Outcome: The New Kingdom

Ancient Egypt & Judaism

The New Kingdom

1. Setting the Stage: The Middle Kingdoma. The Old Kingdom fell apart due to weak

leadershipb. The Middle Kingdom would not be as powerful as either the

Old or New Kingdoms and would be defined when it was invaded by the Hyksos

The New Kingdom

2. The Hyksosa. Asiatic Nomads who invaded during Egypt’s Middle

Kingdom

b. Did not rule a large territoryc. The Hyksos ruled from 1640-1570 B.C. d. Capital was at Memphis with summer residence at

Avarise. Prince Kamose would seek to rid Egypt of foreign

Hyksosf. Kamose fought the Hyksos until his deathg. Kamose’s brother Ahmose would rise to power and defeat the

Hyksos ten years later around 1570 B.C.

h. Result: Egypt was once again ruled by Egyptians

The New Kingdom

3. The Golden Agea. The Old Kingdom was known for its pyramidsb. The New Kingdom will be known for conquest and building of

temples in the Valley of the Kings

The New Kingdom

4. The New Kingdom Pharaohsa. Hatshepsut

i. Stepson who was heir to the throne was too young to rule

ii. Declared herself pharaoh around 1472 B.C.iii. Encouraged trade rather than waging war (smart!)iv. Her reign was very prosperousv. Made herself up to look like a male to gain supportvi. Planned a very elaborate tomb in the Valley of the Kings:

Deir el-Bahrivii. Almost did not survive history due to the actions of her stepson

Thutmose III

The New Kingdom

b. Thutmose IIIi. Much more warlike than Hatshepsutii. Eager to take power; may have murdered Hatshepsutiii. Had any picture of Hatshepsut destroyed ---> Egyptians

believed this erased your soul from the afterlife

iv. Armies pushed south into Nubia ---> peak of Egyptian reign

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c. King Tuti. History remembers King Tutankhamen more for

the discovery of his tomb in 1922 by Howard Carter rather than his reign as pharaoh

ii. Only ruled for about 10 years, was only about 18 when he died

iii. Possibly died of infection in broken leg and malaria

Discovery of Tut’s Tomb

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d. Ramses IIi. Made a peace treaty with neighboring Hittites which lasted

almost 100 years

ii. Created great temple to god Amon-Re at Karnakiii. Created magnificent temple at Abu Simbel

1. Four giant statues of himself2. Had to be moved due to rising waters of Lake Nasser

iv. Enormous ego; had hundreds of statues carved of himself

v. Estimates show he had well over 100 childrenvi. Worshipped himself as a godvii. Reigned for 67 years; died at roughly age 90

The New Kingdom

5. Downfall of the New Kingdoma. The New Kingdom would see many successors to Ramses II

but none with as great of powerb. Many of Ramses II heirs would bicker over powerc. Ramses III is considered to be the last great New Kingdom

pharaohd. Eventually the Philistines, Libyans, and Hittites would reduce

Egypt to a series of broken up regional units

e. Another powerful foe would eventually move in and dominate: The Assyrians

The Assyrians

The New Kingdom

6. The Assyriansa. The Assyrians were a mighty military machineb. They used ladders to scale city wallsc. Used iron tipped spears, swords, and daggersd. Used torture to demoralize their enemye. Tunneled under city walls to attack enemiesf. Capital was Nineveh; home to library with 20,000 clay

tabletsg. Defeated by a combined army of Medes and Chaldeans

The New Kingdom

Result: The Egyptians ruled Egypt and the Nile River for roughly 1000 years before they were eventually replaced by the Nubians and Assyrians. During that time Egypt created the first empire, built colossal temples and pyramids, and left us with a glowing history that was entirely unique.