Key Dates of the New Kingdom from Ahmose I to Tutankhamun

By rynnemm
  • 1550 BCE

    Rebuilding of Thebes

    Thebes was located in the lower part of Egypt, and was hence in the area of the Hyksos under their power - however the Hyksos had little to no control over the city. After the Hyksos were expelled from Egypt, the 18th dynasty pharaohs set to rebuilding the city, to make it their capital. Great palaces were built, and they appeared on both banks of the river Nile. Many noble families kept estates in the area, and in the streets, foreign traders and soldiers mingled with the citizens.
  • 1550 BCE

    Kamose's Death

    Kamose was the last Theban king of the 17th Dynasty (the 2nd intermediate period). He is most well known for the military initiatives he used to expel the Hyksos from Ancient Egypt. The Hyksos controlled most of the lower (north) and middle Egypt region. Kamose is said to have taken back full control of the Ancient Egyptian empire. His full brother, Ahmose I, who is said to have founded the 18th dynasty in the New Kingdom.
  • 1550 BCE

    Luxor Temple

    In ancient Egypt, the temple area now known as Luxor was called Ipt rsyt, the "southern sanctuary", referring to the holy of hollies at the temples southern end, wherein the main god, Amun "preeminent in his sanctuary", lived. The earliest mention of the temple comes from a pair of stelae found in Maasara quarry, in the hills east of Memphis, inscribed in regnal year 22 of the reign of Ahmose, c. 1550 BC, however, structural evidence dates only during the co-rule of Hatsheput and Thutmosis 3.
  • 1550 BCE

    Karnak Temple

    The Karnak Temple was the main religious temple for the Egyptian God, Amun-Re. Amenhotep I constructed a barque shrine and a gateway. Thutmose I erected an enclosure wall around the Middle Kingdom temple, connecting the 4th and 5th pylons, which comprise the earliest part of the temple still standing in its original place. (To be continued)
  • 1550 BCE

    Karnak Temple - Continued

    Inside, they contain 14 papyrus columns and the two obelisks of Hatshepsut, which were later hidden by walls ordered by Thutmose 3. Thutmose 3 also extended the temple by more than 50% with the addition of the Akh-menu building, which is also referred to as the "Festival Hall of Thutmose 3". After a brief period of interruption during the Amarna Period, when the Egyptian capital was moved to Akhetaten, construction resumed at Karnak under Tutankhamun and Horemheb.
  • Period: 1539 BCE to 1514 BCE

    Pharaoh - Ahmose 1

    Ahmose 1 is best known for being the founder of the 18th dynasty and the New Kingdom, and completing the expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt. After Egypt was secure, Ahmose created a government loyal to him and gave lands to distinguished veterans of his campaigns and to members of the royal family. He reactivated the copper mines in Sinai and resumed trade with the cities of the Syrian coast, as shown by inscriptions recording the use of cedar found in Syria and by the jewellery from his reign.
  • Period: 1479 BCE to 1426 BCE

    Pharaoh - Thutmose 3

    Thutmose 3 was the son of Thutmose 2, and stepson of Hatshepsut. He is considered one of the great militaristic pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, as he conquered most of Syria, crossed the Euphrates to defeat the Mitannians, and continuing south along the Nile River to Napata in the Sudan. He is also known for the Battle of Megiddo, in which he led Egypt to victory over the rebels. He is also known for removing any trace of Hatshepsut from the public, and covered up her obelisk at the Karnak Temple.
  • 1473 BCE

    Pharaoh - Hatshepsut

    Hatshepsut is one of the only female pharaohs' to reign 18th dynasty. She came to power as regent after the death of her husband, Thutmose 2, as her stepson, Thutmose 3 was young to rule the empire, however, by the 7th year into his reign, she was crowned Pharaoh. She is known for wearing the traditional male attire, a fake beard, and posing in the male stature. She is famous for her temple in Thebes, and her trading expeditions to form strong alliances with allies and enemies alike.
  • 1458 BCE

    Mortuary Temples - Hatshepsut

    Mortuary Temples were mainly constructed for the pharaohs during the Old and Middle Kingdoms of Ancient Egypt. The most famous mortuary temple from the New Kingdom, is that of Hatshepsut. Her temple is located on the western bank of the Nile river, and that area is called Deir el-Bahri. The temple designed after the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II (c. 2061-2010 BCE), the great Theban prince who founded the 11th Dynasty and started the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (2040-1782 BCE).
  • 1458 BCE

