History 107 Lecture 8

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History 107Lecture 8

• New Kingdom Egypt

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Key New Kingdom Pharaohs

• Amenhotep III
• Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton )
• Tutankhamen (King Tut)
• Ramesses II

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Amenhotep III

• Amenhotep III (d. 1352 B.C.) was one of the most
  powerful New Kingdom pharaohs and empire builders
• Master diplomat the Amarna Letters show his
  correspondence with kings from Nubia, Syria,
  Babylon, Mittani the Hurrians, etc.
• Expanded the cult of Amon re at Thebes
• Egyptian priests of Amon re enjoyed great
  authority and power
• Married Ty, a wise woman of humble origins

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Amenhotep IV The Reformer

• Amenhotep IV, 2nd son of Amenhotep III, began his
  reign c. 1352 B.C.E.
• Encouraged highly stylized art
• Introduced monotheism the Aten visible rays of
  the sun
• Changed his name to Akhenaton
• Aten seen as author of the worlds moral order
  rewards integrity among humans cares for and
  sustains life
• Akhenatons Hymn to the Aten
• Builder of Amarna (new capital)
• Married Nefertiti (Queen and possibly a
  co-regent, who died mysteriously)

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Akhenatons Religious Reform

• Akhenaton and Nefertiti w/ daughters in the
  presence of the Aten (warming rays of the sun)

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Artistry in New Kingdom Egypt

• Naturalistic revolution in art, 14th century B.C.

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Queen Nefertiti

• Busts of Queen Nefertiti based on a model found
  in the Amarna workshops (now in Berlin)

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Akhetaten (The Horizon of the Aten) Ruins
near the modern city of el-Amarna
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King Tutankhamun (r. 1334 - 1325 B.C.E)

• Son of Akhenaton and a later wife (Kiya?)
• Manipulated by temple hierarchy to return to
  Thebes and reject his fathers reforms
• Died at age 19 (mysteriously) buried in Valley
  of Kings
• Restored worship of Amon re in Thebes
• Tomb discovered by Howard Carter in 1922

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King Tutankhamun (r. 1334 - 1325 B.C.E)

• King Tut, from an image on the back of his royal
  throne (part of his burial treasure)
• Very little is known about King Tut, since no
  documentation was included in his tomb, and he
  was not even known before his discovery in 1922
  he may have been murdered