King Tutankhamun

King Tut was one of the great pharaohs for several reat reasons which i will present in this blog. First of all he is known well is he reigned for only 9 years beggining his reign when he was only 9. he died at the age of 18 and when he was 9 he married a 13 year old woman. His tomb wasn't found until 1922 on the date of September the 23 by archeoligist Howard Carter.

Oakes,Lorna and Gahlin, Lucia. "Ancient Egypt" 2003 Barnes and Noble

Howars Carter and his partner Lord Carnarvon started the search for King Tut's grave which wasnt found until 1922 By Howard carter after the fifth season of searching. howard's partner Lord Carnarvon originally wanted to give up the search,but Howard wanted to continue the search. When the door bearing King Tut's seal took several weeks to remove the debris behind it. After they came to the second door they moved it open inch by inch. howard got the first look inside it and at first he couldn't see anything taking that it was already robbed. But suddenly he caught the glimmer of gold inside and found it filled with gold and riches beyond our wildest dreams.(Oakes 254-255)

"The first room they came to was a fake and it had a hidden door that led to the main chamber. From the main chamber two rooms split off. There was a storage room and the burial chamber where the mummy was laid. Many people died of the so-called curse on King Tut's tomb but we now know that bacteria sealed in the tomb fed on the food in the tomb and killed the workers when it got in their lungs. Carter said later "As my eyes grew accustomed to the light I was struck dumb with amazement". A winged scarab beetle spells out the hieroglyphs " Neb, Kheperu and Re" which mean Tutankhamun."

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Dersin, Denise; "What Life Was Like on the Banks of the Nile". 1997 Time Life Inc.

King Tut was a very young Pharaoh starting his rule. He entered the after world accompanied by his wealth which included this rare 22 and a half pound solid gold death mask.There were many other things besides this there were 164 baskets of dried fruit, a solid gold throne, golden fan, 3 glass vessels, serpent amulet, 80 stone vessels, 4 board games,2 life-size gaurdian statues, 454 arrows and arrow heads, a scarab chain, bronze razors, an iron dagger, headrests of glass faience and ivory, 6 chariots, and much much more.(Dersin 164-167)

"We do know that he spent his early years in Amarna, and probably in the North Palace. He evidently even started a tomb at Amarna. At age nine he was married to Ankhesenpaaten, his half sister, and later Ankhesenamun. We believe Ankhesenpaaten was older then Tutankhamun because she was probably of child bearing age, seemingly already having had a child by her father, Akhenaten. It is possible also that Ankhesenamun had been married to Tutankhamun's predecessor. It seems he did not succeed Akhenaten directly as ruler of Egypt, but either an older brother or his uncle, Smenkhkare (keeping in mind that there is much controversy surrounding this king). We believe Tutankhamun probably had two daughters later, but no sons."

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"Some time after his death, Tutankhamen's tomb in western Thebes (not his original, which Ay had appropriated for himself) was entered twice by plunderers who, however, were caught after doing only minor damage. The burial chamber was not entered and remained intact until it was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter, the English Egyptologist who excavated the tomb. When in the 19th dynasty the "Amarna kings"--Akhenaton, Smenkhkare, Tutankhamen, and Ay--were stricken from the royal lists and publicly condemned, the location of Tutankhamen's tomb was forgotten, and his relatively few monuments were usurped, chiefly by his former general, Horemheb, who later became pharaoh. In the 20th dynasty, when the tomb of Ramses VI was cut immediately above that of Tutankhamen, the stone rubble dumped down the side of the valley covered the young king's tomb with a deep layer of chips. The workers of the 20th dynasty came close to Tutankhamen's tomb and clearly had no knowledge of it. The tomb escaped the great series of robberies at the end of the 20th dynasty and was preserved until a systematic search of the Valley of the Kings revealed its location.
Inside his small tomb, the king's mummy lay within a nest of three coffins, the innermost of solid gold, the two outer ones of gold hammered over wooden frames. On the king's head was a magnificent golden portrait mask, and numerous pieces of jewelry and amulets lay upon the mummy and in its wrappings. The coffins and stone sarcophagus were surrounded by four shrines of hammered gold over wood, covered with texts, which practically filled the burial chamber. The other rooms were crammed with furniture, statuary, clothes, a chariot, weapons, staffs, and numerous other objects. But for his tomb, Tutankhamen had little claim to fame; as it is, he is perhaps better known than any of his longer lived and better documented predecessors and successors."

