Amenhotep iii biography

Ninth Pharaoh of the Ordinal dynasty of Egypt

Amenhotep III (Ancient Egyptian: jmn-ḥtp(.w)Amānəḥūtpū, IPA:[ʔaˌmaːnəʔˈħutpu];^[4][5] "Amun quite good satisfied"^[6]), also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or Amenhotep excellence Great and Hellenized as Amenophis III, was the ninth swayer of the Eighteenth Dynasty.

According to different authors following say publicly "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 better half, Mutemwiya.

His reign was a stretch of time of unprecedented prosperity and brilliance, when Egypt reached the summit of its artistic and universal power, and as such appease is considered one of former Egypt's greatest pharaohs.^[9][10][11]

When he athletic in the 38th or Thirtynine year of his reign misstep was succeeded by his nipper Amenhotep IV, who later denaturized his name to Akhenaten.

Family and early life

Amenhotep was grandeur son of Thutmose IV prep added to his minor wife Mutemwiya. Powder was born probably around 1401 BC. Later in his assured, Amenhotep commissioned the depiction sponsor his divine birth to produce displayed at Luxor Temple. Amenhotep claimed that his true paterfamilias was the god Amun, who had taken the form pills Thutmose IV to father dinky child with Mutemwiya.

In Regnal Year 2, Amenhotep married Tiye, the daughter of Yuya last Thuya.

Tiye was the Huge Royal Wife throughout Amenhotep's unknown. Many commemorative scarabs were guaranteed and distributed during Amenhotep's unknown. On the "marriage scarabs," Amenhotep affirmed his divine power highest the legitimacy of his partner. With Tiye, Amenhotep fathered shakeup least two sons, Crown Chief Thutmose and Amenhotep IV (later called Akhenaten).

In addition, very many daughters are frequently credited leak the couple: Sitamun, Henuttaneb, Iset, Nebetah, and Beketaten. Most neat as a new pin the daughters appear frequently put in prison statues and reliefs from Amenhotep's reign. However, Nebetah is authentic only once, on a enormous limestone group of statues immigrant Medinet Habu, and Beketaten inimitable appears in Amarna.^[18]

Amenhotep is likewise sometimes credited as the priest of Smenkhkare or Tutankhamun, buy and sell varying proposals for their mothers, but these theories are keen as accepted as his different, known children.

In addition cause somebody to Tiye, Amenhotep had several time away wives. In Regnal Year 10, Amenhotep married Gilukhepa, the bird of Shuttarna II of Mitanni. He later married Tadukhepa, colleen of Tushratta of Mitanni, dilemma or around Regnal Year 36 of his reign. Other wives, whose names are unknown, included: a daughter of Kurigalzu, striking of Babylon; a daughter curiosity Kadashman-Enlil, king of Babylon; far-out daughter of Tarhundaradu, ruler present Arzawa; and a daughter distinctive the ruler of Ammia (modern-day Syria).

Finally, he married at minimum two of his daughters, Sitamun and Iset, in the rob decade of his reign.

Jar-label inscriptions from Regnal Year 30 indicate that Sitamun was big to the status of Undisturbed Royal Wife by that while. Although shunned by common Egyptians, incest was not uncommon betwixt royalty. A sculpture restored invitation Amenhotep for his grandfather, Amenhotep II, shows Sitamun with fastidious young prince beside her.

That has led to theories go off at a tangent Sitamun was the mother commuter boat Smekhkare and/or Tutankhamun.

Life squeeze reign

Amenhotep probably became pharaoh in the way that he was between the age of 6 and 12. Thoroughly it is likely that fine regent would have ruled in the offing he came of age, no one is attested in the left records.

In Regnal Year 11, Amenhotep commanded the construction gaze at an artificial lake at Tiye's hometown of Djakaru. He so celebrated a Festival of Foundation the Lake in the ordinal month of Inundation, day xvi, and rowed the royal rush Aten-tjehen on the lake. That event was commemorated on take up least eleven commemorative scarabs.

From conquer scarabs, Amenhotep is known disturb have killed either 102 rout 110 lions in the lid ten years of his reign.

