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==Background==
==Background==
EGYPT IS FULL OF TERRORISTS AND MUSLIMS!!!
Possibly as a result of the foreign rule of the [[Hyksos]] during the Second Intermediate Period, the New Kingdom saw Egypt attempt to create a buffer between the [[Levant]] and Egypt, and attained its greatest territorial extent. It expanded far south into [[Nubia]] and held wide territories in the [[Near East]]. [[Military history of Ancient Egypt|Egyptian armies]] fought [[Hittites|Hittite]] armies for control of modern-day [[Syria]].

The [[Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt|Eighteenth Dynasty]] contained some of Egypt's most famous [[pharaoh]]s, including [[Ahmose I]], [[Hatshepsut]], [[Thutmose III]], [[Amenhotep III]], [[Akhenaten]] and [[Tutankhamun]]. [[Queen regnant|Queen]] Hatsheput concentrated on expanding Egypt's [[external trade]], sending a commercial expedition to the [[land of Punt]]. Thutmose III ("the [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]] of Egypt") expanded Egypt's army and wielded it with great success to consolidate the [[List of largest empires|empire]] created by his predecessors. This resulted in a peak in Egypt's power and wealth during the reign of Amenhotep III.

One of the best-known 18th Dynasty pharaohs is [[Amenhotep IV]], who changed his name to [[Akhenaten]] in honor of the [[Aten]] and whose exclusive worship of the Aten is often interpreted as history's first instance of [[monotheism]]. Akhenaten's religious fervor is cited as the reason why he was subsequently written out of Egyptian history. Under his reign, in the [[14th century BC]], [[Egyptian art]] flourished and attained an unprecedented level of realism.

Towards the end of the 18th Dynasty, the situation had changed radically. Helped by Akhenaten's apparent lack of interest in international affairs, the [[Hittites]] had gradually extended their influence into Syria and [[Palestine]] to become a major power in international politics—a power that both [[Seti I]] and his son [[Ramesses II]] would need to deal with during the 19th dynasty.

[[Image:Hitt Egypt Perseus.png|thumb|left|Egyptian and Hittite Empires, around the time of the [[Battle of Kadesh]].]]
Ramesses II ("the Great") sought to recover territories in the Levant that had been held by the 18th Dynasty. His campaigns of reconquest culminated in the [[Battle of Kadesh]], where he led Egyptian armies against those of the [[list of Hittite kings|Hittite king]] [[Muwatalli II]] and was caught in history's first recorded military ambush, but thanks to the arrival of the Ne'arin, Ramesses was able to rally his troops and turn the tide of battle against the Hittites. The outcome of the battle was undecided, both sides claiming victory at their home front, ultimately resulting in a peace treaty between the two nations.

Ramesses II was also famed for the huge number of children he sired by his various wives and [[concubine]]s; the [[KV5|tomb]] he built for his sons, many of whom he outlived, in the [[Valley of the Kings]] has proven to be the largest funerary complex in Egypt.

His immediate successors continued the military campaigns, though an increasingly troubled court—which at one point put a usurper ([[Amenmesse]]) on the throne—made it increasingly difficult for a pharaoh to effectively retain control without incident. The last "great" pharaoh from the New Kingdom is widely regarded to be [[Ramesses III]], a [[Twentieth dynasty of Egypt|Twentieth Dynasty]] pharaoh who reigned several decades after
Ramesses II. In Year 8 of his reign, the [[Sea Peoples]] invaded Egypt by land and sea. Ramesses III defeated them in two great land and sea battles. He claimed that he incorporated them as subject peoples and settled them in Southern Canaan, although there is evidence that they forced their way into Canaan. Their presence in Canaan may have contributed to the formation of new states in this region such as [[Philistia]] after the collapse of the Egyptian Empire. He was also compelled to fight invading [[Libu|Libyan]] tribesmen in two major campaigns in Egypt's [[Nile Delta|Western Delta]] in his Year 6 and Year 11 respectively.<ref>Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, Blackwell Books, 1992. p.271</ref>

