Internal Developments: Reign of Amenhotep III Flashcards
Warrior Pharaoh
Administration
Stela from the First Cataract: “One came to tell his majesty: ‘The foe of Kush the wretched has planned rebellion in his heart.’ His majesty went forth like Horus … He knew not this lion which was before him; Nebmare (Amenhotep III) was a fierce-eyed lion, he seized…Kush. All the chiefs were overthrown in their valleys, cast down in their own blood.”
The Semna Inscription in the tomb of Merimose: “The might of Nebmare took them. The fierce-eyed lion, this ruler, he slew them by the command of Amun-Atum, his august father, it was he who led him in might and victory.”
Knosso stela near Philae: “Year 5, his majesty returned, having triumphed on his first victorious campaign in the land of Kush the wretched. There was no king of Egypt who did the like beside his majesty, the might, satisfied with victory, Nebmare.”
Tablet of victory in mortuary temple: Amenhotep III is shown driving over the fallen of Kush in his chariot, and also driving over the Syrians in his chariot. Inscription beneath: “annihilating the heir of the wretched Kush”
Temple at Soleb: columns decorated with captive figures representing the Hittites and people from northern regions (Kadesh, Ugarit, Shinar, Naharin)
Wild Bull-Hunt Scarab: “His Majesty went forth against all the wild bulls: amount thereof 170 bulls. The number taken by His Majest in hunting on this day was 56 bulls.”
RSPECTM: military
Merimose: Egyptian governer of Nubia
Imperial bureaucracy
Administration
- Maintained the system of imperial administration whereby all the officials throughout the empire were Egyptians
- Did not allow any Egyptian princesses to be married to other rulers
Some examples worth knowing:
Amenhotep Son of Hapu: secretary of labour, Overseer of all the king’s works (superivision of construction and materials for pharaoh’s monuments, statues, temples) → honoured with his own mortuary temple at Thebes
- Merimose: viceroy of Kush
- Sebkhotpe: treasurer (acquisition of precious metals)
RSPECTM: political
Maintenance of forts and garrisons
Foreign policy
- Maintained an army, forts and garrisons throughout the empire
- Suppression of the revolt in Nubia, repulse of Sherden pirates from the coastal area of Delta and the eventual defeat of Abdi Asurta in Syria → effectiveness of army when deployed
RSPECTM: military
Diplomatic marriages
Foreign policy
- Amenhotep III strengthened alliances by marrying the sisters or daughters of kings from Babylon, Mitanni, Syria, and Arzawa
- Amarna Letters reveal that Amenhotep III married two Babylonian princesses, who were a sister and a daughter of king Kadashman-Enlil. Letters between these kings frequently reference the brotherhood and friendship between the two, indicating that the marriage resulted in stable diplomatic relations.
- Amenhotep requested one of Tushratta’s (king of Mitanni) daughters for a wife: “And when my brother sent Mane his messenger, my brother, indeed, said: “Bring me thy daughter for my wife, to be mistress of Egypt.”
- A letter from Tushratta indicates that Amenhotep III often initiated the marriages, but other kings set the bride-price. “Verily, I [Tushratta] have requested gold from my brother [Amenhotep III].”
RSPECTM: political
Note: Amenhotep refers to Tushratta as “brother” because they’re both considered great kings
Maintenance of communication
Foreign policy
- Correspondence between rulers e.g. King Tushratta of Mitanni reported on the threat from a Hittite army and his subsequent crushing of it
- Trusted messengers such as the Egyptian Mane and his Mitannian counterpart Gilia escorted caravans carrying gifts between rulers, as seen in the Amarna letters
RPSECTM: political
Supervision of tribute collection
Foreign policy
- Tribute flowed into Egypt from all parts of the empire under the supervision of special commissioners
- Inscriptions record that levies of cattle, grain, and oil were collected by Egyptian garrisons
- Reliefs show subject people such as Canaanites and Hurrians bearing tribute and doing forced labour
RPSECTM: political, social, economic
Trade
Foreign policy
- traded with Aegean cities - Mycenae, Phaistos and Knossos appear on statue bases
RSPECTM: political
Solar theology
Religious policy
- Maintenance and development of Amun as chief state god → temple of Amun at Luxor
- Amun syncretised with sun-god Re to create Amun-Re: “represents a focus on the sun’s cosmic nature” (Jan Assmann)
- Development of interest in the Aten → adoption of new epithets, addition of solar iconographic elements to his royal regalia, added ‘Aten’ to the names of buildings, the royal barge and daughter Baketaten.
- Customary inclusion of a statue holding a stela inscribed with a hymn to Re: Re is acknowledged as the god “who created everyone and made their life”
- Built the House of Nebmare - the Dazzling Sun Disc in Thebes
- Despite his promotion of solar religion he was keen to “prevent this single god [Amun-Re] from gaining the upper hand by stressing the multiplicity of deities in Egypt” (Eric Nornung)
RSPECTM: religion
Deification (the pharaoh as a god)
Religious policy
- Claims direct descent from Amun in divine birth scenes → Temple of Amun at Luxor anteroom with reliefs of Amun’s role in the divine birth and coronation of Amenhotep III
- Deification as the Aten → his cartouche shows the king figure identified with the sun in the solar barque, which replaces the ‘neb’ glyph
- Knosso stela relief shows Amun presenting the four southern regions (including Kush) to Amenhotep III, and another stela says “Welcome in peace, O my beloved son! My heart is greatly gladdened to see thy victories and the power of thy fame overwhelming foreign lands.” (Amun to Amenhotep III)
- The temple at Soleb in Nubia has a holy shrine equipped for worship of Amun and Nebmare. He is also shown in a relief offering to himself as a god.
