Thutmose III - the Greatest Pharaoh

Menkheperre Thutmose III was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. His egyptian name Djehutymes means "Born of Thoth", the god of writing and wisdom.

This pharaoh is regarded by egyptologists and other experts in ancient Egypt history as the greatest of Egypt's kings, despite the fame of Ramses II. No doubt Thutmose III was Egypt's greatest warrior pharaoh. He transformed his country into the first great empire in the Ancient World, and was also a prolific builder of temples during his reign from 1479 to 1425 BC.

Widely considered a military genius by historians, he was an active expansionist ruler who is sometimes referred to as the "Napoleon of Egypt", because he was recorded to have captured 350 cities during his rule and conquered much of the Near East, from the Euphrates to Nubia during seventeen known military campaigns. He was the first pharaoh to cross the Euphrates, during his campaign against Mitanni. His campaign records were then transcribed onto the walls of the temple to Amen at Karnak.

Thutmose III was the son of Pharaoh Thutmose II and Aset (sometimes transliterated Isis), a minor wife. When his father died, the child became king. Hatshepsut, his father's widow, acted as regent and eventually as the dominant co-ruler and real ruler of Egypt. For approximately 22 years the young pharaoh had little power over the empire while Hatshepsut assumed the formal titulary of kingship. After the death of Hatshepsut, he effectively ruled Egypt on his own for 32 years until his death in his 54th regnal year.

Until recently, a general theory has been that after the death of her husband, Hatshepsut 'usurped' the throne from the child pharaoh. Although Thutmose III was a co-regent during this time, early historians have speculated that he never forgave his step-mother for denying him access to the throne for the first 2 decades of his reign. However, this theory has in recent times been reviewed, as questions arise why Hatshepsut would have allowed a resentful heir to control armies, which it is known he did. This view is further supported by the fact that no strong evidence has been found to show Thutmose III was actively seeking to reclaim his throne. Added to this is the fact that the monuments of Hatshepsut were not damaged until at least twenty years after her death, and often much later. Some vandalization is suspected to have been by the 'heretic king', Akhenaten.

Sculptures of Thutmose III are among the most refined and stylized of egyptian portraiture. In this category he created a new kind of "offering to the gods statue" in kneeling position. His image is an idealized face, a blend of tradition and contemporary ideal of formal beauty.

The pharaoh's tomb in the Valley of the Kings (KV34) is the first one in which egyptologists find the complete Amduat, an important New Kingdom funerary text. The "stick figures" which decorate his tomb are the only one of its kind in all of Egypt's funerary art.

Category: Ancient Egypt