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The New Kingdom
Amun, God of Thebes
The Theban princes who had driven out the Hyksos established their own dynasty (18) which ruled the whole of Egypt and founded an empire. In their early years, close dynastic marriages helped them to consolidate their rule. The dynasty retained its local center, Thebes, as the new capital city, although major cities and military bases continued to flourish in the north at Memphis, Heliopolis, and other Delta sites. The rulers of Dynasty 18 attributed their success over the Hyksos to the support of their local god, Amun, and later credited him with their military advances in Asia, which laid the foundations of their empire. Amun, originally a god of the air, now acquired roles as god of fertility and warfare. To ensure he had no rival, the kings associated him with the northern sun god Re, creating an all-powerful deity, Amen- Re. As Egypt’s foreign conquests reached their peak (mid-Dynasty 18), the god’s universality and role as creator of all peoples were emphasized. His temple at Karnak, Thebes, came to wield unequaled and unprecedented power. His priests promoted Thebes as the original place of creation and developed a new cosmogony (creation myth) to emphasize this role. He became the supreme state god, the “King of Gods,” who assimilated the characteristics and powers of other major deities such as Re, Min, and Ptah. His consort Mut, a vulture goddess, was worshipped with him at Karnak but also had her own temple nearby (Temple of Luxor). Their son Khonsu, the moon god, also received worship at Karnak. Amen-Re protected the kings and supported their claim to rule Egypt. His cult center, Thebes, became the most important religious and political city in Egypt and the empire. Amen-Re’s priesthood achieved great political power, not least because the priests came to control the royal succession: If succession was disputed or if there was a weak claimant, the priesthood granted or withheld the god’s approval for a particular ruler. At the end of Dynasty 18 (Amarna Period) the priests’ power was so great that the kings attempted to change this balance. They did not succeed, however, and the problem continued through later dynasties. The priesthood of Amen-Re also possessed great economic strength. This was largely the result of direct royal policy, since the kings returned with booty and prisoners from their military campaigns in Asia and made large donations to Amen-Re’s temple as an offering in gratitude for their success. The temple complex was expanded and enhanced by many rulers, and great states were established to support the temple personnel. .
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Religious Developments
Opposite the city of Thebes, on the west bank, the kings selected a new burial site. Known today as the Valley of the Kings, this barren area in the western hills was selected for its relative isolation and proximity to the capital. Abandoning the custom of building pyramids (perhaps because of their vulnerability to tomb robbers), the kings now chose to be buried in deep, rockcut tombs. These were also plundered, however, with the exception of Tutankhamun’s burial which was discovered virtually intact in 1922. Later in the New Kingdom favorite royal wives and princes were buried in similar tombs in the nearby Valley of the Queens. Tombs for nobles and officials were arranged in several major groups scattered across the mountainside. Another major architectural development of the New Kingdom was the royal cult complexes, also situated on the west bank. Unlike the divine cult complexes (built to house the gods and to provide a place for worship), these were used for the performance of the royal burial rites and subsequently for the perpetual rituals to ensure the king’s life in the next world. Originally attached to the pyramid, there was now no space in the Valley of the Kings to build the temple adjacent to the tomb, so they were situated on the plain between the Nile and the necropolis. .
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Egypt’s Empire
The wealth and cosmopolitan outlook that the Egyptians enjoyed by mid Dynasty 18 resulted from their foundation of the world’s first empire. The kings first restored control over Nubia and then began to campaign in Palestine, where there were many small, independent states. This policy brought them into conflict with the other great powers of the area, first the Mitannians and then the Hittites. Under the powerful rulers of Dynasties 18 and 19, the Egyptians successfully established an empire that stretched from Nubia to the Euphrates River in Asia. There was extensive colonization and Egyptianization in Nubia so that it virtually became part of Egypt. In the north the control was less direct; the Egyptians gained the allegiance of the small, semi-independent states, where the native princelings were allowed to rule as long as they pledged allegiance to Egypt. The military valor and prowess of the kings of Dynasty 18 were legendary. The achievements of Tuthmosis I were surpassed only by those of his grandson Tuthmosis III who undertook fourteen campaigns to Syria/Palestine in sixteen years in order to control the area. Eventually, under Amenhotep III, peaceful diplomacy, the exchange of royal gifts, and marriage between the royal families replaced active warfare. After Egypt’s influence abroad had largely disappeared during the Amarna Period, however, the kings of Dynasty 19 Sethos I and Ramesses II again took up arms in the north, this time against the Hittites. Both sides soon realized that neither could win outright and so, in year 21 of his reign, Ramesses II made a treaty with the king of the Hittites that brought peace to the area. It was followed by friendship between the two royal families and the marriage of Ramesses II to a Hittite princess. .
