Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt
The Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt is classified as the first dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. The Eighteenth Dynasty spanned the period from 1549/1550 to 1292 BC. This dynasty is also known as the Thutmosid Dynasty for the four pharaohs named Thutmose.
Several of Egypt's most famous pharaohs were from the Eighteenth Dynasty, including Tutankhamun, whose tomb was found by Howard Carter in 1922. Other famous pharaohs of the dynasty include Hatshepsut, the longest-reigning woman pharaoh of an indigenous dynasty, and Akhenaten, the "heretic pharaoh", with his Great Royal Wife, Nefertiti.
The Eighteenth Dynasty is unique among Egyptian dynasties in that it had two women who ruled as sole pharaoh: Hatshepsut, who is regarded as one of the most innovative rulers of ancient Egypt, and Neferneferuaten, usually identified as Nefertiti.
History
Early Dynasty XVIII
Dynasty XVIII was founded by Ahmose I, the brother or son of Kamose, the last ruler of the 17th Dynasty. Ahmose finished the campaign to expel the Hyksos rulers. His reign is seen as the end of the Second Intermediate Period and the start of the New Kingdom. Ahmose was succeeded by his son, Amenhotep I, whose reign was relatively uneventful.Amenhotep I probably left no male heir and the next pharaoh, Thutmose I, seems to have been related to the royal family through marriage. During his reign the borders of Egypt's empire reached their greatest expanse, extending in the north to Carchemish on the Euphrates and in the south up to Kurgus beyond the fourth cataract of the Nile. Thutmose I was succeeded by Thutmose II and his queen, Hatshepsut, who was the daughter of Thutmose I. After her husband's death and a period of regency for her minor stepson Hatshepsut became pharaoh in her own right and ruled for over twenty years.
Thutmose III, who became known as the greatest military pharaoh ever, also had a lengthy reign after becoming pharaoh. He had a second co-regency in his old age with his son Amenhotep II. Amenhotep II was succeeded by Thutmose IV, who in his turn was followed by his son Amenhotep III, whose reign is seen as a high point in this dynasty. Amenhotep III undertook large scale building programmes, the extent of which can only be compared with those of the much longer reign of Ramesses II during Dynasty XIX.
Akhenaten, the Amarna Period, and Tutankhamun
Amenhotep III may have shared the throne for up to twelve years with his son Amenhotep IV. There is much debate about this proposed co-regency, with different experts considering that there was a lengthy co-regency, a short one, or none at all.In the fifth year of his reign, Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten and moved his capital to Amarna, which he named Akhetaten. During the reign of Akhenaten, the Aten became, first, the most prominent deity, and eventually came to be considered the only god. Whether this amounted to true monotheism continues to be the subject of debate within the academic community. Some state that Akhenaten created a monotheism, while others point out that he merely suppressed a dominant solar cult by the assertion of another, while he never completely abandoned several other traditional deities.
Later Egyptians considered this "Amarna Period" an unfortunate aberration. The events following Akhenaten's death are unclear. Individuals named Smenkhkare and Neferneferuaten are known but their relative placement and role in history is still much debated; Neferneferuaten was likely Akhetaten's Great Royal Wife Nefertiti's regnal name as pharaoh. Tutankhamun eventually took the throne but died young. His infant daughters, 317a and 317b mummies, represent the final genetically-related generation of the Eighteenth Dynasty.
Ay and Horemheb
The last two members of the Eighteenth Dynasty—Ay and Horemheb—became rulers from the ranks of officials in the royal court, although Ay might also have been the maternal uncle of Akhenaten as a fellow descendant of Yuya and Tjuyu.Ay may have married the widowed Great Royal Wife and young half-sister of Tutankhamun, Ankhesenamun, in order to obtain power; she did not live long afterward. Ay then married Tey, who was originally Nefertiti's wet-nurse.
Ay's reign was short. His successor was Horemheb, a general during Tutankhamun's reign whom the pharaoh may have intended as his successor in the event that he had no surviving children, which came to pass. Horemheb may have taken the throne away from Ay in a coup d'état. Although Ay's son or stepson Nakhtmin was named as his father/stepfather's Crown Prince, Nakhtmin seems to have died during the reign of Ay, leaving the opportunity for Horemheb to claim the throne next.
Horemheb also died without surviving children, having appointed his vizier, Pa-ra-mes-su, as his heir. This vizier ascended the throne in 1292 BC as Ramesses I, and was the first pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty.
This example to the right depicts a man named Ay who achieved the exalted religious positions of Second Prophet of Amun and High Priest of Mut at Thebes. His career flourished during the reign of Tutankhamun, when the statue was made. The cartouches of King Ay, Tutankhamun's successor appearing on the statue, were an attempt by an artisan to "update" the sculpture.
