Akhenaten's Rebellion, The First Insurgency | Monotheism in Ancient Egypt

• 16 / 5 / 2023

The New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt

The New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt was founded with its capital at Thebes in the south with the reunification of Upper and Lower Egypt after part of the Second Intermediate Period had lost it. Reconstruction work was quickly underway, bringing prosperity that is seen in the enormous construction of monuments. Join Luxor tours with Egypt to dip into great Egyptian history in New Kingdom times and the main works of the Egyptian kings.

A New Beginning: The Emergence of the New Kingdom—This phase put a strong contrasting light onto the New Kingdom after intermittent rule of the foreign Hyksos dynasty over Egypt during the Second Intermediate period. Pharaoh Ahmose I (1550 BC) drove the Hyksos from Egypt and reunited it, therefore ushering in a new era of prosperity and power.

Ahmose's victory was to end; it was a military campaign that symbolized the dawn of another powerful chapter in Egyptian history. His reign was the first in which Egypt would achieve glory.An Egypt of the 18th Dynasty: Golden Age

The 18th Dynasty (1550-1292 BCE) gave peak glory to Egypt, adorned with military victories, architectural wonders, and cultural masterpieces. Thutmose III, referred to as "Napoleon of Egypt," ruled from 1479 to 1425 B.C. He extended Egypt to its farthest limits from Nubia in the South to the Euphrates River in the North. The wealth brought into Egypt as a result of the conquests of Thutmose helped to make her powerful in the ancient world. Although Hatshepsut was one of the few female pharaohs with a 22-year ruling period, her peaceful reign extended only to commerce and building, rather than war. Hatshepsut is famous for sending an expedition to the land of Punt (modern Somalia) and obtaining vast quantities of highly desired imports such as incense and rare animals. She constructed a magnificent temple at Deir el-Bahari for herself, now one of the most amazing monuments in Egypt.

Wealth and diplomacy now began with Amenhotep III (1386-1353 BCE), who ruled Egypt at the zenith of power, well assuring alliances with neighboring kingdoms that reached from Mitanni and Babylonia to the Hittites. The cultural activities of that period, which testify to the prevailing peace and prosperity, included exquisite art and monumental architecture. Characteristic of this period was the great importance of women and their role in succession problems. First, a woman claimed the title of Pharaoh with all the male titles: Hatshepsut, and another queen, Nefertari, is represented in family scenes, on equal footing with Queen Tiyi, wife of Amenhotep III and mother of Amenhotep IV, later known as Akhenaten. Now join Egypt's luxury tours to Luxor to explore the temple of Hatshepsut and its fascinating history and artwork.

Akhenaten's Rule and Religious Revolution: One of the most debated and unique periods in the history of the New Kingdom was that of Amenhotep IV, later known as Akhenaten (c. 1353-1336 BCE). Akhenaten is remembered chiefly for the sweeping religious changes aimed at rooting out the traditional Egyptian polytheistic belief in favor of one-god worship, namely that of Aten, the sun disk.

The capital was established in Thebes, in the south, and the restoration of the unity of Upper and Lower Egypt, lost during part of the Second Intermediate Period, was carried out. From the beginning, there was a great activity to restructure the country, which produced great prosperity, reflected in the construction of numerous monuments. Explore our Egypt tours to the city of Luxor to discover the great Egyptian history in the new kingdom and the most important works of Egyptian kings.

A New Beginning: The Emergence of the New Kingdom

After the phase characterized by an intermittent reign over Egypt by the foreign Hyksos dynasty (during the Second Intermediate Period), the New Kingdom began with a bang. Pharaoh Ahmose I (1550 BCE) drove out the Hyksos and united Egypt, thus opening the gates to a new era of prosperity and strength.

Ahmose's victory was not only a military campaign; it symbolized the onset of yet another powerful chapter in Egyptian history. His reign signified the advent of the period when Egypt would scale new heights.

The 18th Dynasty: Egypt's Golden Age

The 18th Dynasty (1550-1292 BCE) marks Egypt's greatest glory period, resplendent in military victories, architectural wonders, and cultural masterpieces.

Thutmose III, often called the "Napoleon of Egypt," defined the years from 1479 to 1425 BCE. He expanded Egypt's borders to their greatest extent, stretching from Nubia in the south to the Euphrates River in the north. The wealth resulting from Thutmose's campaigns served not only to enrich Egypt but also to secure her position of power in the ancient world.

Hatshepsut was among the few pharaohs who carried the female gender and ruled for a 22-year period. Her peaceful reign featured interests in trade and construction rather than warfare. Hatshepsut is famous for sending an expedition to the land of Punt (present-day Somalia), obtaining large and highly prized imports, including incense and rare animals. She built a famous temple at Deir el-Bahari for herself, one of the most fabulous monuments in Egypt.

With Amenhotep III (1386-1353 BCE) began an age of wealth and diplomacy. Egypt reached the pinnacle of power, ensuring allies in neighboring kingdoms that included Mitanni, Babylonia, and the Hittites. The cultural actions of the time that depict the peace and prosperity included excellent arts and monumental constructions.