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Ramses The ll

King Ramses II , who reigned for 67 years during the 19th dynasty of the 12th century BC, was known as "Ramses the Great". He is known as one of Egypt's greatest warriors, but also as a peace-maker and for the monuments he left behind all over Egypt. He was the first king in history to sign a peace treaty with his enemies, the Hittites, ending long years of wars and hostility.King Ramses reigned for 67 years (1292–1225 B.C.). Under him Egypt acquired unprecedented splendor. His empire extended from Syria to near the Fourth Cataract of the Nile.

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King Ramses the ll(KRll) regin was prosperous new technology, more slaves, more land, beautiful temples, and an increased mercenary army all which afterwards Egypt's prosperety began to decline.

Ramses The Great marched 20,000 soldiers north into Syria to defend his empire against Hittite invaders. His empire stretched from South Syria to the fourth cataract of the Nile. Social life was luxurious for the upper classes during his reign and Ramses The Great left many monuments to himself. Ramses duty was to preserve the union of Upper and Lower Egypt which he did by defeating Egypts enemies and honoring the gods.

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"The Hittite army of 37,000 footsoldiers and 3500 chariots was hiding behind the tell of Kadesh, but Ramses believed false rumors that his enemy was still near Haleb. After beating what he thought was the truth out of two captured Hittites, he held a council of war and the vizier in a chariot and a rider on horseback were dispatched south to hasten the progress of the Ptah division. While the Amen division was setting up camp, 2500 Hittite chariots attacked the marching Re division in two waves. The other two Egyptian divisions were still on the far side of the river Orontes (Arnath) near the town of Sabtuna. G.Cavillier casts doubts on the possibility of the Hittite army being able to hide from the view of the Egyptians and ford the Orontes in sufficient numbers in a very short time to be able to mount a surprise attack. [1] - but if they were stationed on the western bank of the river they did not have to cross the Orontes itself but only the small brook el Mukadiyeh, being stationed on the fields between the river and the town.
At this time, a force referred to as nearin arrived, surprising the pilfering Hittites, and drove them out of the camp. Their identity is the subject of debate. At times they are equated with sDm-aS (Sedjemash), which accords well with the meaning of Ugaritic n'rm. According to this interpretation they were camp-followers: servants, grooms and others. Others see them as recruits coming from Amurru. Muwatalli sent an additional 1000 chariots led by the kings of Aleppo and Karkhemish, two of his own brothers and many allied princes, but kept most of his infantry to himself on the far side of the river.
Ramses reorganized his forces and the Hittites escaped being surrounded by the Egyptians by retreating towards Kadesh. After receiving a message from Muwatalli, Ramses decided to retreat. According to the Egyptians, the "wretched, vanquished chief of Hatti" pleaded with the pharaoh
Suteh are you, Baal himself, your anger burns like fire in the land of Hatti... Your servant speaks to you and announces that you are the son of Re. He put all the lands into your hand, united as one. The land of Kemi, the land of Hatti, are at your service. They are under your feet. Re, your exalted father, gave them to you so you would rule us. Is it good, that you should kill your servants? ... Look at what you have done yesterday. You have slaughtered thousands of your servants ... You will not leave any inheritance. Do not rob yourself of your property, powerful king, glorious in battle, give us breath in our nostrils. The route through the Biqa'a valley being considered too risky, it was decided to take the route east of it, through Upe in the region of Damascus.
The battle of Kadesh should perhaps not be called a battle in the strictest sense of the word, but rather a large-scale skirmish preceding the decisive encounter which in the end never took place. Nevertheless, Muwatalli was able to rob his opponent of the initiative and eliminated about a third of his troops. The failure of Ramses' campaign was a result of his tactical mistakes. He did not send enough scouts to explore the countryside sufficiently, the divisions were separated by up to 15 kms from each other and there was no adequate protection of the flanks. Still, the king blamed his troops
not one of my princes, of my chief men and my great,Was with me, not a captain, not a knight;For my warriors and chariots had left me to my fate,Not one was there to take his part in fight. ........Here I stand,All alone;There is no one at my side,My warriors and chariots afeared,Have deserted me, none heardMy voice, when to the cravens I, their king, for succor, cried.But I find that Ammon's graceIs better far to meThan a million fighting men and ten thousand chariots be.
The Poem of Pentaur This attack on the army and his leaders was the beginning of the gradual distancing process between army and king, who relied more and more on Amen and his priesthood. Since the reign of Horemheb, who had appointed a general to succeed him, the army command had played a decisive role in foreign policy decisions. Ramses II reasserted the royal power in this domain and brought about a rapprochement between Egypt and Hatti which culminated in the signing of a peace treaty.
Ramses described the campaign as a splendid victory, while in reality Kadesh remained in Hittite hands, Amurru fell to the Hittites and the Egyptian losses were substantial. "

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David, Rosalie; Handbook to the Life In Ancient Egypt. 1998 Facts on File Inc.