The Amarna “Revolution”
Toward the end of Dynasty 18 there was a political and religious upheaval that had farreaching repercussions. Amenhotep IV inherited the throne of Amenhotep III and began to make unprecedented changes. At first he lived at Thebes with his queen Nefertiti. Apparently he had already started to promote the cult of his favorite god, the Aten, by building temples to the deity in proximity to Amen-Re’s temple at Karnak. Unlike other rulers Amenhotep IV did not simply wish to claim the superiority of his god. He attempted to impose a form of solar monotheism on Egypt based on the worship of the life force present in the sun and symbolized by the Aten (sun’s disk). This cult, unlike others, did not tolerate the existence of other deities. As his relationship with Amen-Re’s priesthood deteriorated, Amenhotep IV took radical steps. He disbanded the priesthoods of all gods except the Aten, obliterated the gods’ names from the monuments, and diverted the income from those cults to support the Aten. He expressed his allegiance to Aten by changing his name to Akhenaten (“servant of the Aten”). Finally, he moved his capital city from Thebes to a new, specially selected site in Middle Egypt. Here he built Akhetaten (known today as Amarna, or Tell el-Amarna) as his political and religious capital. He moved his family, court, professionals, officials, and craftsmen to Amarna and built special temples there for the worship of the Aten, several royal palaces, and tombs for his family and courtiers. He pursued the exclusive worship of the god and appears to have neglected administration of the empire. With no direct male heir to continue his policies, however, a counterrevolution, probably initiated by senior courtiers, soon followed, and the royal family and court returned to Thebes. Amarna was eventually abandoned, but the religious ideas and distinctive art style that had flourished there seem to represent a unique experiment.
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The Ramessides
There has been much discussion about Akhenaten’s aims. Some regard him as a visionary and revolutionary religious and political leader, whereas others interpret his moves as politically expedient attempts to curtail the excessive power of the priests of Amen-Re. With the return to Thebes, the traditional religious values were restored, and the Egyptians again worshiped a multitude of gods. The kings of Dynasty 19 continued this policy. When Ramesses II, a leading ruler of Dynasty 19, died after a long and impressive reign, he was succeeded by his thirteenth and eldest surviving son, Merenptah. It has been argued that the biblical Exodus probably occurred in the reign of Ramesses II or Merenptah, although this has been the subject of continuing scholarly debate. So far, any attempts to uncover contemporary literary or archaeological evidence have failed; however, a number of suggestions have been made, within the terms of Egyptian chronology, regarding a possible date for the Exodus and also in relation to identifying the pharaoh who was engaged in this conflict. The early historian Josephus identified the Hyksos as the “tribe of Israel” and stated that their conquest of Egypt in the Second Intermediate Period had coincided with the\ arrival there of the biblical Joseph’s family. He also claimed that the Exodus and the expulsion of the Hyksos rulers by the Theban princes of Dynasty 17 (c.1550 BC) should be regarded as one and the same event. Others, however, have attempted to identify Joseph with Yuya, fatherin- law of Amenhotep III, and to place the date of the Exodus at the end of the Amarna Period. Yet other scholars have suggested a Saite/Persian date for the Exodus or have claimed that the Exodus never occurred as a historical event, or that the biblical account compiles several historical events that may have occurred over a long period of time. If it is accepted that the Exodus was a single historical event, however, then the biblical description of its circumstances appears to fit most closely with the conditions that are known to have existed in the Ramesside Period. By this time, the numbers of the “tribe of Israel” would have greatly increased since their first arrival in Egypt several hundred years earlier, and the Egyptians may have come to regard them as a threat. Also, there was an active building program in the Delta during this period, and the laborers’ working conditions mentioned in the Bible are reminiscent of the situation at New Kingdom sites described in other sources. In addition, the biblical names of the cities being built at the time by the Hebrews Ramses and Pithom suggest an association with the Ramesside Period. The Ramesside rulers of Dynasty 19 were stern, ambitious kings, who would have fitted the description of the pharaoh connected with the Exodus; however, even if the Exodus did occur at this time, it is unclear which of the pharaohs was actually involved. Early theories suggested that the persecutions may have occurred under Ramesses II and Merenptah and that Merenptah was the pharaoh of the Exodus. In 1896, a stela was discovered that had been usurped by Merenptah from Amenhotep III and set up at Thebes. This stela is inscribed with an account of Merenptah’s Libyan War, but it also provides us with the only known reference to Israel in the Egyptian texts (thus it is known as the Israel Stela). This evidence indicates that Israel was already established as a geographical entity by the middle of Merenptah’s reign, implying that the biblical Exodus had occurred at an earlier date, perhaps in the reign of Ramesses II. New archaeological or inscriptional evidence is needed to take this debate forward. In year 5 of Merenptah’s reign he faced an attack by a coalition of Libyan tribes and the Sea Peoples (migrants who approached Egypt from the eastern Mediterranean region and Aegean Islands). They wished to settle in the fertile lands of the Delta, and the Sea Peoples brought their wives, children, cattle, and possessions. Merenptah repulsed them, but Ramesses III (arguably Egypt’s last great king) faced them again in years 5, 8, and 11 of his reign. He succeeded in defeating them, and most of the Sea Peoples traveled on to settle in other Mediterranean countries and islands. Ramesses III enjoyed a prosperous reign, which is evidenced by his mortuary temple at Medinet Habu. However, the kings who followed were less successful, and with the death of Ramesses XI the New Kingdom and Dynasty 20 drew to a close. .
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The New Kingdom
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