Dynasties 18-20 of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt | Middle East And North Africa

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GREAT DYNASTIES OF THE NEW KINGDOM OF ANCIENT EGYPT

Thutmose III

The New Kingdom lasted from around 1550 to 1070 B.C. and encompassed dynasties 18 to 20. This period began after the Hyksos were defeated by a series of Egyptian rulers and the Upper and Lower Egypt were reunited. Around 1550 B.C., a ruler of the Theban 17th Dynasty, Kamose, led a series of military campaigns against the Hyksos king, Apophis. Under Kamose's brother Ahmose, the Hyksos were defeated and Egypt was reunited at the start of a new dynasty and a new kingdom. [Source: New Catholic Encyclopedia, The Gale Group Inc., 2003]

Dr Aidan Dodson of the University of Bristol wrote: “18th Dynasty: Perhaps the height of Egyptian wealth and power came between 1550 and 1290 B.C. The dynasty began with the expulsion of the Palestinian Hyksos rulers from the north of Egypt by King Ahmose I-an event that may have inspired the Biblical story of the Exodus. Carrying forward the momentum of this act, subsequent rulers, in particular Thutmose III, established an empire of client states in Syria-Palestine, and dominions stretching towards the heart of Africa. War booty and lively international trade founded on Egypt's highly productive gold mines made Egypt a major world player. [Source: Dr Aidan Dodson, Egyptologist, University of Bristol, BBC, February 17, 2011 |::|]

“Around 1350 B.C., however, King Akhenaten (formerly known as Amenhotep IV-see above) turned Egypt on its head by abolishing all the nation's gods, and replacing them with a single sun-god, the Aten. The new faith was accompanied by a radical new art-style, as seen in the statuette above, currently owned by the Louvre. The cult of Aten, however, barely survived the death of its patron. Within a few years, orthodoxy had been re-established and Akhenaten's very dynasty had died out, leaving the throne to a series of generals, the last of whom, Ramesses I, was the founder of a new 19th Dynasty. |::|

“19th Dynasty: After the upheavals of the late 18th Dynasty, the new royal house combined a return to traditional values with a number of innovations. Tradition is seen in the building of temples to the ancient gods and the repair of monuments damaged during the iconoclastic Akhenaten's reign, and also in an aggressive foreign policy. Under Ramesses II (1279-1212 B.C.), this culminated in the great battle against the Hittites at Qadesh in Syria. The long-term strategic stalemate that followed the battle, however, resulted in a peace treaty in 1258 that left the two powers the best of friends for the rest of the century. |::|

“Meanwhile, innovation was seen in the prominence granted to depictions of members of the royal family in public monuments, a practice that perhaps reached its peak at Abu Simbel, where the dominant figure in the smaller of the two temples seen here (on the right) was not the pharaoh, but Queen Nefertiry (not to be confused with the earlier Queen Nefertiti). However, the dynasty ended in chaos, with rebellion within the royal house, culminating in the end of the dynasty amid civil war.” |::|

The 18th Dynasty marked the beginning of the New Kingdom. The Theban kings expelled the Hyksos and the Egyptian army expanded the borders of the kingdom into Palestine and Syria. The administration was reformed into a dynamic merit-based system for royal appointments. A powerful empire was created that ushered in new ideas and generated immense wealth for the pharaohs, [Source: Mark Millmore, discoveringegypt.com discoveringegypt.com]

Eighteenth Dynasty (1550 – 1295 B.C.)

Queen Hatshephut

According to the Columbia Encyclopedia: “The 18th dynasty is the most important and the best-recorded period in Egyptian history. The local governors generally opposed both the Hyksos and the new dynasty; those who survived were now made mere administrators, their lands passing to the crown. Ancient Egypt reached its height. Its boundaries were extended into Asia, with a foreign province reaching the Euphrates (see Thutmose I). Letters known as the Tell el Amarna tablets are dated to this dynasty and furnish the details of the reigns of Amenhotep III and his son,Akhenaten. As Akhenaten neglected his rule in the pursuit of religion, letters from local rulers became increasingly urgent in begging help, especially against the Hittites. Of the rulers following Akhenaten in this dynasty, Tutankhamen is important for his law code and his enforcement of those laws through the courts. Architecture was at its zenith with the enormous and impressive buildings at and around Thebes. [Source: Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed., Columbia University Press]