Relations with the Near-East
After the end of the Hyksos period of foreign rule, the Eighteenth Dynasty engaged in a vigorous phase of expansionism, conquering vast areas of the Near-East, with especially Pharaoh Thutmose III submitting the "Shasu" Bedouins of northern Canaan, and the land of Retjenu, as far as Syria and Mittani in numerous military campaigns circa 1450 BC.Dating
suggests that Dynasty XVIII may have started a few years earlier than the conventional date of 1550 BC. The radiocarbon date range for its beginning is 1570–1544 BC, the mean point of which is 1557 BC.Pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty
The pharaohs of Dynasty XVIII ruled for approximately 250 years. The dates and names in the table are taken from Dodson and Hilton. Many of the pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings in Thebes. More information can be found on the Theban Mapping Project website. Several diplomatic marriages are known for the New Kingdom. These daughters of foreign kings are often only mentioned in cuneiform texts and are not known from other sources. The marriages were likely to have been a way to confirm good relations between these states.| Pharaoh | Image | Throne name / Prenomen | Reign | Burial | Consort | Comments |
| Ahmose I / Ahmosis I | Nebpehtire | 1549–1524 BC | Ahmose-Nefertari Ahmose-Henuttamehu Ahmose-Sitkamose | |||
| Amenhotep I | Djeserkare | 1524–1503 BC | KV39? or Tomb ANB? | Ahmose-Meritamon | ||
| Thutmose I | Aakheperkare | 1503–1493 BC | KV20, KV38 | Ahmose Mutnofret | ||
| Thutmose II | Aakheperenre | 1493–1479 BC | KV42? | Hatshepsut Iset | ||
| Hatshepsut | Maatkare | 1479–1458 BC | KV20 | Thutmose II | ||
| Thutmose III | Menkheperre | 1479–1425 BC | KV34 | Satiah Merytre-Hatshepsut Nebtu Menhet, Menwi and Merti | ||
| Amenhotep II | Aakheperure | 1427–1397 BC | KV35 | Tiaa | ||
| Thutmose IV | Menkheperure | 1397–1388 BC | KV43 | Nefertari Iaret Mutemwiya Daughter of Artatama I of Mitanni | ||
| Amenhotep III | Nebmaatre | 1388–1351 BC | KV22 | Tiye Gilukhipa of Mitanni Tadukhipa of Mitanni Sitamun Iset Daughter of Kurigalzu I of Babylon Daughter of Kadashman-Enlil of Babylon Daughter of Tarhundaradu of Arzawa Daughter of the ruler of Ammia | ||
| Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten | Neferkepherure-Waenre | 1351–1334 BC | Royal Tomb of Akhenaten | Nefertiti Kiya Tadukhipa of Mitanni Daughter of Šatiya, ruler of Enišasi Meritaten? Meketaten? Ankhesenamun Daughter of Burna-Buriash II, King of Babylon | ||
| Smenkhkare | Ankhkheperure | 1335–1334 BC | Meritaten | |||
| Neferneferuaten | Ankhkheperure | 1334–1332 BC | Akhenaten? Smenkhkare? | Usually identified as Queen Nefertiti | ||
| Tutankhamun | Nebkheperure | 1332–1323 BC | KV62 | Ankhesenamun | ||
| Ay | Kheperkheperure | 1323–1319 BC | KV23 | Ankhesenamun Tey | ||
| Horemheb | Djeserkheperure-Setepenre | 1319–1292 BC | KV57 | Mutnedjmet Amenia |
Timeline of the 18th Dynasty
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from: -1550 till: -1525 color:PA text:"Ahmose I "
from: -1525 till: -1504 color:PA text:"Amenhotep I "
from: -1504 till: -1492 color:PA text:"Thutmose I "
from: -1492 till: -1479 color:PA text:"Thutmose II "
from: -1479 till: -1457 color:PA text:"Hatshepsut "
from: -1479 till: -1425 color:PA text:"Thutmose III "
from: -1427 till: -1401 color:PA text:"Amenhotep II"
from: -1401 till: -1391 color:PA text:"Thutmose IV"
from: -1391 till: -1353 color:PA text:"Amenhotep III"
from: -1353 till: -1335 color:PA text:"Akhenaten"
from: -1336 till: -1335 color:PA text:"Smenkhkare ?"
from: -1335 till: -1333 color:PA text:"Neferneferuaten?"
from: -1333 till: -1323 color:PA text:"Tutankhamun "
from: -1323 till: -1319 color:PA text:"Ay "
from: -1319 till: -1292 color:PA text:"Horemheb "
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