Amenhotep 3 short biography. Biography

AMEHHOTEP III

Amenhotep III (Αμενωφις) reigned long and calmly: Syria, conquered by the campaigns of previous kings, did not try to rebel against the king of Egypt; with the Asian states - Mitanni, Babylon, Assyria - he was in peaceful “relations, entered into family relations with their kings, sent them and himself received gifts from them; as for the south, in the 5th year of the reign of Amenhotep III there, the only campaign of this pharaoh was undertaken, which was crowned with complete success. It seems that a poorly preserved inscription in Bubaste tells about this campaign. It is reminiscent of the Karnak annals of Thutmose III in style: here is also a military council, a speech of the king, a speech on the day of the coronation, etc. Quiet times allowed the king to intensively engage in his favorite business - the construction of temples and other structures; he owns, among other things, the famous Memnon colossi in Thebes and the sphinxes located on the embankment in Leningrad. His closest assistant construction activities was the architect Amenhotep, the son of Khapu, whose memory was preserved in Egypt for a very long time, as a great sage. Subsequently, he was ranked among the gods, and Josephus quotes from Manetho, where this Amenhotep is set up as the king's adviser in spiritual matters, the author of the expulsion of lepers, the author of the prophecy about future disasters; he is called "a partaker of the divine nature, in consequence of wisdom and clairvoyance." The Greeks called him Amenophis, the son of Paapius, and even attributed to him the products of their own wisdom: a calcareous ostracon was found in Deir el-Bahri, according to paleography of the 3rd century BC. BC e., with a Greek text containing gnomic sayings, entitled Αμενωδςυ υποδηχαι sayings, supposedly by Amenophis, but betraying their Greek character. A statue dedicated to them was found in Karnak, which tells about his service career and merits in the execution of royal construction works. In general, both architecture and sculpture, as well as small arts and crafts, reached at this time high degree grace. The great wealth that accumulated at the foot of the Theban god, the expansion of horizons among the conquerors of cultural Asia, the extensive trade relations that captured the Greek islands, led to an increase in taste, a variety of artistic forms, an increase in demand and artistic needs.

Large scarabs survived from Amenhotep III, which served as commemorative medals for him on various occasions. outstanding events; thus, they speak of his marriage to Tiya (she was the first queen, although she came from a simple title), then to the daughter of the king of Mitanni, Giluhipa; about hunting, which Amenhotep III was very fond of doing; scarabs were also prepared in memory of the solemn opening of a pleasure lake of 3,700 cubits in honor of Tia. Thus, the king shared messages about his personal life with his subjects; his relationship with his beloved Tia is also quite unusual for an oriental despot. He liked to speak with her everywhere, and in official texts he often mentioned not only her name, but the names of her untitled parents Yuya and Tuya, whose tombs and mummies were recently found by Davis among the royal graves in luxurious surroundings. On the scarab medal handed out on the occasion of the marriage with Tia, he said: “she is the wife of a mighty king, whose southern border is Karoi, and the northern border is Naharin (Mesopotamia”). Thus, the pharaoh is no longer the all-world ruler, and next to him there are other kings: Naharin (Mitanni), Shinar (Babylon), who, although they treat him with respect, are still not subordinate to him; he has to call them "brothers" in letters and even enter into marriage alliances with them. We can hardly be mistaken if we assume a political lining in this: the pharaoh, despite all the magnificent phrases of the official texts, was aware that the retention of the source of wealth - Syria is possible only under the condition good relations with the ancient pretender to this area - Babylon and the recent - Mitanni; the latter state also valued ties with Egypt, having the developing power of the Hittites in the rear. The Syro-Palestinian princes, despairing for the time being of the possibility of again forming a strong alliance, could enter into an agreement with one of the great Asiatic powers in order to win their freedom, and from the correspondence at Tell Amarna we know that they once applied for this to the king of Babylon, but the latter rejected their offer to lead a coalition hostile to Egypt. The letters of the Asian kings to the pharaoh are of great cultural and historical interest, and we will present some of them. (Note that recently in one tomb of the 19th century, an image of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, its office and archive was found).

Of the documents of neighbors independent of Egypt, let us focus primarily on letters from Babylon. A contemporary of Amenhotep III was the Kassite Karaindash II, who was succeeded by Kadashman-Kharbe; next come Burnaburiash or Burraburiash I, Kurigalu I.

Two letters of Amenhotep III to Kadashman-Kharba, three letters of the latter to Amenhotep and one letter to him of Burnaburiash have come down to us. Their content is negotiations about marriages, about gifts, etc. Amenhotep wants to get a Babylonian princess into his harem. Kadashman-Kharbe replies that he already has his sister and oh does not know anything about her fate. The Babylonian ambassadors do not see her and did not recognize her in the woman whom Pharaoh showed them. “This is the daughter of some beggar, some Gage or Khanigalbat, or perhaps from the land of Ugarit,” the Babylonian king wrote in annoyance, looking down at other Asian princes, not excluding the king great power Mitanni (Khanigalbat), the primordial enemy and rival in supremacy over Assyria. The pharaoh complains about the unscrupulousness of the ambassadors, who lie and do not give gifts, but hints that the Babylonian king wants to derive material benefits from kinship. This time, Amenhotep considers it not superfluous to give him a lesson and does not even accompany his letter with the usual gifts. Kadashman-Kharbe complains about this and that the pharaoh delayed his ambassadors for too long and did not even fulfill an act of international courtesy - he did not invite them to some kind of holiday (maybe his anniversary). However, the lesson worked, and he agrees without talking to send his daughter to Egypt. But he himself wants to get a princess from Egypt. To this the pharaoh replied briefly with a reference to the article of the law: "an Egyptian princess cannot be given to anyone." Then Kadashman-Harbeshlet the following letter:

“Nimmuria (Nib-maat-Ra, the throne name of the pharaoh), the king of Egypt, my brother, Kadashman-Kharba, the king of Karduniash, your brother. Greetings to your house, your wives, all your country, your chariots, your horses, your nobles, big hello. You, my brother, did not want to marry your daughter to me and answered: "The Egyptian princess never gave herself to anyone." Why is that? After all, you are a king - and you can act according to the desire of your heart, and if you betray her, who will contradict? When the answer was communicated to me, I wrote: there are many daughters and beautiful women; send me one of them; after all, who will say then: "this is not a princess"? But you didn't send. So, do you really think that by such an answer you are looking for brotherhood and friendship and our rapprochement? It was precisely I who wrote to you about marriage in the form of strengthening brotherly and friendly relations. Why didn't my brother send me a wife? You really didn't send it. Maybe I should do the same? No, I have daughters: I am ready to give anything for you ... As for the gold that I wrote to you about, there was gold, a lot of gold, even before your ambassador arrived here; send him now, as soon as possible, in this harvest, or in the month of Tammuz, or in Aba; then I will finish the work I have undertaken (probably the construction)...

If you don’t send money (by this date), and I won’t be able to finish the work, then why should you send? Why do I need gold when I finish it? If you send me at least 3,000 talents, I won’t accept it, I’ll send it back and I won’t marry my daughter to you.”

This ultimatum had an effect, and the pharaoh, “learning” that the Babylonian king was “building new houses for himself,” sent him gifts when writing - a bed made of precious wood, with decorations made of ivory and gold, a seat made of the same material, etc. , promising to send "everything that will be valuable in the eyes of the ambassador," who will deliver the Babylonian princess.

From King Tushratta of Mitanni came seven letters to Amenhotep III, one to Queen Tiye, and two inventories of the dowry of his daughter Taduhipa. One of the letters is written in the Mitanni language and only recently read, it seems, somewhat more reliably, by Bork. The following inscription on one of the “historical” scarabs of Amenhotep III has long been known: “Year 10 of Amenhotep (his wife Tia, her father Yuya, her mother Tuya). A wondrous event with his majesty: the daughter of the prince of Nakhary Satarna Gilukhip and the best of his wives 317. Previously, these words were not understood; they were explained by the following letter from Tushratta to Amenhotep III:

“Nimmuria, king of Egypt, my brother. Tushratta, king of Mitanni, your brother. I am doing well. Hello to you, hello to my sister Giluhipa, hello to your house, your wives, your sons, your nobles, your wines, your horses, your chariots and your country, big hello. When I came to my father's throne, I was still small, and Tuhi did evil to my country and killed his master. And therefore he did not allow me to maintain friendship with someone whom I value. But I, in view of his atrocities committed in my country, did not hesitate and executed the murderers of Artashshumara, my brother. Since you were good with my father, I sent you to tell my brother to hear about it and be glad. My father was on friendly terms with you and you probably loved him even more. And my father, in the name of this love, gave you my sister. And who else was as close to my father as you? And I offer even more than my brother - the whole country of the Hittites. When the enemies invaded my country, Teshub, the lord, delivered them into my hands, and I defeated them; there was no one among them who would return home. I send Gebe a war chariot, two horses, a boy and a girl from the Hittite war booty, and as a gift for my brother - five chariots and five harnesses. As a gift to Giluhipa, my sister, a pair of gold necklaces, a pair of gold ones; earrings ... a stone vessel with fragrant oil. I sent Galia and Tunipivri as ambassadors; May my brother let them go quickly, so that I may soon hear my brother's greetings and rejoice. May my brother maintain friendship with me and send ambassadors to me to bring my brother's greetings to me.