According to Minnesota State University, Mankato: “In the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty, Egypt was a unified and wealthy state ruled by a god-king. It had a semitropical climate, creating a large agricultural surplus. Papyrus grew wild and was used for building materials, food and paper. Even the desert provided useful goods such as salt, natron, other minerals, semiprecious stones and gold. Egypt had a highly organized government that was run by the scribal class, who were organized and carried out the details of the business of the state. They knew how to read and write and also had knowledge of the specific position they were to inherit, such as knowledge in agriculture. [Source: Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com +]

“The majority of the people were farmers. During the period of inundation, the three months when the fields were flooded, they participated in corvee. The farmers became a national labor force, which built and maintained large-scale public buildings. There was also a smaller group of nomadic cattle herders. Families were the basic social unit in Ancient Egypt, with groups of families forming villages. The people of Ancient Egypt followed a hereditary calling, and the whole family shared in the work. The army was the only place for people to step out of the caste system and achieve importance. The horse drawn chariot was also introduced during this period. +\

The 18th dynasty of Egypt lasted around 250 years — the longest of any ancient Egyptian dynasty. It was a time of unprecedented wealth. Rulers with powerful personalities and imagery created an Egyptian empire stretching east to Palestine and south to Nubia. According to Live Science: Scientists estimate the length of the 18th dynasty by analyzing written records and radiocarbon dates. The 18th dynasty started around 1550 B.C., when the pharaoh Ahmose kicked out the Hyksos, a group originating from Asia that had ruled part of ancient Egypt for more than a century. The rulers who followed Ahmose would grow the territory that Egypt controlled, eventually expanding it to an empire stretching from modern-day Sudan to what is now Syria. Among the 18th dynasty rulers is Tutankhamun, or King Tut, a pharaoh whose intact tomb was rediscovered by a British-led archaeological team in 1922. The 18th dynasty [pharaohs] are related to each other by descent except for the final two who had very brief reigns." And although the 18th dynasty was the longest of the dynasties delineated by Manetho, the periods of Greek and Roman rule were longer, Van De Mieroop said. [Source: Owen Jarus, Live Science, April 16, 2023]

Rise of Imperial Egypt During 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt

After the capture of Avaris, the Hyksos stronghold near Tanis and the expulsion of the foreigner from Egypt to mark the beginning of the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt. The policy of safeguarding frontiers through large-scale raiding expeditions was also developed. By the time Tuthmosis III became ruler, Egypt was mainly a prosperous and well organized state. He fought problems in the North and made a rich empire in Palestine and Syria. [Source: Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com +]

On the 18th Dynasty, Dr Aidan Dodson of the University of Bristol wrote: The dynasty began with the expulsion of the Palestinian Hyksos rulers from the north of Egypt by King Ahmose I-an event that may have inspired the Biblical story of the Exodus. Carrying forward the momentum of this act, subsequent rulers, in particular Thutmose III, established an empire of client states in Syria-Palestine, and dominions stretching towards the heart of Africa. War booty and lively international trade founded on Egypt's highly productive gold mines made Egypt a major world player.

. Around 1350 B.C., however, King Akhenaten (formerly known as Amenhotep IV) turned Egypt on its head by abolishing all the nation's gods, and replacing them with a single sun-god, the Aten. The new faith was accompanied by a radical new art-style, as seen in the statuette above, currently owned by the Louvre. The cult of Aten, however, barely survived the death of its patron. Within a few years, orthodoxy had been re-established and Akhenaten's very dynasty had died out, leaving the throne to a series of generals, the last of whom, Ramesses I, was the founder of a new 19th Dynasty.” |::|

According to the Encyclopaedia Judaica: The 18th Dynasty ruler Thutmose I led a campaign into northern Syria. Later, Thutmose III led 14 campaigns into Western Asia (one of which included a seven-month siege at Megiddo), and eventually subdued the Levantine coast, increasing Egyptian hegemony into the interior of Syro-Palestine. Under Thutmose III the rulers of the conquered Asiatic city-states became vassals to Egypt who had to send tribute and swear an oath of loyalty to the Pharaoh. True peace was not realized until the reign of Thutmose IV, who married one of the Mitannian princesses. “The Egyptian Empire reached its height during the reign of another 18th Dynasty Pharaoh, Amenhotep III. By this time the empire was firmly established, so that Egypt was able to keep her troops in just a few areas and to send garrisons only to regions that threatened revolt. But this relative ease of imperialism was short lived, and the Empire began to falter under the reign of Amenhotep IV. [Source: Encyclopaedia Judaica, Thomson Gale, 2007]

