Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

(notated Dynasty XVIII) (c. 1550-c. 1292 BC

Anno Domini

and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....

) is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt. As well as boasting a number of Egypt's most famous pharaoh

Pharaoh

Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...

s, it included Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun , Egyptian , ; approx. 1341 BC – 1323 BC) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty , during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom...

, the finding of whose tomb by Howard Carter

Howard Carter

Howard Carter may refer to:* Howard Carter , English archaeologist who discovered Tutankhamun's tomb* Howard Carter , American basketball player...

in 1922 was a sensational
archaeological discovery despite its having been twice disturbed by tomb robbers. The dynasty is sometimes known as the Thutmosid Dynasty because of the four pharaohs named Thutmosis (Thoth

Thoth

Thoth was considered one of the more important deities of the Egyptian pantheon. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him. His feminine counterpart was Seshat...

child).

As well as Tutankhamen, famous pharaohs of Dynasty XVIII include Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut also Hatchepsut; meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies;1508–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt...

(1479 BC – 1458 BC), longest-reigning queen-pharaoh of an indigenous

Indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....

dynasty, and Akhenaten

Akhenaten

Akhenaten also spelled Echnaton,Ikhnaton,and Khuenaten;meaning "living spirit of Aten") known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV , was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC...

(1353 – 1336 BC / 1351 - 1334 BC), the "heretic pharaoh", with his queen

Great Royal Wife

Great Royal Wife or Chief King's Wife is the term used to refer to the chief wife of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. While most Ancient Egyptians were monogamous, the pharaoh would have had other, lesser wives and concubines in addition to the Great Royal Wife...

, Nefertiti

Nefertiti

Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a religious revolution, in which they started to worship one god only...

.

Dynasty XVIII is often combined with Dynasties XIX

Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt

The Nineteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt was one of the periods of the Egyptian New Kingdom. Founded by Vizier Ramesses I, whom Pharaoh Horemheb chose as his successor to the throne, this dynasty is best known for its military conquests in Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria.The warrior kings of the...

and XX

Twentieth dynasty of Egypt

The Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, New Kingdom. This dynasty is considered to be the last one of the New Kingdom of Egypt, and was followed by the Third Intermediate Period....

to form the New Kingdom

New Kingdom

The New Kingdom of Egypt, also referred to as the Egyptian Empire is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt....

period of ancient Egyptian history

History of Ancient Egypt

The History of Ancient Egypt spans the period from the early predynastic settlements of the northern Nile Valley to the Roman conquest in 30 BC...

Dating

Radiocarbon dating

Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...

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.

Dynasty XVIII pharaohs

The pharaoh

Pharaoh

Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...

s of Dynasty XVIII ruled for approximately two hundred and fifty years (c. 1550-1298 BC). 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

Valley of the Kings

The Valley of the Kings , less often called the Valley of the Gates of the Kings , is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom .The valley stands on the west bank of...

in Thebes (designated KV). More information can be found on the Theban Mapping Project website. Several diplomatic marriages are known for the New Kingdom

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 a way to confirm good relations between these states.