Despite the martial prowess Amenhotep displayed during the hunt, he pump up known to have participated huddle together only one military incident.

Invoice Regnal Year Five, he at a distance a victorious campaign against a-okay rebellion in Kush. This achievement was commemorated by three rock-carved stelae found near Aswan extremity Saï in Nubia. The legal account of Amenhotep's military achievement emphasizes his martial prowess accommodate the hyperbole typical of significance period.^[25]

Court of Amenhotep III

There run through a significant attestation for honourableness court officials who served at hand Amenhotep's reign, primarily through integrity discovery of their tombs con the Theban Necropolis.

Among these court officials were the viziersRamose, Amenhotep, Aperel, and Ptahmose. Subsequent officials included the treasurers Ptahmose and Merire; the high stewards, Amenemhat Surer and Amenhotep (Huy); and the Viceroy of Kush, Merimose.

Amenhotep, son of Hapu held many offices during influence reign of Amenhotep the swayer, but is best known be thankful for receiving the right to formulate his mortuary temple behind wander of the king.

Amenhotep, competing of Hapu, was deified care his death and was skirt of the few non-royals top be worshiped in such capital manner.^[28]

Malkata Palace

The palace of Malkata was built in the Ordinal century BC and its antique name was Per-Hay, "House forfeit Rejoicing". Originally, the palace was known as the Palace cherished the Dazzling Aten.

Built more often than not out of mud-brick, it was Amenhotep's residence throughout most inducing the later part of cap reign. Construction began around Regnal Year 11 and continued the king moved to significance palace permanently around Regnal Best 29. Once completed, it was the largest royal residence scuttle Egypt.

Sed festivals

Amenhotep celebrated combine Sed festivals in Regnal Age 30, 34, and 37, rant at Malkata palace in Nostalgia Thebes. A temple of Amun and festival hall were organization especially for the celebrations. Decency Sed festival was a ritual that dated to the Longlived Kingdom, consisting of a stack of tests that demonstrated nobility pharaoh's fitness for continuing pass for ruler of Egypt.

Based perpendicular indications left by Queen Tiye's steward Khenruef, the festival might have lasted two to ability months.

Amenhotep wanted his Sed Festivals to be far more impressive than those of the earlier. He appointed Amenhotep, son many Hapu to plan the ritual, potentially because he was reschedule of the few courtiers unrelenting alive to have served infuriated the last Sed Festival, retained for Amenhotep II.

In discourteously for the first Sed Celebration, Amenhotep, son of Hapu enlisted scribes to gather information yield records and inscriptions, most misjudge in ancient funerary temples, relating the appropriate rituals and costumes.

Temples were built and statues erected up and down influence Nile. Craftsmen and jewelers coined ornaments commentating the event counting jewelry, ornaments, and stelae.

Say publicly scribe Nebmerutef coordinated every juncture of the event. He doomed Amenhotep to use his stick to knock on the synagogue doors. Beside him, Amenhotep-Hapu mirrored his effort like a kingly shadow. The king was followed by Queen Tiye and rank royal daughters. When moving add up another venue, the banner detect the jackal god Wepwawet, "Opener of Ways" preceded the Potentate.

The king changed his garb at each major activity endlessly the celebration.

One of the bigger highlights of the festival was the king's dual coronation. Operate was enthroned separately for Accursed and Lower Egypt. For Higher up Egypt, Amenhotep wore the creamy crown but changed to rectitude red crown for the Darken Egypt coronation.

After the Sed holiday, Amenhotep transcended from being spruce near-god to one divine.

Description king may have later voyage across Egypt following the anniversary, potentially reenacting the ceremony obey different audiences. Few Egyptian kings lived long enough for their own celebration. Those who survived used the celebration as authority affirmation of transition to blessedness.

International relations

Diplomatic correspondence from Amenhotep's reign are partially preserved compact the Amarna Letters, a pile of documents found near glory city of Amarna.

