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# Ahmes (1760-1785 see below for date offset)
# Amenhotep I (1785-1806)
# Thutmes I (1806-1817)
# Thutmes II (1817-1828)
# Thutmes III (1828-1882)
# Hatshepsut (1829-1849)
# Amenhotep II (1880-1914)
# Thutmes IV (1914-1923)
# Amenhotep III (1923-1962)
# Akhenaten (1962-1979)
# Smenkhara (1979?)
# Tutankhamen (1980-1988)
# Ay (1988-1992)
# Horemheb (1992-2020)
The eastern Mediterranean during the period 2000-1000 BC offers a chaos of unexplained clues-- so this page will try to gain clarity by narrowing its focus to Egypt's dramatic 18th dynasty (?1550-?1293 BC). narrative
Since backwards, 'BC' numbering is so unintuitive, and since the numbers themselves still have a multi-century margin of error, I've arbitrarily shifted all dates 3314 years forward, to align Akhenaten's revolution with '1967' (the Summer of Love!). This vaguely aligns Egypt's Old Kingdom with the Roman Empire, the Middle Kingdom with the Catholic Church, and the 18th dynasty with the US of A:
3314 BC -> 0 1822 BC -> 1492 1347 BC -> 1967
So 'now' in 2001, Horemheb is in his 9th year, Tut having died in 1988 with Ay reigning until 1992 (cf Reagan and Bush). The 19th dynasty is scheduled to start in 2020. And by chance, this brings the Tyrolean Iceman into alignment with Jesus:
0: Tyrolean Iceman frozen [info]
c200? Egypt's First Dynasty (sed-jubilees already established)
c700: great pyramids
c1300: first Minoan palaces on Crete
c1300: 12th dynasty builds great Amun temple at Luxor
c1350: autobiography of Khnumhotep [etext]
c1400: autobiography of Sinuhe [etext]
1550: decline of Middle Kingdom begins
1650: Hyksos period (semitic/Amorite conquerors)
?1695: eruption of Thera [info] Kamose y3? [cite]
'1700' = 1623 BC
Seqenenre Tao was probably appointed vassal at Luxor by the last Hyksos pharaoh, Apophis, but he apparently rebelled and was executed (his mummy shows many violent wounds). His son Kamose left two stelae describing his attack on the Hyksos capital at Avaris, but he vanishes soon after. His brother (?) Ahmes finally sacked Avaris and the Hyksos fled to Sharuhen, destroyed by Ahmes a few years later. [abstract]
Canaan: archeology [cont] etexts
Luxor: Karnak, Thebes [pix] ditto [multi] [3-D] history [info]
naming: 'Thebes' was Greek name for the city/region, 'Luxor' and 'Karnak' are more recent Arabic names for two temple centers; the Egyptian was maybe 'Nouit-Amun' or 'No' or 'Weset' or 'Wese' or 'Waset', or 'Ipt-rs'it' for Luxor, 'Ipt-swwt' for Karnak [cite]
The suffix 'hotep' means 'is pleased' (or 'content' or 'satisfied'), 'mosis' means 'born of'. 'Akhen' means 'servant of' or 'effective for', 'Tutankh' means 'living image of'.
Amun 'the hidden one' (Amen, Amon, Ammon, Amun-Re, Amen-Ra) [eb] more [pic]
sun-god: Re (Ra) cult began c5th dynasty, centered in Heliopolis where princes were traditionally educated
sun at dawn: Khepri
morning sun: Re-Horakhte or Re-Horemakhet (Horus-related)
noon sun: Aten (came to represent universal empire)
setting sun: Atum
Amun-Re: 18th dynasty 'syncretism' conveniently linking near-opposite divinities [tld196]
Ennead of nine gods usually includes: Amun, Amaunet, Min, Month, Mut, Onuris, Hathor, Sobek [cite]
18th dynasty: tree, timeline, overview
1760: Ahmes
(Amosis, Ahmose, Nebpehtyra, Nebpehtire) 24+ years
