Egypt’s New Kingdom
Review: Ancient Egypt Timeline
The Hyksos Invasion
• Fall of the Middle Kingdom
The Middle Kingdom in Egypt fell around 1650
B.C., after an invasion of Egypt by the Hyksos, a
western Asian group of people.
Egyptian adoption of Hyksos'
technology and tactics
• From the Hyksos, the Egyptians learned the use
of bronze tools and weapons and the use of
horse-drawn chariots in war.
• They would use the new weapons to drive out
the Hyksos in 1520 BC.
Defeat of Hyksos and expansion of Egyptian power
• The pharaoh Ahmose I drove out the Hyksos,
reuniting Egypt and establishing the New Kingdom.
• During this period, Egypt expanded its borders and
became the most powerful state in the Near East.
Discussion
• What new technology and skills did the
Egyptians learn from the Hyksos?
They learned how to make bronze tools and
weapons, how to make compound bows, and
how to use horse-drawn war chariots.
Discussion
• How did the use of such skills change
Egyptian history?
The Egyptians used the new weapons and
military skills to drive out the Hyksos, reunite
Egypt to establish the New Kingdom, and then
expand outward by conquering their
neighbors.
The New Kingdom of Egypt
The Rise and Fall of Egypt’s Power
Height of New Kingdom
• The imperial Egyptian state reached its height
under Amenhotep III, when magnificent new
buildings and temples, such as those at Karnak
and Luxor, were constructed.
• By the end of Amenhotep's reign, however,
the Hittites were becoming a military threat.
Statues at Karnak Temple
Attempted religious reform
• Amenhotep III's son, the pharaoh Amenhotep IV
attempted to replace the traditional Egyptian
religion with the worship of a single god—Aten,
god of the sun disk.
• He changed his name to Akhenaten and moved
the Egyptian capital from the traditional center
in Thebes to central Egypt, but after his death
his new religion quickly disappeared.
• Reigned 1350 B.C.E. to 1334 B.C.E.
• Pharaoh Akhenaten and his family adoring the Aten
• second from the left is Meritaten who was the
daughter of Akhenaten.
Primary Source: Amarna Letters
• Important evidence about
Akhenaten's reign and foreign
policy has been provided by the
discovery of the Amarna Letters,
discovered in modern times at elAmarna, the modern designation
of the Akhenaten site.
Amarna Letters
• This correspondence comprises a priceless
collection of incoming messages on clay tablets,
sent to Akhetaten from various subject rulers
through Egyptian military outposts, and from the
foreign rulers of the kingdom of Mitanni,
Babylon, Assyria and Hatti.
Amarna Letters
• Early on in his reign, Akhenaten fell out of
favor with the King of Mitanni, Tushratta,
who had been seeking an alliance with his
father against the Hittites.
• Tushratta complains in numerous letters
that Akhenaten had sent him gold plated
statues rather than statues made of solid
gold; the statues formed part of the bride
price which Tushratta received for letting his
daughter Tadukhepa be married to
Amenhotep III and then Akhenaten.
• The following Amarna letter preserves a
complaint by Tushratta to Akhenaten about
the situation:
• "I asked your father for statues of solid cast gold, one of myself and a
second statue, a statue of my daughter, and your father said, 'Don't
talk of giving statues just of solid cast gold. I will give you ones made
also of lapis lazuli. I will give you, too, along with the statues, much
additional gold and other goods beyond measure.' Every one of my
messengers that were staying in Egypt saw the gold for the statues
with their own eyes. Your father himself recast the statues in the
presence of my messengers, and he made them entirely of pure gold.
• He showed much additional gold, which was beyond measure and
which he was sending to me. He said to my messengers, 'See with
your own eyes, here the statues, there much gold and goods beyond
measure, which I am sending to my brother.' And my messengers did
see with their own eyes! But my brother (ie: Akhenaten) has not sent
the solid gold statues that your father was going to send. You have
sent plated ones of wood. Nor have you sent me the goods that your
father was going to send me, but you have reduced them greatly.
• Yet there is nothing I know of in which I have failed my brother. Any
day that I hear the greetings of my brother, that day I make a festive
occasion...May my brother send me much gold. In my brother's
country gold is as plentiful as dust. May my brother cause me no
distress. May he send me much gold in order that my brother may
honor me."
Questions about Amarna Letter
1. Why would it be in Akhenaten’s interest to
maintain strong diplomatic relations with
Tushratta, king of Mitanni?
2. Why is King Tushratta displeased?
3. How does this letter illustrate the wide ranging
responsibilities of an Egyptian Pharoah?
Bellringer – group quiz
• 1. The Middle Kingdom in Egypt fell around 1650 b.c., after
an invasion of Egypt by the__________, a western Asian
group of people.
• 2. From these people, the Egyptians learned the use of
bronze tools and weapons and the use of
_______________ in war.
• 3. The Egyptian Empire reached its height under Pharaoh
__________, when magnificent new buildings and temples,
such as those at Karnak and Luxor, were constructed.
• 4. Pharaoh ______________ attempted to replace the
traditional Egyptian religion with the worship of a single
god—Aten, god of the sun disk.
• 5. This period of decline in the New Kingdom is known as
the ____________period. Many changes occurred in this
time, both culturally and politically, few of which were long
lasting.
Bellringer – group quiz
• 1. The Middle Kingdom in Egypt fell around 1650 b.c., after
an invasion of Egypt by the HYKSOS,a western Asian group
of people.