**Dynasty XVIII pharaohs**
Pharaoh	\|Horus-name	\|Reign (BC)	\|Burial	\|Consort(s)
Ahmose I Ahmose I Ahmose I was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Eighteenth dynasty. He was a member of the Theban royal house, the son of pharaoh Tao II Seqenenre and brother of the last pharaoh of the Seventeenth dynasty, King Kamose...	Nebpehtire	1549 - 1524 BC		Ahmose-Nefertari Ahmose-Nefertari Ahmose-Nefertari of Ancient Egypt was a Queen of Egypt. She was a daughter of Seqenenre Tao II and Ahhotep I, and royal sister and the great royal wife of pharaoh, Ahmose I. She was the mother of king Amenhotep I and may have served as his regent when he was young... Ahmose-Henuttamehu Ahmose-Henuttamehu Ahmose-Henuttamehu was a princess and queen of the late 17th-early 18th dynasties of Egypt.-Family:Ahmose-Henuttamehu was a daughter of Pharaoh Seqenenre Tao II by his sister-wife Ahmose Inhapy... Ahmose-Sitkamose Ahmose-Sitkamose Ahmose-Sitkamose or Sitkamose was a princess and queen during the late 17th-early 18th dynasties of Egypt. Based on her name, she is likely to have been the daughter of Pharaoh Kamose...
Amenhotep I Amenhotep I Amenhotep I was the second Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. His reign is generally dated from 1526 to 1506 BC. He was born to Ahmose I and Ahmose-Nefertari, but had at least two elder brothers, Ahmose-ankh and Ahmose Sapair, and was not expected to inherit the throne...	Djeserkare	1524 - 1503 BC	KV39 KV39 Tomb KV39 in Egypt's Valley of the Kings is one of the possible locations of the tomb of Pharaoh Amenhotep I. It is located high in the cliffs, away from the main valley bottom and other royal burials... ?	Ahmose-Meritamon Ahmose-Meritamon Ahmose-Meritamun was a Queen of Egypt during the early Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. She was both the sister and the wife of Pharaoh Amenhotep I...
Thutmose I Thutmose I Thutmose I was the third Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. He was given the throne after the death of the previous king Amenhotep I. During his reign, he campaigned deep into the Levant and Nubia, pushing the borders of Egypt further than ever before...	Akheperkare	1503 - 1491 BC	KV20 KV20 KV20 is a tomb in the Valley of the Kings . It was probably the first royal tomb to be constructed in the valley. KV20 was the original burial place of Thutmose I and later was adapted by his daughter Hatshepsut to accommodate both her and her father... , KV38 KV38 KV38 is a tomb in the Valley of the Kings that was used for the reburial of Pharaoh Thutmose I of the Eighteenth dynasty, and was where his body was removed to by Thutmose III.-External links:...	Ahmose Mutnofret Mutnofret Mutnofret was a queen during the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. She was a secondary wife of Thutmose I and the mother of Thutmose II....
Thutmose II Thutmose II Thutmose II was the fourth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. He built some minor monuments and initiated at least two minor campaigns but did little else during his rule and was probably strongly influenced by his wife, Hatshepsut...	Akheperenre	1503 - 1491 BC	KV42 KV42 Tomb KV42 is located in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. It was constructed for Hatshepsut-Meryetre, the wife of Thutmose III, but she was not buried in the tomb. It was reused by Sennefer, a mayor of Thebes during the reign of Amenhotep II, and by several members of his family... ?	Hatshepsut Hatshepsut Hatshepsut also Hatchepsut; meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies;1508–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt... Isis Iset (queen) Iset was a queen of the eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, and she was named after goddess Isis. She was a secondary wife or concubine of Thutmose II.- Biography :Iset was the mother of Thutmose III, the only son of Thutmose II...
Hatshepsut Hatshepsut Hatshepsut also Hatchepsut; meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies;1508–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt...	Maatkare	1491 - 1479 BC	KV20 KV20 KV20 is a tomb in the Valley of the Kings . It was probably the first royal tomb to be constructed in the valley. KV20 was the original burial place of Thutmose I and later was adapted by his daughter Hatshepsut to accommodate both her and her father...