This period is characterized by the great importance of women and their role in succession problems. For the first time, a woman is named Pharaoh with all the male titles: Hatshepsut, and also another queen, Nefertari, is represented in family scenes, on an equal footing, as is Queen Tiyi, with her husband Amenhotep III and mother of Amenhotep IV, who later became Akhenaten. Heading to our Egypt luxury tours to Luxor to discover the Hatshepsut temple, and it has great history and works.

Akhenaten's Rule and Religious Revolution:

One of the most enmeshed in controversy and uniqueness in the history of the New Kingdom was in the reign of Amenhotep IV, who altered his name to Akhenaten (c. 1353–1336 BCE). Akhenaten was mainly remembered for the radical religious changes intended to abolish the Egyptian traditional polytheistic belief in favor of one god worship, the Aten, the sun disk. It may be one of the earliest forms of monotheism in history.

Akhetaten (modern-day Amarna) was a new city where Akhenaten transferred the capital from Thebes and promoted the worship of the Aten before all other gods, thus alienating the powerful Amun priesthood. The reforms hardly endured; however, the reign of Akhenaten saw major artistic and cultural changes, including a peculiar style of image-making that rendered the royal family in a more naturalistic manner.

Soon after Akhenaten's death, Egypt reverted to its ancient polytheism, and the city of Akhetaten stood deserted. The next pharaoh, Tutankhamun (1332–1323 BCE), reinstated the old order, and the brief reign of the young king is chiefly celebrated for the discovery of the tomb largely intact in 1922 by archaeologist Howard Carter.

The international situation at the moment consisted of the Egyptian territory over the Canaanite cities. In Assyria, the last kings of the Old Kingdom and those of the Middle Kingdom reigned, and the house domination occurred in Babylon, also agreeing with the fall of the Mycenaean kingdoms in Greece and the Exodus from Israel only existing in Egyptian sources.

The study of the eighteenth dynasty is usually divided into three stages that comprise first the first kings: From the time of King Ahmose, who defeated the Hyksos, Thutmose, and the story of the most powerful women in history, Hatshepsut, and the liberation of Amenophis IV with his famous rebellion and transformation of the capital to Amarna city with the new religion forced by him to worship Aton instead of the traditional sun cult of Amun Ra. Not forgetting the restoration of the old cult under his son, King Tutankhamun.

The 19th dynasty begins with Ramses I (1293-1291), a sovereign of Tanis (Delta). The reign of Ramses I was peaceful. The work of his predecessor, Horemheb, paid off in his fight against the Hittites, and his good administration was noticed in the following years, managing to reorganize the kingdom. Since he had no male heir, he passed the power on to another soldier who was a warrior ruler. But the most powerful king during this dynasty is Ramses II.

The Hittites were defeated by Ramses II, who made a great contribution along with his reign in architecture by erecting Abu Simbel temples, which are two massive rock temples at Abu Simbel, a village in Nubia, Upper Egypt, near the borders with Sudan.

Actually, there's a lot to talk about during the New Kingdom epoch, but you can browse our list of dividing the history of Egypt into kingdoms interrupted with intermediate periods and classified into 30 dynasties.

Kings of the New Kingdom: 1550–1070 B.C.

The 18th dynasty: 1550–1295 B.C.

Ahmose 1550–1525 B.C. Amenhotep 1525–1504 B.C. Thutmose I 1504–1492 B.C. Thutmose II 1492–1479 B.C. Thutmose III 1479–1425 B.C. Hatshepsut (as regent) 1479–1473 B.C. Hatshepsut & 1473–1458 B.C. Amenhotep II 1427–1400 B.C. Thutmose IV 1400–1390 B.C. Amenhotep III 1390–1352 B.C. Amenhotep IV 1353–1349 B.C. Akhenaten 1349–1336 B.C. Neferneferuaton 1338–1336 B.C. Smenkhkare 1336 B.C. Tutankhamen 1336–1327 B.C. Ay 1327–1323 B.C. Horemheb 1323–129.

The 19th dynasty: 1295–1186 B.C.

Ramesses I1295–1294 B.C.Seti I1294–1279 B.C.Ramesses II1279–1213 B.C.Merneptah1213–1203 B.C.Amenmesse1203–1200 B.C.Seti II 1200–1194 B.C., Siptah 1194–1188 B.C., Tawosret 1188–1186 B.C.

The 20th dynasty: 1186–1070 B.C.

Sethnakht 1186–1184 B.C. Ramesses III 1184–1153 B.C. Ramesses IV 1153–1147 B.C. Ramesses V 1147–1143 B.C. Ramesses VI 1143–1136 B.C. Ramesses VII 1136–1129 B.C. Ramesses VIII 1129–1126 B.C. Ramesses IX 1126–1108 B.C. Ramesses X 1108–1099 B.C. Ramesses XI 1099–1070 B.C.

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