Scope: We will see four patterns established at the beginning of the XVIIIth Dynasty that will become part of the fabric of Egyptian society: (1) the Queen as a strong political force, (2) the use of a standing army to increase the wealth of Egypt, (3) burial of the pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings, and (4) Thebes as one of the two capitals of Egypt. Finally, we will take a detailed look at the nature of warfare in the ancient world.
Outline
I. Ahmose (1570-1546 BC) was the final expeller of the Hyksos. He secured Egypt’s northern and southern borders.
A. He honored his grandmother, Tetesheri (Seqenenre-Tao’s mother), and his mother, Queen Ahotep (Seqenenre’s wife), by erecting monuments to them. Queen Ahotep may have ruled until Ahmose came of age. Women were to become more important in Egypt than in any other ancient civilization.
B. Ahmose’s wife, Queen Ahmose-Nefertari, was the first named “God’s wife” and “heiress,” legitimizing matrilineal succession of pharaohs. Although the record isn’t clear, one apparently became pharaoh by marrying the “right” woman.
C. He went to Nubia, where he defeated their famous bowmen. Ahmose-son-of-Ebana recorded being rewarded with gold and slaves.
II. Amenhotep I (1551-1524 BC), Ahmose’s son, continued the military pattern. His name means “the god Amun is pleased.”
A. He sent a great expedition to the third cataract of Nubia. Ahmose-son-of-Ebana has left an account of this campaign as well.
B. Amenhotep I has a separate mortuary temple and tomb; he was the first pharaoh to do this. The temple was a place where the ka-priests could make offerings and say prayers for the pharaoh. Perhaps Amenhotep separated them to keep the tomb area more remote.
C. Amenhotep left no sons. Who would be king?
III. Tuthmosis I (1524-1518 BC), his successor, was also a strong military leader. His name means “Toth is born”; Toth is the ibis-headed god of writing.
A. Tuthmosis was a military man who married the right woman: the daughter of King Ahmose and Queen Ahmose-Nefertari.
B. He led the greatest Nubian campaign—all the way beyond the fourth cataract!
1. “Water that turned one who wanted to go north into one who went south”—this phrase refers to the bend in the Nile they navigated. (Ahmose-son-of-Ebana went along again.)
2. Tuthmosis conquered two tribes and the “sand dwellers,” probably Bedouins. Again, Egypt’s centralized form of government prevailed over tribal Nubia.
3. He erected a stela to proclaim Egypt’s southern border: “Enemies shall have their heads cut off, their families murdered...they will have no successors.”
4. The corpse of one tribal leader was tacked upside-down to the prow of the king’s hawkship.
C. Tuthmosis led a Mesopotamian campaign to the Euphrates. A stela he erected there described Egypt’s northern border.
IV. Tuthmosis I innovated by constructing the first tomb in the Valley of the Kings.
A. We need to ask why.
1. The pyramids were targets of theft, as happened in the two intermediate periods. Thus, you hide your tomb so it won’t be robbed.
2. We have the account of the architect Ineni on the building of this secret tomb on the West Bank, opposite Thebes.
3. The area of the Valley of the Kings is dry and desolate, not inviting to settlement. It has only one entrance. The highest cliff is a “natural pyramid.”
4. One tradition suggests that foreign captives built the tomb of Tuthmosis and were killed afterward.
5. All the tombs in the Valley are chiseled into white limestone, a stone that flakes easily and has smooth surfaces. At this point, burial in pyramids comes to an end.
6. Tuthmosis also erected two large obelisks at Karnak Temple praising the god Amun. This marks the start of the growing importance of Thebes as a significant religious capital.
B. Tuthmosis I and Queen Ahmose (“great wife”) have only one surviving daughter, twelve-year-old Hatshepsut. Once again, the question arises: Who will become the next king?
Essential Reading:
Cyril Aldred, The Egyptians, Chapter 12.
Supplementary Reading:
Peter Clayton, Chronicle of the Pharaohs, pp. 100-103.
Questions to Consider:
1. What patterns are established at the beginning of Dynasty XVIII?
2. What is the role of women during this period compared with their role other civilizations?