Thutmose III Thutmose III Thutmose III was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. During the first twenty-two years of Thutmose's reign he was co-regent with his stepmother, Hatshepsut, who was named the pharaoh...	Menkheper(en)re	1479 - 1424 BC	KV34 KV34 Tomb KV34 in the Valley of the Kings was the final resting place of 18th dynasty Pharaoh Thutmose III....	Satiah Satiah Satiah was an Ancient Egyptian queen, the Great Royal Wife of Thutmose III.-Family:Satiah was the daughter of the royal nurse Ipu. It is possible that her father was the important official Ahmose Pen-Nekhebet... Merytre-Hatshepsut Merytre-Hatshepsut Queen Merytre-Hatshepsut was the principal wife of Pharaoh Thutmose III and the mother of Amenhotep II.-Family:Merytre-Hatshepsut was of noble birth... Nebtu Nebtu Nebtu was an Ancient Egyptian queen, a wife of Thutmose III.She was depicted on a pillar in Thutmose's tomb KV34 where the pharaoh leads a procession of his family members – his two Great Royal Wives Merytre-Hatshepsut and Satiah, his wife Nebtu and his daughter Nefertari... Menhet, Menwi and Merti Menhet, Menwi and Merti Menhet, Menwi and Merti were three minor foreign-born wives of pharaoh Thutmose III who were buried in a lavishly furnished rock-cut tomb in Wady Gabbanat el-Qurud. Two of their names are West-Semitic in origin though none are Hurrian. Each were given the title of King's Wife, and were likely only...
Amenhotep II Amenhotep II Amenhotep II was the seventh Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. Amenhotep inherited a vast kingdom from his father Thutmose III, and held it by means of a few military campaigns in Syria; however, he fought much less than his father, and his reign saw the effective cessation of hostilities...	Akheperure	1424 - 1398 BC	KV35 KV35 Tomb KV35 in the Valley of the Kings is the tomb of Amenhotep II.It was discovered by Victor Loret in March 1898.-Layout and history:...	Tiaa Tiaa Tiaa or Tiya or Tiy was the third wife of Pharaoh Seti II, after Takhat II and Twosret. She is thought by some to have been Syrian . She was once thought to be the mother of Rameses-Siptah , the next Pharaoh of Egypt after the death of his predecessor Seti II...
Thutmose IV Thutmose IV Thutmose IV was the 8th Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt, who ruled in approximately the 14th century BC...	Menkheperure	1398 - 1388 BC	KV43 KV43 Tomb KV43 is the tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose IV in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt. It has a dog-leg shape, typical of the layout of early 18th Dynasty tombs. KV43 was rediscovered in 1903 by Howard Carter Tomb KV43 is the tomb of Pharaoh Thutmose IV in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt....	Nefertari Nefertari (18th dynasty) Nefertari was a queen of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, the first Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Thutmose IV.Her origins are unknown, it is likely that she was a commoner. On several depictions she and Queen Mother Tiaa are depicted as goddesses accompanying Thutmose... Iaret Iaret Iaret was a Great Royal Wife from the middle of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt.-Family:laret was the daughter of Amunhotep II and wife of Thutmose IV... Mutemwiya Daughter of Artatama I Artatama I Artatama I was a king of the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni in the late fifteenth century BC. His reign coincided with the reigns of Egyptian pharaohs Amenhotep II and Thutmose IV.... of Mitanni
Amenhotep III Amenhotep III Amenhotep III also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty. According to different authors, he ruled Egypt from June 1386 to 1349 BC or June 1388 BC to December 1351 BC/1350 BC after his father Thutmose IV died...	Nebmaatre	1388 - 1348 BC	KV22	Tiye Tiye Tiye was the daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu . She became the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III.... Gilukhipa Gilukhipa Gilukhipa, or more probable Kilu-Hepa in Hurrian language, in the Egyptian language Kirgipa, was the daughter of Shuttarna II, king of Mitanni. She was the sister of Tushratta , Biria-Waza and Artashumara.-Biography:... of Mitanni Tadukhipa Tadukhipa Tadukhipa, in the Hurrian language Tadu-Hepa, was the daughter of Tushratta, king of Mitanni and his queen, Juni and niece of Artashumara. Tadukhipa's aunt Gilukhipa had married Pharaoh Amenhotep III in his 10th regnal year... of Mitanni Sitamun Sitamun Sitamun was an Ancient Egyptian princess and queen consort during the 18th dynasty.-Family:... Iset Iset (daughter of Amenhotep III) - Family :Isis was one of the daughters of Ancient Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III of the 18th dynasty and his Great Royal Wife Tiye. She was a sister of Akhenaten. Iset's other brother was Crown Prince Thutmose.... Daughter of Kurigalzu I Kurigalzu I Kurigalzu I , the seventeenth king of the Kassite dynasty that ruled over Babylon, was responsible for one of the most extensive and widespread building programs for which evidence has survived in Babylonia. The autobiography of Kurigalzu is one of the inscriptions which record that he was the son... of Babylon. Daughter of Kadashman-Enlil of Babylon. Daughter of Tarhundaradu of Arzawa Arzawa Arzawa in the second half of the second millennium BC was the name of a region and a political entity in Western Anatolia, the core area of which was centered on the Hermos and Maeander river valleys, corresponding with the Late Bronze Age kingdoms of the... . Daughter of the ruler of Ammia