Thus, Tushratta, son of Satarna and brother of Giluhipa, tries to maintain friendly relations with Egypt, which existed under his father, who gave his daughter to Amenhotep as his wife. Tushratta then also gave his daughter to Egypt - probably for Amenhotep IV. It was very important for the king of Mitanni to maintain friendship with Egypt: his kingdom was threatened from the north by the Hittites, from the east by his vassals - the Assyrians; an ally had to be sought in the south; moreover, from the same place from the south, gold was flowing, regarding which the northern neighbors of Egypt had ideas that there was no end to it in Egypt; This is evidenced by the following letter from Tushratta: “... I now asked my brother for gold and had two reasons for this: for a karashka (maybe a tomb) of my grandfather Artatama as a gift for the bride. So, let my brother send me gold in a very large amount, which could not even be counted ... after all, in the land of my brother there is as much gold as there is land. May the gods arrange for it to be ten times more ... If my brother wants something for his house, I will give him ten times more than he requires - let him write and receive, for this land is his the earth and this house is his home.” Amenhotep sent gold and gifts, but kept reminding of the speeding up of sending Taduhipa. Tushratta dragged on and expressed his dissatisfaction with the gifts in subtly polite letters. So, among other things, he writes the following: “Mani, the ambassador of my brother, came again for my brother’s wife, the lady of Egypt. I read the tablet brought by him, heeded her words. And my brother's words were highly pleasing, as if I had seen him himself. I was very glad that day, that day and night were joyful for me. All the words of my brother I will fulfill. In the same year I will give my brother's wife, the lady of Egypt, and send her to my brother. On that day, Khanigalbat and Egypt will unite. I collected (everyone to see my brother's gifts); they were sealed. It turned out that it was not gold. The envoys of my brother wept and said: ... yes, this is not gold, but meanwhile in Egypt there is more gold than sand, and your brother loves you very much ... In the end, the matter was settled, and Tushratta sent his daughter away with a huge dowry, the description of which was attached. Some kind of magical item was also sent so that the pharaoh would live a hundred thousand years!

While Amenhotep III was alive, the prestige of the Egyptian king was so high that, as we have seen, the Babylonian king asked to send him at least some woman from Egypt under the guise of a royal daughter. Obviously, in the eyes of his subjects, kinship with the pharaoh was a high honor. When he fell ill, Tushratta sent him to Egypt from Nineveh, which then depended on him, a statue of Istar, with the following letter: “This is what Istar of Nineveh, the mistress of all countries, says: “to Egypt, to the country that I love, I am going.” I send it to you, it has gone. Already in the days of my father, the mistress went to this land, and as she was honored then, so may my brother now honor her ten times more, and send her away and return her in joy. May Istar, the mistress of heaven, preserve my brother and me for a hundred thousand years, and may she give us both great joy. Yes, we live in good harmony - Istar for me is my goddess, but for my brother she is not his deity.

The cultural and historical interest of this letter is very great, and the facts reported by him do not stand apart. Evidently the Egyptians believed in the power of the Istar, and the last lines are meant to politely warn against the appropriation of an idol. However, he did not help against the disease, and Amenhotep III died. Tushratta then wrote to his successor: “My father never denied me anything and did not cause me grief. When Nimmuria followed his destiny, it was announced and I learned; I cried that day, sat at night, ate nothing and lamented. Oh, if my brother, whom I loved and loved me, were alive! ”... And among the Egyptians, the brilliant and pious pharaoh was popular and left such a strong memory that even the month of Tamenos was named after him, which retained this name (for March) and in Christian times. Even in the Greco-Roman era, the cult of Amenhotep III was celebrated in Fayum under the name of the god Pramarr.

Tulor, The temple of Amenhotep III. fl. Petrie, Six temples in Thebes (excavations at the Colossi of Memnon and the funerary temple of Amenhotep III). V.V. Struve, St. Petersburg Sphinxes (Western class, department of I.R. Archaeological Society VII, 1913). Davies, The tomb of Queen Tiyi. Lond., 1910 (excellent edition with 35 plates). Sethe, Amenhotep, der Sohn des Hapu. Collection of Aegyptiaca in honor of Ebers, Wilcken, Zur agyptisch-hellenistischen Literatur (sayings of Amenophis, son of Payanius in Greek) - ibid. Rubenson, Pramarres, Aegypt. Xeitschrift, vol. 42 (1905). Moller, D. Dekret d. Amenophis, Sohnes d. Hapu SitjungsberichteBepn. Academy, 1910. (Inscription from the burial church, late origin).

Amenhotep III - Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, who ruled from about 1388 - 1351 BC. e., from the XVIII dynasty. FROM son of Thutmose IV and Queen Mutemuya(Mut-ma-wa).

The reign of Amenhotep III became one of the greatest periods the rise of ancient Egyptian civilization. Evidence of this is the grandiose temple complexes and excellent monuments of sculpture, elegant toilet gizmos and many other works of art that are considered masterpieces of the best Egyptian collections of museums in the world. Despite the abundance of this evidence, Amenhotep III is still a figure, in many ways, mysterious and controversial. On the one hand, like no one else, he revered the traditional Egyptian gods and built luxurious temples for them, on the other hand, it was in his era, when royal self-deification reached unprecedented proportions, that the roots of the coming Amarna reform lie.

Amenhotep III was born in Thebes. Numerous surviving documents from the reign of Thutmose IV confirm that he was declared crown prince during the life of his father. Most likely, he ascended the throne at a very young age - he was not yet ten years old; this fact is confirmed by many sources and is not surprising, given the fact that Thutmose IV died too early to have an heir in his mature years. In the guise of a child, the prince appears in the image from the tomb of the nobleman Hekaernehekh, on the statue of his mentor Sebekhotep, in the inscription of the 7th year of Thutmose IV on a rock in Konosso. A significant number of portraits of the king with extremely youthful and soft features date back to this early period of his reign.

The first years of the king's reign, of course, passed under the authority of the regent, most likely, his mother - Queen Mutemuya. The accession of Amenhotep III, apparently, passed quickly and painlessly; in any case, none of the nobles of the court was removed from his post in connection with the change of the king. So, Ptahmes, the high priest of Amon, who took this position in the last years of the reign of Thutmose IV, with the accession to the throne of the new king, also became the mayor of Thebes and the vizier.

From the first year of the reign, and possibly even from the moment of accession to the throne, Teye became the wife of the young king. Apparently, she belonged to the provincial nobility and, perhaps, had a significant admixture of Nubian blood. Thus, a long tradition was broken. Usually pharaohs for the purity of blood married their closest relatives, who received the title of "main wife", and their sons inherited the throne. But Amenhotep neglected the custom of his ancestors and elevated Teye above all his other wives, thus violating the established tradition. Apparently, Teye was a smart and energetic woman and must have had a great influence on her royal husband.

Perhaps the marriage of Amenhotep III with the daughter of an obscure head of the cattle yards of one of the provincial temples, which caused disapproval of the priesthood and the "old" metropolitan nobility, was one of the first clear signs of who the pharaoh favors in the country. Thaya, according to sources, was very smart. Inscriptions on scarabs - images of sacred beetles dedicated to the god of the sun - testify that Amenhotep III considered his wife more than was customary, and not only in family matters. Such disregard for the ancient institutions naturally aroused the displeasure of the pharaoh's advisers - the priesthood, that is, those circles that usually stood closest to the king. They felt left out.

