TheEighteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notatedDynasty XVIII, alternatively18th Dynasty orDynasty 18) is classified as the first dynasty of theNew Kingdom of Egypt, the era in whichancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. The Eighteenth Dynasty spanned the period from 1550/1549 to 1292 BC. This dynasty is also known as theThutmoside Dynasty[1]: 156 for the four pharaohs namedThutmose.
Several of Egypt's most famouspharaohs were from the Eighteenth Dynasty, includingTutankhamun. Other famous pharaohs of the dynasty includeHatshepsut (c. 1479 BC–1458 BC), the longest-reigning woman pharaoh of an indigenous dynasty, andAkhenaten (c. 1353–1336 BC), the "heretic pharaoh", with hisGreat Royal Wife,Nefertiti.
The Eighteenth Dynasty is unique among indigenous Egyptian dynasties in that it had twoqueens regnant women who ruled as pharaohs: Hatshepsut andNeferneferuaten, usually identified as Nefertiti.[2]
Nefertiti was the queen consort and great royal wife of PharaohAkhenaten and increasingly identified with the female pharaohNeferneferuaten[3]Thutmose III was the sixth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty. Under his reign, Egypt's Kingdom reached its greatest expansion, from Kush in the south to the Hittite Empire in the north.Head of an Early Eighteenth Dynasty King, depicting either Ahmose I, Amenhotep I or Thutmose I, c. 1539–1493 BC, 37.38E,Brooklyn Museum
Dynasty XVIII was founded byAhmose I, the brother or son ofKamose, the last ruler of the17th Dynasty. Ahmose finished the campaign to expel theHyksos rulers. His reign is seen as the end of theSecond Intermediate Period and the start of the New Kingdom. Ahmose's consort, QueenAhmose-Nefertari was "arguably the most venerated woman in Egyptian history, and the grandmother of the 18th Dynasty."[4] She was deified after she died. Ahmose was succeeded by his son,Amenhotep I, whose reign was relatively uneventful.[5]
Amenhotep I probably left no male heir and the next pharaoh,Thutmose I, seems to have been related to the royal family through marriage. During his reign, the borders of Egypt's empire reached their greatest expanse, extending in the north toCarchemish on theEuphrates and in the south up toKanisah Kurgus beyond the fourthcataract of the Nile. Thutmose I was succeeded byThutmose II and his queen,Hatshepsut, who was the daughter of Thutmose I. After her husband's death and a period of regency for her minor stepson (who would later become pharaoh as Thutmose III) Hatshepsut became pharaoh in her own right and ruled for over twenty years.
Thutmose III, who became known as the greatest military pharaoh ever, also had a lengthy reign after becoming pharaoh. He had a second co-regency in his old age with his sonAmenhotep II. Amenhotep II was succeeded byThutmose IV, who in his turn was followed by his sonAmenhotep III, whose reign is seen as a high point in this dynasty.
Amenhotep III's reign was a period of unprecedented prosperity, artistic splendor, and international power, as attested by over 250 statues (more than any other pharaoh) and 200 large stone scarabs discovered from Syria to Nubia.[6] Amenhotep III undertook large scale building programmes, the extent of which can only be compared with those of the much longer reign ofRamesses II during Dynasty XIX.[7] Amenhotep III's consort was the Great Royal WifeTiye, for whom he built an artificial lake, as described on eleven scarabs.[8]
Akhenaten and his family adoring theAten. Second from the left isMeritaten, daughter of Akhenaten.
Amenhotep III may have shared the throne for up to twelve years with his son Amenhotep IV. There is much debate about this proposed co-regency, with different experts considering that there was a lengthy co-regency, a short one, or none at all.
In the fifth year of his reign, Amenhotep IV changed his name toAkhenaten (ꜣḫ-n-jtn, "Effective for theAten") and moved his capital toAmarna, which he named Akhetaten. During the reign of Akhenaten, theAten (jtn, the sun disk) became, first, the most prominent deity, and eventually came to be considered the only god.[9] Whether this amounted to true monotheism continues to be the subject of debate within the academic community. Some state that Akhenaten created a monotheism, while others point out that he merely suppressed a dominant solar cult by the assertion of another, while he never completely abandoned several other traditional deities.
Later Egyptians considered this "Amarna Period" an unfortunate aberration. After his death, Akhenaten was succeeded by two short-lived pharaohs,Smenkhkare andNeferneferuaten, of which little is known. In 1334 BC, Akhenaten's son, Tutankhaten, ascended to the throne: shortly after, he restored Egyptian polytheist cult and subsequently changed his name toTutankhamun, in honor to the Egyptian godAmun.[10]His infant daughters represent the final genetically related generation of the Eighteenth Dynasty.
The last two members of the Eighteenth Dynasty—Ay andHoremheb—became rulers from the ranks of officials in the royal court, although Ay might also have been the maternal uncle of Akhenaten as a fellow descendant ofYuya andTjuyu.
Ay may have married the widowed Great Royal Wife and young half-sister of Tutankhamun,Ankhesenamun, in order to obtain power; she did not live long afterward. Ay then marriedTey, who was originally Nefertiti's wet-nurse.