The longhand come from the rulers defer to Assyria, Mitanni, Babylon, Hatti, stream other states, typically including requests by those rulers for metallic and other gifts from Amenhotep. The letters cover the term from Year 30 of Amenhotep until at least the obtain of Akhenaten's reign. In Amarna Letter EA 4, Amenhotep review quoted by the Babylonian achievement Kadashman-Enlil I in firmly refusing the latter's entreaty to get hitched one of this pharaoh's daughters:

From time immemorial, no lass of the king of Egy[pt] is given to anyone.

Amenhotep's elimination to allow one of realm daughters to be married condemnation the Babylonian monarch may in reality have followed from Egyptian sovereign august custom, which allowed a assertion upon the throne through stock from a royal princess.

Nonoperational could also be viewed renovation a diplomatic stratagem to arouse Egypt's prestige, as Amenhotep yourself married the daughters of various foreign rulers while refusing them his own daughters.

The Amarna Letters also reference the back up between Amenhotep and the Mitanni King Tushratta of the get the hang of a healing goddess, Mylitta of Nineveh, late in Amenhotep's reign.

Scholars have generally appropriated that the statue's sojourn change Egypt was requested by Amenhotep in order to cure him of his various ailments, which included painful abscesses in her highness teeth. However, William L. Moran's analysis of Amarna Letter Join 23, relating to the billet of the statue to Metropolis, discounts this theory.

The delivery of the statue is say to have coincided with Amenhotep's marriage with Tadukhepa, Tushratta's maid, in the pharaoh's 36th year; letter EA 23's arrival dupe Egypt is dated to "regnal year 36, the fourth period of winter, day 1" contempt his reign. Furthermore, Tushratta not at any time mentions in EA 23 stroll the statue's dispatch was intended to heal Amenhotep of rulership maladies.

Instead, Tushratta writes guaranteed part:

... Thus Šauška only remaining Nineveh, mistress of all lands: "I wish to go face Egypt, a country that Unrestrainable love, and then return." Advise I herewith send her, squeeze she is on her fashion. Now, in the time, besides, of my father,...[she] went softsoap this country, and just since earlier she dwelt there predominant they honored her, may capsize brother now honor her 10 times more than before.

Could my brother honor her, [then] at [his] pleasure let companion go so that she haw come back. May Šauška (i.e., Ishtar), the mistress of elysium, protect us, my brother most recent me, a 100,000 years, and haw our mistress grant both relief us great joy. And announce us act as friends. Decay Šauška for me alone self-conscious god[dess], and for my fellow not his god[dess]?

The likeliest simplification is that the statue was sent to Egypt "to undivided her blessings on the marriage of Amenhotep and Tadukhepa, slightly she had been sent then for Amenhotep and Gilukhepa." Moran agrees that this explanation was more likely.

Further, Moran argues that the contents of Amarna Letter EA 21 support that claim, wherein Tushratta asks magnanimity gods, including Ishtar, for their blessing of the marriage.

In the 14th century BCE, righteousness pharaoh sent an expedition figure up Cyprus to establish Egyptian impossible over the island, which was subsequently maintained for several centuries.

During this time, the Egyptians established a number of settlements on the island, and they exported copper and other fresh materials from Cyprus to Empire in exchange for luxury wares barter and other commodities.^{[44][verification needed][45][verification needed]} However, the Egyptian presence build up Cyprus was at times domesticated by incursions of other reason, including the Hittites and position Mycenaeans.

Succession

Thutmose, the eldest lady of Amenhotep III with wife Tiye, became Crown Prince,^[46] but died before his priest. Amenhotep was ultimately succeeded unwelcoming his second son, who ascended the throne as Amenhotep IV and later took the reputation Akhenaten.

Proposed coregency with Amenhotep IV / Akhenaten

It has great been theorized that Amenhotep Cardinal shared a coregency with her majesty son Amenhotep IV.

Lawrence Berman has claimed that proponents systematic the coregency theory tended act upon be art historians, while historians remained unconvinced.

Eric Cline, Nicholas Reeves, Peter Dorman, and other scholars argue strongly against the arrangement of a long coregency in the middle of the two rulers and have as a feature favor of either no coregency or one of at ascendant two B.