Akhenaten Akhenaten Akhenaten also spelled Echnaton,Ikhnaton,and Khuenaten;meaning "living spirit of Aten") known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV , was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC...	Neferkepherure-Waenre	1360 - 1343 BC	Royal Tomb of Akhenaten Royal Tomb of Akhenaten The Royal Tomb of Akhenaten is the burial place of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, in the Royal Wadi in Amarna.-Layout:A flight of twenty steps, with a central inclined plane leads to the door and a long straight descending corridor. Halfway down this corridor a suite of unfinished rooms...	Nefertiti Nefertiti Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a religious revolution, in which they started to worship one god only... Kiya Kiya Kiya was one of the wives of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Little is known about her, and her actions and roles are poorly documented in the historical record, in contrast to those of Akhenaten's first royal wife, Nefertiti. Her unusual name suggests that she may originally have been a Mitanni... Tadukhipa Tadukhipa Tadukhipa, in the Hurrian language Tadu-Hepa, was the daughter of Tushratta, king of Mitanni and his queen, Juni and niece of Artashumara. Tadukhipa's aunt Gilukhipa had married Pharaoh Amenhotep III in his 10th regnal year... of Mitanni Daughter of Šatiya Šatiya Šatiya, also Satiya, or Shatiya was the ruler-'mayor' of Enišasi, during the Amarna letters period of 1350-1335 BC. In the entire correspondence of 382–letters, his name is only referenced in his own letter to the Ancient Egyptian pharaoh, EA 187,... , ruler of Enišasi Enišasi Enišasi, was a city, or city-state located in the Beqaa Valley- of Lebanon, during the 1350-1335 BC Amarna letters correspondence. Of the 382–Amarna letters, Enišasi is only referenced in two letters... Daughter of Burna-Buriash II, King of Babylon
Smenkhare	Ankhkheperure	1346 BC		Meritaten Meritaten Meritaten also spelled Merytaten or Meryetaten was an ancient Egyptian queen of the eighteenth dynasty, who held the position of Great Royal Wife to Pharaoh Smenkhkare, who may have been a brother or son of Akhenaten...
Neferneferuaten Neferneferuaten Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten was a woman who reigned as pharaoh toward the end of the Amarna era during the Eighteenth Dynasty. The royal succession of this period is very unclear. Manetho's Epitome, an ancient historical source written in Egypt during the third century B.C., mentions a certain...	Ankhkheperure-Meriwaenre	1346 - 1343 BC
Tutankhamun Tutankhamun Tutankhamun , Egyptian , ; approx. 1341 BC – 1323 BC) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty , during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom...	Nebkheperure	1343 - 1333 BC	KV62 KV62 KV62 is the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings , which became famous for the wealth of treasure it contained. The tomb was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter, underneath the remains of workmen's huts built during the Ramesside Period; this explains why it was spared from the worst of...	Ankhesenamun Ankhesenamun Ankhesenamun was a queen of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. Born as Ankhesenpaaten, she was the third of six known daughters of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti, and became the Great Royal Wife of her cousin Tutankhamun. The change in her name reflects the changes...
Ay Ay Ay was the penultimate Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's 18th dynasty. He held the throne of Egypt for a brief four-year period , although he was a close advisor to two and perhaps three of the pharaohs who ruled before him and was the power behind the throne during Tutankhamun's reign...	Kheperkheperure	1333 - 1328 BC	KV23	Ankhesenamun Ankhesenamun Ankhesenamun was a queen of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. Born as Ankhesenpaaten, she was the third of six known daughters of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti, and became the Great Royal Wife of her cousin Tutankhamun. The change in her name reflects the changes... Tey Tey Tey was the wife of Kheperkheprure Ay , who was the penultimate pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's 18th dynasty. She was also the wetnurse of Queen Nefertiti....
Horemheb Horemheb Horemheb was the last Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty from either 1319 BC to late 1292 BC, or 1306 to late 1292 BC although he was not related to the preceding royal family and is believed to have been of common birth.Before he became pharaoh, Horemheb was the commander in chief...	Djeserkheperure-Setepenre	1328 - 1298 BC	KV57 KV57 Tomb KV57, located in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, was used for the burial of Horemheb, the last Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty.The tomb was located by Edward Ayrton in February 1908, who was working for Theodore Davis...	Mutnedjmet Mutnedjmet Mutnedjmet an Ancient Egyptian queen, the Great Royal Wife of Horemheb, the last ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty...

