1560 BCE: King Seqenenre Tao is dead. His body must now be retrieved from the battlefield and given its proper burial, a task which falls to his widow.
This formidable and talented Queen Ah-Hotep will keep Thebes together, helping to maintain its unity in the face of catastrophe.
Soon, Seqenenre's son, Kamose must decide: will he take vengeance? Or will he try to salvage a peace?
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The royal names and titles of Seqenenre on the burial shroud of his son, Ahmose (Egyptian Museum, Turin, Italy; Image: Wikipedia).
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One of two Kamose stelae, detailing his campaigns in the North.
Bibliography
Garry J. Shaw. "The Death of King Seqenenre Tao." Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt. 2009. Read online at JSTOR.
Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. 2010.
William Kelly Simpson (editor). The Literature of Ancient Egypt.
The Second Intermediate Period is coming to its end. On land and river the Thebans attack the Hyksos, pushing them northward towards their capital.
King Ahmose I and his mother Queen Ah-hotep are pummeling their foes, while raising up their friends. We met two of these: Ahmose Ibana, a commoner, and QueenAhmose-Nefertari, wife of the King and priestess of Amun.
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A dagger belonging to King Ahmose I, found in his tomb (Royal Ontario Museum).
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A bronze axe, inscribed with the cartouches of Neb-pehty-Re Ahmose I (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford).
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A dagger handle, with the names of King Apepy (of Avaris), the Ruler of the Hyksos (National Egyptian Museum, Cairo).
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Queen Ahmose-Nefertari, the Priestess of Amun-Re, consort of the King, and daughter of Ah-hotep (Metropolitan Museum, NY).
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Trinkets of King Ahmose I, including two small lions and a box in the shape of his cartouche (Musee du Louvre).
Bibliography
Reshafim.org – The Autobiography of Ahmose son of Ibana.
Irene Forstner-Muller, “Avaris, its Harbours and the Peru-nefer Problem,” Egyptian Archaeology 45 (2014). Read for free online at Academia.edu.
W. Vivian Davies, “The Tomb of Ahmose Son-of-Ibana at Elkab, Documenting the Family and Other Observations,” Elkab and Beyond: Studies in Honour of Luc Limme, 2009. Read for free at Academia.edu.
Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, 2010.
William Kelly Simpson (editor). The Literature of Ancient Egypt, 2006.
The Hyksos are on the run, pursued by King Ahmose I and his warriors. Into the lands of Palestine they go, towards their final confrontation at Sharuhen.
Meanwhile, Queen Mother Ah-hotep leads the Theban army against a rebellion, in order to crush sedition and assert her family's dominance.
Finally, the Thebans must rally in the face of environmental disaster, as the gods enact a sudden tempest.
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A soldier of the Middle Kingdom, bearing an axe and shield. Probably very similar to the warriors accompanying Ahmose I.
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Sharuhen, now known as Tell el-Farah South.
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The golden flies of Ah-hotep; found in her tomb west of Thebes.
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The dagger of Queen Ah-hotep; copper, gold and silver. Found in her tomb west of Thebes.
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The axe of Queen Ah-hotep, found in her tomb west of Thebes.
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The golden fan of Queen Ah-hotep. Ostrich feathers would have been inserted into the rim to create a cooling breeze.
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The copper hand-mirror of Ah-hotep, from her tomb at Thebes.
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The heir to the throne Ahmose Sapair; died at six years old, buried west of Thebes in a tomb later used for his grandmother Ah-hotep.
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The coffin and mummy of Sapair, found in the Deir el-Bahari Cache (more on that at another time).
Bibliography
Robert K. Ritner and Nadine Moeller. "The Ahmose 'Tempest' Stela, Thera and Comparative Chronology," Journal of Near Eastern Studies 2014. Read for Free at Academia.edu.
W. Vivian Davies, “The Tomb of Ahmose Son-of-Ibana at Elkab, Documenting the Family and Other Observations,” Elkab and Beyond: Studies in Honour of Luc Limme, 2009. Read for Free at Academia.edu.
Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, 2010.
From 1530 BCE to 1510, Thebes enjoys a resurgence in wealth and power. Tombs become more elaborate, the middle-class of artisans and craftsmen grows, and the King's building program puts the city on the path to great splendour.