RSPECTM: religion, political
Mutemwiya
Royal women
- Amenhotep III’s mother, born from a military family who enjoyed a close relationship with the pharaohs
- Tomb KV22 in Thebes: relief showing Amenhotep III in pharaonic regalia with Mutemwiya standing behind him wearing a queen’s headdress, her hands on his arm and shoulder → affectionate but firmly guiding power behind the throne
Tiy
Royal women
- Marriage scarab: “the Great Royal Consort Tiyi, may she live. The name of her father is Yuia, the name of her mother is Thuia. She is the wife of a mighty king.”
- Colossal statue (originally from Western Thebes) of Amenhotep III and Tiy as the same size → king and queen as partners
- Her cult was maintained even after any evidence of the Aten religion was obliterated
Tiy’s importance to Amenhotep III:
- Lake scarab: “His Majesty commanded to make a lake for the Great Royal Consort Tiyi”
- Amenhotep III built a palace for Tiy at Malkata
- In a temple he built in Nubia he had Tiy portrayed as a goddess
Tiy’s role in foreign relations:
When Amenhotep III died, Tiy remained central to foreign relations by communicating with King Tushratta of Mitanni:
- “To Teie, Queen of Egypt. Thus saith Tusratta, king of Mitanni: With me it is well. May it be well with thee. With thy house, with thy son may it be well.”
- “And all the words, which I have spoked with thy father, thy mother, Tiy, knows them. No one else knows them. But thou mayest ask thy mother, Tiy, about them.” (Tushratta to Akhenaten)
RSPECTM: political
Sitamun
Royal women
- Amenhotep promoted Sitamun to the position of Great Royal Wife
Luxor Temple
Building program
- classic temple design, most impressive achievement of Egyptian temple architecture
- “King of Upper and Lower Egypt: Nibmare, Heir of Re; Son of Re: Amenhotep (III) is satisfied with a building for his father Amon-Re. Its walls are of electrum, its floor is of silver, its towers reach heaven, and mingle with the stars. When people see it, they give praise to his majesty.” → promotes his wealth and his status [as a deity]
- small anteroom: reliefs shwoing Amun’s role in the divine birth and coronation of Amenhotep III (as previously mentioned in religious policy)
RPSECTM: religious, cultural
The Pylons at Karnak
Building program
- “Amenhotep (III) has erected another monument for Amon, wrought with gold throughout. Stelae of lazuli are set up. His majesty brought gold for it in the land of Karoy on the first victorious campaign, slaying the wretched Kush.” (Third Karnak Pylon)
- 2 colossal statues of himself
RSPECTM: religious, cultural
Temple of Soleb in Nubia
Building program
- Commemorated the Heb-sed festival (featured on temple walls)
- Wall scenes depict Tiy and two of their daughters
- Column bases decorated with reliefs showing conquered people
- Amenhotep III featured in reliefs flanked by ram’s horns (a symbol of Amun)
- “It is finished with fine white sandstone: it is wrought with gold throughout; its floor is adorned with silver.”
RSPECTM: religious, political, cultural
Mortuary Temple
Building program
- “He (Amenhotep III) made it (the temple) as a monument for his father, Amon, an eternal, everlasting fortress of fine white sandstone, wrought with gold throuhgout.”
- Colossi of Memnon mark the site
RSPECTM: religion, political
A lake
Building program
- Lake scarab: “His Majesty commanded to make a lake for the Great Royal Consort Tiyi, may she live, in her town of Djarukha. Its length is 3700 cubits, its width 700 cubits. His Majesty celebrated the festival of the ‘Opening of the lakes.’”
Co-regency with Akhenaten
Historiographical issues
Debate: historians are divided on whether Amenhotep III ruled alongside his son Ahkenaten towards the end of his reign
For:
- Nebmaatre (Amenhotep III’s throne name) appears alongside Akhenaten in some inscriptions
- Tomb of Kheruef: Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) offering to Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye
Against:
- No definitive royal decree confirms it
- Lack of overlap in artistic and architectural styles
- Akhenaten’s religious revolution started only after Amenhotep III’s death
- Donald Redford rejects co-regency, arguing that Akhenaten’s reforms contradict Amenhotep III’s policies
Promotion of Atenism
Historiographical issues
Debate: the extent to which Amenhotep III actively promoted the worship of Aten before Akhenaten
For:
- Constructed temples dedicated to the Aten (House of Nebmare
- Aten-related epithets and solar iconography
- Added ‘Aten’ to building names, royal barge, and daughter Baketaten
Limitations:
- Amenhotep III built temples and monuments to a range of local gods: Re-Harakhte at Heliopolis, Thoth at Heliopolis, Hathor and Nekhbet at El Kab
- Preisthood of Amun remained powerful during his reign
- Betsy Bryan (2000) notes the increase in solar imagery but argues that Amenhotep III did not break from Amun’s cult
Deification as the Aten
Historiographical issues
Debate: was Amenhotep III deified as an aspect of the Aten?
For:
- New cartouche reads “Nemaatre is the dazzling Aten”
Limitations:
- Egyptian pharaohs were often viewed as divine, so this is not particularly unique
- Amenhotep III venerated a host of gods anyway
- Kara Cooney (2018) argues that his divine status was a political move rather than a religious shift
Effectiveness of foreign policy
Historiographical issues
Debate: was Amenhotep III’s foreign policy actually a success?
For:
- Extensive use of marriage alliances
- The Amarna Letters show his strong relationships with foreign rulers
Against:
- Lack of military campaigns: he only really defeated Kush or whatever
- Was not able to prevent the increasing pressure from the Hittites, who would go on to become a major threat for Akhenaten
- Inactivity in Syria: Letters from Rib-Addi of Byblos and Akizzi of Qatna show increasing disturbances in Syria and a reluctance on Egypt’s part to become involved in disputes in this area (towards the end of his reign)
