Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

THUTMOSE

(Egyp. ḏḥwty-ms; Gk. Tythmósis)

The name of four kings of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty. Following the expulsion of the Hyksos by Ahmose and the subsequent unification of Egypt, the early kings of the 18th Dynasty carved out an Egyptian Empire from Nubia (Cush) to northern Syria. The Thutmosids played an integral part in the expansion, especially in Palestine and Syria, through a series of campaigns against pressure from the kingdom of Mitanni located E of the Euphrates River. The military victories and building projects of these kings propelled Thebes and Amon (Amon-Re), the local Theban deity, into national prominence.

1. Thutmose I (1525-1512 b.c.), son-in-law of Amenhotep I. He campaigned deep into Nubia, extending Egyptian control beyond the Third Cataract. More importantly, he led a military expedition northward crossing the Euphrates and engaged the army of Mitanni, an event commemorated by a stela erected on the east bank of the river. This raid was the harbinger of more concentrated efforts to bring the Levant under Egyptian control.

2. Thutmose II (1512-1504), married to his half sister Hatshepsut. He crushed a revolt in Nubia and led a razzia into southern Palestine, but poor health led to a premature death. The heir apparent, Thutmose III, was too young to assume his kingly duties; Hatshepsut assumed the role of coregent at first, but ruled independently for 20 years (1502-1482).

3. Thutmose III (1504-1450). He emerged from Hatshepsut’s shadow to become one of the most capable kings of ancient Egypt. An unusually gifted military leader, he launched a campaign (ca. 1482/1481) against a coalition of rebellious Levantine kings headed by the king of Kadesh, a coalition no doubt inspired by the king of Mitanni. Thutmose III defeated the coalition, said to include 330 kings of various cities, at Megiddo. Detailed accounts of the victory, including a lengthy text in the temple of Amon-Re at Thebes, describe the Egyptian battle tactics and booty recovered from the region. Three lists of conquered cities also inscribed on the temple’s walls contain the names of 119 cities and villages in Palestine and southern Syria, an invaluable source for Late Bronze Age Palestine. Subsequently, Thutmose III made at least 15 more campaigns into the Levant, establishing an Egyptian Asiatic empire that extended at least to southern Syria. On his eighth campaign, Thutmose III crossed the Euphrates and defeated Mitannian forces, setting up a victory stela as had his grandfather decades earlier.

4. Thutmose IV (1425-1417), successor to Amenhotep II (1450-1425). He followed his father in continuing the Egyptian hegemony of the kings of the Levant established by Thutmose III. Recent studies suggest that Thutmose IV, although he did not campaign as vigorously as had his father, lost none of the hard-won Egyptian control or prestige in Asia. A growing detente between Egypt and Mitanni during the late 15th century was consummated by the marriage of a Mitannian to Thutmose IV.

Bibliography. B. M. Bryan, The Reign of Thutmose IV (Baltimore, 1991); M. S. Drower, “Syria c. 1550-1400 b.c.,” CAH3 2/1:417-525; W. C. Hayes, “Egypt: Internal Affairs from Tuthmosis I to the Death of Amenophis III,” CAH3 2/1:313-416.

Thomas V. Brisco