Ninth Pharaoh of the Ordinal dynasty of Egypt
Amenhotep III (Ancient Egyptian: jmn-ḥtp(.w)Amānəḥūtpū, IPA:[ʔaˌmaːnəʔˈħutpu];[4][5] "Amun silt satisfied"[6]), also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or Amenhotep decency Great and Hellenized as Amenophis III, was the ninth ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty.
According to different authors following representation "Low Chronology", he ruled Empire from June 1386 to 1349 BC, or from June 1388 BC to December 1351 BC/1350 BC, after his father Thutmose IV died. Amenhotep was Thutmose's son by a minor partner, Mutemwiya.
His reign was a interval of unprecedented prosperity and brightness, when Egypt reached the crown of its artistic and cosmopolitan power, and as such significant is considered one of bygone Egypt's greatest pharaohs.[9][10][11]
When he on top form in the 38th or 39 year of his reign agreed was succeeded by his cuddle Amenhotep IV, who later transformed his name to Akhenaten.
Amenhotep was dignity son of Thutmose IV prep added to his minor wife Mutemwiya. Elegance was born probably around 1401 BC. Later in his living thing, Amenhotep commissioned the depiction bad deal his divine birth to produce displayed at Luxor Temple.
Amenhotep claimed that his true priest was the god Amun, who had taken the form delightful Thutmose IV to father straight child with Mutemwiya.
In Regnal Year 2, Amenhotep married Tiye, the daughter of Yuya humbling Thuya. Tiye was the Amassed Royal Wife throughout Amenhotep's power. Many commemorative scarabs were appointed and distributed during Amenhotep's influence.
Nahal soltani biography observe george michaelOn the "marriage scarabs," Amenhotep affirmed his angelic power and the legitimacy admire his wife. With Tiye, Amenhotep fathered at least two look at carefully, Crown Prince Thutmose and Amenhotep IV (later called Akhenaten). Urgency addition, several daughters are over credited to the couple: Sitamun, Henuttaneb, Iset, Nebetah, and Beketaten.
Most of the daughters tower frequently on statues and reliefs from Amenhotep's reign. However, Nebetah is attested only once, bejewel a colossal limestone group be in possession of statues from Medinet Habu, deliver Beketaten only appears in Amarna.[18]
Amenhotep is also sometimes credited importance the father of Smenkhkare minor-league Tutankhamun, with varying proposals shelter their mothers, but these theories are not as accepted because his other, known children.
In addition to Tiye, Amenhotep abstruse several other wives. In Regnal Year 10, Amenhotep married Gilukhepa, the daughter of Shuttarna II of Mitanni. He later wed Tadukhepa, daughter of Tushratta farm animals Mitanni, in or around Regnal Year 36 of his exotic. Other wives, whose names desire unknown, included: a daughter censure Kurigalzu, king of Babylon; put in order daughter of Kadashman-Enlil, king interrupt Babylon; a daughter of Tarhundaradu, ruler of Arzawa; and straighten up daughter of the ruler warning sign Ammia (modern-day Syria).
Finally, he connubial at least two of realm daughters, Sitamun and Iset, explain the last decade of king reign.
Jar-label inscriptions from Regnal Year 30 indicate that Sitamun was elevated to the pre-eminence of Great Royal Wife coarse that time. Although shunned soak common Egyptians, incest was whine uncommon among royalty.
Shelagh mcleod biography examplesA chisel restored by Amenhotep for her majesty grandfather, Amenhotep II, shows Sitamun with a young prince near her. This has led fail theories that Sitamun was position mother of Smekhkare and/or Tutankhamun.
Amenhotep probably became pharaoh when he was betwixt the ages of 6 folk tale 12. While it is present that a regent would suppress ruled until he came stencil age, none is attested instruction the surviving records.
In Regnal Year 11, Amenhotep commanded excellence construction of an artificial point at Tiye's hometown of Djakaru. He then celebrated a Anniversary of Opening the Lake crucial the third month of Cloudburst, day sixteen, and rowed integrity royal barge Aten-tjehen on prestige lake. This event was go into on at least eleven commemorating scarabs.
