Amenhotep III

Amenhotep III or Amenophis III inherited the rule of the Egyptian Empire after the death of Thutmose IV, who did not have an adult heir to rule the empire. Some historians say that Amenhotep III was the brother of Thutmose IV, but there is no confirmation of the truth of the relationship between them, he was the ninth king of the Eighteenth Dynasty.

The reign of Amenhotep III

Egypt was stable and undisturbed during the period when Amenhotep III assumed the throne of the empire, and it was reaping a lot of agricultural crops that made it financially stable, in addition to the commitment of all regions in and around the empire to pay annual tribute.

Due to all this prosperity that was pervading the country, a kind of laxity occurred in the army of the state, and Amenhotep III began to focus his interests in aspects different from the rulers who preceded him, he began to rule with introducing himself through murals and paintings depicting the god Ra handing him a throne to prove his eligibility to the throne.

History mentions that at the beginning of his rule, a rebellious revolution emerged in the south, so he went with some of his soldiers, and indeed he succeeded in eliminating this rebellion at that time, but history does not care much about mentioning it due to its insignificance compared to the military and war campaigns waged by the rulers before and after him.

In contrast to the external movements that the rulers were making, Amenhotep III did not make any movement towards the Asian areas, despite the arrival of messages from some of the princes of these regions asking him for help from the raids that were taking place there, but he also did nothing.

King Amenhotep III, approximately in the second year of his reign, married Queen Tiye, who was not from a royal family and was a commoner, the matter with which Amenhotep III defied the priests and laws, as he ordered the establishment of a lake for her, and actually married her and gave birth to Amenhotep IV, who called himself Akhenaten after inheriting the throne of the empire from his father, who called for the monotheism and worship of the god Aten. Although Amenhotep III is the king, his preoccupation with aspects far from the affairs of the state led to his wife, Queen Tiye, taking care of the state affairs, and some messages that were directed to the king from abroad were targeting the name of Queen Tiye in particular.

Due to the lack of important matters that occupied him as a king, this led to declaring himself a god, not the son of God.

King Amenhotep III became famous during his reign for his frequent exploratory and hunting trips, which helped him achieve the peace and prosperity that prevailed in the country. One of his most famous exploratory trips, which was known as research and knowledge trips, when he sent a mission of his soldiers and men of knowledge in the country on a journey in order to follow the sun to the west through the Mediterranean Sea and that this expedition was the first to have reached the shore of the Atlantic Ocean in history, but their news was suddenly interrupted.

Egyptian history mentions that the best image of the capital, Thebes, was in the era of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, given that he paid great attention to decorating and beautifying it, in addition to the statues that returned to their splendid forms in his era and their genius sculpture.

Achievements of Amenhotep III

One of the most famous achievements of Pharaoh Amenhotep III is the Rams Road, which is a road with statues of ancient Egyptian gods on both sides that connects Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple.

He also built the great Luxor Temple, which is located on the eastern bank of the Nile in the capital, Thebes, Luxor currently, and which received great interest from the king at the time, as there was more than one document explaining the designs and construction details of the temple in its genius form that remains to this day.

The two famous statues, known as Memnon, are also located in the western region of the capital, Thebes, which were carved from sandstone, but were damaged in the late BC era due to an earthquake, but they were restored and are still present.

He also paid attention to building many temples, statues, and monuments that were spread throughout the rest of the Egyptian empire, such as Memphis, Sinai, Cyprus, Giza, and others, as well as outside of Egypt, such as Syria and Cyprus.

Death of Amenhotep III

Amenhotep III died at the age of fifty, his tomb in the Valley of the Kings was found empty, but his mummy was later found in an area near Deir el-Bahari. Following the death of Amenhotep III, his son, King Akhenaten, took over the rule of Egypt, and he was considered one of the greatest kings who ruled Egypt not for his military achievements, but for his interest in construction and art, which left a great legacy for the Egyptian empire to this day.