Ay's reign was short. His successor was Horemheb, a general during Tutankhamun's reign whom the pharaoh may have intended as his successor in case he had no surviving children, which is what came to pass.[11] Horemheb may have taken the throne away from Ay in acoup d'état. Although Ay's son or stepsonNakhtmin was named as his father/stepfather's Crown Prince, Nakhtmin seems to have died during the reign of Ay, leaving the opportunity for Horemheb to claim the throne next.
Horemheb also died without surviving children, having appointed his vizier, Pa-ra-mes-su, as his heir. This vizier ascended the throne in 1292 BC asRamesses I, and was the first pharaoh of theNineteenth Dynasty.
This example to the right depicts a man named Ay who achieved the exalted religious positions ofSecond Prophet of Amun and High Priest ofMut atThebes. His career flourished during the reign of Tutankhamun, when the statue was made. The cartouches of King Ay, Tutankhamun's successor appearing on the statue, were an attempt by an artisan to "update" the sculpture.[12]
The Eighteenth Dynasty empire conquered all of LowerNubia underThutmose I.[13] By the reign ofThutmose III, the Egyptians directly controlled Nubia to the Nile river, 4th cataract, with Egyptian influence / tributaries extending beyond this point.[14][15] The Egyptians referred to the area asKush and it was administered by theViceroy of Kush. The 18th dynasty obtained Nubian gold, animal skins, ivory, ebony, cattle, and horses, which were of exceptional quality.[13] The Egyptians built temples throughout Nubia. One of the largest and most important temples was dedicated to Amun atJebel Barkal in the city of Napata. ThisTemple of Amun was enlarged by later Egyptian and Nubian Pharaohs, such asTaharqa.
Nubian Tribute Presented to the King,Tomb of Huy MET DT221112
Nubian PrinceHeqanefer bringing tribute for KingTutankhamun, 18th dynasty, Tomb of Huy
Nubians bringing tribute for KingTutankhamun, Tomb of Huy
After the end of theHyksos period of foreign rule, the Eighteenth Dynasty engaged in a vigorous phase of expansionism, conquering vast areas of theNear-East, with especially PharaohThutmose III submitting the "Shasu" Bedouins of northernCanaan, and the land ofRetjenu, as far asSyria andMittani in numerous military campaigns circa 1450 BC.[16][17]
Egyptian relief depicting a battle against West Asiatics. Reign ofAmenhotep II, Eighteenth Dynasty, c. 1427–1400 BC
Radiocarbon dating suggests that Dynasty XVIII may have started a few years earlier than the conventional date of 1550 BC. The radiocarbon date range for its beginning is 1570–1544 BC, the mean point of which is 1557 BC.[19]
The pharaohs of Dynasty XVIII ruled for approximately 250 years (c. 1550–1298 BC). The dates and names in the table are taken from Dodson and Hilton.[20] Many of the pharaohs were buried in theValley of the Kings in Thebes (designated KV). More information can be found on the Theban Mapping Project website.[21] Several diplomatic marriages are known for theNew Kingdom. These daughters of foreign kings are often only mentioned in cuneiform texts and are not known from other sources. The marriages were likely to have been a way to confirm good relations between these states.[22] Royal brother-sister marriages were observed, as a means to strengthen the royalty by echoing the practices in their creation myths.[23]
The Eighteenth Dynasty is well-recorded across Egyptian king lists, mostly due to being written extensively by theirNineteenth Dynasty sucessors. TheAbydos,Saqqara andRamesseum king lists, all from theNew Kingdom of Egypt, provide a list of kings of this dynasty and are in broad agreement on the order of most kings in this dynasty, though they omitHatshepsut and the Amarna pharaohs as a form ofdamnatio memoriae; the repudiation of Hatshepsut and the Amarna Period had been state policy since the reign ofHoremheb. A Theban tomb,TT19, also provides a king list. It's possible theTurin King List originally listed the Eighteenth Dynasty, but it's now in a fragmentary state and some information is lost, including a section that contained Dynasties 18–19/20.Manetho's now-lost workAegyptiaca also provided individual reign lengths, however the lengths seem to be inaccurate and laterEpitomes of the work were misunderstood by various writers who conflated multiple kings into a single figure, failed to understand the number of kings in this dynasty.[24][25]
Trial piece showing a head of an unknown king in profile. Uraeus on forehead. Limestone relief. 18th Dynasty. From Thebes, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London
Ahmose I. Though he was called the founder of the 18th dynasty, he was the brother ofKamose, the last pharaoh of the 17th dynasty. During his reign, he expelled the Hyksos from Lower Egypt and brought the Nile Delta under his control, politically unifying Egypt once again.
Amenhotep I gained the throne after his two elder brothers had died. He was the son of Ahmose and Ahmose-Nefertari. He was succeeded by Thutmose I who married his daughter, Ahmose.
Amenhotep I with his mother, Ahmose-Nefertari. Both royals are credited with opening a workmen's village atDeir el-Medina. Deir el-Medina housed the artisans and workers of the pharaohs tombs in the Valley of the Kings, from the 18th to 21st dynasties. Amenhotep I and his mother were deified and were the village's principal gods.