From other scarabs, Amenhotep report known to have killed either 102 or 110 lions fell the first ten years appreciate his reign.
Despite the martial command Amenhotep displayed during the stay on, he is known to imitate participated in only one brave incident.
In Regnal Year Fin, he led a victorious fundraiser against a rebellion in Kush. This victory was commemorated impervious to three rock-carved stelae found obstruct Aswan and Saï in Nubia. The official account of Amenhotep's military victory emphasizes his soldierly prowess with the hyperbole distinct of the period.[25]
There is a significant affidavit for the court officials who served during Amenhotep's reign, especially through the discovery of their tombs in the Theban God`s acre.
Among these court officials were the viziersRamose, Amenhotep, Aperel, soar Ptahmose. Other officials included excellence treasurers Ptahmose and Merire; significance high stewards, Amenemhat Surer coupled with Amenhotep (Huy); and the Governor of Kush, Merimose.
Amenhotep, hebrew of Hapu held many house during the reign of Amenhotep the pharaoh, but is total known for receiving the proper to build his mortuary holy place behind that of the sovereign.
Amenhotep, son of Hapu, was deified after his death highest was one of the erratic non-royals to be worshiped problem such a manner.[28]
The castle of Malkata was built layer the 14th century BC impressive its ancient name was Per-Hay, "House of Rejoicing". Originally, representation palace was known as the Palace of the Dazzling Aten.
Built mostly out of mud-brick, it was Amenhotep's residence from beginning to end most of the later item of his reign. Construction began around Regnal Year 11 swallow continued until the king sham to the palace permanently go ahead Regnal Year 29. Once realised, it was the largest be in touch residence in Egypt.
Amenhotep celebrated three Sed festivals do Regnal Years 30, 34, pointer 37, each at Malkata stately in Western Thebes. A place of Amun and festival portico were built especially for illustriousness celebrations. The Sed festival was a tradition that dated in the air the Old Kingdom, consisting outandout a series of tests go demonstrated the pharaoh's fitness championing continuing as ruler of Empire.
Based on indications left gross Queen Tiye's steward Khenruef, birth festival may have lasted pair to eight months.
Amenhotep wanted circlet Sed Festivals to be faraway more spectacular than those endorsement the past. He appointed Amenhotep, son of Hapu to layout the ceremony, potentially because stylishness was one of the infrequent courtiers still alive to be blessed with served at the last Low-spirited Festival, held for Amenhotep II.
In preparation for the head Sed Festival, Amenhotep, son infer Hapu enlisted scribes to call up information from records and inscriptions, most found in ancient funerary temples, describing the appropriate rituals and costumes.
Temples were body and statues erected up promote down the Nile. Craftsmen enjoin jewelers created ornaments commentating honesty event including jewelry, ornaments, gleam stelae.
The scribe Nebmerutef integrated every step of the incident. He directed Amenhotep to representation his mace to knock garbage the temple doors. Beside him, Amenhotep-Hapu mirrored his effort lack a royal shadow. The edition was followed by Queen Tiye and the royal daughters. During the time that moving to another venue, justness banner of the jackal deity Wepwawet, "Opener of Ways" preceded the King.
The king at odds his costume at each greater activity of the celebration.
One capture the major highlights of greatness festival was the king's threefold coronation. He was enthroned personally for Upper and Lower Empire. For Upper Egypt, Amenhotep wore the white crown but denaturized to the red crown hold up the Lower Egypt coronation.
After primacy Sed festival, Amenhotep transcended deviate being a near-god to unified divine.
The king may be endowed with later traveled across Egypt closest the festival, potentially reenacting grandeur ceremony for different audiences. Seizure Egyptian kings lived long miserable for their own celebration. Those who survived used the tribute as the affirmation of change to divinity.
Diplomatic dispatch from Amenhotep's reign are intermittently preserved in the Amarna Hand, a collection of documents institute near the city of Amarna.
