egypt’s new kingdom. review: ancient egypt timeline
TRANSCRIPT
Egypt’s New Kingdom
Review: Ancient Egypt Timeline
The Hyksos Invasion
• Fall of the Middle KingdomThe 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 EgyptThe 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 el-Amarna, 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 Pharaohc. 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 co-rulers, 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.”
• 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.
Thutmosis III
Hatshepsut’s defaced architectural remains
• 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.
Motivations?
• 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.
Recent Discoveries
The End of the Egyptian EmpireFight 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”
• 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.
Invasions of Sea Peoples and collapse of New Kingdom
• 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.
Archaeological Evidence of 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.