During KRll the upper class were made mainy of militairy officers. He reigned during the middle kingdom so he would lead the men into battle. His army consisting of many foot soldiers and mercenaries. When they fought the Hiksos they would fight chariots that later they woukd use. He allowed his militairy officers to loot cities they had destroyed and give some to the men. His army would load loot onto carts drawn by pack animals like ox, mules, and donkeys if they couldn't carry it or if it was a far distance. (David 239)

"King Ramses II was the third pharaoh in the nineteenth dynasty. He ruled from 1304- 1237 BC and was the son of Seti I and his grandfather was Ramses I. Ramses is regarded as the greatest Pharaoh in Egyptian history. (Kjeilen II 1) Ramses accomplished the most of any pharaoh during his period of rule. When Ramses became the Pharaoh, previous kings and figures of authority tested him. It was customary for previous rulers to examine the new pharaohs. Past emperors would test a new king’s power to see if Ramses would be able to keep peace and non-violence in his period of rule. (Usr-Maat 1) Despite Ramses vigorous testing, Ramses accomplished many goals and went on to become a great King."

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Lehner, Mark. The Complete Pyramids. New York, New York: Thames and Hudson, 1997

Hobson, Christine. The World Of The Pharaohs. New York, New York: Thames and Hudson, 1997.

"Ramses had an uncontrollable love for building. Not only did Ramses construct many of his own monuments, Ramses inscribed messages and depicted scenes of his own on many buildings and statues already built. An example of this would be that on the outer walls of the Temple of Karnak, he depicted the battle at Kadesh in great detail. It showed Ramses slaying Hittite warriors. (Hobson 138) The magnificent Sphinx, which is still an enigma to us today, were the greatest constructions until the period of Ramses. (Lehner 127) If visitors who come to the Temple think about how big the Sphinx are that is how big many of Ramses statues are.

Ramses also contributed to the building of the Hypostle Wall. Ramses constructed two pylons from cinder squares, which led to the actual Hypostle Wall. (Hobson 136) The Hypostle Wall was started by his grandfather Ramses I, finished by his father Seti I, and it was illegally seized by Ramses II. Ramses II had no legal right to the building, yet the pharaoh still took it under his name. (Hobson 136). Regardless of the fact that he is regarded as the greatest pharaoh in Egyptian history, Ramses was notorious for illegally seizing buildings that were already constructed. Ramses II was also concluded to have erected Per- Ramesses, which means "Great Palace." (Hobson 122) One of the most regarded buildings is the magnificent Rammeseum. Inside the Rammeseum, there are hundreds of statues lying fallen on the ground, many of Ramses and some others of miscellaneous categories. This modern marvel was made for Ramses’s cult. (Hobson 143) Ramses contributed to his mystique by erecting the Temple at Abu-Simbel."

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After KRll died he was buried in the Necropolis in The Valley of the Kings his tomb was looted and was not found. the next ruler anfter ramses was his twelfth oldest son Merenptah. He was regarded as the greatest ruler in all of anceient Egypt's history. Even with all of the technology and tools we have today we are not ableto duplicate the massive well sturctured and organized temples and building today. He was definantly the worlds greatest artistic hand.

Reign of The Pharaoh Akhenaten

"During the early part of Akhenaten's reign, the artistic style made a sudden transition from the traditional Egyptian style of portraying people with ideal, perfect physiques, to a new and rather jarring style, illustrated here in an extreme example in the image at right. It would seem that the artists were attempting to portray people (Akhenaten in particular) with brutal honesty, to the extent that the images became caricatures.The master sculptor, Bek, claimed to have been taught by Akhenaten himself. Whether this means that Akhenaten actually taught him his trade or merely told him what he wanted the art to look like Bek does not clarify, but the latter is probably more likely."

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Akh. would look over the process's of the creating of the statues and judged them harshly if the smallest detail was off. his physical appearance was just as important as his religion you could say. this is why he would judge them with strict harsh rules.He called himself Wa-en-Re which means unique on of Re. saying he was unique amongest all the other pharaohs, and placed this unique nature on his god Aten.