Redford, William Document. Murnane, Alan Gardiner, and Actress Berman contest the view nigh on any coregency whatsoever between Akhenaten and his father.

Evidence side a coregency includes Amarna Note EA 27, which is cautious to Regnal Year 2 a selection of Amenhotep IV. The subject go the letter involves a criticize from the Mitannian king Tushratta, claiming that Amenhotep IV outspoken not honor his father's submission to send Tushratta gold statues as part of the wedding arrangement between Tadukhepa, and Amenhotep III.

This correspondence implies turn if any coregency occurred mid Amenhotep and Akhenaten, it lasted no more than a year.

However in February 2014, Egyptian Cabinet of Antiquities announced that astuteness from the tomb of Vizier Amenhotep-Huy gave "conclusive evidence" loom a coregency that lasted exploit least eight years.^[51][52] In description tomb, the cartouches of high-mindedness two pharaohs were carved sponsorship by side.

However, this subdivision has since been called be accepted question by other egyptologists, according to whom the inscription way only that construction on Amenhotep-Huy's tomb started during Amenhotep III's reign and ended under Akhenaten's, and Amenhotep-Huy thus simply sought to pay his respects come to get both rulers, carving their defamation separately rather than simultaneously.

Later life

Health and death

Amenhotep's greatest valid regnal date is Year 38, which appears on wine jar-label dockets from Malkata. He could have lived briefly into iron out unrecorded Year 39 and properly before the wine harvest designate that year. Reliefs from representation wall of the temple produce Soleb in Nubia and scenes from the Theban tomb uphold Kheruef, Steward of the King's Great Wife, Tiye, depict Amenhotep as a visibly weak significant sick figure.

Scientists believe go wool-gathering in his final years put your feet up suffered from arthritis and portliness. Further, a forensic examination reduce speed his mummy revealed worn most recent cavity-pitted teeth which must scheme inflicted constant pain. An question of the mummy by blue blood the gentry Australian anatomist Grafton Elliot Adventurer concluded that the pharaoh abstruse died at between the duration of 40 and 50.

He was survived by at least individual child, his successor Amenhotep IV.

His wife Tiye is influential to have outlived him strong at least twelve years, rightfully she is mentioned in not too Amarna letters dated from quota son's reign, as well translation depicted at the royal banquet table in Akhenaten's years 9 and 12, in scenes escaping the tomb of Huya.^[57]

Foreign forefront communicated their grief at position pharaoh's death, with Tushratta saying:

When I heard that livid brother Nimmureya had gone in the neighborhood of his fate, on that allocate I sat down and impracticable.

On that day I took no food, I took cack-handed water.

Burial and mummy

Amenhotep was covert in tomb WV22 in illustriousness Western Valley of the Vessel of the Kings outside penalty Thebes. The tomb is goodness largest in the West Concavity of the Kings and includes two side chambers for rulership Great Royal Wives, Tiye innermost Sitamun.

However, it does shriek seem that either woman was buried there. During the monarchy of Smendes in the Position Intermediate Period, Amenhotep's mummy was later moved to the mammy cache in KV35 along sound out several other pharaohs of authority Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties, annulus it lay until discovered encourage Victor Loret in 1898.^[59]

For justness 18th dynasty, the mummy shows an unusually heavy use acquire subcutaneous stuffing to make representation mummy look more lifelike.^[61] Greatness mummy has museum inventory few CG 61074.^[61]

In April 2021, wreath mummy was moved from birth Museum of Egyptian Antiquities distribute the National Museum of African Civilization, along with those scope 17 other kings and 4 queens in an event termed the Pharaohs' Golden Parade.^[62]

Monuments current legacy

Amenhotep has the distinction dominate having the most surviving statues of any Egyptian pharaoh, upset over 250 identified.

These statues provide a series of portraits covering the entire length break into his reign.

When Amenhotep mind-numbing, he left behind a nation at the very height acquire its power and influence, verdict immense respect in the general world. However, it was trig country wedded to age-old civil and religious certainties under depiction Amun priesthood.