• 2. From these people, the Egyptians learned the use of
bronze tools and weapons and the use of CHARIOTS in war.
• 3. The Egyptian Empire reached its height under Pharaoh
AMENHOTEP III, when magnificent new buildings and
temples, such as those at Karnak and Luxor, were
constructed.
• 4. Pharaoh AKHENATEN attempted to replace the
traditional Egyptian religion with the worship of a single
god—Aten, god of the sun disk.
• 5. This period of decline in the New Kingdom is known as
the AMARNA period. Many changes occurred in this time,
both culturally and politically, few of which were long
lasting.
Guiding Question for Today
• Who was Queen Hatshepsut, and what role
did she play in the history of Egypt’s New
Kingdom?
A Female Pharaoh
c. 1479–1458 BC
• Hatshepsut was the oldest daughter of the
pharaoh Thutmosis I.
• When her husband, Thutmosis II, died, the
throne passed to her stepson, Thutmosis III.
• Because he was an infant, Hatshepsut served as
a regent, or a representative and guardian, for
the young king.
Hatshepsut Background
• Within a few years, however, Hatshepsut took over as
almost completely as Pharaoh. She was supported in this
action by a group of loyal officials.
• For years, Hatshepsut and Thutmosis III served as corulers, although Hatshepsut held control over the
government.
Hatshepsut Background
• Hatshepsut had a prosperous reign, constructing
buildings, ordering military and trading expeditions, and
encouraging mining activities.
• Many believe her motivation behind these projects was
to legitimize her rule.
Hatshepsut’s Funerary Temple
• The crowning architectural achievement of
Hatshepsut's reign was her terraced funerary
temple in western Thebes opposite modern Luxor.
Hatshepsut’s Funerary Temple
Images of Hatshepsut
• Unlike the Pharaohs before her, Hatshepsut was
rarely seen publically.
• Early statues and monuments of Hatshepsut
emphasized the Pharaoh’s feminine qualities.
• Later in her reign, Hatshepsut’s official statues
sometimes show her clothed and bearded like a
king.
• She was addressed as “His Majesty.”
Thutmosis III
• After her death, Thutmosis III ruled alone for
33 years.
• Near the end of his reign, he ordered all
evidence of Hatshepsut's rule to be
destroyed—her statues were torn down and
her monuments defaced.
• He ordered, too, that her name be removed
from any public building or monument where
it appeared.
Hatshepsut’s
defaced
architectural
remains
Motivations?
• Some believe these moves were an act of
revenge.
• Others think that Thutmosis was trying to
protect the royal inheritance of his own son,
Amenhotep II, from other family members who
might find reason to disinherit him.
Recent Discoveries
• Hatshepsut was largely forgotten until 1822,
when the translation of a hieroglyphic
inscription revealed her true role in Egyptian
history.
• The British archaeologist Howard Carter
discovered Hatshepsut's tomb while excavating
at the Valley of the Kings in 1902.
The End of the Egyptian Empire
Fight to restore lost lands
• Akhenaten’s reign represented a period of great
decline in the New Kingdom.
• Lands of Canaan and Syria lost in a series of
military invasions.
• Pharaoh Ramses II attempted to reconquer lands
that had been lost during Akhenaten's rule.
• He succeeded in regaining control of Canaan but
was unable to fully restore Egypt's earlier empire.
Ramses the Great (reigned 1279–1213 BC)
• Called Ramses the Great because of
his military accomplishments and his
success in stabilizing the empire.
• He lived to be 96 years old, had 200
wives and concubines, 96 sons and
60 daughters.
• He outlived 22 of his heirs.
Giant Statue of Ramses the Great in Memphis
Ramses II Mummy
Invasions of Sea Peoples and collapse of New Kingdom
• After a new series of invasions in the 1200s
B.C., Egypt was the only land still under
Egyptian control.
• The Egyptian Empire had come to an end.
• In 1070 B.C., the New Kingdom itself collapsed.
The Sea Peoples
• Aggressive seafarers, the Sea
Peoples waged two wars
against the Egyptians.
• The first was during the reign
of King Merneptah, and the
second was during the reign
of Ramses III.
Who were the Sea Peoples?
• The Sea Peoples were probably part of a great
migration of displaced people.
• The migration was most likely the result of
widespread crop failures and famine.
• In fact, we learn from an inscription at Karnak
that Pharaoh Merenptah had already sent
grain to the starving Hittites [ancient Turkey].
Invasion Routes of The “Sea Peoples”
Invasions of Sea Peoples and collapse of New Kingdom
• The little information that is known about the
"Sea Peoples" comes largely from Egyptian
texts and illustrations.
• The Sea Peoples were also mentioned in the
Amarna letters of Pharaoh Ahkenaten.
Archaeological Evidence of the “Sea Peoples”
• Beautiful well preserved representation of captive Sea
Peoples and other prisoners from Medinet Habu temple.
Archaeological Evidence of the “Sea Peoples”
• Ramses III and the captive "Sea Peoples". From
Madinat Habu - the temple of Ramses III
Archaeological Evidence of the “Sea Peoples”
• Several weapons dated around 1250-1150 BC have been
found in the cemetery at Tell Es-Sa 'Idiyeh.
• they are not of Egyptian origin and resemble in shape and
design some of the ones handled by the Sea Peoples.
Domination of Egypt by other powers:
• During the next thousand years, Egypt would
come under Libyan, Nubian, Persian, and
Macedonian domination.
• Eventually, it would become a province of the
Roman Empire.