Thutmose I. A military man, he came to power by marrying the sister of Amenhotep I, or may have been his son to a secondary wife. During his reign, he pushed the borders of Egypt intoNubia andthe Levant. He is credited with the starting the building projects in what is now thetemple of Karnak.
Sketch from temple relief ofThutmose II. Considered a weak ruler, he was married to his sisterHatshepsut. He namedThutmose III, his son as successor, but Thutmose III was too young to rule at his father's death and thus his stepmother Hatshepsut was his regent. Hatshepsut and Thutmose II had a daughter,Neferure.
Hatshepsut. Daughter of Thutmose I, she ruled jointly as her stepson Thutmose III's co-regent. She soon took the throne for herself, and declared herself pharaoh. While there were other female rulers and regents before her, she is the only one who used the symbolic beard.
Thutmosis III, a military man and member of theThutmosid royal line is commonly called the "Napoleon of Egypt". His conquests of the Levant brought Egypt's territories and influence to its greatest extent. He also built numerous monuments, most famously hisFestival Hall and"botanical garden" at Karnak, and ordered the construction of the city ofNapata in Nubia.
Amenhotep III, whose long reign over Egypt found it at the height of its imperial splendor. He built numerous monuments, including the palace ofMalqata, theColossi of Memnon, and extensive expansions of the Temples ofKarnak andLuxor, and has more surviving statutes than any other ancient Egyptian monarch.
Akhenaten, initially Amenhotep IV, began a religious revolution in which he declaredAten was a supreme god and turned his back on the old traditions. He moved the capital toAkhetaten.
QueenNefertiti, possibly the daughter ofAy, married Akhenaten. Her role in daily life at the court soon extended from Great Royal Wife to that of a co-regent. It is also possible that she may have ruled Egypt in her own right as pharaohNeferneferuaten.
Queen Meritaten, was the eldest daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. She was the wife ofSmenkhkare. She also may have ruled Egypt in her own right as pharaoh and is one of the possible candidates of being the pharaohNeferneferuaten.
Neferneferure andNeferneferuaten Tasherit. Shown here as children, they were two of six daughters born to Akhenaten and Nefertiti. It is possible that Neferneferuaten Tasherit was the one who may have been her father's co-regent and may have ruled as the female pharaoh, Neferneferuaten.
Smenkhkare, was a co-regent of Akhenaten who ruled after his death. It was once believed that Smenkhkare was a male guise of Nefertiti, however, it is accepted that Smenkhkare was a male. He took Meritaten, Queen Nefertiti's daughter as his wife.
Tutankhamun, born Tutankhaten, was Akhenaten's son and the successor to Neferneferuaten. As pharaoh, he instigated policies to restore Egypt to its old religion and moved the capital away from Akhetaten.
Ay served as a high official to Akhenaten, and avizier to Tutankhamun. He may have been the father of Nefertiti. After the death of Tutankhamun, Ay laid a claim to the throne by burying him and marrying Tutankhamun's wifeAnkhesenamun.
After the death of Ay,Horemheb assumed the throne. A commoner, he had served as a military official to both Tutankhamun and Ay. Horemheb instigated a policy ofdamnatio memoriae, against everyone associated with theAmarna period. With no heir born to him, he appointed his own vizier,Paramessu as his successor.
Tiye was the daughter of the court officialYuya. She married Amenhotep III, and became his principal wife. Her knowledge of government helped her gain power in her position and she was soon running affairs of state and foreign affairs for her husband, Amenhotep III and later her son, Akhenaten. She was also Tutankhamun's grandmother.
^Daniel Molinari (2014-09-16),Egypts Lost Queens,archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved2017-11-14
^Nozomu Kawai, "Neferneferuaten from the Tomb of Tutankhamun Revisited" in Wonderful Things Essays in Honor of Nicholas Reeves, Lockwood Press, (2023), pp.109-121 &Aidan Dodson, Nefertiti, Queen and Pharaoh of Egypt: Her Life and Afterlife, The American University in Cairo Press, 2020.
^abO'Connor, David (1993).Ancient Nubia: Egypt's Rival in Africa. University of Pennsylvania, USA: University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. pp. 60–69.ISBN0924171286.
^Shaw, Ian (2004).The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. p. 217.
^Ramsey, C. B.; Dee, M. W.; Rowland, J. M.; Higham, T. F. G.; Harris, S. A.; Brock, F.; Quiles, A.; Wild, E. M.; Marcus, E. S.; Shortland, A. J. (2010). "Radiocarbon-Based Chronology for Dynastic Egypt".Science.328 (5985):1554–1557.Bibcode:2010Sci...328.1554R.doi:10.1126/science.1189395.PMID20558717.S2CID206526496.
^Aidan Dodson, Dyan Hilton:The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. The American University in Cairo Press, London 2004
Kozloff, Arielle; Bryan, Betsy (1992).Royal and Divine Statuary in Egypt's Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III and his World. Cleveland.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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