Early Dynasty XVIII

Dynasty XVIII was founded by Ahmose I

Ahmose I

Ahmose I was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Eighteenth dynasty. He was a member of the Theban royal house, the son of pharaoh Tao II Seqenenre and brother of the last pharaoh of the Seventeenth dynasty, King Kamose...

the brother or son of Kamose

Kamose

Kamose was the last king of the Theban Seventeenth Dynasty. He was probably the son of Seqenenre Tao II and Ahhotep I and the full brother of Ahmose I, founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty. His reign fell at the very end of the Second Intermediate Period...

, the last ruler of the Dynasty XVII

Seventeenth dynasty of Egypt

The Fifteenth, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, Second Intermediate Period. The Seventeenth Dynasty dates approximately from 1580 to 1550 BC.-Rulers:...

. Ahmose finished the campaign to expel the Hyksos

Hyksos

The Hyksos were an Asiatic people who took over the eastern Nile Delta during the twelfth dynasty, initiating the Second Intermediate Period of ancient Egypt....

rulers.His reign is seen as the end of the Second Intermediate Period and the start of New Kingdom. Ahmose was succeeded by his son, Amenhotep I

Amenhotep I

Amenhotep I was the second Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. His reign is generally dated from 1526 to 1506 BC. He was born to Ahmose I and Ahmose-Nefertari, but had at least two elder brothers, Ahmose-ankh and Ahmose Sapair, and was not expected to inherit the throne...

whose reign was relatively uneventful.

Amenhotep I probably left no male heir and the next Pharaoh, Thutmose I

Thutmose I

Thutmose I was the third Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. He was given the throne after the death of the previous king Amenhotep I. During his reign, he campaigned deep into the Levant and Nubia, pushing the borders of Egypt further than ever before...

, 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

Carchemish

Carchemish or Kargamış was an important ancient city of the Mitanni, Hittite and Neo Assyrian Empires, now on the frontier between Turkey and Syria. It was the location of an important battle between the Babylonians and Egyptians, mentioned in the Bible...

on the Euphrates

Euphrates

The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...

and up to Kurgus beyond the fourth cataract

Cataracts of the Nile

The cataracts of the Nile are shallow lengths of the Nile between Aswan and Khartoum where the surface of the water is broken by many small boulders and stones protruding out of the river bed, as well as many rocky islets. Aswan is also the Southern boundary of Upper Egypt...

in the south. Thutmose I was succeeded by Thutmose II

Thutmose II

Thutmose II was the fourth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. He built some minor monuments and initiated at least two minor campaigns but did little else during his rule and was probably strongly influenced by his wife, Hatshepsut...

and his queen, Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut also Hatchepsut; meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies;1508–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt...

. She was the daughter of Thutmose I and soon after her husband's death, ruled for over twenty years after becoming pharaoh during the minority of her stepson, who later would become pharaoh as Thutmose III.