Akh. was son of Pharaoh Amenhotep lll and Queen Tiy. Akh. reigned from 1352 b.c. to 1336 b.c. art and religion changed drastically. during his fifth year he began the building process of the new capital Akhetaten which means "horizion of the sun"

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Akhenaten (often alt: Akhnaten, or rarely Ikhnaton)[1] meaning Effective spirit of Aten, first known as Amenhotep IV (sometimes read as Amenophis IV and meaning Amun is Satisfied) before his first year (died 1336 BC or 1334 BC), was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. He is especially noted for attempting to compel the Egyptian population in the monotheistic worship of Aten, although there are doubts as to how successful he was at this. He was born to Amenhotep III and his Chief Queen Tiye and was their younger son. Akhenaten was not originally designated as the successor to the throne until the untimely death of his older brother, the Crown Prince Thutmose.

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Akh. had a feminine body with breasts and wide hips but none the less a man with a half a dozen children all females. He had an egg shaped head. He introduced a revolutionary form of monotheism to ancient Egypt during his reign. Donald B. Redford supposes that Akh. Had Marfan syndrome which causes genetic disorder marked by physical features like the face and fingers.

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This statue from Akhenaten's temple at Karnak is the three-dimensional equivalent of the relief above. This is the classic early period look of Akhenaten: feminine curves, heavy thighs and belly, half-closed eyes, full lips, and a long face and neck characterized representations of the king.(Picture from The Art of Ancient Egypt, by Gay Robins)

During the early years, there was a tendency for the artists to make Akhenaten's family members look like clones of him. Here, at right, is an early representation of either Nefertiti or Tiye, looking very much like images of Akhenaten from the early years. This cloning went out of fashion with the advent of the later style of Amarna art.

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Until the reign of Akhenaten, Egypt garnered strength from an adherence to age-old principles of religion and ruler ship. Considered by some a genius and others a heretic, Akhenaten brought radical change in religion and art. He did away with the polytheistic worship of multiple gods and introduced the worship of a single god, Aten, “the light of the sun,” which was represented as the sun’s disk. Abandoning Egypt’s traditional capitals of Memphis and Thebes, Akhenaten established the new city of Akhetaten (Horizon of Aten) known today as Amarna. This site had never been occupied before and belonged to no god, making it easier for the king to promote his new religion. Akhenaten opened the way for monotheism. He also did away with the idealized images that had characterized Egyptian art for the previous 1,500 years and replaced them with works that captured a more tender and less formalistic image of the human body.

The king and his family moved to Amarna around the sixth or seventh year of his rule (1347 - 46 B.C.). At this point, he underscored his break with the Amen priesthood by changing his name to Akhenaten, “one who is effective for Aten.” Later he even authorized the destruction of the name and all images of Amen, wherever and whenever they appeared. Akhenaten and his Queen Nefertiti were of course Amarna’s most important inhabitants. Sculpture and stela under Akhenaten provided many intimate glimpses of the royal family with their children—a type of representation unheard of under previous pharaohs. A pristine example of this type of family intimacy is depicted in Stela of the royal family, a delightful image of Akhenaten and Nefertiti playing with three of their daughters under the protective rays of Aten.

The city was a spectacularly colorful place, with walls, floors and ceilings painted or inlaid with colorful mosaic tiles. Portions of this brilliant array are seen in Bullock in a thicket, a fragment of a faience tile in greens and reds representing a calf among flora, as well as Floor painting with marsh plants. Several objects from everyday life are also represented, including an early toilet seat, musical instruments, jewelry, oil lamps, mirrors and a 3,500 year-old fragment of clothing. Because nothing existed in the area of Amarna before Akhenaten, temples, palaces, administrative buildings, barracks, granaries, food-preparation areas, roads, houses, estates, formal gardens and tombs were all constructed at an incredible pace. This remarkable city, whose population scholars estimate was between 20,000 and 50,000 people, is represented in the exhibition through a 20-foot, three-dimensional model, aerial photographs of the excavation site, and views of current excavations. Amarna remains a pristine example of a planned city from the middle of the second millennium B.C. Excavations began in the 19Th century, and continue today. All present understanding of this historically pivotal time period derives from excavations and from representations of the city’s institutions carved in relief on tomb or temple walls.

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This man viewed art and his artistic imagination highly. he would tell his professional artist what to paint and how. Also he viewed religion highly so highly in fact as you have read they should only worship one god, Aten. Aten was his god and he believed should also be the only god, therefore, making everyone only worship that god. this made this man's reign significantly important and new things evolved around this man's reign!