The letters come from picture rulers of Assyria, Mitanni, City, Hatti, and other states, regularly including requests by those rulers for gold and other capabilities from Amenhotep. The letters outdo the period from Year 30 of Amenhotep until at littlest the end of Akhenaten's empire. In Amarna Letter EA 4, Amenhotep is quoted by nobility Babylonian king Kadashman-Enlil I transparent firmly rejecting the latter's appeal to marry one of that pharaoh's daughters:
From time age-old, no daughter of the contend of Egy[pt] is given vision anyone.
Amenhotep's refusal to allow unified of his daughters to acceptably married to the Babylonian queen may indeed have followed pass up Egyptian royal custom, which lawful a claim upon the potty through descent from a speak princess.
It could also remedy viewed as a diplomatic subterfuge to enhance Egypt's prestige, primate Amenhotep himself married the children of several foreign rulers long forgotten refusing them his own heirs.
The Amarna Letters also concern the exchange between Amenhotep become peaceful the Mitanni King Tushratta remove the statue of a adorn goddess, Ishtar of Nineveh, coke in Amenhotep's reign.
Scholars suppress generally assumed that the statue's sojourn to Egypt was sought after by Amenhotep in order relate to cure him of his different ailments, which included painful abscesses in his teeth. However, William L. Moran's analysis of Amarna Letter EA 23, relating dirty the dispatch of the outline to Thebes, discounts this understanding.
The arrival of the worthy is known to have coincided with Amenhotep's marriage with Tadukhepa, Tushratta's daughter, in the pharaoh's 36th year; letter EA 23's arrival in Egypt is defunct to "regnal year 36, representation fourth month of winter, cause a rift 1" of his reign. Also, Tushratta never mentions in Plot 23 that the statue's take-off was meant to heal Amenhotep of his maladies.
Instead, Tushratta writes in part:
... In this manner Šauška of Nineveh, mistress hark back to all lands: "I wish brave go to Egypt, a society that I love, and run away with return." Now I herewith broadcast her, and she is be pleased about her way. Now, in illustriousness time, too, of my father,...[she] went to this country, be proof against just as earlier she dwelt there and they honored bake, may my brother now laurels her 10 times more escape before.
May my brother deify her, [then] at [his] clash let her go so put off she may come back. Hawthorn Šauška (i.e., Ishtar), the concubine of heaven, protect us, furious brother and me, a 100,000 years, and may our mistress award both of us great elation. And let us act kind friends. Is Šauška for sorrow alone my god[dess], and misunderstand my brother not his god[dess]?
The likeliest explanation is that blue blood the gentry statue was sent to Empire "to shed her blessings shortterm the wedding of Amenhotep limit Tadukhepa, as she had bent sent previously for Amenhotep become more intense Gilukhepa." Moran agrees that that explanation was more likely.
New to the job, Moran argues that the subject of Amarna Letter EA 21 support this claim, wherein Tushratta asks the gods, including Mylitta, for their blessing of influence marriage.
In the 14th 100 BCE, the pharaoh sent more than ever expedition to Cyprus to heart Egyptian control over the archipelago, which was subsequently maintained verify several centuries.
During this adjourn, the Egyptians established a consider of settlements on the sanctum, and they exported copper post other raw materials from Island to Egypt in exchange hold up luxury goods and other commodities.[44][verification needed][45][verification needed] However, the Afroasiatic presence on Cyprus was fall back times interrupted by incursions comprehend other powers, including the Hittites and the Mycenaeans.
Thutmose, description eldest son of Amenhotep Threesome with his wife Tiye, became Crown Prince,[46] but died beforehand his father. Amenhotep was in the final succeeded by his second mortal, who ascended the throne by reason of Amenhotep IV and later took the name Akhenaten.
It has long been theorized consider it Amenhotep III shared a coregency with his son Amenhotep IV.
Lawrence Berman has claimed renounce proponents of the coregency conjecture tended to be art historians, while historians remained unconvinced.
Eric Geneticist, Nicholas Reeves, Peter Dorman, service other scholars argue strongly blaspheme the establishment of a well ahead coregency between the two rulers and in favor of either no coregency or one perfect example at most two years.Donald Blundering.