Hiking in Nubia

At the beginning of Amenhotep's reign, Egypt was at the height of its power. Friendly relations existed with the kings of Mitanni, Babylonia, and Cyprus, so Amenhotep's reign was extremely peaceful. Only once Amenhotep undertook a campaign in Nubia, to suppress the uprising that broke out there. The campaign of the 5th year, known from numerous sources, is best described in a text carved on a rock between Aswan and the island of Philae. Despite the statements - “In the fifth year the king returned back. He triumphed this year in his first campaign, made through the despicable land of Cush. He set boundaries by his own will. No king did anything like this, except for him, the bold pharaoh, relying on his strength (that is, Amenhotep III) ”- the king, apparently, participated only symbolically: traditionally, such campaigns were carried out under the leadership of a person who had experience of military operations in the region, most often, "the king's son Kush". Under the inscription are the names of six defeated peoples of the south, including the land of Kush.

It seems that the poorly preserved inscription in Bubastis and the stele of the royal son Kush Merimos, which he installed in Semna, at the 2nd rapids, on behalf of the king, tell about the same campaign. It all started with the uprising of the “despicable hostile Kush” under the leadership of a certain leader Ikheni, “a braggart surrounded by his army; he did not know the lion that was before him. This is Nebmaatra (the throne name of Amenhotep III), a terrible lion who grabbed the despicable Kush with his claw, tearing all his leaders in their valleys, lying one on top of the other in blood.

Despite the destroyed upper part, the text of the Merimose stele is more meaningful than the royal one, replete with details. Merimos recruited an army among the Nubians of Northern Nubia. This army had to act together with the army of the pharaoh, which proves to what extent Lower Nubia had time to Egyptianize. On the anniversary of the celebration of the 5th year of Amenhotep's accession to the throne, in the country of Ibhet, which lies above the 2nd rapids, a battle took place with the rebels. The latter were destroyed. The Egyptians killed 312 and captured 740 Nubians.

After punishing the inhabitants of the surrounding areas, in order to prevent further cases of disobedience, Amenhotep went south. The Bubastis inscription reports that the Egyptian troops reached the "heights of Hua" (the location is unknown, but these heights appear in the lists near Punt and were probably far to the south), where they encamped in the country of Uneshei, south of Hua. This was the extreme point of Amenhotep's movement to the south. Having erected his boundary plate near some "waters of Horus", which, allegedly, none of his predecessors did, and having collected a large amount of gold in the country of Karai, Amenhotep returned to Egypt. This "first victorious campaign" of Amenhotep was, apparently, the only one in which he participated. And it is not entirely clear who, in fact, led the campaign, he himself or his governor in Nubia, Merimos.

Diplomatic marriages

In Asia, the dominion of Amenhotep was generally recognized. The kings of such great powers as Mitanni and the Babylonian kingdom fawned over the pharaoh and sent their sisters and daughters to his harem. So, Amenhotep was married to the sister and daughter of the Babylonian king Kadashman-Kharba I, the daughter of the Babylonian king Kurigalzu I, the daughter of the Babylonian king Kadashman-Elil I. Also, Amenhotep was twice married to Mitannian princesses. In the 10th year of his reign, he married the daughter of the king of Mitanni Shuttarna I, Kelu-hebe (Giluheppa), and in the 36th year, the granddaughter of Shuttarna I, the daughter of Tushratta, Tadu-hebe (Taduheppa).

The great influence of Amenhotep is also evidenced by the fact that the Babylonian king Kurigalzu I, when the Syrian kings tried to involve him in an alliance against the pharaoh, sent them a categorical refusal on the grounds that he was in alliance with the pharaoh, and even threatened them with war in case if their union comes to fruition. The king of Cyprus was in vassal dependence on Amenhotep and regularly sent him a large amount of copper, with the exception of one time, when, as he himself says in his own defense, a plague visited his country. More than twenty items with the names of Amenhotep III and Teye, discovered on the islands of the Aegean Sea, testify to the short-term renewal of Egypt's ties with this region.

Construction activity

The reign of Amenhotep was marked by grandiose construction. In front of the temple of Amun in Karnak, Amenhotep erected another pylon, built in the neighborhood, near a horseshoe-shaped lake, a temple to Amun's wife, the goddess Mut. It is possible that the middle passage of the so-called Hypostyle Hall in Karnak, between two rows of gigantic columns 24 m high, dates back to Amenhotep III, and only later was expanded into a huge hall. In the south of Thebes, the temple of Ipet-Res (Luxor Temple) was built - one of the most exquisite creations of Egyptian architects. A majestic passage between two rows of stone columns 16 m high also led to it. Similar passages were erected by him in front of the neighboring temple of Mut, and in front of the temple in Sulba (between the 2nd and 3rd thresholds). All construction work in Karnak, Luxor and in Thebes as a whole was led by two architects - two twin brothers Hori and Suti.

On the western bank of the Nile, near the capital, Amenhotep's country palace was built. It was a huge one-story building made of raw brick, with excellent paintings on the ceilings, walls and floors. The palace complex also included houses of courtiers, workshops, houses of artisans. The construction of this palace, called the "House of Joy", is not without reason associated with the celebration of the "thirtieth anniversary of the reign" (heb-sed). Somewhat to the north of the palace, a magnificent funeral temple of Amenhotep was built. Unfortunately, little has survived from this building.

Near this temple, an alley of sphinxes carved from pink granite was created, and in front of its pylons, two huge statues of the pharaoh, the famous “Colossi of Memnon”, were erected, each of a single stone block 21 m high and weighing more than 700 tons. The construction of this temple was led by the architect Amenhotep, the son of Hapi. The same Amenhotep from the quarries near Heliopolis brought to Thebes two huge statues of his master for the national temple in Karnak. At least one of them had a height of 24 m.

Wealth of the state

The source of such extensive building activity of Amenhotep was the untold wealth coming to Egypt from conquered and dependent countries. These riches of Egypt were so great that Amenhotep could send a large number gold as gifts to their faithful allies - the kings of Mitanni and Babylon, and the latter were sure that there was as much gold in Egypt as there was sand in the desert. During the reign of Amenhotep, there was a flourishing of trade, which also brought huge income to the state, because Amenhotep encouraged legal trade in every possible way and duly taxed it. The art of Amenhotep's time combined the desire for the huge (gigantic columns and buildings), with strict harmony. And the images on the plane were given outlines of unprecedented softness and smoothness.

During the reign of Amenhotep III, Egypt also maintained contacts with Punt. In the tomb of Amenmes (TT89), the mayor of Thebes and a very high-ranking nobleman, an image of the typical gifts of Punt, accompanied by local leaders, has been preserved. Another Amenmes, a simple scribe, also reported the arrival of a flotilla from Punt to Egypt in the period before the 36th year of the king's reign.

Deification of the king

Amenhotep, reveling in his dominion over the "world", reached in self-deification to the cult of his own idols. True, this worship of the pharaoh was planted mainly in Nubia, where, together with Amon, a magnificent temple was dedicated to the king in Sulba, but even in Memphis, divine honors were paid to the royal idol. In Nubia, in Sedenge, neighboring Sulba, a temple was built in which, as a goddess, they honored the beloved wife of the pharaoh, Queen Teye. The high-ranking builder Amenhotep, the son of Hapi, who most likely died after the 30th year of the reign of the pharaoh, had a memorial temple built in the west of Thebes, like a king. Centuries later, he was included in the pantheon of Egyptian gods, and the Greeks introduced him "Amenophis, son of Paanias" into the host of their sages.

Since ancient times, the pharaohs have been compared to the sun and called them "sons of Ra (the sun)", but no one before Amenhotep called himself so stubbornly as he - visible sun. This idea of ​​oneself as a bright Sun echoed the persistent emphasis on one's commitment to "truth" (Maat). Of the five royal names, three were dedicated to her: in the first name, the king called himself “Radiant in Truth”, in the second - “Setting the Laws”, the fourth, usually state name, “Neb-Maat-Ra” meant “Lord of Truth, the Sun”. Near the main temple of the capital in Karnak, the pharaoh set up a special temple, all the same "Pravda", the "daughter of the Sun" Maat.

Unrest in Asiatic dominions

At the end of the reign of Amenhotep, unrest began in the Asian possessions of Egypt, the so-called popular movement of the hapiru - outcasts who retired to the steppe and formed detachments of freemen. The Hapiru were opposed to royal power in general, and against pharaonic power in particular. At this time, in the mountains, between Phoenicia and Syria, a new state of Amurru arose, the main population of which was the hapiru. The creator of this kingdom, Abdi-Ashirta, out of caution, pretended to be loyal to the pharaoh, but at the same time, through his agents, he systematically called on the population to join the hapir and kill their city governors, loyal to the pharaoh, which happened here and there throughout Phoenicia and Palestine. In some places it came to the performances of individual armed groups of slaves. The Egyptian governors of Amurru did not immediately discover the hostile nature of Abdi-Ashirta's activities, as a result of which he managed to significantly expand his possessions.

