HIST-132: Ch. 4.3 Egypt's New Kingdom

  • Context: Late Middle Kingdom declines; leads to the Second Intermediate Period (SIP) and mass Semitic-speaking immigration from Canaan (Hyksos) into the Nile Delta.

  • Timeframes:

    • SIP: c. 1720–1540 BCEc.\ 1720\text{--}1540\ \mathrm{BCE}

    • Hyksos rule in Lower Egypt: 1650–1540 BCE1650\text{--}1540\ \mathrm{BCE}

    • Ahmose I defeats Hyksos; end of Hyksos period around ≈1540 BCE\approx 1540\ \mathrm{BCE} and start of the New Kingdom.

  • Hyksos origins and rule:

    • Arrived as Canaanite migrants; eventually overthrew local princes and controlled the Nile delta.

    • Adopted Egyptian culture, language, writing, and religion; created their own dynasty but used Egyptian administrative patterns.

  • Technological and military impact:

    • Introduced bronze-making technology to Egypt; composite bows; protective armor; horse-drawn chariot with spoked wheels.

    • By the 1500s BCE, chariots with composite bows became central to Egyptian warfare.

  • Political geography during SIP:

    • Three-part division: Hyksos in Lower Egypt (delta); Kush in Nubia; Theban rulers in Upper Egypt.

    • Hyksos trade connected Lower Egypt with Canaan and the Near East; limited political power beyond Egypt.

  • End of Hyksos and the New Kingdom:

    • Theban rulers allied with Kush to challenge Hyksos; by ~1540 BCE1540\ \mathrm{BCE}, Ahmose I expelled Hyksos and reasserted Egyptian power, inaugurating the New Kingdom.

  • Consequences for Egypt:

    • Reunification of Egypt and expansion beyond traditional borders; increased wealth from conquest and trade; new era of monumental building and military strength.

4.3: Egypt’s New Kingdom

  • Timeframe and significance:

    • c. 1550–1069 BCEc.\ 1550\text{--}1069\ \mathrm{BCE}; peak of Egyptian power and influence in the Near East; expansion far into Nubia, Libya, and Syria.

  • Notable pharaohs and core themes:

    • Amenhotep I; Thutmose I; Thutmose II; Hatshepsut (regent who became pharaoh); Thutmose III; Amenhotep II; Amenhotep III; Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV); Nefertiti; Tutankhamun; Ramesses I–Ramesses II; Horemheb.

    • Thebes as religious capital; Karnak temple complex; Valley of the Kings as royal burial site.

  • Hatshepsut (female pharaoh):

    • Reigned ~ca.1507–1482 BCEca. 1507–1482\ \mathrm{BCE}; declared as co-regent/pharaoh; built the mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri; conducted military expeditions to Nubia and possibly southern Palestine.

    • After her death, Thutmose III erased her from records to secure succession for his own lineage.

  • Akhenaten and the Aten cult:

    • Amenhotep IV changed name to Akhenaten; founded a new capital at Amarna (Akhetaton); closed other temples; promoted Aten as sole god; Akhenaten and Nefertiti acted as chief priests.

    • Reforms represented a shift toward monotheistic-like worship of the sun disk; many scholars see it as a break with traditional religion.

  • Nefertiti and religious reforms:

    • Queen Nefertiti as prominent partner in religious leadership during Amarna period.

  • After Amarna: restoration of traditional religion

    • Akhenaten died ~1336 BCE1336\ \mathrm{BCE}; successors (Smenkhkare, Tutankhamun) restored old gods and moved away from Amarna; temples desecrated and Aton worship reduced.

  • Tutankhamun and the return to traditional Egyptian religion:

    • Returned to Memphis; repaired temples; expanded Nubian campaigns to quell revolts.

  • Ramesses II (Ramesses the Great):

    • Reigned ~1279–1213 BCE1279\text{--}1213\ \mathrm{BCE}; long reign; fought Hittites in Syria; Battle of Qadesh; achieved a stalemate and secured a peace treaty ~1258 BCE1258\ \mathrm{BCE}.

    • Built Pi-Ramesses in the delta; monumental temples at Thebes and elsewhere; Abu Simbel temples in Nubia (Great Temple at Abu Simbel).

  • Foreign policy and economy:

    • Warfare to check Mitanni and Hittites; hostage diplomacy (educating royal children in Egypt);

    • Trade and tribute from Canaan, Syria, and Nubia; resources: tin, copper, gold, ivory, ebony, incense, papyrus, cedar from Phoenicia/Byblos, and other goods.

    • Control of key trade routes: Hazor, Megiddo, Qadesh; Phoenician Byblos as papyrus source.

  • Late New Kingdom challenges and end:

    • Late Bronze Age disruptions; Sea Peoples arrival across the eastern Mediterranean; internal grain price rise and tomb robbing; Libyan and Nubian uprisings.

    • By ~1070 BCE1070\ \mathrm{BCE}, New Kingdom power waned; Egypt facing broader regional collapse but maintaining some influence.

  • Aftermath:

    • Egypt remains a major power but declines from its peak; Sea Peoples settle in Egypt and the region; broader Near Eastern civilizations weakened during this period.