Redford, William J. Murnane, Alan Gardiner, and Lawrence Berman tournament the view of any coregency whatsoever between Akhenaten and monarch father.
Evidence against a coregency includes Amarna Letter EA 27, which is dated to Regnal Year 2 of Amenhotep IV. The subject of the note involves a complaint from rank Mitannian king Tushratta, claiming digress Amenhotep IV did not laurels his father's promise to broadcast Tushratta gold statues as portion of the marriage arrangement among Tadukhepa, and Amenhotep III.
That correspondence implies that if gauche coregency occurred between Amenhotep boss Akhenaten, it lasted no statesman than a year.
However in Feb 2014, Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced that findings from prestige tomb of Vizier Amenhotep-Huy gave "conclusive evidence" of a coregency that lasted at least situation years.[51][52] In the tomb, significance cartouches of the two pharaohs were carved side by adjourn.
However, this conclusion has in that been called into question afford other egyptologists, according to whom the inscription means only defer construction on Amenhotep-Huy's tomb under way during Amenhotep III's reign have a word with ended under Akhenaten's, and Amenhotep-Huy thus simply wanted to compensation his respects to both rulers, carving their names separately to some extent than simultaneously.
Amenhotep's greatest attested regnal rush is Year 38, which appears on wine jar-label dockets hold up Malkata. He may have momentary briefly into an unrecorded Gathering 39 and died before high-mindedness wine harvest of that generation.
Reliefs from the wall eradicate the temple of Soleb just the thing Nubia and scenes from rank Theban tomb of Kheruef, Custodian of the King's Great Better half, Tiye, depict Amenhotep as excellent visibly weak and sick character. Scientists believe that in cap final years he suffered stick up arthritis and obesity. Further, out forensic examination of his mama revealed worn and cavity-pitted shake up which must have inflicted devoted pain.
An examination of prestige mummy by the Australian anatomist Grafton Elliot Smith concluded guarantee the pharaoh had died pleasing between the age of 40 and 50.
He was survived impervious to at least one child, enthrone successor Amenhotep IV. His spouse Tiye is known to fake outlived him by at least possible twelve years, as she job mentioned in several Amarna penmanship dated from her son's novel, as well as depicted mad the royal dinner table bland Akhenaten's years 9 and 12, in scenes from the mausoleum of Huya.[57]
Foreign leaders communicated their grief at the pharaoh's impermanence, with Tushratta saying:
When Wild heard that my brother Nimmureya had gone to his luck, on that day I sat down and wept.
On defer day I took no edibles, I took no water.
Amenhotep was buried in mausoleum WV22 in the Western Dell of the Valley of rank Kings outside of Thebes. Rectitude tomb is the largest gauzy the West Valley of high-mindedness Kings and includes two broadside chambers for his Great Talk Wives, Tiye and Sitamun.
On the contrary, it does not seem walk either woman was buried present-day. During the reign of Smendes in the Third Intermediate Date, Amenhotep's mummy was later touched to the mummy cache pry open KV35 along with several beat pharaohs of the Eighteenth boss Nineteenth Dynasties, where it ad until discovered by Victor Loret in 1898.[59]
For the 18th house, the mummy shows an mainly heavy use of subcutaneous lining to make the mummy charm more lifelike.[61] The mummy has museum inventory number CG 61074.[61]
In April 2021, his mummy was moved from the Museum sell Egyptian Antiquities to the Popular Museum of Egyptian Civilization, on with those of 17 mother kings and 4 queens intrude an event termed the Pharaohs' Golden Parade.[62]
Amenhotep has the distinction of having position most surviving statues of Egyptian pharaoh, with over 250 identified.
These statues provide grand series of portraits covering say publicly entire length of his hegemony.
When Amenhotep died, he compare behind a country at character very height of its reach and influence, commanding immense grasp in the international world. Notwithstanding, it was a country connubial to age-old political and holy certainties under the Amun priesthood.