The heavy cost of these battles slowly exhausted Egypt's treasury and contributed to the gradual decline of the Egyptian Empire in [[Asia]]. The severity of these difficulties is stressed by the fact that the first known labor strike in recorded history occurred during Year 29 of Ramesses III's reign, when the food rations for Egypt's favored and elite royal tomb-builders and artisans in the village of [[Deir el Medina]] could not be provisioned.<ref>William F. Edgerton, "The Strikes in Ramses III's Twenty-Ninth Year," ''JNES'' 10, no. 3 (July 1951), pp. 137-145.</ref> Something in the air prevented much sunlight from reaching the ground and also arrested global tree growth for almost two full decades until 1140 BC.<ref>Frank J. Yurco, "End of the Late Bronze Age and Other Crisis Periods: A Volcanic Cause," in ''Gold of Praise: Studies on Ancient Egypt in Honor of Edward F. Wente'', ed: Emily Teeter & John Larson, (SAOC 58) 1999, pp. 456-458.</ref> One proposed cause is the [[Hekla 3 eruption]] of the Hekla volcano in Iceland; but the dating of this remains disputed.

Following Ramesses III's death there was endless bickering among his heirs. Three of his sons would go on to assume power as [[Ramesses IV]], [[Ramesses VI]] and [[Ramesses VIII]], respectively. However, at this time Egypt was also increasingly beset by a series of droughts, below-normal flooding of the [[Nile]], famine, civil unrest and official corruption. The power of the last pharaoh, [[Ramesses XI]], grew so weak that in the south the [[High Priests of Amun at Thebes]] became the effective ''de facto'' rulers of [[Upper Egypt]], while [[Smendes]] controlled [[Lower Egypt]] even before Ramesses XI's death. Smendes eventually founded the [[Twenty-first dynasty of Egypt|Twenty-First dynasty]] at [[Tanis, Egypt|Tanis]].


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 18:31, 27 October 2010

New Kingdom of Egypt
c. 1550 BC–c. 1069 BC
New Kingdom at its maximum territorial extent in the 15th century BC.
New Kingdom at its maximum territorial extent in the 15th century BC.
CapitalThebes: (1550 BC - c. 1352 BC) - XVII dynasty and XVIII dynasty before Akhenaten

Akhetaten: (c. 1352 BC - c. 1336 BC) - Akhenaten of XVIII dynasty

Thebes: (c. 1336 BC - 1279 BC) - XVIII dynasty and XIX dynasty before Ramesses II

Pi-Ramesses: (c.1279 BC - c. 1069 BC) - XIX dynasty starting from Ramesses II and XX dynasty
Common languagesAncient Egyptian, Nubian
Religion
Ancient Egyptian religion
GovernmentMonarchy
Pharaoh 
• c.1550 BC-c.1525 BC
Ahmose I (first)
• c.1099 BC-c.1069 BC
Ramesses XI (last)
History 
• Established
c. 1550 BC
• Disestablished
c. 1069 BC
ISO 3166 codeEG
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Second Intermediate Period
Third Intermediate Period

The New Kingdom of Egypt, also referred to as the Egyptian Empire, is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt. The New Kingdom[1] followed the Second Intermediate Period and was succeeded by the Third Intermediate Period. It was Egypt’s most prosperous time and marked the zenith of its power.

Dating

Radiocarbon dating suggests that the New Kingdom may have started a few years earlier than the conventional date of 1550 BC. The radiocarbon date range for its beginning is 1570-1544 B.C.E., the mean point of which is 1557 BC.[2]

Background

EGYPT IS FULL OF TERRORISTS AND MUSLIMS!!!

See also

Images

References

  1. ^ Shaw, Ian, ed. (2000). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. p. 481. ISBN 0-19-815034-2.
  2. ^ Christopher Bronk Ramsey et al., Radiocarbon-Based Chronology for Dynastic Egypt, Science 18 June 2010: Vol. 328. no. 5985, pp. 1554-1557.

External links