Alternate BC dates: Redford 1569; von Beckerath 1552/1545; Oxford 1550; Aldred 1540; James 1315?; Rohl 1194
not circumcised, despite common practice: [cite]
1785: Amenhotep I
(A1, Amunhotep I, Amenhetep I, Amunhetep I, Amunhotpe I, Amenophis I, Djeserkara, Djeserkare) 20+ years [info]
Alternate BC dates: Redford 1573/1545; von Beckerath 1528/1517; Oxford 1525; Aldred 1515
possibly not circumcised, despite common practice: [cite]
1794: Sothic date in the Papyrus Ebers supposedly 1517 BC = A1y9 [passim]
royal necropolis moved to Valley of the Kings [aerial] [map] [lots]
'1800' = 1523 BC
1806: Thutmes I
(T1, Tutmosis I, Tuthmosis I, Thutmosis I, Tutmoses I, Tuthmoses I, Thutmoses I, Thutmose I, Aakheperkara, Okheperkare) 10+ years
Alternate BC dates: Redford 1525; Oxford 1504; Aldred 1494
vizier? succeeds because no heir [info] [scarab]
grandson of Seqenenre Ta'o? [abstract]
leads armies across Euphrates
builds new Amun temple at Karnak [ahk97]
daughter Hatshepsut born [info] age? [etext]
1820: Thutmes II
(T2, Tutmosis II, Tuthmosis II, Thutmosis II, Tutmoses II, Tuthmoses II, Thutmoses II, Thutmose II, Aakheperenra, Okheperenre) 10+ years [info]
Alternate BC dates: Redford 1514; Oxford 1492; Aldred 1482
1828: Thutmes III
(T3, Tutmosis III, Tuthmosis III, Thutmosis III, Tutmoses III, Tuthmoses III, Thutmoses III, Thutmose III, Menkheperra, Menkheperre) 53+ years [info] [eb] [scarabs] ditto
Alternate BC dates: Redford 1504; Borchardt 1490; Oxford 1479; Aldred 1479
dated to 1504 BC by lunar eclipse [cite]
1829: Hatshepsut
(Maatkara, Makare) 19+ years [eb]
Alternate BC dates: Redford 1502; Aldred 1479; Oxford 1473; Helck 1467
co-regent, depicted in men's clothing
1835? expedition to Punt [info] [etext]
1836? possible alternate date for Thera explosion, "flooding and darkness" recorded? [cite]
Egyptian houses decorated in Minoan style
pre-Thera pottery styles (LM 1A) in tombs of T3 and Hatshepsut [cite] (serious 150-year anomaly)
1852? battle of Megiddo [etext] 1438? 1457? [abstract]
expedition across Euphrates fails
sons of princes educated in Egypt as hostages
T3 builds festival hall at Karnak [ahk97]
c1860 (1450 BC): Myceneans take over Crete?
gold by the ton from Nubia brings golden age lasting 100 years, Amun temple achieves fabulous wealth, vast semi-hereditary priesthood [ahk160]
co-regency? 1438
1880: Amenhotep II
(A2, Amunhotep II, Amenhetep II, Amunhetep II, Amunhotpe II, Amenophis II, Aakheperura, Okheprure) 27/34 years [info] [scarab]
Alternate BC dates: Redford 1453; von Beckerath 1428; Oxford 1427; Aldred 1427
Yuya born to royal horseman Yey who worships ithyphallic (conspicuously erect) god 'Min' [pix] [$39]
'1900' = 1423 BC
T4 inspired by dream of Re to clear sand from Sphinx [etext] [info] [epigraphy]
death of A2 tomb label-shuffling
1914: Thutmes IV
(T4, Tutmosis IV, Tuthmosis IV, Thutmosis IV, Tutmoses IV, Tuthmoses IV, Thutmoses IV, Thutmose IV, Menkheperura, Menkheprure) 8+ years [info] more
Alternate BC dates: Redford 1426; Oxford 1400; Aldred 1394
between 7 and 27yo on accession (mummy in Cairo Museum, 35yo?)
significance of Aten shifts from 'disk' to god [tld206]
T4 marries Mitanni princess Mutemwia (Mutemweia), daughter of Artatama I, sometimes called Great Royal Wife and/or Mother of the God and/or King's Mother
1918: Hattusilis II (Hattusili, 20 years) Hittite king [cite] kinglist
T4y7: T4's Great Royal Wife is full sister Wadjet
death of Mutemwia?
