Academic literature on the topic 'Thutmose II'

The aim of the article is to reconsider the question of the co-regency of Thutmose III and Amenhotep II in the light of recent research casting into doubt the existence of this institution in the Middle Kingdom. The author re-examines the sources cited in favour of the co-regency, showing that the co-regency hypothesis generates more problems than it allegedly solves. Instead of searching for one simple solution for all seemingly insurmountable problems raised up by the available evidence, the author proposes to explain each problem individually. As a result, it seems that questions such as the alleged double coronation date of Amenhotep II, the problem of his two ‘first victorious campaigns’, or the presence of the images of Thutmose III and Amenhotep II in the temple of Amada can be satisfactorily explained without any necessity to maintain that both pharaohs ever ruled together, even for a brief period of time.

Abstract Egyptian dates are widely used for fixing the chronologies of surrounding countries in the Ancient Near East. But the astronomical basis of Egyptian chronology is shakier than generally assumed. The moon dates of the Middle and New Kingdom are here re-examined with the help of experiences gained from Babylonian astronomical observations. The astronomical basis of the chronology of the New Kingdom is at best ambiguous. The conventional date of Thutmose III’s year 1 in 1479 BC agrees with the raw moon dates, but it has been argued by several Egyptologists that those dates should be amended by one day, and then the unique match is 1504 BC. The widely accepted identification of a moon date in year 52 of Ramesses II, which leads to an accession of Ramesses II in 1279 BC, is by no means certain. In my opinion that accession year remains nothing more than one of several possibilities. If one opts for a shortened Horemhab reign, dating Ramesses II to 1290 BC gives a better compromise chronology. But the most convincing astronomical chronology is a long one: Ramesses II in 1315 BC, Thutmose III in 1504 BC. It is favored by Amarna-Hittite synchronisms and a solar eclipse in the time of Muršili II. The main counter-argument is that this chronology is at least 10–15 years higher than what one calculates from the Assyrian King List and the Kassite synchronisms. For the Middle Kingdom on the other hand, among the disputed dates of Sesostris III and Amenemhet III one combination turns out to be reasonably secure: Sesostris III’s year 1 in 1873/72 BC and Amenemhet III’s 30 years later.

Throughout its existence the Temple of Hatshepsut, as well as two other royal sanctuaries, the temples of Mentuhotep II and Thutmose III, located in the great bay of Deir el-Bahari, have been under constant threat of falling rocks from the overhanging Theban cliff. The PCMA UW archaeological expedition at Deir el-Bahari, which has progressed with the study and conservation of the Hatshepsut temple since the 1960s, has implemented a project designed to address the issue of the protection of the temple from damages that could be caused by environmental processes (rainwater and seismic activity) affecting the Theban cliff behind the monument. In a geological survey of the fractured limestone cliff, the evidence from 31 observation stations was appraised and samples of Esna Shale and Theban Limestone were examined in order to ascertain the degree of the cliff’s instability and fragility. The results were used to prepare a 2D model presenting the environmental processes threatening the ancient substance.

This paper reviews the monuments built in the Theban area during the reigns of Hatshepsut and Thutmosis III, and their stone materials. This period witnessed a shift from limestone to sandstone in the second part of the Hatshepsut coregency with Thutmosis III, when the queen commissioned an ambitious architectural program. In his autonomous reign, Thutmosis III reused limestone in various monuments, possibly to distance himself from the queen’s choices, and to connect his reign with those of their glorious predecessors in the Middle Kingdom (Mentuhotep II at Deir el-Bahari; Senusret III at Medamud) and in the early Eighteenth Dynasty (Thutmosis I and II).