    Mortuary Temples - Hatshepsut (Continued

    She commissioned her mortuary temple at some point soon after coming to power in 1479 BCE and had it designed to tell the story of her life and reign and surpass any other in elegance and grandeur. The temple was designed by Hatshepsut’s steward and confidante Senenmut. Senenmut modeled it carefully on that of Mentuhotep 2 (who Hatshepsut admired) but took every aspect of the earlier building and made it larger, longer, and more elaborate.
  • 1457 BCE

    Battle of Megiddo

    Conflicting information says that the Battle of Megiddo occurred during the 23rd year of Thutmose 3rd's reign - however, it is somewhat known that Thutmose 3 changed the dates of his reign to cover-up his stepmother's reign as Pharaoh - Hatshepsut.
    The revolt for the Battle of Megiddo was lead by the King of Kadesh, a city whose strong fortress gave him a secure base.
  • 1457 BCE

    Battle of Megiddo - 1

    The Canaanites, Mitanni, and Amurru joined his rebel alliance, as did the King of Megiddo, another ruler with a strong fortress base.
    Megiddo was strategically vital, controlling the main trade route between Egypt and Mesopotamia, now known as the Via Maris. The rebel forces gathered here. At this time, wars were fought in chariots, horses had not yet been bred strong enough to carry an armed rider, making chariots the only way to move around the battlefield and deliver sudden shock attacks.
  • 1457 BCE

    Battle of Megiddo - 2

    Thutmose 3 did more than just spread his army out around the fortress like the Kings of Kadeshi and Mediggo did, instead, he spread his troops out everywhere. While the Pharaoh led the attack in the center, his left wing made a fast, aggressive strike against the Kadeshi and Mediggo rebel forces. The rebels then retreated into Mediggo, and closed the gates to lock the Egyptians out.
  • 1457 BCE

    Battle of Megiddo - 3

    In retaliation, Mediggo suffered through a siege where the Egyptians dug out a moat, and let the people inside the fortress starve. Eventually, they surrended, and Thutmoses 3 was considered merciful, as he let many of the people inside the fortress live.
    The battle of Mediggo is considered one of the oldest documented military battles known to man. This is because Thutmose 3 made his personal scribe keep a journal of the battle, which was later recorded on the Amun-Re Temple at Karnak.
  • 1400 BCE

    Enemies - The Hittites - 2

    as they wanted someone with Egyptian linage to rule the empire. The Hittites also fought the Egyptians during the Battle of Kadesh, and also formed the Treaty of Kadesh.
  • 1400 BCE

    Enemies - The Hittites

    The Hittites were a group of people from Anatolia - which is now Turkey. The occupied the region prior to 1700 BCE, and had developed a culture from the Hatti people, and expanded their lands into an empire which threatened and rivalled the Egyptians. Unlike the Egyptian time periods, the Hittite empire is split only into the Old Kingdom (1700-1500 BCE) and the New Kingdom (1400-1200).
  • 1400 BCE

    Enemies - The Hittites - 1

    Both empires fought many wars with each other, with Horemheb fighting them during King Tut's rule. There are also records of letters sent between the Hittite king Suppiluliuma I and Amenhotep 3 and Akhenaten in the Armana Letters. When King Tut died, his wife sent a letter to the Hittite king asking to marry one of his sons - he never made it that far, as Horemheb or Ay most likely killed him...
  • Period: 1390 BCE to 1353 BCE

    Pharaoh - Amenhotep 3

    Amenhotep 3 is known for being pharaoh in Ancient Egypt, at a time where there was lots of peaceful prosperity, and also for expanding diplomatic contacts and building in Egypt and Nubia. He is the father of Ahkenaton, and has his diplomatic life documented in the Armana Letters. He contracted political marriages with the sisters and daughters of the kings of Mitanni, Babylon and sought to marry a Hittite princess as well. There was also diplomatic correspondence with Assyria, Cyrpus and Syria.
  • 1353 BCE

    Pharaoh's Wife - Nefertiti 2

    Nefertiti's body has not been found, and there are theories about what happened to her after her husband's death. One suggests that she became a Pharaoh called Smenkhkare, but, a male body has been discovered and is believed to be Smenkhkare and not Nefertiti.
  • 1353 BCE

