New Kingdom Egypt – Quick Review

Period of unprecedented reach
- Thutmose III campaigned north into Mesopotamia, establishing Egyptian dominance
- Hatshepsut sent large-scale trade expeditions south to Punt, bringing back frankincense, myrrh, ebony, ivory, gold, and exotic animals.
Result: immense royal wealth, fueling monumental building programs and an advanced administrative bureaucracy.

Only royal tomb found intact; its small size and location beneath later debris likely saved it from looters.
Reign: $10$ years; died as a teenager
Health problems from royal inbreeding: cleft palate, scoliosis, club foot, malaria
Son of Akhenaten; his reign marked a return to traditional polytheistic religion after his father's monotheistic reforms.
Burial goods: > $5000$ objects (gold coffin, mask, jewelry, weapons, furniture), providing unprecedented insight into royal burial practices.

First victory vs. Sherden (Sea Peoples) in Nile Delta, securing vital trade routes.
Major campaigns in Syria, famously battling the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh (ca. $1274$ BCE); celebrated as master conqueror.
Prolific builder: significantly enlarged Karnak & Luxor temples, commissioned many new monuments including the rock-cut temples at Abu Simbel.
Father of dozens of children; his many sons were buried in the largest family tomb, KV 5 (>$130$ rock-cut chambers).

Pyramids became too obvious targets for tomb robbers → switch to hidden rock-cut tombs to protect the pharaoh's remains and treasures.
Funerary temples (e.g., Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari) were built separately from the actual burial site, serving as public cult centers for the deceased pharaoh and for the performance of mortuary rites.

Location: West bank of the Nile (symbolic of sunset/afterlife and rebirth).
Possible choice: natural pyramid-shaped peak ( $Qurn$ ) overlooking the valley.
Total tombs: $63$ built over several centuries for pharaohs and powerful nobles.
Range: simple pits to vast complexes, meticulously carved and decorated by skilled artisans from the village of Deir el-Medina.
Key tombs:
- KV 5: Sons of Ramses II (> $130$ chambers), a massive royal family tomb.
- KV 62: Tutankhamun, discovered $1922$ by Howard Carter, famed for its intact treasures.

Year $8$ : recorded massive invasions by coalitions of migrating peoples, collectively known as the Sea Peoples.
Defeated the Sea Peoples in major land and sea battles, preventing the collapse of Egypt.
Settled the Peleset (likely Philistines) in Canaan after their defeat.
Records carved on funerary temple walls at Medinet Habu provide unique historical accounts of these conflicts.