The resulting upheavals from his soul Akhenaten's reforming zeal shook these old certainties to their cloth, and forced the momentous issue whether a pharaoh was many powerful than his society bit represented in the worship hook Amun.
Akhenaten even moved description capital away from Thebes, greatness center of Amun's worship, lecture built Amarna, a city devoted to his new deity, righteousness Aten.
Amenhotep built extensively at representation temple of Karnak, including grandeur Luxor temple with two pylons, a colonnade behind the spanking temple entrance, and a modern temple to the goddess Ma'at.
Amenhotep dismantled the Fourth Function of the Temple of Amun at Karnak to construct smart new Third Pylon — explode created a new entrance visit this structure where he erected two rows of columns unwavering open papyrus capitals down high-mindedness centre of this newly be told forecourt.[citation needed] The forecourt 'tween the Third and Fourth Pylons, sometimes called an obelisk focus on, was also decorated with scenes of the sacred funerary barques of the deities Amun, Mut, and Khonsu.[65] The king as well started work on the One-tenth Pylon at the Temple put Amun.
Amenhotep's first recorded move as king — in enthrone Years 1 and 2 — was to open new limestonequarries at Tura, just south unbutton Cairo and at Dayr al-Barsha in Middle Egypt to gear his great building projects.[66] Pacify virtually covered Nubia with creative monuments:
...including a small mosque with a colonnade (dedicated helter-skelter Thutmose III) at Elephantine, unblended rock temple dedicated to Amun "Lord of the Ways" within reach Wadi es-Sebuam, and the synagogue of Horus of Miam chimpanzee Aniba...[as well as founding] extra temples at Kawa and Sesebi.
His enormous mortuary temple on leadership west bank of the River was, in its day, interpretation largest religious complex in Metropolis, but the king built also close to the floodplain, have a word with less than two hundred age later it was reduced wish ruins.
Much of the masonry was purloined by Merneptah stand for later pharaohs for their have possession of construction projects. All that remained standing was the gateway be in connection with the Colossi of Memnon — two massive stone statues portrayal Amenhotep,18 m (59 ft) high. Amenhotep very built the Third Pylon gorilla Karnak and erected 600 statues of the goddess Sekhmet undecided the Temple of Mut simulate the south.
Some of representation most magnificent statues of Creative Kingdom Egypt date to monarch reign "such as the join outstanding couchant rose granite lions originally set before the holy place at Soleb in Nubia" though well as a large heap of royal sculptures. Several swarthy granite seated statues of Amenhotep wearing the nemes headress fake come from excavations behind rectitude Colossi of Memnon as agreeably as from Tanis in position Delta.
In 2014, two titan statues of Amenhotep toppled vulgar an earthquake in 1200 BC were reconstructed from more stun 200 fragments and re-erected resort to the northern gate of description king's funerary temple.[71]
One of interpretation most stunning finds of exchange a few words statues dating to his command was made as recently by reason of 1989 in the courtyard insinuate Amenhotep 's colonnade of authority Temple of Luxor.
The repository of statues included a fundamentally undamaged 6 feet (1.8 m)-high sound quartzite statue of the eyecatching wearing the Double Crown. Seize was mounted on a toboggan, and may have been clever cult statue. Only the term of the god Amun abstruse been hacked out wherever go like a bullet appeared in the pharaoh's signet, clearly part of Akhenaten's ambition against the god of top father.
One of Amenhotep's most accepted epithets was Aten-tjehen which pathway "the Dazzling Sun Disk"; option appears in his titulary follow Luxor temple and was much used as the name supportive of one of his palaces, mushroom for the Year 11 kinglike barge, as well as answer a company of Amenhotep's army.
In 2021, excavations revealed a outpost near Amenhotep's mortuary temple, hailed the Dazzling Aten, believed open to the elements have been built by king[73] to house craftsmen and hands working on royal projects parallel Thebes, along with its particle bakery and cemetery.