Hittite threat

In the 70s of the XIV century BC. e. in the north, a new danger arose for Egypt. The strengthened Hittite kingdom began to claim hegemony in the region of Syria and Upper Mesopotamia. The Hittites invaded the possessions of Amenhotep's ally, the Mitanni king Tushratta. Tushratta managed to drive them out, and he even sent Amenhotep a chariot, a couple of horses and two slaves as a gift from among the booty that he got from the Hittites. But the Egyptian provinces in Syria were not spared. Akizzi, the vassal king of Qatna, wrote to the pharaoh that the Hittites invaded his territory in the Orontes valley, carried away the image of Amun-Ra with the name of Amenhotep III, and, leaving, burned the city. Nukhashshe, further north, suffered a similar attack, and his king, Addu-Nirari, wrote a desperate letter to the pharaoh with assurances of loyalty and a request for help against the attackers. Amenhotep limited himself to sending small parts of the army. Apparently, for support in the struggle against the Hittites, Amenhotep's marriage with the daughter of the king of the country of Artsava Tarhundaradus was outlined.

The situation within the country

It was also restless inside the country, where the interests of two powerful groups clashed: the capital and local nobility, on the one hand, and new social strata and the new service nobility that emerged from their midst, on the other. On the 30th anniversary of his reign, Amenhotep III appointed his son Amenhotep IV as his co-ruler. Towards the end of his life, Amenhotep III became very fat and suffered from some serious illness. To heal him, the Mitannian king Tushratta sent his Egyptian "brother" an idol of the goddess Ishtar of Nineveh, with polite request bring it back later. Queen Teye retained her extraordinary position next to the pharaoh until his death, despite the fact that Amenhotep was married not only to foreign princesses, but also to several of his own daughters. It happens that on the same inscription the names of Amenhotep, the "king's wife" Teye and their daughter, the "king's wife" Sitamon (Si-Amana "Daughters of Amun"), are next to each other.

Amenhotep reigned for 38 years and a few months. His mummy, discovered along with the remains of many other kings and queens in the tomb-hiding place of his grandfather, Amenhotep II in the Valley of the Kings, made it possible to establish that at the time of his death he was from 40 to 50 years old; It was not possible to accurately determine the age.

Fragment of the "western" sphinx of Amenhotep III from Kom el-Khettan. Granite. St. Petersburg. (c) my photo, 2003

The reign of Amenhotep III was one of the greatest periods of prosperity of Ancient Egypt. Evidence of this is the grandiose temple complexes and monuments of sculpture, elegant toilet gizmos and many other monuments that are considered masterpieces of the best Egyptian collections of museums in the world. They are true witnesses, telling about their time and their creator. Despite the abundance of monuments, Amenhotep III is in many ways a mysterious and controversial figure. On the one hand, like no one else, he revered the traditional Egyptian gods and built temples for them, on the other hand, it was in his era that the roots of the coming Amarna reform lie. We know hundreds of his portraits, among which the St. written sources. The king enthusiastically glorifies his exclusivity and divinity, however, in fact, many of the achievements of his reign could be attributed to the exceptional influence that women had on him, of course, very bright ones: his mother, Queen Mutemuya, his wife, the brilliant Teye, and, finally, one from the eldest daughters - Satamon.
Despite the apparent accessibility and diversity of monuments of this time and the conditional "clarity" of the era, the reign of Amenhotep III still requires serious and detailed research, taking into account new monuments that appear in the process of archaeological research of the royal mortuary complex by the German-Egyptian mission led by Dr. Khurig Suruzyan. Excavations of the temple at Kom el-Hettan, materials from a delightful exhibition held in 1992-1993 in Cleveland, Fort Worth and Paris at the initiative of Dr. Betsy Bryan and Dr. Ariel Kozloff, research by Japanese specialists in Malkata and the royal tomb WV22 and, finally, a full-fledged restoration of the delightful sphinxes in St. Petersburg - became part of a single basis for a new look at the brilliant Amenhotep III and his time.

The prince who would later become one of the most famous ancient Egyptian kings was born in Thebes. Numerous surviving documents from the reign of Thutmose IV confirm that he was declared crown prince during his father's lifetime. Most likely, he ascended the throne at a very young age - he was not yet ten years old; this fact is confirmed by many sources and is not surprising, given the fact that Thutmose IV died too early to have an heir in his mature years. In the guise of a child, the prince appears in the image from the tomb of the nobleman Hekaernehekh, on the statue of his mentor Sebekhotep, in the inscription of the 7th year of Thutmose IV on a rock in Konosso. At the same time, one should recall a significant number of portraits of the king with extremely young and soft features; most of them were created in the first years of the reign, long before the first festival of Sed in the thirtieth year of the reign, when the king, of course, was already a grown man.

Nebmaatra Amenhotep reigned for 38 years and a few months. His mummy, discovered along with the remains of many other kings and queens in the tomb of his grandfather, Amenhotep II in the Valley of the Kings, made it possible to establish that at the time of his death he was between 40 and 50 years old; It was not possible to accurately determine the age. Given the long years of reign and this fact, it can be assumed that Amenhotep III ascended the throne at the age of 8-10 years, which is fully confirmed by the facial expressions of his early sculptural images.

Rebus statue depicting Queen Mutemuyu in the guise of the goddess Mut, seated in her ceremonial boat. The monument is a sculptural expression of the name of the queen, which translates as "Mut in the boat." Granodiorite. From Karnak. London, British Museum. (c) photo - E. Tsareva

The first years of the reign of the king, of course, passed under the rule of a regent, most likely his mother, Queen Mutemuya, whose image appears in Egyptian history only with the birth of her son and is almost not known in the first years of the reign of Thutmose IV. The all-powerful mother of the king, Mutemuya, was depicted on many of his monuments, in particular, in the scenes of theogamy and the conception of Amenhotep III from the god Amun in the Luxor Temple, and, most importantly, next to the colossi of the king in Kom el-Khettan, where her colossal images adjoin with sculptures of Teye, wife of Amenhotep III, also standing at the feet of the "Colossus of Memnon" and its southern counterpart.
The accession of Amenhotep III, apparently, passed quickly and painlessly; in any case, none of the nobles of the court was removed from his post in connection with the change of the king. So, Ptahmes, the high priest of Amon, who took this position in the last years of the reign of Thutmose IV, with the accession to the throne of the new king, also became the mayor of Thebes and the vizier. The combination of two important positions - the vizier and the high priest - in the hands of one person is an almost unique phenomenon, which has only one analogy in the person of Hapuseneb, a contemporary of Hatshepsut. Ptahmes was the first vizier to receive the title of "fan-bearer to the right of his majesty." His theophoric name, which includes Ptah, lord of Memphis, may indicate his origin from the north of the country, as if Amenhotep III, whose administrative capital was in Memphis, specially appointed his confidant to two important Theban posts. One of the daughters of Ptahmes was named Mutemuya, no doubt in honor of the queen mother and, perhaps, as a sign of a particularly close relationship with the royal family.
From the first year of his reign, and possibly from the moment of accession to the throne, Teye became the wife of the young king. An event of such great significance was certainly prepared by someone who, in choosing a young girl as the wife of a child king, wanted to achieve some unknown goal in this way.

Mask of the sarcophagus of the nobleman Yuya, the father of Queen Teye. Wood, gold, inlays. Cairo, Egyptian Museum. (c) my photo, 2000

Teye's father, Yuya, was a nobleman, but by no means so significant that it was his daughter who became queen. The opinion that Yuya received most of his positions and privileges, which he had a lot of by the end of his life, only because his daughter became the wife of the king, is partly true. Partly, because we do not know the reasons that led him to the status of the father of the great royal wife. However, it is also unknown when this “council of regents” lost its significance under the king, giving way to Queen Teia, one of the most significant personalities in Egyptian history of the 18th dynasty.

