Amenhotep & Hatshepsut
AMENHOTEP III (c.1391 - c.1354 BC) The reign of the pharaoh Amenhotep III marks the zenith of ancient Egyptian civilisation, both in terms of political power and cultural achievement. As the son of Tuthmosis IV and his minor wife Mutemwia, Amenhotep became king at around the age of 12 with his mother acting as regent. Early in his reign he chose the daughter of a provincial official as his great royal wife , and for the rest of the reign Queen Tiy featured prominently alongside the king. Having inherited an empire that stretched from the Euphrates to the Sudan, Amenhotep maintained Egypt's position largely through diplomacy and intermarriage with the royal families of Mitanni (Syria), Babylonia and Arzawa (Anatolia). He was the first pharaoh to issue royal news bulletins about his marriages, hunting trips and building projects, the information being inscribed on large stone scarab seals and sent out across the empire. At the imperial capital Thebes, the king's spra...