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New Kingdom

The New Kingdom covers the time period from  around 1550 BC to 1070 BC, and it was a time of great political and cultural  achievements in Ancient Egypt. This period saw the rise of some of the most  famous pharaohs in Egyptian history, as well as significant developments in  art, literature, religion, and warfare.

The New Kingdom began with the reign of  Ahmose I, who drove out the Hyksos and reunited Egypt. This marked the  beginning of a period of unprecedented expansion and prosperity, during which  time the Egyptians established a powerful empire that extended from Nubia in  the south to Syria in the north.

The New Kingdom pharaohs were among the  most powerful rulers in the ancient world, and they presided over a period of  great artistic and cultural innovation. The period saw the emergence of iconic  works of art such as the tomb of Tutankhamun and the mortuary temple of  Hatshepsut, as well as important developments in literature, including the Book  of the Dead and the Amarna Letters.

The New Kingdom was also a time of  significant religious innovation. Pharaohs such as Akhenaten attempted to  reform the traditional polytheistic religion of Egypt, and established a  monotheistic cult around the worship of the sun-disk, Aten. This period also  saw the development of the cult of Osiris, the god of the dead, and the  emergence of the Apis Bull cult in Memphis.

In this section, we will explore the key  events and developments of Egypt's New Kingdom, including the reigns of some of  its most famous pharaohs, such as Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten, and  Tutankhamun. We will examine the cultural and artistic achievements of the  period, as well as the religious and political developments that characterized  this time.

Main: Temple of Aton in Amarna (CC by SA 3.0). Inset eclipse (public domain)

Eclipse over Amarna: Beginning of the End for Akhenaten in his City of Light?

The ancient Egyptian civilization was wedded to the Sun, and yet, extant records only ever mention the solar aspect as the giver and sustainer of life that shines brightly for all eternity. Sterling...
Was the Heretic Pharaoh Akhenaton in Fact the Father of Modern Monotheism?

Was the Heretic Pharaoh Akhenaton in Fact the Father of Modern Monotheism?

How plentiful it is, what you have made, Although they are hidden from view, Sole god, without another beside you; You created the earth as you wished, When you were by yourself, Mankind, all cattle...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji (Photo credits: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden/CC BY-SA 4.0, Leiden; Dr Chris Naunton, Heidi Kontkanen and A. K. Moyls); Deriv.

The Many Mysteries of Maya: Faith, Labor and Love for the Motherland–Part II

The sudden and unfortunate death of Tutankhamun created an unprecedented power vacuum that had to be filled swiftly, if order was to be maintained in the Egyptian state. It is probable that a tussle...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji

The Many Mysteries of Maya: On the Trail of Tutankhamun’s Valued Courtier–Part I

The Amarna Period brought to fore many interesting personages, especially from the ruling disposition. While éminence grise Aye and the generalissimo Horemheb became pharaohs after the death of...
An artist’s representation of Giovanni Battista Belzoni’s expedition. Belzoni is one of many researchers who entered the tomb KV20.

KV20: The Famous Female Pharaoh Hatshepsut Has a Magnificent Temple, But What Became of Her Body?

Father and daughter, Tuthmose I and Hatshepsut were two famous pharaohs of the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt; Hatshepsut being only the second confirmed female pharaoh. KV20 is one of the...
Thutmosis III statue and Ancient Egyptian military in battle

What Was in Store for the Citizens of the Besieged City? The Battle of Megiddo—Part II

Pharaoh Thutmose III pushed his 12,000-strong army towards the banks of the Orontes River. His scribe, Tjaneni, kept a daily journal in order to have the Pharaoh’s military exploits inscribed by his...
A Pharaoh’s Exploits Recorded for All Time: The Battle of Megiddo—Part I

A Pharaoh’s Exploits Recorded for All Time: The Battle of Megiddo—Part I

With the death of the famous female Pharaoh – Hatshepsut – Thutmose III rose to power and knew there would be trouble. On the banks of the Orontes River, a revolt was brewing. Amassing a huge army...
3,200-Year-Old Ancient Egyptian Mummy Discovered in Great Shape in Luxor

3,200-Year-Old Ancient Egyptian Mummy Discovered in Great Shape in Luxor

A Spanish mission has just announced an exciting new discovery of a 3,200-year-old mummy in a highly decorated sarcophagus at Thutmose III's temple in Luxor, a city on the east bank of the Nile River...
Hatshepsut

Did Hatshepsut, Number-One Female Pharaoh, Have a Secret Lover?