Dated sources that have come down to us from the reign of Amenhotep III are relatively rare. Eleven dated royal documents are known, nine of which refer to the period from 1 to 11 years of the king's reign and two others - to the 35th. The inscription of the 1st year of the reign is known in el-Bersh, not far from the limestone quarries, which were actively exploited even after the death of Amenhotep III; this inscription is connected with construction work in the temple of Thoth in Hermopolis, located on the other side of the Nile. The double inscription of the 2nd year in Tours is connected with the resumption of work in the quarries in connection with the beginning of the construction of the “Temple of Millions of Years” of the king in Kom el-Khettan and, possibly, in Memphis. Four of the dated monuments are commemorative scarabs, the texts on which are mentioned: marriage to a Mitannian princess (10th year), hunting for wild bulls (2nd year), hunting for wild lions (1st and 10th th years) and the creation of an artificial lake Birket Abu for Queen Teye (11th year). The fifth commemorative scarab, alas, is not dated. Finally, three stelae of the 5th year of reign are associated with the only military event during the reign of Amenhotep III - with a campaign in Nubia. After the 1st year of the reign, all dated monuments seem to disappear until the year 35, which is mentioned on two stelae from Gebel el-Silsile, the texts of which tell about the extraction of stone for the burial temple of the king and for the construction of a certain building in honor of Ra-Atum. Some documents that can be dated with relative certainty appear after the 30th year of the king's reign and are directly related to the three festivals of the king's Sed; all of them were found either in the tombs of high-ranking nobles who took part in them, or in the ruins of the palace of Malkatta, where some episodes of celebrations took place. Numerous seals and fragments of wine vessels used during the festivities were found here, containing inscriptions and, sometimes, dates.
If most of the reign of Amenhotep III is relatively silent and not generous with dated documents, then, on the contrary, many important events reigns became known to us thanks to the vast number of monuments of private individuals and nobles of the magnificent and crowded royal court.
The dated monuments from the era of Amenhotep III seem like a tiny drop compared to the sea of ​​​​other monuments that make up two groups: works of art and the el-Amarna diplomatic archive. The famous collection of diplomatic correspondence of the rulers of Mesopotamia, Syria and Asia Minor with Amenhotep III, Akhenaten and Egyptian nobles, the el-Amarna archive has 382 clay tablets covered with cuneiform writing, most of which were found by 1887 in the ruins of Akhetaten. Most of the letters are written in Babylonian, two in Hittite, one in Assyrian, and one in Hurrian. A significant number of studies have been devoted to both the entire code and individual elements of royal correspondence; several tables of the archive are stored in Moscow, in the collection of the Sector of the East of the Pushkin Museum.

Fragment of the dyad of the god Sebek and Amenhotep III from the temple of Sebek in Dahamsh. Alabaster. Luxor, Museum of Egyptian Art. (c) my photo, 2007

Works of art constitute another, the most significant and interesting part of the monuments of the era of Amenhotep III. This includes the grandiose temples of the king and numerous works of sculpture, among which a special place is occupied by more than two hundred statues of the king, ranging from miniature figurines of soapstone and ending with the colossi of Thebes. Monuments of private individuals, despite the abundance and, at times, true perfection, were in the shadow of the grandiose monuments of the king. The only exceptions are, perhaps, the tombs, among which there are both modest painted burial chambers of scribes and priests of the necropolis, as well as delightful underground palaces, richly decorated with reliefs, often polychrome, telling about the life of high-ranking nobles of the court and the royal festivities of Sed. These monuments, which do not give us the opportunity to clarify anything related to the administration, army or priesthood of the era, have become a real treasure for art historians and religious scholars, allowing us to understand many aspects of the Egyptian worldview and visual arts in the years immediately preceding the Amarna reform and the crisis of traditional Egyptian culture. The artist of the era of Amenhotep III, in many ways more free in the choice of themes and forms than before, often became the Creator with a capital letter, reaching true perfection both in the appearance and idea of ​​​​the created monument, and in every detail. At the same time, along with the sophistication and detailing of the image, it was in the art of Amenhotep III that sophisticated and hyperbolic realism was born, which marked many monuments of the first years of the reign of his son, Akhenaten.

Today it is very difficult to understand why the first eleven years of the reign of Amenhotep III, filled with events and monuments, were replaced by two decades of relative “silence”. Perhaps in the early years the tsar was under the influence of the "regency council". Release of the first series of commemorative scarabs, which have become hallmark of this reign and practically not known either before or after Amenhotep III, is associated, first of all, with the accession of the new king to the throne; these numerous "marriage" scarabs actually speak not of the marriage of Amenhotep III and Teia, but of the king himself, introducing him to his titles and asserting his rights to the throne. The new king takes on the traditional complex of five names: “Chorus: a mighty bull, Resplendent in Truth, Both mistresses: Approving the laws, Appeasing both Earths, Golden Chorus: Great courage, overthrowing the Asians, King of Upper and Lower Egypt: Nebmaatra, Son of Ra: Amenhotep , ruler of Thebes, to whom life is given. Then follows the name of the great royal wife Teye, accompanied by the names of her parents: “She is the wife of the mighty king,” the text continues, “his southern border is in Karoi, his northern border is in Naharin”. Judging by the mention of the marriage of Amenhotep III and Teie, this was the first issue of royal scarabs; the mention of the queen's parents, Yuya and Tuya, clearly emphasized their new status and special significance at court.

Fragment of the festival "Sed" under Amenhotep III. Relief of one of the blocks of the temple in Kom el-Khettan. Limestone. Merneptah Temple Museum, Qurna. (c) my photo, 2007

The scarabs are dated to the second year of the reign with a long text about “hunting wild bulls”, which tells about “a miracle created by His Majesty”. A herd of 170 wild bulls appeared from the side of Wadi Natrun, which was reported to the king; an expedition of unbelievable proportions was immediately equipped, which set off that same evening to seize booty. The detachment left Memphis, led by the king, who drove the chariot. In order to capture the herd, a wall and a ditch were built. On the very first day, the king managed to catch 56 bulls; after waiting four days to rest, the king seized 40 more bulls, 96 live animals in total. Such a large-scale operation, of course, required a large and well-trained staff, who would do some of the work attributed to the king in the text, if the king were a grown man. Amenhotep III, who was then about twelve years old, was most likely just a spectator.

Amenhotep III before Ra-Khorakhte. The figure of the deity was destroyed by the fanatics of Akhenaten during the Amarna era. Relief of one of the blocks of the temple in Kom el-Khettan. Limestone. Merneptah Temple Museum, Qurna. (c) my photo, 2007

Perhaps things were similar during the hunt for lions. According to the text preserved on 138 scarabs, the king personally shot 102 lions with arrows from the 1st to the 10th year of his reign; however, in the 10th year of his reign, he was no longer a child. In the tenth year, a much less extensive series of scarabs appeared (only 6 pieces are known), the texts of which told how Princess Gilukheppa, the daughter of Suttarna II, Prince of Naharina, was brought to the king as a guarantee of political stability, and with her - 317 women for the women's house of the king.

The last type of commemorative scarab was issued in the 11th year of the king's reign to mark the flooding of an area of ​​60 hectares in honor of Queen Teie. Work on the creation of water pools and a new agricultural zone was carried out in the Jarukha area, north of Akhmim, where the queen's parents came from. Perhaps we are talking about the city of Takhta, the name of which, apparently, bears an echo of the name of the queen. The king sailed on the created lake during the "opening of the lakes" on a boat called "the radiance of the Aten", just like the palace in Malkata. The king noted the high water level in the lake and, perhaps, took part not so much in a pleasure walk as in an agricultural ritual.

Thus, all the surviving "series" of scarabs were more like state monuments than private documents about the life of the royal family. The story of a diplomatic marriage, hunting for lions and bulls - truly royal animals associated with the title of the pharaoh, and, finally, the mention of the name of Queen Teie, her parents and the region where they came from - all this was part of the royal political program, no matter how "personal ”The events described on the abdomens of the sacred beetles did not seem at first glance. After the 11th year of the reign, new "series" of scarabs were no longer issued. This important fact was connected, most likely, with the growing up of the king and the gradual removal of the "regency council" from power, and, perhaps, even with the death of Queen Mutemuya. The dynamism and activity of the first years of his reign, apparently not characteristic of the personality of the king himself, quickly gave way to a period of inactivity and calm, the only driving force and the apogee of which was the exorbitant deification of the king after the 30th year of his reign. However, the reverse side of this "inaction" was the colossal temple construction and the time of creation of the best monuments of Egyptian art during the reign of the XVIII dynasty.

