394 empires and dynasties: Egypt NEW KINGDOM (CA 1550–CA 1070 B.C.E.) The 18th Dynasty (ca 1550–ca 1307 b.c.e.) began with Ahmose (r ca 1550–ca 1525 b.c.e.), a brother (or perhaps son) of Kamose He believed that he was the true heir to Egypt’s throne and attacked Avaris possibly five different times His army finally overwhelmed the defenses of Avaris, probably killing the last Hyksos king, Khemudy (unknown period of reign) The Hyksos used the fortified town of Sharuhen, in northeastern Sinai, southwest of Gaza, to control trade routes from the Near East into Egypt Ahmose laid siege to Sharuhen, which fell after three years The Egyptians massacred the inhabitants, and Egyptian dominance in the region was restored Ahmose’s son Amenhotep I (r ca 1525–ca 1504 b.c.e.) was the last of the family line; a courtier, Thutmose I (r ca 1504–ca 1492 b.c.e.), succeeded peacefully to the throne The New Kingdom was an era in which queens became corulers with their husbands, wielding both political and military power The female king Hatshepsut (r ca 1473–ca 1458 b.c.e.), the wife of Thutmose II (r ca 1481–ca 1479 b.c.e.), ran Egypt during the early rule of her stepson, Thutmose III (r ca 1479–ca 1425 b.c.e.) She tried unsuccessfully to have one of her daughters succeed her as king; later Egyptians believed that she had tried to upset the lawful line of kings Other queens were very powerful, notably Nefertiti, the primary wife of Amenhotep IV (r ca 1353–ca 1335 b.c.e.) In 1330 she was declared the co-king and took the royal name of Neferneferuaten (r ca 1330–ca 1327 b.c.e.) Her husband was called a heretic by later Egyptians because he believed there was only one god, the disk of the sun, and changed the state religion accordingly During the reign of Tutankhamun (r ca 1333–ca 1323 b.c.e.), the old pantheon of gods was restored During the Eighteenth Dynasty, Egypt became one of the most prosperous nations of the ancient world It dominated most of Nubia and expanded its influence to the east coast of North Africa It controlled the Mediterranean coast of the Near East into Syria, as well as the Sinai After military victories, the central Egyptian government would leave a local ruler in charge of the conquered area This ruler was expected to follow edicts from the central government, although the local people were allowed a certain degree of autonomy in deciding their own affairs The Egyptian government consistently required that trade routes be left open and caravans be allowed to pass unmolested; anyone who interfered with these two requirements was put to the sword Many Egyptian military campaigns involved no fighting Kings would lead armies all the way into Syria or deep into Nubia just to make clear that, if Egypt wished, it could crush these areas The Ninteenth Dynasty (ca 1307–ca 1196 b.c.e.) was an era of great national wealth and military power Its kings were intelligent, strong-minded, and hard working The word pharaoh came into use to describe the king The most famous of the Ninteenth Dynasty kings is Ramses II (r ca 1290–ca 1224 b.c.e.), whose reign was the second longest of the Egyptian kings; he became the model ruler for his successors He was brash and a megalomaniac He was also intelligent, an excellent military leader, and one of the greatest builders among Egypt’s kings His military campaigns prevented the Hittites of the northern Near East from taking control of trade in northern Palestine, and he built impressively huge monuments all over the lands he controlled These monuments, often depicting Ramses II, were intended to show local people the power and geographical range of the Egyptian government The Twentieth Dynasty (ca 1196–ca 1070 b.c.e.) continued the strong rule of the Ninteenth Dynasty until its last 30 HATSHEPSUT, FEMALE KING During the New Kingdom the Chief Royal Wives of the kings were partners with their husbands in ruling Egypt Their status seems to have reflected a general social attitude in Egypt about the rights and responsibilities of husbands and wives as partners, and women and men were equals before the law The wife of the king often ran Egypt’s bureaucracy and economy She sometimes even participated in battles, though warfare seems to have been primarily the husband’s responsibility Occasionally, a woman would become a female king, meaning she had the duties and powers of the male part of kingship The first such female king may have been Sobeknefru (r ca 1787–ca 1783 B.C.E.), who ruled during the Middle Kingdom The most powerful female king was probably Hatshepsut (r ca 1473–ca 1458 B.C.E.), who was the daughter of Thutmose I and had been the wife of Thutmose II When her husband died, she became the regent for her stepson, Thutmose III, but in about 1473 B.C.E she made herself the co-king This shift in her status was reflected in the art of the time: She was depicted wearing a beard which was a traditional symbol of kingship Hatshepsut was responsible for opening up new sources of trade for Egypt In about 1460 B.C.E she sent an expedition through the Red Sea to discover the location of Punt, with which Egypt had traded through intermediaries since the Old Kingdom The expedition found Punt to be a region on the east coast of Africa, and it began direct trading with people in Punt Children of chiefs from Punt were raised in the Egyptian court Hatshepsut also established links with tribal peoples south of the kingdom of Kush, sometimes entertaining delegations from southeastern Africa in her palace Her efforts significantly increased the prosperity of Egyptians, bringing into Egypt gold, ebony, ivory, exotic incenses, and other goods from new foreign sources