    Pharaoh's Wife - Nefertiti

    Nefertiti was married to Akhenaten, and was important in the practises of the monotheistic religion around Aten. Her parentage is unknown, but it is believed that she could be a princess from Mitanni or that she was an Egyptian born daughter to Ay brother of Akhenaton’s mother, Tiy.
  • Period: 1353 BCE to 1336 BCE

    Pharaoh - Akhenaten

    Akhenaten (born Amenhotep 4) was one of the pharaohs during the 18th dynasty. He turned the New Kingdom into a monotheistic empire, where they worshipped him and his wife, Nefertiti, and through them, they worshipped the sun god, Aton. Akhenaten then moved the capital from Thebes to Akhetaton (Tell el-Armana), 300km north on the East Bank of the Nile.
    His son, Tutankaten, after becoming Pharaoh himself, would change the monotheistic religion back to polytheism, under the influence of priests.
  • Period: 1333 BCE to 1323 BCE

    Pharaoh - Tutankhamen

    King Tut is most famous in the western world for the discovery of his practically intact tomb being discovered in 1922. During his reign, advisers aided him to restore the traditional Egyptian religion, which had been forgotten by Akhenaton, who had led the change to the monotheistic religion. King Tut was born Tutankhaten, but changed his name after the change in religion. He became king at age 8, and died around age 19, hence why he had royal advisers, who later became pharaohs themselves.
  • Period: 1323 BCE to 1319 BCE

    Pharaoh - Ay(e)

    Ay is first mentioned as a member of Ahkenaten's court. He is also suggested to be the father of Ahkenaten's wife, Nefertiti. Ay may have taken on the role of elder statesman and may have been one of the guiding hands behind the court’s abandonment of Akhetaton (Tell el-Amarna) and the reinstatement of the primacy of Amon at Thebes. When Tut died, at his funeral, Ay was taken to be his presumptive heir.
  • Period: 1323 BCE to 1319 BCE

    Pharaoh - Ay(e) - 1

    Ay seems to have usurped both the tomb and mortuary temple of Tutankhamen at Thebes, with the latter buried in a hastily converted private tomb in the Valley of the Kings and Ay receiving a much larger sepulchre in the nearby west valley. In other respects he continued to honour the memory of his young predecessor, adding his own texts next to those of Tutankhamen and continuing the decoration of the Temple of Luxor. Ay died after a short reign and was succeeded by the general Horemheb.
  • Period: 1319 BCE to 1292 BCE

    Pharaoh - Horemheb

    Horemheb is the last king of the 18th Dynasty, and is known for his continuation in the restoration of the polytheistic gods, after the change to monotheism under Ahkenaten. Horemheb served as a commander in the army under Tut, and came to power after the very short reign of Ay, and completed the dismantling of the temples of the Aton built at Karnak in order to suppress what was considered an divergent religion. He also usurped monuments created by Ay and Tut by carving his name over theirs.
  • 1305 BCE

    Enemies - the Libyans - 1

    The most important clashes came during the reigns kings Seti 1 and Ramses 2 in the Nineteenth Dynasty of the New Kingdom. Meremptah and Ramses 3 bore the brute of the battles thrown at them by the Libyans. During Merenptah’s fifth year of rule, the Libyans invaded Egypt and were joined by a group of the Sea Peoples. After the reign of Ramses 3, it was clear that the Libyans and the Egyptians were now mixed together after years of migration, and they were to change the political world of Eypt.
  • Period: 1292 BCE to 1279 BCE

    Pharaoh - Seti 1

    Seti 1 is considered one of the greatest pharaohs of the 19th dynasty and the founder of the Ramessids, even though his name was not Ramses, his father was Ramses 1 and only reigned for two years - Ramses was also the founder of the 19th dynasty. Seti restored parts of the Egyptian empire which had been lost in the last troubled years of the 18th dynasty. He had at least one fight with the Hittite King, Muwatallis; he then finalised a peace treaty that may have started the frontier at Kadesh.
  • Period: 1279 BCE to 1213 BCE

    Pharaoh - Ramses 2

    Ramses 2 was the 3rd pharaoh of the 19th dynasty, and had the 2nd longest reign in Egyptian history. He is known not only for his battles against the Hittites and Libyans, but he is known for his extensive building programs and for the many colossal statues of him found all over Egypt. He is also known as Ramses the Great.
  • 1276 BCE