“The Egyptian Empire reached its height during the reign of another 18th Dynasty Pharaoh, Amenhotep III. By this time the empire was firmly established, so that Egypt was able to keep her troops in just a few areas and to send garrisons only to regions that threatened revolt. But this relative ease of imperialism was short lived, and the Empire began to falter under the reign of Amenhotep IV whose internal policies caused him to be labeled the "heretic king." Amenhotep IV devoted much of his energy to religious reform. Traditionally, the established cults of Egypt's gods were under the care of the Pharaoh.

Amenhotep IV neglected the traditional gods of Egypt and showed strict devotion to a new conception of the sun god the "Aten" (solar orb); he eventually withdrew his patronage from the capital at Thebes (which was the "city of Amun"), he changed his name to reflect his religious preferences to Akhenaten ("effective on behalf of the orb"), and established a new capital city named Akhetaten ("horizon of the orb"). Akhenaten weakened the power of the royal family to such an extent that that even when the traditional cult was re-established in the land, the last kings of the 18th Dynasty (including Tutankhamun) had no real power. The entire balance of power in the Near East changed during this period when the Mitannians lost control of most of their vassals to the Hittites and Egypt lost control of her vassal Kadesh to these same Hittites. The resulting hostilities between Egypt and Hatti only increased when a Hittite prince died on his way to Egypt with the intent to marry Tutankhamun's widow. Egypt's borders continued to recede south for the next three generations.

Golden Age of Imperial Egypt (1436-1358 B.C.)

Tutanchamun mask

“During this period, Thebes became the main residence city of Egypt, which advanced the fortunes of Amen the city god. Amen attained a position of great wealth and influence. Under Tuthmosis IV, Aten, a new god, appears and his cult becomes a fashionable court religion. Amarna Revolution 1375-1358 B.C. +\

“Amen-hetep and his queen Nefert-iti are fanatically devoted to Aten, and Amen-hetep changes his name to Akhenaten. He also founds a new city for Aten at the present day El-Amarna and moves his court there. Other cults were discouraged and changes in the Aten doctrine favor monotheism. Problems begin to occur during his reign. There is unrest in the northern empire, which leads to a reduced flow of valuable tribute and disgruntled soldiers. Temples were closed putting many out of work. Also, forbidding sacrifices and rituals demoralized people and took away the purpose to every day activities. The people did not like the new religion being imposed on them.

Nineteenth Dynasty (1295 – 1186 B.C.)

The military leader Horemheb was the Pharaoh of Egypt a few years after the death of King Tutankhamun, the last blood-line ruler of the 18th Dynasty. Horemheb was succeeded by another army commander, Ramses (Ramesses) I, who founded a new line of kings hailing from the northeast Delta. The Nineteenth Dynasty began with the reign of Ramesses I and continued through the reigns of Seti I, Ramesses II, and Merneptah. At the start of this Dynasty Ramesses I and Seti I continued with Horemheb’s work of picking up the pieces after the disruptions caused by Akenaten’s rule. The restoration of Egypt’s temples and gods and the authority of Egypt in Nubia and western Asia were given a high priority and achieved. Two notable product of these efforts were the restoration of the national shrine of Amun in Nubia and the construction of a temple to Osiris at Abydos. Exactly what occurred at the end of the Nineteenth Dynasty is not clear but it is believed that the country fell into decline and near anarchy. [Source: Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com +]

The kings of the 19th Dynasty based themselves there at Tanis (biblical Soan, Zoan), although they continued to build lavish tombs and temples at Thebes. The reestablishment of internal order in Egypt enabled the next king, Seti I (around 1290–1279), to recapture Palestine. Around this time the Hittites, in Anatolia (in modern Turkey). had become a dominant Asiatic power. An uneasy balance of power developed between the two kingdoms, which was punctuated by wars and treaties. By now Egypt was an ethnically pluralistic society and this is reflected in a diversity of artistic expression. Unfortunately the tide of history was turning and Ramses son, Merenptah had to struggle to maintain Egypt’s prestige.