T4 tomb: [info]
1923: Amenhotep III
(A3, Amunhotep III, Amenhetep III, Amunhetep III, Amunhotpe III, Amenophis III, Nebmaatra, Nebmare) 38+ years
Alternate BC dates: Hayes 1417; Redford 1416; Gardiner 1405; 'conventional' 1402; Oxford 1390; Clayton 1386; Aldred 1384; El Mahdy 1378
misc: excavation
?7yo when crowned; ?10yo Tiye (Tiy, daughter of ?blond horseman Yuya and Thuya) named Great Royal Wife [etext] [pic] more
A3y2: A3 brags of taking 94 wild bulls [etext]
A3y8: Malkata palace construction begun? [abstract]
A3y10 (1933): A3 marries Princess Giludkhipa of Mitanni; brags of having shot 102 wild lions in 10 years [etext] [scarab]
A3y11: A3 has lake built for Tiye [etext]
Nubian campaign: A3 has himself deified in Nubia only? [cite]
births of Thutmes V, Sitamun
1938: Tudhalia III (Tudhaliya, 20 years) Hittite king [cite]
1938: Suttarna II (15 years) Mitanni king [cite]
1945? birth of A4
death of T5 before coronation
co-regency of A3 and A4 may have been anything less than 12 years [analysis] ditto
Alternate co-regency estimates: Aldred 12; El Mahdy 12; Steindorff 12; Engelbach 11+; Pendlebury 11; Martin 11; Hayes 5+?; Redford 0; Oxford 0 [tld169]
harem of A3 eventually numbers over 1000 wives [cf Solomon]
monuments of A3 never mention A4
A3y29? royal family moves from Memphis to Luxor (plague? cf)
1953: Artasumara (5 years) Mitanni king [cite]
1957? 'Ammishtamru I (Ugarit king) replaced by Niqmaddu II (30 years?) [cite]
A3 claims to have revived old version of sed-ritual based on library research
A3y30: builds Malkata palace
A3y30, 34, 37: sed festivals
A3y34: A3's daughter Sitamun (21yo?) replaces Tiye as Great Royal Wife
1958: Tusratta (Tushratta, 30 years) Mitanni king [cite] [decline]
1958: Suppiluliama (Shuppiluliuma, 35 years) Hittite king [cite] [passim]
death of Abdi-Ashirta? [passim]
1962: Akhenaten
(A4, Amenhotep IV, Amunhotep IV, Amenhetep IV, Amunhetep IV, Amenophis IV, Akhenaton, Akhnaten, Ikhnaten, Neferkheperurawaenra, Neferkheprure) 17 years
Alternate BC dates: Redford 1377; 'conventional' 1364; Aldred 1358; Oxford 1352; El Mahdy 1352; James 1125?; Rohl 1012?
bios: 1pg w/pix [bio] ditto, astronomical, lifemask
Nefertiti: [chapter]
17/18yo when crowned (maybe older?), co-regent Nefertiti (Nefertity) [info] his Great Royal Wife [timeline]
A4y1: A4 finishes decorations on A3's Karnak pylons, featuring falcon-headed Re-Harakhtay (with A4's body-shape) [ahk62]
soon after death of A3, Tushratta of Mitanni sends daughter Tadukhipa to marry A4 [ahk195] Kiya? [info] ditto cf? Tale of Two Brothers: [excerpt] ditto [summary] [theory] [info]
A4 snubs Mitanni for Hittite king Suppiluliumas [ahk195]
A4 declares other gods have 'ceased' [ahk172]
A4y1? daughter Meritaten (Meretaten) born [ahk79]
A4y2: jubilee, commemorated in reliefs on newly-built Gempaaten (Gm-(t)-p3-itn) temple [pix]
(this level of intellectual courage, shattering 2000 years of tradition, seems highly unlikely for an 18yo!?)
Rwd-mnw depicts A4 always surrounded by (defensive) troops [ahk72]
A4y3? daughter Meketaten born [ahk79]
A4y4: Hwt-bnbn (benben temple with tall round-topped quartzite stela: ahk147) features only Nefertiti, even smiting enemies [ahk78]
A4y4? daughter Ankhesenpaaten born [ahk79]
A4 outlaws Amun-worship, has name effaced everywhere (also Mut, Osiris, etc to lesser extent) [ahk141]
1967 (A4y5, 1347 BC): Kuhrt 1402/1390?; Redford 1372; Aldred 1353; Oxford 1347; El Mahdy 1347
A4 changes name to Akhenaten and moves to Akhetaten (fleeing 'evil words'? ahk164) lives in tent-village at first [bio] [art] [hymn] hieroglyphic [info] visualisation, ruins
adopts vernacular language for communications
Hymn resembles Psalm 104 [etext] [compare w/frames] [analysis] ditto; monotheism, Moses
A4y6: last mention of Kiya as 'the favorite' [ahk187] [pic?] [more]
Uncle Ay comes to prominence (presumably Tiy's brother) [ahk150]
imports from Mycenean Greece: perfumed oil bottles, pilgrim flasks [cite]
Amarna tablets: [redating?]
Hittites usurp Mitanni territories [ahk198]
no-date: disingenuous Amorites Abdi-Asirta and son Aziru usurp northern territories from Mitanni, A4 finally summons Aziru to Egypt for a year or more ?y12, joins Hittites when released [kh182, ahk200]
A4y9: names 'Harakhte' and 'Shu' replaced with 'Re' [ahk186]
three more daughters have been born but died? [ahk149]
1972? Tut [info] born to ?Kiya and ?A4, mother dies in childbirth, raised by grandma Tiye?