Fragment of the colossus of Amenhotep III from Kom el-Khettan. Limestone. London, British Museum. (c) photo - E. Tsareva, 2007.

The few military events that took place during the reign of Amenhotep III are two Nubian campaigns carried out in the 5th year of the pharaoh's reign and at the very end of his reign. The campaign of the 5th year, known from numerous sources, is best described in the text of a large stele carved between Aswan and the island of Philae. In the expedition, which ended in the third month of the Akhet season of the 5th year of the reign of Amenhotep III, the king, apparently, participated only symbolically: traditionally, such campaigns were carried out under the leadership of a person with experience in military operations in the region, most often, the royal son Kush. This first campaign was given incredible brilliance. It all started with a certain uprising of the “despicable hostile Kush” under the leadership of a certain leader Ikheni, “a braggart surrounded by his army; he did not know the lion that was before him. This is Nebmaatra, the terrible lion who seized the despicable Kush with his claw, tearing all his leaders in their valleys, lying one on top of the other in blood. This metaphor, comparing the king to a lion, seems to have been extremely fond of Amenhotep III and was often used in texts connected in one way or another with Nubia, where, according to a series of scarabs, 102 lions were killed. On one of the famous lions from the temple in Soleb, the king is called the “lion of rulers”, on the basis of one of the colossi in Luxor - the “lion of kings”. As a result of the campaign, more than 30 thousand prisoners were brought from Nubia, whom the king, who was in a good mood, eventually released, "so as not to destroy the offspring of the captured Kush." Traditionally, this expedition coincides with the content of the text of the stele of the king's son Kush Merimose, which he installed in Semne on behalf of the king. It partly duplicates the mood and even individual phrases of the large inscription in Aswan; the king is referred to in it as "a terrible lion, a lord who kills enemies by order of Amon, the venerable father." It is curious that in the text a solar disk is placed on the head of the lion sign. Despite the destroyed upper part, the text of the Merimose stele is more meaningful than the royal text, replete with details; however, the similarity of this text with another dated to the 12th year of the reign of Akhenaten suggests that Merimose was not the commander who carried out the successful campaign: Merimose was hardly already the royal son of Kush in the 5th year of the reign of Amenhotep III. The list of Nubian toponyms found on the monuments of Amenhotep III mentions, in addition to Kush, a number of localities, the localization of which is still problematic, for example, Irem and Miu, as well as toponyms, the localization of which is not possible today.

During the reign of Amenhotep III, Egypt also maintained contacts with Punt. In the tomb of Amenmes (TT89), the mayor of Thebes and a very high-ranking nobleman, an image of the typical gifts of Punt, accompanied by local leaders, has been preserved. Another Amenmes, a simple scribe, also reported the arrival of a flotilla from Punt to Egypt in the period before the 36th year of the king's reign.

Nubia was at this time also a very significant region. Here, in the area of ​​the III threshold of the Nile, in Soleb, by order of the king in connection with the ceremony of his first holiday of Sed in the 30th year of his reign, a temple was built, as grandiose as the Luxor complex. The temple is in a deserted and remote place; it is not clear why such a magnificent and laborious construction was started here, aimed only at praising and deifying the king. The complex consisted of two pylons, two open sunny courtyards framed by colonnades, a hypostyle and, in fact, a sanctuary. On the palm-shaped columns of the hypostyle hall, the names of the "defeated" foreign peoples were carved - Asians from the north and Africans - from the south sides of the columns.

One of the sacred lions of Amenhotep III from the temple at Soleb. Granite. London, British Museum. (c) photo - E. Tsareva, 2007

Amon-Ra, the lord of Karnak, and the king himself, deified as Nebmaatra, “the great lord of Nubia” and depicted as a lunar anthropomorphic deity with a small ram’s horn near his ear, a symbol of divinity, were revered here. Nebmaatra acted here as a local hypostasis of Khonsu - the son of Amon-Ra and Mut. At the same time, as already mentioned, the unique temple was intended for the celebration of the Sed ceremony of Amenhotep III and for the preceding rituals of “illuminating the platform” and “knocking on the door”, when Nebmaatra acted as a pledge of the revival of the full moon as a result of the healing of the Eye of Horus. It was the Oku Hora, according to legend, who hid in Nubia in the guise of the lioness goddess Tefnut-Mehit, who embodied full moon, under Amenhotep III, two granite lying lions were dedicated, once located in Soleb and later transported to Gebel Barkal (now in the British Museum).

Cit. by: Solkin V.V., Larchenko V.N. Amenhotep III: personality, epoch and "style" of civilization // Petersburg sphinxes. The sun of Egypt on the banks of the Neva. St. Petersburg, 2005, pp. 62–106. Footnotes omitted.

Amenhotep (literally "Amon is pleased"), whose throne name was Nebmaatra, was the son of Pharaoh Thutmose IV by his younger wife Mutemwiya (daughter of the ruler of Mitanni). Most likely, Amenhotep came to the throne as a child (he was no more than 12 years old), as evidenced by many indirect details. Nevertheless, thanks to the military campaigns of his father, it was during his reign that the military power of Egypt, which became the hegemon of the Eastern Mediterranean, reached its climax. Amenhotep's dominions stretched from the headwaters of the Euphrates in the north to the 4th cataract of the Nile in the south. The reign of Amenhotep III was exceptionally peaceful, which led to the flourishing of Egypt during this period. We know of only one military expedition of this pharaoh, aimed at suppressing the uprising in Nubia in the 5th year of his reign (about 1397 BC; information about this was preserved on the steles in Aswan and Semne). The remaining 33 years of his reign, Amenhotep III did not wage wars - the results of the military activity of his predecessors made themselves felt.

The source of the prosperity of Egypt and the extensive construction activities of the pharaoh were the untold wealth that came to Egypt from the conquered and dependent countries, as well as from the partner countries of Egypt in the Middle East, with which partnership agreements were concluded that were very beneficial for Egypt. Under Amenhotep, multilateral diplomatic relations were established with the small states of Syria-Palestine, as well as with the rulers of Babylon, Assyria, Mitanni, Cyprus, and the Hittites. Amenhotep III, like his father, married the daughter of the ruler of Mitanni (at the very end of his life he married the daughter of another Mitanni ruler), as well as the daughter of the Babylonian king. Documents from the Tel el-Amarna archive are evidence of Egypt's foreign policy activity. It is to the second half of the reign of the pharaoh that most of the cuneiform tablets found on the site of the capital built by Akhenaten (son of Amenhotep III) belong. The cuneiform tablets were written in Akkadian, which was the international language at the time and was used for diplomatic correspondence. In the last years of his reign, internal contradictions and the onslaught of the Hittites somewhat weakened the country, which led to unrest in Asian possessions. From some documents it follows that at the end of his reign, Amenhotep III was sick and weak (he died at the age of 50), and, perhaps, in the last year or two he ruled jointly with his second son from Tiyi - the future pharaoh Akhenaten (the eldest son died before his father).

The reign of the pharaoh was marked by the flourishing of Egyptian art. More than 250 pharaoh statues have been found and identified in Egypt (more than any other pharaoh). Amenhotep III was one of the greatest builder pharaohs Egypt has ever known. In honor of the first festival of Sed the king in Nubia, a giant temple complex Soleb was built, in which the pharaoh was revered during his lifetime as "Amenhotep, the good god, the lord of Nubia"; nearby, in Sedeing, his deified wife Tiya was worshiped in the guise of the goddess Hathor. Numerous temples and sanctuaries of Amenhotep III were erected in Nubia, in Wadi es-Sebua, Sai, Kuban, Aniba; in Egypt itself - in Bubastis, Dahamsh, Heliopolis, Memphis, Hermopolis, Abydos, El-Kab, on the island of Elephantine. Under Amenhotep III, a practically unpreserved “temple of millions of years” was built in Memphis, the first Apis bull was buried in the Memphis Serapeum, and the Temple of Hathor in Serabit el-Khadim in Sinai was expanded.

A majestic temple is being built in Thebes in honor of Amun-Ra; on the western bank of the Nile, near the capital, a royal residence arises - a luxurious palace, and a little to the north of it - the mortuary temple of the king, in front of the pylons of which two huge statues of the pharaoh, the famous "colossi of Memnon" were erected (the ancient Greeks considered them to be images of Memnon, the son of Eos; in the early morning these statues made an unusual sound - the Greeks considered it the voice of Memnon). Unfortunately, the changed course of the Nile washed away this majestic tomb 200 years after construction, and the colossi are the only thing that has survived. Near the ruins of this temple, an alley of sphinxes carved from pink Aswan granite was excavated in the last century. Two of them were bought in 1832 by the imperial decision, and in 1834 they were installed in St. Petersburg on Universitetskaya embankment, at the entrance to the Academy of Arts (where they stand to this day). These sphinxes were called upon to guard the tomb of Amenhotep III, as evidenced by the hieroglyphs carved on them.

