The Nile Valley Chapter 2:id

The New Kingdom1800-1000 B.C.

“The Land of the Pharaohs.”

New Kingdom

It was actually during the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom that the rulers of Egypt first began using

the title pharaoh.*

*pharaoh (pe-ro) means “great house”[Image source:

http://www.narmer.pl/gen/ima/g17-18en.gif]

Cartouches of great pharaohs:

Hatshepsut

• ruled with her husband

• regent for stepson Thutmose III

• finally made herself pharaoh

Queen Hatshepsut assumed all of the trappings of royal power, including the false beard

traditionally worn by Egyptian kings.

[Image source: http://www.duke.edu/~drb3/hatshepsut/HATSHEPSUT.HTML]

Hatshepsut carried out an extensive building program .

Thutmose III ruled after

Hatshepsut’s death and marched a

large Egyptian army northeast

to conquer Syria.

Thutmose III captured the

important town of

Megiddo which

controlled the trade routes.

[Image source: http://www.eyelid.co.uk/k-q3.htm]

Thutmose III soon conquered an empire

that brought great wealth to Egypt.

[Image source: http://www.terraflex.co.il/ad/egypt/history18-20.htm#Thutmoseiii]

Egyptians benefited from

cultural diffusion when their

empire brought them into contact

with other cultures.

Amenhotep IV broke with

tradition and promoted

monotheism when he

encouraged Egyptians to

worship of one god - Aton.

[Image source: http://www.library.nwu.edu/class/history/B94/akhencol.gif]

Akhenaton moved the capital of

Egypt from Thebes to Amarna.

[Image source: http://www.unites.uqam.ca/dhist/pagesp/pagemg3.htm]

[Image source: http://www.unites.uqam.ca/dhist/pagesp/pagemg3.htm]

Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaton to honour

the sun-disk god Aton.

[Image source: http://www.pharaonicarts.com/AkhenatonSun.htm]

We know about this brief

period in history due to a cache of letters unearthed by

archaeologists and known as the Amarna

Letters. Source: Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 1998, p. 39.

After Akhenaton’s

death, the priests

restored the old religion

and put Tutankhamen on the throne.

[Image source: http://www.terraflex.co.il/ad/egypt/history18-20.htm#Tutankhamen]

The priests made Pharaoh Tutankhamen

to move the capital back to Thebes.

[Image source: http://www.unites.uqam.ca/dhist/pagesp/pagemg3.htm]

Tutankhamen’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings

[Image source: http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/9624/egypt.html]

General Ramses, commander of the

Egyptian army, overthrew the

18th dynasty and established a new

dynasty.[Image source: http://www.egybazar.com/ramsess18.html]

[Image source: http://www.natashascafe.com/cgi-bin/dbase.cgi?ramses]

Pharaoh Ramses II worked to

restore Egypt’s prestige

during the 1200s B.C.

He was known as “Ramses the Great” because of his military prowess.

[Image source: http://www.natashascafe.com/cgi-bin/dbase.cgi?ramseschariot]

The Egyptians fought the Hittites of southwest Asia for control of Syria.

Ramses II ruled for 67 years anddied at theage of 90.

[Image source: http://www.ccer.ggl.ruu.nl/abu_simbel/ramses.html]

Egypt was weakened by attacks from

the Sea Peoples and

entered a period of decline.

By 945 B.C., Egypt came

under foreign rule - among

them the Libyans from the west and the Kushites

from the south.