A4y11: plague in Levant
A4y12: jubilee-like reception of dignitaries from Nubia, Libya, Syria, Hittites. Last representation of six daughters. [ahk186]
El Mahdy thinks y12 was the year of crisis, with deaths of A3 and 8yo Meketaten; Nefertiti crowned co-regent with masculine name 'Smekhkare' and with Meritaten as her Great Royal Wife, they move back to Luxor; Kiya named King's Great Favorite
A4y14: ?11yo Meketaten dies; last representation of Tiye [ahk186, 187]
where was Nefertiti? [mummies theory]
A4y15: 14yo Meretaten promoted to favorite, portrayed with ?14yo relative Smenkhara (co-regent who shares Nefertiti's nicknames) [ahk188] pic, info, info, debate)
contemporary views of homosexuality [detailed]
letter from Pabi [etext]
no co-regency? [abstract]
A4y15: Suppiluliuma attacks Egypt's northern border at Amka [cite]
A4y16: 'House of the Favorite' mentioned (Meretaten or Kiya?) [ahk187]
birth of Meritaten-ta-sherit (to Meritaten?) [ahk193]
A4y17: death of A4?
1979? Smenkhara
(Smenkhkara, Neferneferuaten, Onkh-kheprure) 1+ years
Alternate BC dates: Redford 1360; Aldred 1342; Oxford 1338; El Mahdy 1335
Smenkhara not Nefertiti? [abstract] mummy-shuffling
Kiya tries to usurp throne? [passim]
Smenkhara starts building Amun temple (?) in Luxor [ahk189]
mystery of Tomb 55 (KV55): 20yo male possibly brother of Tut, ie Smenkhare [info] more ditto El Mahdy thinks Kiya.
1980: Tutankhamen
(Tut, Tutankhaten, Tutankhamun, Tutankhamon, Nebkheperura, Nebkheprure) 8+ years
Alternate BC dates: Redford 1360; Aldred 1340; Oxford 1336; El Mahdy 1334
?9yo Tut marries ?13yo Ankhesenpaaten (later renamed Ankhesenamun) [info] [analysis] [fiction w/pix]
new era 'wHm mswt' proclaimed [abstract]
Ankhesenpaaten gives birth to Ankhesenpaaten-ta-sherit? (Nefertiti still living?) [ahk193]
1981? Akhetaten abandoned
Restoration Stela? [info]
1984: Arnuvanda II (Arnuwanda, 1 year co-regent) Hittite king [cite]
1988: Mattivaza (30 years) Mitanni king [cite]
1988: death of ?16yo Tut [analysis] tomb
letters from widow to Hittites begging son for husband? [analysis]
Hittites defeat Egyptians, throwing Horemheb into disfavor? [abstract]
1988: Ay
(Aye, Kheperkheperura, Kheper-kheprure) 3+ years
Alternate BC dates: Redford 1350; Aldred 1331; Oxford 1327; El Mahdy 1326
?60yo when crowned [info] [pic?] [more]
y3? Horemheb marries Nefertiti's sister Mutnodjmet [cite]
1992: death of Ay tomb
1992: Horemheb
(Haremhab, Djeserkheperura, Djeser-kheprure) 27+ years (or 16?) [info] ditto
Alternate BC dates: Redford 1347; Aldred 1326; Oxford 1323; El Mahdy 1322
defaces Ay's monuments? [cite]
death of Suppiluliuma? (1320 BC)
1993: Mursilis II (Mursili, 30 years) Hittite king [cite] [annals]
2020: death of Hormeheb tomb ; end of 18th dynasty
2020? battle of Kadesh [info] [etext] [abstract]
2024: lunar eclipse, Rameses II [cite] [debate] (may also be 2013 or 1999?) 1228 BC?
2086? Papyrus Leiden dates astronomical event to R2 y52 [passim]
c2090: Trojan war?
2107: Merneptah stele [pic] "Israel is laid waste, its seed is not." [info]
2150: taboo on pork evident in Canaanite hill middens
Sources:
tld = El Mahdy, Tutankhamen: the life and death of the boy-king [Amazon]
ake = Aldred, Akhnaten: King of Egypt [Amazon]
ahk = Redford, Akhnaten: the heretic king [Amazon]
eci = Redford, Egypt, Canaan, and Israel [Amazon]
oae = Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt [Amazon]
kh = Bryce, Kingdom of the Hittites [Amazon]
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