Amenhotep III

Flourished Circa 1390-1353 b.c.e.

King, dynasty 18

Sources

Historical Record. Amenhotep III ruled Egypt at the height of its prosperity and prestige. His nearly thirty-eight-year reign is well documented in comparison to that of most ancient Egyptian kings. Yet, outstanding problems in understanding the events of the reign, especially concerning his relationship with his son Amenhotep IV, cannot be solved because of the lack of data.

Family. Amenhotep III was the son of the preceding king, Thutmose IV, and a minor wife named Mutemwia. Amenhotep III was no older than twelve when he ascended the throne. Yet, by Year 2 he had married Tiye, his Great Royal Wife. Tiye was the daughter of Yuya and Tuya of Akhmim. Yuya was a high military official with responsibility for the chariots. The rich tomb given to Yuya and Tuya in the Valley of the Kings suggests their importance in this reign. Amenhotep III also married two Mitanni princesses named Giluhepa and Taduhepa, sealing the peace treaty with their country negotiated by his father. His children with Tiye included the next king, Amenhotep TV/ Akhenaten, and perhaps Tutankhamun, whose parentage remains uncertain. His daughters who reached prominence were Sit-amun and Isis, who both bore the title of Royal Wife. Betsy M. Bryan has suggested that the king married his daughters in order to maintain control over the estates they owned.

Military Actions. Amenhotep Ill’s reign was unusual because of its peaceful nature. In Year 5 three different stelae recorded a minor military action in the far south of Nubia, above the Fifth Cataract. Another text referred to a military action that might be the same one or another action near the Second Cataract. This record is the full extent of documentation for warlike activities during the reign. In contrast to his ancestors and his successors in Dynasty 19 (circa 1292-1190 b.c.e.) no major wars were fought in this reign.

Foreign Relations. Trade and gift exchange with rulers in the Near East dominated Amenhotep Ill’s foreign relations. Archaeologists have discovered trade goods from Amenhotep Ill’s reign in Mycenae (Greece), Yemen (Arabian Peninsula), and Assyria (modern Iraq). The Amarna letters, an archive of letters in the Akkadian language, document the petty competitions and demands for gifts that concerned Amenhotep III in Syria-Palestine. Egypt dominated these small city-states and had thoroughly Egyptianized the culture of Nubia. There was an effective peace treaty with Mitanni, and the Hittites had not yet asserted themselves. The coalition of Syro-Palestinian city-states led by Qadesh had been defeated by Thutmose III and would not reassert itself until prodded by the Hittites in the reign of Ramesses II (circa 1279-1213 b.c.e.).

Foreigners in Egypt. More and more foreigners resided in Egypt during this period. The prisoners of war who had entered the country in proceeding reigns were originally agricultural and construction workers. Over time some foreigners married Egyptians and rose in the bureaucracy and the army. Canaanites, Hurrians from Mitanni, and Nubians became fully integrated into Egyptian society. Not only are foreign names found in Egyptian genealogies in this period, but also foreign gods were worshiped in Egypt. The military use of foreign terms for equipment and ranks reflected this influence.

Administration. Growing wealth presented new problems in administration for the Egyptians. Many of the resources that entered Egypt from abroad came to the temples. Some scholars believe that an increasing amount of land passed from royal to temple control in this period. Though it was true that temples increased in wealth, it is not entirely clear that the temple’s wealth grew proportionately more than the royal family’s own wealth. Some scholars believe that a genuine power struggle arose between the royal family and the temples. This presumed power struggle would then explain some religious policies initiated by Amenhotep III and perhaps continued by his son Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten.

Divine King. Amenhotep III portrayed both Queen Tiye and himself as gods in their temples in Nubia. There remains no clear evidence that they extended this policy into Egypt itself. Some have argued that this policy was intended to counteract the influence of the cult of Amun. If the king and queen were themselves actual deities, the temple staff would hesitate to work against them. This policy then could be understood as the precursor of Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten’s abandonment of Amun’s cult.

No Real Evidence. The theory is attractive but not entirely supported by the evidence. First, it is not really clear that Amenhotep III went beyond his predecessors’ and successors’ policies of self-deification. As Bryan has noted, Amenhotep III did not establish actual cults for himself within Egypt in the same way that Ramesses II did in Dynasty 19. Furthermore, this theory would depend on the largely discredited hypothesis that Amenhotep III and his son Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten shared the throne for as long as twelve years in a co-regency. In this theory Akhenaten’s new god, the Aten, was his father Amenhotep III. In this view Amenhotep III cooperated with the plan to close Amun’s temples. However, there simply is no data to support this hypothesis.

Significance. Amenhotep Ill’s reign remains one of the most fascinating of all in ancient Egyptian history, though problems remain in interpreting it. The degree to which this reign anticipated the changes that Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten made in Egyptian religion will remain unresolved until further data emerges.

Sources

Betsy M. Bryan, “Amenhotep III,” in Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, volume I, edited by Donald B. Redford (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), pp. 72–74.

Arielle Kozloff and Bryan, Egypt’s Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III and his World (Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1992).

Christine El Mahdy, The World of the Pharaohs (New York: Thames & Hudson, 1987).