
his reign. Ineni supervised the preparation in secret,
placing it high in the cliffs overlooking the western
shore of Thebes. The ruler’s mortuary temple, quite
magnificent in design, was located near MEDINET HABU.
Tuthmosis I was so popular that his mortuary cult con-
tinued into the Nineteenth Dynasty (1307–1196 B.C.E.).
He brought Egypt renewed vigor and a sense of continu-
ity and stability. Above all, his military campaigns healed
the wounds of the Thebans and set the pattern of
empire.