Ramses II (ruled) 1270–1213), the son of Seti I, was the major figure of the 19th dynasty. Seti I and Ramses II both fought against the Hittite kingdom.The Hittite king, Muwatalli, was allied with the city-states of Carchemish, Aleppo and ugarit. Ramses II fought Muwatalli at the battle of Kadesh, but neither king emerged victorious. They declared a truce, cemented by a diplomatic marriage between Ramses II and a Hittite princess. For the remainder of Ramses II's long reign Egypt was very prosperous; the king built extensively throughout Egypt and Nubia. [Source: New Catholic Encyclopedia, The Gale Group Inc., 2003]

Ramses II at Abu Simbel

On the 19th Dynasty, Dr Aidan Dodson of the University of Bristol wrote: “After the upheavals of the late 18th Dynasty, the new royal house combined a return to traditional values with a number of innovations. Tradition is seen in the building of temples to the ancient gods and the repair of monuments damaged during the iconoclastic Akhenaten's reign, and also in an aggressive foreign policy. Under Ramesses II (1279-1212 B.C.), this culminated in the great battle against the Hittites at Qadesh in Syria. The long-term strategic stalemate that followed the battle, however, resulted in a peace treaty in 1258 that left the two powers the best of friends for the rest of the century.” [Source: Dr Aidan Dodson, Egyptologist, University of Bristol, BBC, February 17, 2011 |::|]

Kings during the 19th Dynasty were: Ramses I 1295-1294; Seti I 1294-1279; Ramses II 1279-1213; Merenptah 1213-1203; Amenmessu 1203-1200; Sety II 1200-1194; Saptah 1194-1188; Tausret 1188-1186 [Source: Mark Millmore, discoveringegypt.com discoveringegypt.com ^^^]

Twentieth Dynasty (1186 – 1069 B.C.)

The Twentieth Dynasty began with Setnakht who ruled for only a few years but restored order after a period of chaos. His son Ramses III gave Egypt a final moment of glory before Egypt fell into a period of decline from which it would never recover. Ramses III was by followed a succession of kings named Ramses, perhaps “a vain attempt to recapture past glories.” Twentieth Dynasty rulers:Setnakht 1186-1184 B.C.; Ramses III 1184-1153 B.C.; Ramses IV 1153-1147 B.C.; Ramses V 1147-1143 B.C.; Ramses VI 1143-1136 B.C.; Ramses VII 1136-1129 B.C.; Ramses VIII 1129-1126 B.C.; Ramses IX 1126-1108 B.C.; Ramses X 1108-1099 B.C.; Ramses XI 1099-1069. [Source: Mark Millmore, discoveringegypt.com discoveringegypt.com]

The New Kingdom went into a decline after Ramses II's death. Ramses was succeeded by Merenptah, his 60-year-old 13th son. He was a mediocre pharaoh. By the time Ramses III came to power, the kingdom was in disarray and was beginning to come apart. Harem ladies attempted to assassinate Ramses III around 1200 B.C. but failed. Ramses V died of small pox in 1151 B.C. Pockmarks are clearly visible on his unwrapped mummy. After the chaotic reign of Ramses XI (1115-1086 B.C. ) the long-unified Egyptian state broke apart. The burials at the Valley of the Kings ended abruptly following his death.

Pierre Grandet, a French Egyptologist, wrote: “The origins of the 20th Dynasty remain obscure, their only indications being provided by the Elephantine Stela. After several years of political and social unrest, Sethnakhte seized power as first king of the 20th Dynasty. He was succeeded by his son Ramesses III, who is considered to be the last great king of the New Kingdom. His reign is marked by a long list of achievements, including an impressive building program, military successes, and a number of expeditions. [Source: Pierre Grandet, 2014, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 2013 escholarship.org ]

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons, The Louvre, The British Museum, The Egyptian Museum in Cairo

Text Sources: UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, escholarship.org ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Tour Egypt, Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com; Mark Millmore, discoveringegypt.com discoveringegypt.com; Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Discover magazine, Times of London, Natural History magazine, Archaeology magazine, The New Yorker, BBC, Encyclopædia Britannica, Time, Newsweek, Wikipedia, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File Publications, New York); “History of Warfare” by John Keegan (Vintage Books); “History of Art” by H.W. Janson Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.), Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.

Last updated July 2024