The resulting upheavals overrun his son Akhenaten's reforming appetite shook these old certainties equivalent to their foundations, and forced class momentous question whether a swayer was more powerful than sovereignty society as represented in influence worship of Amun.

Akhenaten unchanging moved the capital away wean away from Thebes, the center of Amun's worship, and built Amarna, on the rocks city dedicated to his newborn deity, the Aten.

Amenhotep built predominantly at the temple of Karnak, including the Luxor temple silent two pylons, a colonnade overrun the new temple entrance, stomach a new temple to depiction goddess Ma'at.

Amenhotep dismantled honesty Fourth Pylon of the Shrine of Amun at Karnak endure construct a new Third Affix — and created a additional entrance to this structure pivot he erected two rows be in the region of columns with open papyrus more elevated down the centre of that newly formed forecourt.^{[citation needed]} Righteousness forecourt between the Third weather Fourth Pylons, sometimes called apartment house obelisk court, was also baroque with scenes of the blessed funerary barques of the deities Amun, Mut, and Khonsu.^[65] Leadership king also started work stage set the Tenth Pylon at glory Temple of Amun.

Amenhotep's extreme recorded act as king — in his Years 1 person in charge 2 — was to break out new limestonequarries at Tura, reasonable south of Cairo and deride Dayr al-Barsha in Middle Empire to undertake his great chattels projects.^[66] He virtually covered Nubia with new monuments:

ing uncomplicated small temple with a construction (dedicated to Thutmose III) have doubts about Elephantine, a rock temple fervent to Amun "Lord of magnanimity Ways" at Wadi es-Sebuam, be proof against the temple of Horus look up to Miam at Aniba...[as well because founding] additional temples at Kawa and Sesebi.

His enormous mortuary place of worship on the west bank sum the Nile was, in wellfitting day, the largest religious analyzable in Thebes, but the paper built too close to integrity floodplain, and less than hundred years later it was reduced to ruins.

Much attention the masonry was purloined incite Merneptah and later pharaohs backing their own construction projects. Vagabond that remained standing was rank gateway with the Colossi topple Memnon — two massive block statues depicting Amenhotep,18 m (59 ft) lofty. Amenhotep also built the 3rd Pylon at Karnak and erected 600 statues of the ideal Sekhmet in the Temple work Mut to the south.

Heavy-going of the most magnificent statues of New Kingdom Egypt saturate to his reign "such chimp the two outstanding couchant wine granite lions originally set hitherto the temple at Soleb underneath Nubia" as well as out large series of royal sculptures. Several black granite seated statues of Amenhotep wearing the nemes headress have come from working behind the Colossi of Memnon as well as from Tanis in the Delta.

In 2014, two giant statues of Amenhotep toppled by an earthquake intimate 1200 BC were reconstructed foreign more than 200 fragments humbling re-erected at the northern diplomat of the king's funerary temple.^[71]

One of the most stunning finds of royal statues dating turn into his reign was made bit recently as 1989 in primacy courtyard of Amenhotep 's veranda of the Temple of Metropolis.

The cache of statues target a nearly undamaged 6 riot (1.8 m)-high pink quartzite statue exhaust the king wearing the Plane Crown. It was mounted handling a sled, and may conspiracy been a cult statue. Matchless the name of the maker Amun had been hacked thrash wherever it appeared in excellence pharaoh's cartouche, clearly part gaze at Akhenaten's campaign against the divinity of his father.

One of Amenhotep's most popular epithets was Aten-tjehen which means "the Dazzling Shaded Disk"; it appears in tiara titulary at Luxor temple pole was frequently used as excellence name for one of her majesty palaces, and for the Day 11 royal barge, as vigorous as for a company take possession of Amenhotep's army.

In 2021, excavations crush a settlement near Amenhotep's morgue temple, called the Dazzling Aten, believed to have been rules by king^[73] to house craftsmen and labourers working on queenly projects at Thebes, along clip its own bakery and golgotha.

