King Amenhotep III
He served as Egypt’s 9th pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty,
Also he known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or the “Sun King.” King Amenhotep III ruled Egypt for almost 40 years, which was characterised by exceptional peace and prosperity. After the passing of his father Thutmose IV, he took the kingdom at the early age of 12. Amenhotep III was able to expand on the affluent and strong empire he inherited. He developed strong ties with the neighbouring kingdoms through marital alliances and proved to be a brilliant diplomat. He was renowned for his kindness and gave generous gifts and gold to his vassal nations, which prevented any of them from rising against him.
During his reign, trade grew and the kingdom’s riches rose. Amenhotep III could begin some of the most magnificent building projects in ancient Egypt because the state’s affairs were in order. He erected a harbor, hundreds of statues, an artificial lake, and numerous temples, both old and new. His first wife, Queen Tiye, was the most significant member of his vast harem. She enjoyed a status that other royal women lacked frequently. She participated in royal duties, particularly during the pharaoh’s latter years. Following his son Akhenaten‘s accession to power, Egypt’s history went through a turbulent time.
King Amenhotep III Family
Thutmosis IV (Menkheperure) and Queen Mutemwia were the parents of Amenhotep. Amenhotep was raised by his numerous siblings at court. He had at least two brothers, as far as we know. Prince Amenemhat was buried with his father in KV43 after passing very young. Along with his mentor Meryre, Prince Siatum was shown. There is evidence that Siatum had a daughter named Nebetia. Amenemopet, Pyihia, Tiaa, and Tintamen are at least four further sisters that Amenhotep had. It is well known that Amenhotep had numerous wives.
Queen Tiye is without a doubt the most significant of them all.
Tiye and Amenhotep got married as soon as he ascended to the throne, and she is honoured with numerous monuments and a temple in Sedeinga.
Tiye and Amenhotep had seven kids together. Tuthmosis and Amenhotep, their two boys, were born. Moreover, they had five daughters: ( Sitamen, Iset, Henuttaneb, Nebetiah and Beketaten). The crown prince and oldest child was named Tuthmosis.
He was ordained as a Ptah priest at Memphis, but he appears to have passed away about the thirty-first year of his father’s rule. The heir to the throne was later named Prince Amenhotep. Amenhotep became Amenhotep IV after ascending to the throne. After a few years on the throne and the marriage to Nefertiti, he changed his name to Akhenaten.
International Relations During Reign of king Amenhotep III
The Amarna Letters are a group of manuscripts that were discovered close to the city of Amarna and contain some of the diplomatic communication during Amenhotep’s reign. The letters are written by the kings of Assyria, Mitanni, Babylon, Hatti, and other states, and they frequently include requests for gold and other presents from Amenhotep from those kings. The letters span the time from Amenhotep’s 30th year to at least the end of Akhenaten’s rule. The Babylonian monarch Kadashman-Enlil I quotes Amenhotep in the Amarna Letter in response to the latter’s persistent request to wed one of this pharaoh’s daughters: “From time immemorial, no daughter of the ruler of Egypt is given to anybody.
It’s possible that Amenhotep’s refusal to permit one of his daughters to wed the Babylonian king was motivated by Egyptian royal traditions that could give a claim to the throne through marriage to a royal princess, or it could be seen as a cunning attempt on his part to elevate Egypt’s stature in comparison to that of her neighbors in the international community.
Amenhotep wed a number of foreign princesses despite refusing to give his daughters in marriage to other rulers.
The exchange of the statue of the curative goddess Ishtar of Nineveh, which took place toward the end of Amenhotep’s rule, with the Mitanni King Tushratta is also mentioned in the Amarna Letters. The majority of scholars believe that Amenhotep requested the statue’s journey to Egypt in order to treat his many afflictions, which included excruciating abscesses on his teeth. This argument, however, is refuted by William Moran’s interpretation of the Amarna Letter in relation to the delivery of the statue to Thebes.
Egypt During Amenhotep III’s Reign
The name Amenhotep III means “Amun is pleased.” Without a question, the god had elevated himself to the position of supreme importance in Egypt. Whatever he earned from his military conquests, the pharaoh gave to a temple. Amun was the major deity, therefore Amenhotep III’s name actually stated it all. Egypt had two capital cities at this point in its history.
The southern city of Thebes, which is modern-day Luxor, served as the centre of religion. The pharaoh travelled here for religious ceremonies and this is where all the big temples were constructed. And this was Amun’s residence at Thebes.
Then, in the north, there was Memphis.
That was the seat of the bureaucracy and the administrative capital. The need for the bureaucracy stemmed from the need to collect taxes over all of Egypt. There was a sizable middle class in Egypt, and it was these people that kept the government running. There were vast buildings, a tonne of little offices, and a tonne of people filling out paperwork, reviewing files, and keeping tabs on one another.
The king essentially resided in each location. He would primarily reside in Memphis’s northern region, although he would travel to Thebes for certain ceremonies and religious processions.
Amenhotep III’s Commemorative Scarabs
Amenhotep III is a subject about which a lot is known. This is true because he pioneered a novel idea. The first telegrams in human history were transmitted by Amenhotep III. They were referred to as memorial scarabs, carvings in the form of beetles. Also they were made of stone and carved into the shape of a beetle, which was a lucky emblem. On the underside of the beetle carving were hieroglyphs. Previously, the beetle was between three and a half and four inches wide. There used to be a hieroglyphic writing at the bottom.
Amenhotep III would have his sculptors carve between 100 and 200 of these scarabs with a statement explaining what he had done whenever anything significant occurred or there was an event he wanted to announce to the world. Then, these scarabs would be distributed all over the world—to Nubia, Egypt’s various regions, Palestine, and probably Syria.
King Amenhotep Achievements
He was able to pursue a lot of projects due to the relative quiet he experienced throughout his rule. The following are some of Amenhotep III’s greatest accomplishments.
Three Jubilee Sed celebrations were observed by him. The first one deposed her after thirty years in power; the next two did so in Years 34 and 37.
Like many other Egyptian monarchs, Amenhotep III was regarded as the son of Amun. According to inscriptions in the Luxor Temple, it was thought that the deity Amun assumed the identity of Thutmose IV, bedded Mutemwiya, his mother, and sculpted colossal monuments of himself.
He constructed a temple for Mut. He also built a harbour and a palace for his wife, Queen Tiye.
King Amenhotep Tomb
It carries number (K.V 22)
it decorated with version of Book of the dead. The tomb was robbed during 21st dynasty. His mummy survived along with the other royal mummies bundled together into AmenhotepII tomb (K.V 35).
