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The 'Eighteenth Dynasty' (1550-1292 BC) is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt. As well as a number of Egypt's most powerful pharaohs, it included Tutankhamun, whose tomb, uncovered by Howard Carter in 1922, was one of the greatest of all archaeological discoveries, being completely undisturbed by tomb robbers. It is sometimes known as the Thutmosid Dynasty because all four of the Thutmosis pharaohs ruled during this period. Hatshepsut, one of a handful of women to be crowned king of Egypt, ruled during this dynasty, as did Akhenaten (also known as Amenophis IV), the "heretic Pharaoh" who with his wife Nefertiti instituted the first arguably monotheistic state religion.
This dynasty is often combined with the Nineteenth and Twentieth dynasties under the group title, New Kingdom.

Contents

Ahmose

Thutmose I and Hatshepsut

Amenhotep III and Akhenaten

Tutankhamun

Eighteenth Dynasty timeline

See also

Ahmose

The Eighteenth Dynasty was founded by Ahmose I the brother of Kamose, the last ruler of the Seventeenth Dynasty. Ahmose finished the campaign to expel the hated Hyksos rulers. With this dynasty, the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt ended, and the New Kingdom of Egypt or the Egyptian Empire began.

Thutmose I and Hatshepsut

Thutmose I seems to have not been directly related to the existing royal line, and married into royalty. The later part of the dynasty included Hatshepsut, who effectively ruled during the minority of her stepson, but was later considered a usurper.

Amenhotep III and Akhenaten

The first formal relations with foreign countries were under Amenhotep III, of which some records were included in the el Amarna letters; and Akhenaten instigated the earliest verified expression of monotheism, (although the actual origins of monotheism are the subject of continuing debate within the academic community). Scholars believe that Akhenaten's devotion to his god Aten offended many in power, which contributed to the end of this dynasty; he later suffered ''damnatio memoriae''. Although modern students of Egyptology consider the monotheism of Akhenaten the most important event of this period, the Egyptians themselves considered the so-called 'Amarna period' an unfortunate aberration.

Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun restored polytheism, but the dynasty's final years were clearly shaky. The unidentified widow of King Nibhururiya, now believed to be Ankhesenamun, wife of Tutankhamun, wrote to Suppiluliumas I, king of the Hittites, asking him to send one of his sons to be her husband and rule Egypt. Suppiluliumas sent an ambassador to investigate, who reported that the situation was accurately described; however the destined Hittite prince Zannanza was murdered en route on the borders between the Hittite and Egyptian Empires, and the last two members of this dynasty – Ay and Horemheb – came from officials of the royal court. Suppiluliumas I reacted with rage at the news of his son's death by going to war against Egypt's vassal states in Syria and Northern Canaan and captured the city of Amki. Unfortunately, Egyptian prisoners of war from Amki carried a plague which would eventually ravage the Hittite Empire and kill both Suppiluliumas I and his direct successor.
The Nineteenth Dynasty of Ramesses I succeeded it in 1292 BC.

Eighteenth Dynasty timeline

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PlotArea = top:10 bottom:30 right:130 left:20
AlignBars = justify
DateFormat = yyyy
Period = from:-1560 till:-1290
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:100 start:-1560
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:25 start:-1560
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from: -1550 till: -1525 color:PA text:"Ahmose I (1550 BC – 1525 BC)"
from: -1525 till: -1504 color:PA text:"Amenhotep I (1525 BC – 1504 BC)"
from: -1504 till: -1492 color:PA text:"Thutmose I (1504 BC – 1492 BC)"
from: -1492 till: -1479 color:PA text:"Thutmose II (1492 BC – 1479 BC)"
from: -1479 till: -1425 color:PA text:"Thutmose III (1479 BC – 1425 BC)"
from: -1472 till: -1457 color:PA text:"Hatshepsut (1472 BC – 1457 BC)"
from: -1427 till: -1401 color:PA text:"Amenhotep II"
from: -1401 till: -1391 color:PA text:"Thutmose IV"
from: -1391 till: -1353 color:PA text:"Amenhotep III"
from: -1353 till: -1336 color:PA text:"Akhenaten"
from: -1336 till: -1335 color:PA text:"Smenkhkare"
from: -1335 till: -1333 color:PA text:"Neferneferuaten"
from: -1333 till: -1324 color:PA text:"Tutankhamun"
from: -1324 till: -1320 color:PA text:"Kheperkheprure Ay"
from: -1320 till: -1292 color:PA text:"Horemheb"
barset:skip

See also

★ History of Ancient Egypt

★ Family tree of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt

★ Egyptian chronology