Hundreds of his portraits are known, but along with this, the long years of his reign are “silent” due to a lack of written sources. Despite the apparent accessibility and variety of monuments of this time and the conditional "clarity" of the era, the reign of Amenhotep III still requires serious and detailed research.

Dated sources that have come down to our time from the reign of Amenhotep III are relatively rare. Eleven dated royal documents are known, nine of which refer to the period from 1 to 11 years of the king's reign and two others - to the 35th. An inscription from the 1st year of the reign is known at Deir el-Bersh, not far from the limestone quarries; this inscription is connected with construction work in the temple of Thoth in Hermopolis, located on the other side of the Nile. The double inscription of the 2nd year in Tours is connected with the resumption of work in the quarries in connection with the beginning of the construction of the “Temple of Millions of Years” of the king in Kom el-Khettan and, possibly, in Memphis. Four of the dated monuments are commemorative scarabs, the texts on which are mentioned: marriage to a Mitannian princess (10th year), hunting for wild bulls (2nd year), hunting for wild lions (1st and 10th th years) and the creation of an artificial lake Birket Abu for Queen Teye (11th year).

Finally, three stelae of the 5th year of reign are associated with the only military event during the reign of Amenhotep III - with a campaign in Nubia. After the 11th year of the reign, all dated monuments seem to disappear until the year 35, which is mentioned on two stelae from Gebel el-Silsile, the texts of which tell about the extraction of stone for the burial temple of the king and for the construction of a certain building in honor of Ra-Atum. Today it is very difficult to understand why the first eleven years of the reign of Amenhotep III, filled with events and monuments, were replaced by two decades of relative “silence”. Some documents that can be dated with relative certainty appear after the 30th year of the king's reign and are directly related to the three festivals of the king's Sed; all of them were found either in the tombs of high-ranking nobles who took part in them, or in the ruins of the palace of Malkatta, where some episodes of celebrations took place. Numerous seals and fragments of wine vessels used during the festivities were found here, containing inscriptions and, sometimes, dates.

If most of the reign of Amenhotep III is relatively silent and not generous with dated documents, then, on the contrary, many important events of the reign became known to us thanks to the vast number of monuments of private individuals and nobles of the magnificent and crowded royal court.

The dated monuments from the era of Amenhotep III seem like a tiny drop compared to the sea of ​​other monuments that make up two groups: works of art and the Amarna diplomatic archive. Works of art constitute another, the most significant and interesting part of the monuments of the era of Amenhotep III. This includes the grandiose temples of the king and numerous works of sculpture, among which a special place is occupied by more than two hundred statues of the king, ranging from miniature figurines of soapstone and ending with the colossi of Thebes. Monuments of private individuals, despite the abundance and, at times, true perfection, were in the shadow of the grandiose monuments of the king. The only exceptions are, perhaps, the tombs, among which there are both modest painted burial chambers of scribes and priests of the necropolis, as well as delightful underground palaces, richly decorated with reliefs, often polychrome, telling about the life of high-ranking nobles of the court and the royal festivities of Sed.

Sphinxes depicting Amenhotep III are installed on the University Embankment in St. Petersburg.

Birth and accession

Amenhotep III was born in Thebes. Numerous surviving documents from the reign of Thutmose IV confirm that he was declared crown prince during the life of his father. Most likely, he ascended the throne at a very young age - he was not yet ten years old; this fact is confirmed by many sources and is not surprising, given the fact that Thutmose IV died too early to have an heir in his mature years. In the guise of a child, the prince appears in the image from the tomb of the nobleman Hekaernehekh, on the statue of his mentor Sebekhotep, in the inscription of the 7th year of Thutmose IV on a rock in Konosso. A significant number of portraits of the king with extremely youthful and soft features date back to this early period of his reign.

Best of the day

The first years of the reign of the king, of course, passed under the rule of a regent, most likely his mother, Queen Mutemuya. The accession of Amenhotep III, apparently, passed quickly and painlessly; in any case, none of the nobles of the court was removed from his post in connection with the change of the king. So, Ptahmes, the high priest of Amon, who took this position in the last years of the reign of Thutmose IV, with the accession to the throne of the new king, also became the mayor of Thebes and the vizier.

Marriage to Teya

From the first year of his reign, and possibly from the moment of accession to the throne, Teye became the wife of the young king. Apparently, she belonged to the provincial nobility and, perhaps, had a significant admixture of Nubian blood. Thus, a long tradition was broken. Usually pharaohs for the purity of blood married their closest relatives, who received the title of "main wife", and their sons inherited the throne. But Amenhotep neglected the custom of his ancestors and elevated Teye above all his other wives, thus violating the established tradition. Apparently, Teie was an intelligent and energetic woman and must have had a great influence on her royal husband.

Perhaps the marriage of Amenhotep III with the daughter of an obscure head of the cattle yards of one of the provincial temples, which caused disapproval of the priesthood and the "old" metropolitan nobility, was one of the first clear signs of who the pharaoh favors in the country. Thaya, according to sources, was very smart. Inscriptions on scarabs - images of sacred beetles dedicated to the god of the sun - testify that Amenhotep III considered his wife more than was customary, and not only in family matters. Such disregard for the ancient institutions, of course, caused displeasure of the pharaoh's advisers - the priesthood, that is, those circles that usually stood closest to the king. They felt left out.

International environment

Hiking in Nubia

At the beginning of Amenhotep's reign, Egypt was at the height of its power. Friendly relations existed with the kings of Mitanni, Babylonia, and Cyprus, so Amenhotep's reign was extremely peaceful. Only once Amenhotep undertook a campaign in Nubia, to suppress the uprising that broke out there. The campaign of the 5th year, known from numerous sources, is best described in a text carved on a rock between Aswan and the island of Philae. Despite the statements - “In the fifth year the king returned back. He triumphed this year in his first campaign, made through the despicable land of Cush. He set boundaries by his own will. No king did anything like this, except for him, the brave pharaoh, relying on his strength (that is, Amenhotep III) ”- the king, apparently, participated only symbolically: traditionally, such campaigns were carried out under the leadership of a person who had experience of military operations in the region, most often, "the king's son Kush". Under the inscription are the names of six defeated peoples of the south, including the land of Kush.

It seems that the poorly preserved inscription in Bubastis and the stele of the royal son Kush Merimos, which he installed in Semna, at the 2nd rapids, on behalf of the king, tell about the same campaign. It all started with the uprising of the “despicable hostile Kush” under the leadership of a certain leader Ikheni, “a braggart surrounded by his army; he did not know the lion that was before him. This is Nebmaatra (the throne name of Amenhotep III), a terrible lion who grabbed the despicable Kush with his claw, tearing all his leaders in their valleys, lying one on top of the other in blood. Despite the destroyed upper part, the text of the Merimose stele is more meaningful than the royal one, replete with details. Merimos recruited an army among the Nubians of Northern Nubia. This army had to act together with the army of the pharaoh, which proves to what extent Lower Nubia had time to Egyptianize. On the anniversary of the celebration of the 5th year of Amenhotep's accession to the throne, in the country of Ibhet, which lies above the 2nd rapids, a battle took place with the rebels. The latter were destroyed. The Egyptians killed 312 and captured 740 Nubians. After punishing the inhabitants of the surrounding areas, in order to prevent further cases of disobedience, Amenhotep went south. The Bubastis inscription reports that the Egyptian troops reached the "heights of Hua" (the location is unknown, but these heights appear in the lists near Punt and were probably far to the south), where they encamped in the country of Uneshei, south of Hua. This was the extreme point of Amenhotep's movement to the south. Having erected his boundary plate near some "waters of Horus", which, allegedly, none of his predecessors did, and having collected a large amount of gold in the country of Karai, Amenhotep returned to Egypt. This "first victorious campaign" of Amenhotep was, apparently, the only one in which he participated. And it is not entirely clear who, in fact, led the campaign, he himself or his governor in Nubia, Merimos.