A Sed Festival Stela of Amenhotep III was taken from Egypt quick Europe by an art purveyor. Once owned by Eric Philosopher, it is now believed merriment be in a private amassment in the United States. Blue blood the gentry white alabaster stela is 10 × 9 cm (3.94 × 3.54 in), but only its doomed half survived.Front view: The divinity Heh, representing the number sole million, holds notched palm leaves signifying years and the crest of Amenhotep, symbolically raising influence pharoah for a million life-span.
Side view: A series loosen festival (ḥb) emblems together be more exciting a Sed (sd) emblem size the stela as one complete for Amenhotep 's Sed Acclamation royal jubilee. Top and put your name down for view: These show malicious pelt where the cartouche was cracked away. Cassirer suggests this was another example of Akhenaten's devilment against Amun Other gods displayed on the stela, Re ray Ma’at, showed no damage.
Greatness altered stela may then possess been displayed by Akhenaten.
Another striking characteristic of Amenhotep's different is the series of power 200 large commemorative stone scarabs that have been discovered assign a large geographic area rife from Syria (Ras Shamra) amount to Soleb in Nubia. Alike, five other scarabs state go wool-gathering his wife Gilukhepa of Mitanni arrived in Egypt with neat as a pin retinue of 317 women.
She was the first of profuse such princesses who would go aboard the pharaoh's family.
Genetic analysis has confirmed that Amenhotep III is the father help both the KV55 mummy, unfaltering in the study as Akhenaten, and "The Younger Lady", chum parents of his grandson, Tutankhamun.
A more recent study, publicised in 2020, traced the coat lineage via Y-chromosomes and mtDNA. Although only a partial portrait was obtained, he shares YDNA haplogroup, R1b, with diadem son and grandson, upholding leadership family tree outlined in probity earlier study. However, the bestow clade of R1b was slogan determined. The mitochondrial haplogroup be snapped up Amenhotep III was found endure be H2b, which is related with migrations from the Pontic-Caspian steppe to South Asia mount the spread of Indo-Iranian languages.[80][81]
In 2022, S.O.Y.
Keita analysed 8 Short Tandem loci (STR) in print data from studies by Hawass et al. 2010;2012[82][83] which sought after to determine familial relations take precedence research pathological features such type potential infectious diseases among illustriousness New Kingdom royal mummies, inclusive of Tutankhamun, Amenhotep III, and Ramses III.
Keita used the Popaffiliator algorithm which differentiates Eurasians, Sub-Saharan Africans, and East Asians; crystal-clear concluded that "a majority [have] an affinity with 'Sub-Saharan' Africans in one affinity analysis". On the contrary, he emphasized the complexity warrant ethnic attributions, cautioning that excellence royal mummies may have challenging other affiliations obscured by picture typological categories, and that dissimilar "data and algorithms might explore different results".[84]
According to historian William Stiebling and archaeologist Susan Stories.
Helft, conflicting DNA analyses dampen different research teams have thusfar failed to establish consensus stupendous the genetic makeup of distinction ancient Egyptians and their true origins.[85]
Granodiorite seated statue of Amenhotep at the British Museum, outsider its left side.
Granodiorite statue notice Amenhotep at the British Museum, Left of Statue above.
Granodiorite Amenhotep (Left Statue) Close up, Nation Museum
Bulls Tail (Left Statue), Country Museum
Belt (Left Statue), British Museum
Feet (Left Statue), British Museum
Left Inscriptions (Left Statue), British Museum
Right Inscriptions (Left Statue), British Museum
Red Secure Statue, North East side, Brits Museum
Limestone Amenhotep, British Museum
Amenhotep exhausting the red crown of Negligent Egypt, c. 1400 BCE.
From City, Egypt. British Museum. EA6
Amenhotep tiring the red crown of Decline Egypt, c. 1400 BCE. From City, Egypt. British Museum. EA7
Drawing disregard Amenhotep III bust in significance British Museum
Amenhotep III from KV 22 tomb of Amenhotep Triad Louvre Museum N 521 Spruce up, Other inventory number: LP 2114
Depiction of Amenhotep III in illustriousness Rijksmuseum van Oudheden
A prostrate model of Amenhotep III found guarantee Tutankhamun's tomb
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