But Amunhotep is not the greatest king of all time, and there are many question marks hanging over his reign. Where is his tomb? What kind of power did he really exercise in his own government? And why did he not leave any children behind?
Thebes, 1519 BCE. Amunhotep I
is dead; Queen Mother Ahhotep is dead. Power has
shifted from one branch of the family to another, and a newcomer is
on the throne.
Thutmose I secures his legitimacy by marrying a
cousin and a sister of Amunhotep, then launches two campaigns of
war. In Nubia and in Syria he
subjugates, defeats and conquers, before encountering some
unexpected new foes.
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A stone head, possibly of Thutmose I (Source:
Wikipedia)
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The Egyptian territories in Nubia. Under
Thutmose I they extend to point (3), Dongola.
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The extent of the Mitanni power in 1400 BCE
(some 120 years after this episode). The conflict between the
Mitanni and Thutmose took place somewhere
near Aleppo.
Bibliography
Books andArticles
Anthony Spalinger, War in
Ancient Egypt, 2005.
Nicolas Grimal, A History
of Ancient Egypt, 1994.
Aidan Dodson and Dyan
Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt,
2004 and 2010.
James Breasted, A History
of Egypt, 1905, 1909 and 1964.
James Breasted, Records of
Ancient Egypt, Volume II, 1906.
The Tomb of King Tut; a Temple of Hatshepsut; a Temple of Nectanebo.
Welcome to a new feature of the podcast, "News from the Field," in which we round up the latest and most exciting news from Egyptology and Archaeology.
This episode, specialists are meeting to discuss the tomb of Tut'ankhamun, and what to do about Dr. Nicholas Reeves' theory that there is a hidden tomb inside. Although everyone is excited at the prospect, they are advising caution: digging rashly into the tomb could be a catastrophe. So we have to be sure first.
Archaeologists working in Aswan have uncovered new relics of Queen Hatshepsut. They have found a barque shrine, where statues of the gods would have been housed and protected. It s an exciting discovery, offering good information on the reign of this fantastic woman.
Finally, a new temple has been discovered at Heliopolis, Cairo. Belonging to Nectanebo I (c.380 BCE), the temple reveals the King as a servant of the sun god Re. He offers himself, and his name, to the Majesty of the great god, invoking his protection thereby.
In the early Fourth Dynasty, Prince Rahotep, son of Sneferu, was embarking on his career in the government. This work would consume all his years, as he rose from post to post, finally reaching the highest offices of the land.
We know of Rahotep from his magnificent tomb at Meidum, which housed a pair of statues: Rahotep and his wife, Nofret, enthroned for eternity.
Thutmose I Strikes Back: Genocide, Family Matters, and the Valley of the Kings.
Family, exploration and tomb-building dominated Thutmose's first few years. He took great care for his five children, bringing on a special tutor for the princes, Paheri. This man, grand-son of Ahmose Ibana represented the culmination of three generations of family fortunes.
Thutmose launches a new tomb in a new location, the Valley of the Kings. Although a small tomb, it is the start of a new era in our story, where royal burials begin to cluster in a single magnificent cemetery.
Finally the King launches a new campaign into Nubia. He leaves record of this at Tombos, a record that suggests his activities were less than salubrious - they may even have been genocidal.
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The sarcophagus of Thutmose I from his tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Made for him by Hatshepsut (source: wikipedia).
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The tomb of Thutmose I in the Valley of the Kings - KV38
From 1519 - 1505 BCE, Thutmose I ruled the country with a distinct agenda: he separated the royal from the common, and the sacred from the mundane. At Karnak and in the Valley of the Kings his projects helped reshape the physical expression of kingship.
The architect of these projects, Ineni, gets a look-in. We also say farewell to the last matriarch of the Ahmosid royal family, Ahmose-Nefertari. Finally, a new up-and-comer princess, Hatshepsut, starts her career in the temple of Karnak.
From 1495 - 1490 BCE, Hatshepsut acts as regent for her step-son, the nominal King of Egypt Thutmose III. But the Queen Regent has plans, and soon begins to consolidate her power, encouraging the support of officials, priests and nobles to bolster her authority over the Two Lands...
In 1488 BCE, just one year, Hatshepsut makes some of her most daring moves. She takes the throne, becoming the second of Egypt's currently reigning kings.