Perhaps the greatest female pharaoh other than Cleopatra VII, Hatshepsut (ruled 1473-1458 B.C.) was not the first woman to take power as sole monarch in the Two Lands. But Hatshepsut made a true name...
Burial Sites Show How Nubians, Egyptians Integrated Communities Thousands of Years Ago

Burial Sites Show How Nubians and Egyptians Integrated Communities Thousands of Years Ago

New bioarchaeological evidence shows that Nubians and Egyptians integrated into a community, and even married, in ancient Sudan, according to new research from a Purdue University anthropologist. "...
General view of the Valley of the Queens

Ta Set Neferu – A Valley Where Beauties Sleep – Part I

The Valley of the Queens is a popular necropolis located on the south west of the village and temples of Medinet Habu. Along with the Valley of the Kings, it's one of the most fascinating...
Doorway to Tomb 14, interior.

Previously Unreported New Kingdom Necropolis Revealed in Egypt

Dozens of tombs have been discovered by archaeologists working in Gebel el-Silsila in Egypt. Bones of men, women, and children of all ages have all been found in the rock-cut tombs. The necropolis is...
Professor Stuart Tyson Smith opens an intact tomb with the coffined, mummified burial of an elderly woman inside.

Ancient Tomb Reveals Cultural Entanglement between Egypt and Nubia

At some point around 1500 BC, Egypt conquered Upper Nubia, and each kingdom took on cultural aspects of the other. Clear evidence of this cultural mixing is seen in the recently discovered grave of...
Hatshepsut

Archaeologists identify Temple of Hatshepsut, the female Pharaoh the ancients tried to erase

King Thutmose III, sixth Pharaoh of the 18 th Dynasty in Ancient Egypt, tried to erase all memory of Hatshepsut, the “Woman Who Was King”, but he was unsuccessful as traces of this powerful female...
A general overview of the temple. Credit: The Gebel Silsila Survey Project 2015.

Ancient temple dating back 3,500 years found near Aswan in Egypt

Archaeologists have made a remarkable discovery at Gebel el Silsila, a historic quarry site near Aswan on the River Nile, - a sacred temple used for four epochs of ancient Egyptian history spanning...
This is the lower part of the shrine unearthed in Heliopolis

Archaeologists find Late Dynastic and pre-Dynastic ruins under Cairo

Egyptologists have found carved basalt blocks in a chapel to King Nectanebo I, founder of the 30 th Dynasty—the last native Egyptian royal house before Alexander the Great conquered the country in...
The ruins of the fortress near the ancient fortified city of Tell Habua after recent excavations

Newly discovered fortress on Way of Horus in Egypt stood sentinel against its enemies

Ancient Egypt was one of the most powerful civilizations of the ancient world, but it was under attack by other peoples at various times throughout its history. Consequently, it had a powerful...
3,400-Year-Old Underwater Temple from Era of Thumosis III near Cairo

3,400-Year-Old Underwater Temple from Era of Thutmosis III Discovered near Cairo

The Minister of Antiquities in Egypt has announced the discovery of an ancient Egyptian temple near Cairo, from the time of Pharaoh Thutmose III. The ancient temple was found beneath a house,...
Tombs in the Valley of the Kings

More than 50 royal Egyptian mummies unearthed in Valley of the Kings

In a remarkable new discovery, archaeologists have uncovered a massive tomb in the West Bank of the Nile Valley of the Kings in Luxor containing more than 50 royal Egyptians, including four princes,...
Tempest Stela

Translation of Tempest Stela could change ancient timeline

The Tempest Stela is a 6-foot-tall calcite block found in the 3 rd Pylon of the temple of Karnak in Thebes, modern Luxor. In a new translation of the 40-line inscription, scholars affirm previous...
Pharaoh Akhenaton

Pharaoh Akhenaten

Pharaoh Amenhotep IV was one of the most puzzling pharaohs of Egypt, also mentioned as the ‘Heretic Pharaoh’ or ‘Rebel Pharaoh’. His father was Amenhotep III , the King of the 18 th dynasty when...

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