    Enemies - the Sea Peoples

    The Sea Peoples were a group of naval raiders who ravaged the Mediterranean region during the New Kingdom. It is not known what country they originated in, as the only descriptions of them came from the Ancient Egyptian text, which described them in ways the Egyptian's described every unknown invaders they encountered. The three pharaohs that fought them and won are Ramesses 2, his son and successor Merenptah , and Ramesses 3.
  • 1275 BCE

    The Battle of Kadesh

    In one of the world’s largest chariot battles, fought beside the Orontes River, Ramses 2 sought to take Syria from the Hittites and reclaim the Hittite-held city of Kadesh. There was a day of carnage as around 5,000 chariots charged into battle, but no with outright victor. The battle led to the world’s first recorded peace treaty. Ramses 2 was following an expansionist policy of his father, Senti 1, and invaded the Hittite territories in Palestine and pushed on into Syria. Ramses was tricked...
  • 1247 BCE

    The Battle of Kadesh - Continued

    by deserters of the Hittite force. These men turned out to be loyal agents of the Pharaoh's enemy, and had tricked the Egyptians and the Hittite forces attacked. However, after their surprise attack, instead of holding their ground, decided to advance further and plunder the Egyptians. Determined, Ramses quickly regrouped his men and launched a counterattack. With the shock advantage gone, the Hittite chariots seemed slow and ungainly; the lighter Egyptian vehicles out-manoeuvred them with ease.
  • 1247 BCE

    The Battle of Kadesh - Continued 2

    Both sides then claimed victory - equally resulting in a draw, as there was no clear winner, it was inconclusive.
    Rameses 2 had his temples adorned with celebratory recounts of the story which gives us their biased point of view.
    The battle also lead to the first known peace treaty, which had both the Hittites and the Ancient Egyptians return to Kadesh 15 years later to create a peace treaty, which is the first known example in history.
  • Period: 1213 BCE to 1204 BCE

    Pharaoh - Meremptah

    Meremptah was the 13th son of Ramses 2, and was about 60 years old when he came to power. He is known for his military exploits, which can be compared to that of his fathers of being equally as great for the time span they occurred in. The military had weakened towards the end of his father's reign, and Meremptah gave it strength back, as he had to fight the Libyans who had penetrated the buffer territory west of the delta oases and were encroaching on Egyptian lands.
  • Period: 1213 BCE to 1204 BCE

    Pharaoh - Meremptah - 1

    Meremptah learned that some Sea Peoples - people who had been displaced from Asia Minor and the Aegean lands were roving the through the Middle East - had joined the Libyans and with them were thinking to attack Memphis and Heliopolis, the administrative and religious centres near the delta’s apex.
  • Period: 1213 BCE to 1204 BCE

    Pharaoh - Meremptah - 2

    Meremptah unleashed his arches, which killed most of the opposing army. Meremptah ordered the carving of four commemorative texts. One of these, the “Israel Stela,” contains the earliest-known reference to Israel, which Meremptah counted among the peoples that he defeated. Meremptah left little monuments compared to his father, but Meremptah military accomplishments are considered equal to that of him.
  • Period: 1187 BCE to 1156 BCE

    Pharaoh - Ramses 3

    Ramses 3 is the son of Setnakht who was the founder of the 20th dynasty. In the fifth year of his reign, a group of Libyan tribes invaded the western Nile River delta on the understanding that the pharaoh had interfered in their chief’s succession, however, the Libyans were defeated in a battle on the Western Delta. After two years of peace, another uprising from the Sea Peoples advanced on Egypt by boat and land, however their boats were trapped in the delta and their land army...
  • Period: 1187 BCE to 1156 BCE

    Pharaoh - Ramses 3 - 1

    was defeated by the pharaoh, and they settled on the coast of Palestine. Two more years of peace happened, but in the 11th year a new group of Libyan tribes invaded the western delta. Forced to wage yet another war, he defeated the Libyans after capturing their chief. After this final conflict, Ramses was able to finish his funerary temple, palace, and town complex in western Thebes. Ramses 3 was killed in a military coup, as one of his secondary wives wanted her son on the throne.
  • 1305

    Enemies - the Libyans

    The Libyans were a group of homogeneous tribes to the west of Egypt. It is unknown how many tribes there were, but in the Ancient Egyptian texts, they identified at least 4 tribes from Libya. During the New Kingdom, the Libyans invaded Egypt 5 times, but before, during and after the invasions, the Libyans were already migrating in masses towards the Egyptian delta region of the Nile.