To solidify her old on power, Hatshepsut leads a short campaign to Nubia, and then begins work on a magnificent building project.
We explore the temple of Djeser-Djeseru, "Holy of Holies," the great terrace at Deir el-Bahari.
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The four stages of Hatshepsut's public image, from female (1) to male (4). Larger resolution.
Photos from Metropolitan Museum of Art (#1; #2; #3; #4; )
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Hatshepsut and Seshat (goddess) "stretch the cord" to establish Djeser-Djeseru (photo: J.A. Belmonte)
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Alabaster oil-jar, from the foundation deposits of Deir el-Bahari (Louvre)
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Reconstruction of the Deir el-Bahari foundation deposits (Met. Museum of Art)
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The Temple of Djeser-Djeseru at Deir el-Bahari. Larger Resolution. Stock photo.
James H. Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, vol. II, 1906.
Catherine A. Roehrig (editor), Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh, 2005.
Edouard Naville, The Temple of Deir el-Bahari, vols. V and VI, 1906.
Marta Sankiewicz, "The 'co-regency' of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III in light of iconography in the temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari," Current Research in Egyptology 2010, 2011. Read Online.
Betsy M. Bryan (editor), Creativity and Innovation in the Reign of Hatshepsut, 2014.
In a short break, we explore the tale Hatshepsut told about her origins. She ascribed her creation and birth to the King of the Gods, Amun-Ra himself. In this dramatic recount, we go through the whole story (as it survives).
BibliographyJames H. Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, vol. II, 1906.
In 1488-1487 BCE, Egypt's reigning Queen-King Maat-ka-Re Hatshepsut launches her most famous project. Returning to the glory days of previous kings, she funds an expedition south, down the Red Sea coast, to the wonderful land of Punt.
We journey to Punt, meet the locals, and see how it all fits into Hatshepsut's grand personal narrative.
Life is breezy and comfortable in the Nile Valley. The regular pattern of flood, planting and harvest has set a sedate pace of life for the people living here.
But while they live comfortably, they are aware of the disorder that lies beyond the quietude of the river. The Egyptians are developing a conception of the universe natural Order; along with that, they begin to despise its opposite, Disorder. They seek to control and regulate it.
This concept finds its first expression in the lands dominated by the people of Naqada, one of Egypt's most famous communities.
Animals, then people, will fall to the aggressive attempts of Naqadan Egyptians to control their world.
The Scorpion King macehead (Full Resolution here).
Naqada II Material Culture
A bone figurine of a woman, c.3800 BCE, from an unknown place in Upper Egypt. Because of its general location and time, it is considered to be of the Naqada I "Amratian" Phase. British Museum.
A seated woman, made in limestone. Made around 3450 BCE, putting it in the late Naqada II "Gerzean" Phase. Possibly from Naqada itself! Met Museum of Art, NY.
A painted terracotta figurine of a woman. Discovered in Upper Egypt, made c. 3450 BCE. Its location and date place it roughly on the Naqada II "Gerzean" Phase, but close to the Naqada III phase as well. Brooklyn Museum. See other, beautiful objects from the same location here.
A pot of the Naqada II "Gerzean" Phase, when Naqadan tools, pots and artistic tropes were being carried throughout the country. Made of Nile mud clay and decorated in red paint before being put in the kiln.
See how these types of pots may have been fired in this attempted reconstruction (website with pictures, or academic article).
A Naqada II pot, with schematic of its decoration. Full resolution here.
A "Hathor" cow palette, in the Cairo Museum.
For an excellent corpus of palettes from Naqada I-III (c.4000-3200), see here.
Bibliography
Robert J. Wenke, The Ancient Egyptian State, 2009.
David Wengrow, The Archaeology of Early Egypt, 2006.
John Romer, A History of Egypt from the First Farmers to the Great Pyramid, 2013.
We are making some alterations to the show's hosting website. This is merely a test of the hosting functions. Please skip ahead to the next episode of The Egyptian History Podcast
From 1495 to 1485 BCE, a young noble-man found his career accelerating in tandem with his queen. This was the legendary Senenmut, who became on of Hatshepsut's closest allies and most trusted servants.
We follow Senenmut from his birth and upbringing to the very corridors of power, and his accession over all other contenders.