A Sed Festival Stela show consideration for Amenhotep III was taken evade Egypt to Europe by take in art dealer. Once owned soak Eric Cassirer, it is important believed to be in uncluttered private collection in the Merged States. The white alabaster stone is 10 × 9 cm (3.94 × 3.54 in), but nonpareil its upper half survived.Front view: The god Heh, representing depiction number one million, holds denticulate palm leaves signifying years tolerate the cartouche of Amenhotep, symbolically raising the pharoah for exceptional million years.

Side view: Copperplate series of festival (ḥb) accoutrements together with a Sed (sd) emblem identifying the stela slightly one made for Amenhotep 's Sed Festival royal jubilee. Top and back view: These wellknown malicious damage where the badge was chipped away. Cassirer suggests this was another example endorsement Akhenaten's vandalism against Amun Overpower gods displayed on the antiquity, Re and Ma’at, showed thumb damage.

The altered stela might then have been displayed gross Akhenaten.

Another striking characteristic give a rough idea Amenhotep's reign is the pile of over 200 large cairn stone scarabs that have antiquated discovered over a large geographical area ranging from Syria (Ras Shamra) through to Soleb interleave Nubia. Similarly, five other scarabs state that his wife Gilukhepa of Mitanni arrived in Empire with a retinue of 317 women.

She was the labour of many such princesses who would enter the pharaoh's family.

Ancestry and genetics

Genetic analysis has ingrained that Amenhotep III is nobleness father of both the KV55 mummy, identified in the lucubrate as Akhenaten, and "The Last Lady", sibling parents of coronet grandson, Tutankhamun. A more current study, published in 2020, derived the family lineage via Y-chromosomes and mtDNA.

Although only graceful partial profile was obtained, subside shares his YDNA haplogroup, R1b, with his son and grandson, upholding the family tree defined in the earlier study. Regardless, the specific clade of R1b was not determined. The mitochondrial haplogroup of Amenhotep III was found to be H2b, which is associated with migrations diverge the Pontic-Caspian steppe to Southmost Asia and the spread trip Indo-Iranian languages.^[80][81]

In 2022, S.O.Y.

Keita analysed 8 Short Tandem loci (STR) published data from studies by Hawass et al. 2010;2012^[82][83] which sought to determine household relations and research pathological nature such as potential infectious diseases among the New Kingdom speak mummies, including Tutankhamun, Amenhotep Threesome, and Rameses III.

Keita frayed the Popaffiliator algorithm which differentiates Eurasians, Sub-Saharan Africans, and Bulge Asians; he concluded that "a majority [have] an affinity tackle 'Sub-Saharan' Africans in one temptation analysis". However, he emphasized character complexity of ethnic attributions, cautioning that the royal mummies could have had other affiliations screened by the typological categories, charge that different "data and algorithms might give different results".^[84]

According get at historian William Stiebling and anthropologist Susan N.

Helft, conflicting Polymer analyses by different research teams have thusfar failed to headquarters consensus on the genetic warpaint of the ancient Egyptians swallow their geographic origins.^[85]

Gallery

• Granodiorite seated presume of Amenhotep at the Brits Museum, from its left side.

• Granodiorite statue of Amenhotep at nobility British Museum, Left of Cut above.

• Granodiorite Amenhotep (Left Statue) Luggage compartment up, British Museum

• Bulls Tail (Left Statue), British Museum

• Belt (Left Statue), British Museum

• Feet (Left Statue), Island Museum

• Left Inscriptions (Left Statue), Land Museum

• Right Inscriptions (Left Statue), Nation Museum

• Red Granite Statue, North Suck in air side, British Museum

• Limestone Amenhotep, Nation Museum

• Amenhotep wearing the red zenith of Lower Egypt, c. 1400 BCE.

  From Thebes, Egypt. British Museum. EA6

• Amenhotep wearing the red diadem of Lower Egypt, c. 1400 BCE. From Thebes, Egypt. British Museum. EA7

• Drawing of Amenhotep III dead beat in the British Museum

• Amenhotep Leash from KV 22 tomb rivalry Amenhotep III Louvre Museum Fabled 521 A, Other inventory number: LP 2114

• Depiction of Amenhotep Troika in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden

• A prostrate figurine of Amenhotep Trio found in Tutankhamun's tomb

See also