Gallery of Kings and Queens, Valley of the Kings

At least 1,600 years had passed since the start of the dynastic period during which at least 100 pharaohs ruled, before the New Kingdom began.  These early rulers – Narmer, the founder and unifier; Djoser, linked to the Step Pyramid at Saqqara; ad Khufu, who built the Great Pyramid at Giza – helped shaped Egypt’s political, religious and architectural foundations.

Yet it wasn’t until the New Kingdom which covered Dynasties 18 to 20, that Egypt truly reached one of its finest and most confident eras.

It was during this time that Egypt reclaimed its territory from foreign rulers once more and determined to never be vulnerable again.  This sparked massive military expansion and brought in enormous wealth from conquered territories, fueling the construction of grand temples like Karnak and Luxor and richly decorated tombs like those in the Valley of the Kings.

But none of this could have been achieved without sone of the strongest personalities and visionaries – though at one point, one of them did try to upend it.  Let’s take a look at some of the most influential pharaohs of the New Kingdom.

We begin with Hatshepsut of the 18^th Dynasty one of the few women to claim the title of pharaoh.  She rose to power after the death of her husband Thutmose II, when the next pharaoah, her stepson Thutmose III, was still a child. Initially acting as regent, she gradually assumed full authority.  Her statues often portrayed her in male form, wearing the ceremonial beard to legitimize her kinship and secure her rule.

Hatshepsut co-ruled with Thutmose III for 22 years, and after her death, he ruled alone, leading as many as 17 campaigns in 20 years that expanded Egypt’s empire form Nubia in the south to the Euphrates in the north.  Over time he began to rase Hatshepsut’s memory by defacing or destroying her statues and chiseling her name from cartouches.  Historians believe this was intended to present him as the sole ruler and to reinforce the traditional male line of pharaohs.  Though he did appoint his son Amenhotep II as co-regent late in his life.  He ruled for 54 years.

Skipping a couple of generations we arrive at the time of Amenhotep III, an era defined by monumental architecture incredible prosperity, and unparalleled luxury.  The most recognizable statues are the Colossi of Memnon two towering figures of the pharaoh that once flanked the entrance to his Theban mortuary temple.  Although much of the temple itself lies in ruins, the colossi stands.

And now we move on to this son, Amenhotep IV, the most controversial figure of the tie, who turned tradition on its head by elevating the sun god Aten above al others and later changing his name to Akhenaten.  He closed temples to most traditional gods and transformed art, favouring elongated stylized forms that emphasized both the divine and the human.  

His wife, Nefertiti, is particularly striking her delicate yet regal features immortalized in her famous bust, now held in The Louvre.

Akhenaten was so captivated by his new religion that he built an entire city dedicated to Aten and moved the capital from Thebes, the main political and religious centre of the New Kingdom, to El Amarna.  The city’s prominence was short-lived; around 20 years later, after his death, it was abandoned and left to decay.  Later pharaohs even dismantled some of its structures to erase traces of his controversial reforms.

Akhenaten only had daughters with Nefertiti but a son with another wife, giving rise to the most famous of pharaohs, Tutankhaten.  He became pharaoh at just seven, reigned for about 10 years, and is largely remembered for the treasures of his tomb, discovered in the early 20^th century.  During his short reign, he helped restore traditional worship, changed his name to Tutankhamun to honour Amun-Ra, returned the capital to Thebes, restored temples, and brought stability after the religious upheaval.

Moving into the 19^th Dynasty, two outstanding pharaohs, a father and son, took Egypt to new heights.

Seti I ruled for about 11 years and is remembered for stabilizing and strengthening Egypt, securing its borders, and reviving its building programme.  He led military campaigns into Canaan, Syria, and Nubia, reclaiming Egyptian control over these regions.  A walk around Karnak reveals some of these campaigns depicted on its grand outer walls.  Seti also built on a grand sale, restoring many temples that had been neglected or damaged.

Ramesses II, his son, is perhaps the most influential pharaoh of them all.  Building on his father’s foundations, he ruled for an astonishing 66 years during a period of stability, wealth, and ambition.  Ramesses led Egypt through its golden age, leaving monuments, temples, an inscriptions that continue to define the grandeur of the New Kingdom.