Thutmose III

Thutmose III

Thutmose III was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. During the first twenty-two years of Thutmose's reign he was co-regent with his stepmother, Hatshepsut, who was named the pharaoh...

who later 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

Amenhotep II was the seventh Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. Amenhotep inherited a vast kingdom from his father Thutmose III, and held it by means of a few military campaigns in Syria; however, he fought much less than his father, and his reign saw the effective cessation of hostilities...

. Amenhotep II was succeeded by Thutmose IV

Thutmose IV

Thutmose IV was the 8th Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt, who ruled in approximately the 14th century BC...

, who in his turn was followed by his son Amenhotep III

Amenhotep III

Amenhotep III also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty. According to different authors, he ruled Egypt from June 1386 to 1349 BC or June 1388 BC to December 1351 BC/1350 BC after his father Thutmose IV died...

. The reign of Amenhotep III

Amenhotep III

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

Ramesses II

Ramesses II , referred to as Ramesses the Great, was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire...

during Dynasty XIX.

Akhenaten, the Amarna Period and Tutankhamun

Amenhotep III

may have shared the throne for up to 12 years with his son Amenhotep IV, who would change his name to Akhenaten

Akhenaten

. There is much debate about this proposed co-regency. Some experts believe there was a lengthy co-regency, while others prefer to see a short one. There are also many experts who believe no such co-regency existed at all.

In the 5th year of his reign Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten

Akhenaten

and moved his capital to Amarna

Amarna

Amarna is an extensive Egyptian archaeological site that represents the remains of the capital city newly–established and built by the Pharaoh Akhenaten of the late Eighteenth Dynasty , and abandoned shortly afterwards...

. During the reign of Akhenaten

Akhenaten

the Aten

Aten

Aten is the disk of the sun in ancient Egyptian mythology, and originally an aspect of Ra. The deified Aten is the focus of the monolatristic, henotheistic, or monotheistic religion of Atenism established by Amenhotep IV, who later took the name Akhenaten in worship in recognition of Aten...

- the sundisk - first became the most prominent deity, and eventually the Aten

Aten

was considered the only god. If 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

Egyptians

Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...

considered the so-called Amarna Period

Amarna Period

The Amarna Period was an era of Egyptian history during the latter half of the Eighteenth Dynasty when the royal residence of the pharaoh and his queen was shifted to Akhetaten in what is now modern-day Amarna...

an unfortunate aberration. The events following Akhenaten's death are unclear. Individuals named Smenkhare and Neferneferuaten

Neferneferuaten

Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten was a woman who reigned as pharaoh toward the end of the Amarna era during the Eighteenth Dynasty. The royal succession of this period is very unclear. Manetho's Epitome, an ancient historical source written in Egypt during the third century B.C., mentions a certain...

are known but their relative placement and role in history is still much debated. Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun , Egyptian , ; approx. 1341 BC – 1323 BC) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty , during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom...

eventually took the throne and died young.

Ay and Horemheb

The last two members of the eighteenth dynasty - Ay

Ay was the penultimate Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's 18th dynasty. He held the throne of Egypt for a brief four-year period , although he was a close advisor to two and perhaps three of the pharaohs who ruled before him and was the power behind the throne during Tutankhamun's reign...

and Horemheb

Horemheb

Horemheb was the last Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty from either 1319 BC to late 1292 BC, or 1306 to late 1292 BC although he was not related to the preceding royal family and is believed to have been of common birth.Before he became pharaoh, Horemheb was the commander in chief...

- became rulers from the ranks of officials in the royal court, although Ay may have married the widow of Tutankhamun in order to obtain power and she did not live long afterward. Ay's reign was short. His successor was Horemheb, a general during the reign of Tutankhamun whom the childless pharaoh may have intended as his successor. Horemheb may have taken the throne away from Ay in a coup. He was impotent and thus also died childless and appointed his successor, Ramesses I

Ramesses I

Menpehtyre Ramesses I was the founding Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's 19th dynasty. The dates for his short reign are not completely known but the time-line of late 1292-1290 BC is frequently cited as well as 1295-1294 BC...

, who ascended the throne in 1292 BC and was the first pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty

Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt

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