Origins of Great Ancient Civilizations | Imperial Egypt (Lecture 7)

Lecture 7: Khamose (r. 1570–1550 B.C.) founded Dynasty XVIII at Thebes and challenged the Hyksos kings of Avaris. Ahmose (r. c. 1550–1544 B.C.) forged a new royal army of chariots and Nubian infantry to expel the Hyksos and restore ma’at in Egypt. The pharaohs of Dynasty XVIII styled themselves as conquerors in memorial reliefs and painting and endowed the shrines of Amon, Ptah, and Ra with rich offerings of thanks. Hatshepsut (r. 1489–1479 B.C.), the first queen to rule in her own right, halted expansion in favor of building projects and diplomacy. But she alienated the military elite at Thebes, and her nephew, Thutmose III (r. 1479–1426 B.C.), seized power. Thutmose III waged 17 campaigns in Asia and organized an Asiatic empire.

The transformation of Egyptian values and material life climaxed in the religious reforms of Akhenaton (r. 1352–1335 B.C.), who aimed to exalt his majesty as the oracular voice of the sole god Aton. Akhenaton sought to break the aristocracy at Thebes and imposed his monotheistic cult by force. Religious reform at home put the Asiatic empire in jeopardy, as the Hittite emperor Šuppiluliumaš (r. 1344–1322 B.C.) conquered northern Syria. Akhenaton had compromised his dynasty and the empire, and his heirs would abandon the cult of Aton. Warrior pharaohs of Dynasty XIX met the Hittite challenge in Asia, but Rameses II (r. 1279–1212 B.C.) achieved a stalemate at Kadesh and was forced to recognize Hittite supremacy in northern Syria. Rameses II and Merneptah (r. 1212–1200 B.C.) restored Egyptian rule in Palestine, but their heirs faced new invaders, the “Sea Peoples,” who ended Egyptian rule in Asia.

Further Reading:
K. A. Kitchen, Pharaoh Triumphant: The Life and Times of Ramesses II.
Donald B. Redford, Akhenaten: Heretic King.

Lecture 8: https://www.bitchute.com/video/UMsaaOqneFKq/