Thutmose III and Hatshepsut Pharaohs of Egypt: Their Lives and Afterlives, Aidan Dodson, c. 2025, The American University in Cairo Press

Before we get started, an article from The NY Times.

Link here. 

So'oud Aten, Egypt's "lost golden city."

Pharaoh Akhenaten, 3,000 years ago.

The city was discovered only four years ago by archeologists searching for a mortuary temple where animal skeletons were arranged for religious rites. 

A shift in religious thinking over time.

Then in his life changing ruling, Akhenaten decided that his citizens should worship Aten, who was represented by the sun, he said, adding that it was possibly the first historical example of monotheism.

Others like Ikram, prefer to define him as a henotheist — someone who worships one particular god, while acknowledging the existence and potential worship of other deities.

Akhenaten, Hawass said, was “hated” by religious priests who profited from the worship of multiple gods. 

“He wanted to go to a place to worship Aten,” Hawass said, adding that he chose a site known today as Tell-el Amarna, around 200 miles south of Egypt’s capital, Cairo.  

He called the new city the “Rise of Aten,” Hawass said, adding that he believed that he was inspired to build the city by his father, Amenhotep III, who ruled Egypt from 1391 till 1353 B.C. 

But mentioning other gods, especially the major deity Amun, “became prohibited” under the reign of Akhenaten, she said.

Queen Nefertiti, Akhenaten's farmore famous wife.

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The Book

Thutmose III and Hatshepsut Pharaohs of Egypt: Their Lives and Afterlives, Aidan Dodson, c. 2025, The American University in Cairo Press (wow).

After reviewing this book for a second time, it's really amazing how much scholars know about Egyptian royal titulary -- again, there was a not a lot of narrative writing -- just lists of accomplishments and monuments -- and then the other side of the coin, how little archaeologists really know about the lives / accomplishments of the pharaohs except as found / deduced from the burial chambers. In the big scheme of things, Egypt was incredibly important for providing wheat to Rome and Greece but other than that (and conquering neighboring kingdoms and regions) there doesn't seem like there must have been much to write about: no art, no music, some astronomy, a big library at Alexandria -- but was the library only of of note after 300 BC, in the Hellenistic Period, well past most of the dynasties?

We will worry about naming the Egyptian periods, the dynasties, and "all" the pharaohs in order, later.

But here we start with Thutmose III and Hatshupset. 

Time period:

• 1500 BC -- 16th to 15th centuries BCE.

Thutmose III created the world's first navy. The British Navy can be traced back to the 16 century CE (3,000 years later), to Henry VIII. 

If one wants to pin dates on the Egyptian Navy, consider:

• Columbus discovers America, 1492 CE
• Egyptian navy, created by Thutmose III, can be traced back to  ~1492 BCE. Not quite, but close enough for the scaffolding.

Thutmose 1: parentage unknown.

The pharaohs from Thutmose I to King Tut can be followed.

Thutmose I: parentage unknown. The preceding king/queen had no heirs / no children.

So, we start with Thutmose I.

Thutmose with at least two wives had three sons and two daughters.

Thutmose I's son become king, Thutmose II, and co-rules  (?) with his sister.

Thutmose II has a son who becomes the next king, Thutmose III who co-rules with his aunt Hatshepsut, perhaps one, if not the "best," pharaoh of Egypt. 

So, we'll go back and to a thumbnail sketch of Thutmose I and Thutmose II later. 

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Geography -- Geopolitics

At this time.

Egypt:

• mouth of the Nile / the Nile delta
• and not much more.

The Nile delta: 

• wheat
• breadbasket of north Africa, Greece, and particularly Rome (if not yet, eventually)

threatened by:

• Hyksos: Canaan, from the north;
• Nubia: upper Nile, from the south.

riches:

• Canaan: cedar, Tyrian purple
• Syria, Iraq: Euphrates: name comes from "moving copper"; Iraq will become the most important source of copper;
• Nubia: gold

Egypt: fabulously rich --

• natural products from Canaan, copper from Babylon, gold from Nubia

Chronology:

Early Dynastic Period (3050 BC -

• Dynasty 1
• Dynasty 2

Old Kingdom (2660 BC --

• Dynasty 3
• Dynasty 4
• Dynasty 5: link here [https://www.foxnews.com/travel/archaeologists-discover-tomb-egyptian-royalty-behind-false-door-unveils-new-secrets].
• tomb belongs to Waser Ef Ra, the son of King Userkaf. Userkaf was the founder of the Fifth Dynasty, whih lasted from from the early 26th century BC until the mid-24th century BC. I find that incredible -- history / pre-history stretching back to the 30th century BC. Amazing.
• Dynasty 6

First Intermediate Period (2200 BC -

• Dynasties 7/8
• Dynasties 9/10 (LE)
• Dynasty 11a (UE)

Middle Kingdom (2010 BC -

• Dynasty 11b
• Dynasty 12
• Dynasty 13

Second Intermediate Period (1700 -

• Dynasty 14 (LE)
• Dynasty 15 (LE)
• Dynasty 16 (UE)
• Dynasty 17 (UE)

New Kingdom (1530 BC -

• Dynasty 18
• Ahmose I
• Amenhotep I
• Thutmose I
• Thutmose II: link here [https://www.foxnews.com/travel/archaeologists-discover-long-lost-tomb-unknown-pharaoh-egypt]
• Thutmose III
• Hatshepsut
• Amenhotep
• Thutmose IV
• Amenhotep III
• Akhenaten: monotheism
  
• Neferneferuaten
• Tutankhamun
• Ay
• Horemheb
• Dynasty 19
• Rameses I
• Seth I
• Rameses II (1265 - 1200)
• Dynasty 20
• Sethnakhte
• Rameses III
• Rameses XI

Third Intermediate Period (1078 BC -

• Dynasty 21
• Dynasty 22 (943 - 666)
• Dynasty 25

Saite Period (664 BC -

• Dynasty 26

Late Period (526 BC -

• Dynasty 27 (Persians)
• Dynasty 28
• Dynasty 29
• Dynasty 30
• Dynasty 31 (Persians)

Hellenistic Period (332 BC -

• Dynasty of Macedonia
• Dynasty of Ptolemy

Roman Period (30 BC - 395 AD)

• Augustus
• Constantine I
• Constantine II

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With That As Background

Let's begin with Thutmose III and his aunt Hatshepsut.

Thutmose III and Hatshepsut are generally held to be two of Egypt's greatest rulers ....

Hatshepsut is often paired with Cleopatra VII as a female ruler of Egypt. However, Cleopatra VII never took full pharaonic titles, although on occasion effecting a Horus name. In contrast, Hatshepsut was a fully fledged pharaoh, with a full five-fold titulary. 

As such, was was one or the only four securely attested female kings of Egypt, the others being Sobekneferu of the Twelfth Dynasty, Neferneferuaten of the Amarna Period of the Eighteenth Dynasty, and Tawosret of the end of the Nineteenth Dynasty. 

Ancient Egyptian royal titulary: link here.  Started with Horus, most ancient God / title. Interesting that wiki uses Hatshepsut (female) and Thutmose III (male) as the examples to use with regard to names.

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Life in Ancient Egypt
Adolf Erman, c. 1971
Translated by H. M. Tirard
New introduction by Jon Manchip White

The Dover Edition

p x:

Alternate names:

• Cheta = Hittites
• Chetasar = Hattushilish III
• Chnum = Khnum
• Chenmtamu = Hatshepsut
• Chuen'eten = Akhenaton (Amenophis IV)
• Ersu = Yarsu
• Mutenr = Muwattalish
• Nechebt = Nekhbet
• Subk = Sebek
• Usertsen = Sesostris

Alternate names for periods:

• Predynastic Period:    5000 - 3300 BC
• Archaic Period
• (Dynasties I - II):     3300 - 2778 BC
• OLD KINGDOM
• (Dynasties III-VI): 2778 - 2300 BC
• First Intermediate Period
• (Dynasties VII - XI): 2300 -2065 BC
• MIDDLE KINGDOM
• (Dynasties XI-XII): 2075 - 1785 BC
• Second Intermediate Period
• (Dynasties XIII - XVII): 1785 - 1580 BC
• NEW KINGDOM
• (Dynasties XVIII - XX): 1580-1085 BC
• Late Period
• (Dynasties XXI-XXX): 1085 - 332 BC