Diplomatic marriages

In Asia, the dominion of Amenhotep was generally recognized. The kings of such great powers as Mitanni and the Babylonian kingdom fawned over the pharaoh and sent their sisters and daughters to his harem. So, Amenhotep was married to the sister and daughter of the Babylonian king Kadashman-Kharba I, the daughter of the Babylonian king Kurigalzu I, the daughter of the Babylonian king Kadashman-Elil I. Also, Amenhotep was twice married to Mitannian princesses. In the 10th year of his reign, he married the daughter of the king of Mitanni Shuttarna I, Kelu-hebe (Giluheppa), and in the 36th year, the granddaughter of Shuttarna I, the daughter of Tushratta, Tadu-hebe (Taduheppa). The great influence of Amenhotep is also evidenced by the fact that the Babylonian king Kurigalzu I, when the Syrian kings tried to involve him in an alliance against the pharaoh, sent them a categorical refusal on the grounds that he was in alliance with the pharaoh, and even threatened them with war in case if their union comes to fruition. The king of Cyprus was in vassal dependence on Amenhotep and regularly sent him a large amount of copper, with the exception of one time, when, as he himself says in his own defense, a plague visited his country. More than twenty items with the names of Amenhotep III and Teye, discovered on the islands of the Aegean Sea, testify to the short-term renewal of Egypt's ties with this region.

Construction activity

The reign of Amenhotep was marked by grandiose construction. In front of the temple of Amun in Karnak, Amenhotep erected another pylon, built in the neighborhood, near a horseshoe-shaped lake, a temple to Amun's wife, the goddess Mut. It is possible that the middle passage of the so-called Hypostyle Hall in Karnak, between two rows of gigantic columns 24 m high, dates back to Amenhotep III, and only later was expanded into a huge hall. In the south of Thebes, the temple of Ipet-Res (Luxor Temple) was built - one of the most exquisite creations of Egyptian architects. A majestic passage between two rows of stone columns 16 m high also led to it. Similar passages were erected by him in front of the neighboring temple of Mut, and in front of the temple in Sulba (between the 2nd and 3rd thresholds). All construction work in Karnak, Luxor and in Thebes as a whole was led by two architects - two twin brothers Hori and Suti.

On the western bank of the Nile, near the capital, Amenhotep's country palace was built. It was a huge one-story building made of raw brick, with excellent paintings on the ceilings, walls and floors. The palace complex also included houses of courtiers, workshops, houses of artisans. The construction of this palace, called the "House of Joy", is not without reason associated with the celebration of the "thirtieth anniversary of the reign" (heb-sed). Somewhat to the north of the palace, a magnificent funeral temple of Amenhotep was built. Unfortunately, little has survived from this building. Near this temple, an alley of sphinxes carved from pink granite was created, and in front of its pylons, two huge statues of the pharaoh, the famous “Colossi of Memnon”, were erected, each of a single stone block 21 m high and weighing more than 700 tons. The construction of this temple was led by the architect Amenhotep, the son of Hapi. The same Amenhotep from the quarries near Heliopolis brought to Thebes two huge statues of his master for the national temple in Karnak. At least one of them had a height of 24 m.

Wealth of the state

The source of such extensive building activity of Amenhotep was the untold wealth coming to Egypt from conquered and dependent countries. These riches of Egypt were so great that Amenhotep could send large amounts of gold as gifts to his faithful allies - the kings of Mitanni and Babylon, and the latter were sure that there was as much gold in Egypt as there was sand in the desert. During the reign of Amenhotep, there was a flourishing of trade, which also brought huge income to the state, because Amenhotep encouraged legal trade in every possible way and duly taxed it. The art of Amenhotep's time combined the desire for the huge (gigantic columns and buildings), with strict harmony. And the images on the plane were given outlines of unprecedented softness and smoothness.

During the reign of Amenhotep III, Egypt also maintained contacts with Punt. In the tomb of Amenmes (TT89), the mayor of Thebes and a very high-ranking nobleman, an image of the typical gifts of Punt, accompanied by local leaders, has been preserved. Another Amenmes, a simple scribe, also reported the arrival of a flotilla from Punt to Egypt in the period before the 36th year of the king's reign.

Deification of the king

Amenhotep, reveling in his dominion over the "world", reached in self-deification to the cult of his own idols. True, this worship of the pharaoh was planted mainly in Nubia, where, together with Amon, a magnificent temple was dedicated to the king in Sulba, but even in Memphis, divine honors were paid to the royal idol. In Nubia, in Sedenge, neighboring Sulba, a temple was built in which, as a goddess, they honored the beloved wife of the pharaoh, Queen Teye. The high-ranking builder Amenhotep, the son of Hapi, who most likely died after the 30th year of the reign of the pharaoh, had a memorial temple built in the west of Thebes, like a king. Centuries later, he was included in the pantheon of Egyptian gods, and the Greeks introduced him "Amenophis, son of Paanias" into the host of their sages.

Since ancient times, the pharaohs have been compared to the sun and called them "sons of Ra (the sun)", but no one before Amenhotep called himself so stubbornly as he - the visible Sun. This idea of ​​oneself as a bright Sun echoed the persistent emphasis on one's commitment to "truth" (Maat). Of the five royal names, three were dedicated to her: in the first name, the king called himself “Radiant in Truth”, in the second - “Setting the Laws”, the fourth, usually state name, “Neb-Maat-Ra” meant “Lord of Truth, the Sun”. Near the main temple of the capital in Karnak, the pharaoh set up a special temple, all the same "Pravda", the "daughter of the Sun" Maat.

Unrest in Asiatic dominions

At the end of the reign of Amenhotep, unrest began in the Asian possessions of Egypt, the so-called popular movement of the hapiru - outcasts who retired to the steppe and formed detachments of freemen. The Hapiru were opposed to royal power in general, and against pharaonic power in particular. At this time, in the mountains, between Phoenicia and Syria, a new state of Amurru arose, the main population of which was the hapiru. The creator of this kingdom, Abdi-Ashirta, out of caution, pretended to be loyal to the pharaoh, but at the same time, through his agents, he systematically called on the population to join the hapir and kill their city governors, loyal to the pharaoh, which happened here and there throughout Phoenicia and Palestine. In some places it came to the performances of individual armed groups of slaves. The Egyptian governors of Amurru did not immediately discover the hostile nature of Abdi-Ashirta's activities, as a result of which he managed to significantly expand his possessions.

Hittite threat

In the 70s of the XIV century BC. e. in the north, a new danger arose for Egypt. The strengthened Hittite kingdom began to claim hegemony in the region of Syria and Upper Mesopotamia. The Hittites invaded the possessions of Amenhotep's ally, the Mitanni king Tushratta. Tushratta managed to drive them out, and he even sent Amenhotep a chariot, a couple of horses and two slaves as a gift from among the booty that he got from the Hittites. But the Egyptian provinces in Syria were not spared. Akizzi, the vassal king of Qatna, wrote to the pharaoh that the Hittites invaded his territory in the Orontes valley, carried away the image of Amun-Ra with the name of Amenhotep III, and, leaving, burned the city. Nukhashshe, further north, suffered a similar attack, and his king, Addu-Nirari, wrote a desperate letter to the pharaoh with assurances of loyalty and a request for help against the attackers. Amenhotep limited himself to sending small parts of the army. Apparently, for support in the struggle against the Hittites, Amenhotep's marriage with the daughter of the king of the country of Artsava Tarhundaradus was outlined.

The situation within the country

It was also restless inside the country, where the interests of two powerful groups collided: the capital and local nobility, on the one hand, and new social strata and the new service nobility that emerged from their midst, on the other. On the 30th anniversary of his reign, Amenhotep III appointed his son Amenhotep IV as his co-ruler. Towards the end of his life, Amenhotep III became very fat and suffered from some serious illness. For healing from him, the Mitannian king Tushratta sent an idol of the goddess Ishtar of Nineveh to his Egyptian "brother", with a polite request to return it later. Queen Teye retained her extraordinary position next to the pharaoh until his death, despite the fact that Amenhotep was married not only to foreign princesses, but also to several of his own daughters. It happens that on the same inscription the names of Amenhotep, the "king's wife" Teye and their daughter, the "king's wife" Sitamon (Si-Amana "Daughters of Amun"), are next to each other.

Amenhotep reigned for 38 years and a few months. His mummy, discovered along with the remains of many other kings and queens in the tomb-hiding place of his grandfather, Amenhotep II in the Valley of the Kings, made it possible to establish that at the time of his death he was from 40 to 50 years old; It was not possible to accurately determine the age.