New Kingdom

The New Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Egyptian Empire, is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BCE and the 11th century BCE, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt. The New Kingdom (1570–1070 BCE) followed the Second Intermediate Period and was succeeded by the Third Intermediate Period. It was Egypt’s most prosperous time and marked the zenith of its power.
==Background==
Possibly as a result of the foreign rule of the Hyksos during the Second Intermediate Period, the New Kingdom saw Egypt attempt to create a buffer between the Levant and Egypt, and attained its greatest territorial extent. It expanded far south into Nubia and held wide territories in the Near East. Egyptian armies fought Hittite armies for control of modern-day Syria.
The eighteenth Dynasty contained some of Egypt's most famous pharaohs including Ahmose I, Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Amenhotep III, Akhenaten and Tutankhamun. Queen Hatsheput concentrated on expanding Egypt's external trade, sending a commercial expedition to the land of Punt. Thutmose III ("the Napoleon of Egypt") expanded Egypt's army and wielded it with great success to consolidate the empire created by his predecessors. This resulted in a peak in Egypt's power and wealth during the reign of Amenhotep III.
One of the best-known 18th Dynasty pharaohs is Amenhotep IV, who changed his name to Akhenaten in honor of the Aten and whose exclusive worship of the Aten is often interpreted as history's first instance of monotheism (and was argued in Sigmund Freud's Moses and Monotheism to have been the ultimate origin of Jewish monotheism). Akhenaten's religious fervor is cited as the reason why he was subsequently written out of Egyptian history. Under his reign, in the 14th century BCE, Egyptian art flourished and attained an unprecedented level of realism.
Towards the end of the 18th Dynasty, the situation had changed radically. Helped by Akhenaten's apparent lack of interest in international affairs, the Hittites had gradually extended their influence into Syria and Palestine to become a major power in international politics—a power that both Seti I and his son Ramesses II would need to deal with during the 19th dynasty.
Ramesses II ("the Great") sought to recover territories in the Levant that had been held by the 18th Dynasty. His campaigns of reconquest culminated in the Battle of Kadesh, where he led Egyptian armies against those of the Hittite king Muwatalli II and was caught in history's first recorded military ambush, but thanks to the arrival of the Ne'arin, Ramesses was able to rally his troops and turn the tide of battle against the Hittites. The outcome of the battle was undecided, both sides claiming victory at their home front, ultimately resulting in a peace treaty between the two nations.
Ramesses II was also famed for the huge number of children he sired by his various wives and concubines; the tomb he built for his sons, many of whom he outlived, in the Valley of the Kings has proven to be the largest funerary complex in Egypt.
His immediate successors continued the military campaigns, though an increasingly troubled court—which at one point put a usurper (Amenmesse) on the throne—made it increasingly difficult for a pharaoh to effectively retain control without incident. The last "great" pharaoh from the New Kingdom is widely regarded to be Ramesses III, a Twentieth Dynasty pharaoh who reigned several decades after 
Ramesses II. In Year 8 of his reign, the Sea Peoples invaded Egypt by land and sea. Ramesses III defeated them in two great land and sea battles. He claimed that he incorporated them as subject peoples and settled them in Southern Canaan, although there is evidence that they forced their way into Canaan. Their presence in Canaan may have contributed to the formation of new states in this region such as Philistia after the collapse of the Egyptian Empire. He was also compelled to fight invading Libyan tribesmen in two major campaigns in Egypt's Western Delta in his Year 6 and Year 11 respectively.Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, Blackwell Books, 1992. p.271
The heavy cost of these battles slowly exhausted Egypt's treasury and contributed to the gradual decline of the Egyptian Empire in Asia. The severity of these difficulties is stressed by the fact that the first known labor strike in recorded history occurred during Year 29 of Ramesses III's reign, when the food rations for the Egypt's favoured and elite royal tomb-builders and artisans in the village of Deir el Medina could not be provisioned.William F. Edgerton, The Strikes in Ramses III's Twenty-Ninth Year, JNES 10, No. 3 (July 1951), pp. 137-145 Something in the air prevented much sunlight from reaching the ground and also arrested global tree growth for almost two full decades until 1140 BCE.Frank J. Yurco, "End of the Late Bronze Age and Other Crisis Periods: A Volcanic Cause" in Gold of Praise: Studies on Ancient Egypt in Honor of Edward F. Wente, ed: Emily Teeter & John Larson, (SAOC 58) 1999, pp.456-458 One proposed cause is the Hekla 3 eruption of the Hekla volcano in Iceland; but the dating of this remains disputed.
Following Ramesses III's death there was endless bickering between his heirs. Three of his sons would go on to assume power as Ramesses IV, Ramesses VI and Ramesses VIII respectively. However, at this time Egypt was also increasingly beset by a series of droughts, below-normal flooding levels of the Nile, famine, civil unrest and official corruption. The power of the last pharaoh, Ramesses XI, grew so weak that in the south the High Priests of Amun at Thebes became the effective de facto rulers of Upper Egypt, while Smendes controlled Lower Egypt even before Ramesses XI's death. Smendes eventually founded the Twenty-First dynasty at Tanis.
==Dynasty XVIII pharaohs==
The pharaohs of Dynasty XVIII ruled for approximately two hundred and fifty years (c. 1550-1298 BCE). The dates and names in the table are taken from Dodson and Hilton.Aidan Dodson, Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. The American University in Cairo Press, London 2004 Many of the pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings in Thebes (designated KV). More information can be found on the Theban Mapping Project website.Sites in the Valley of the Kings
Dynasty XVIII pharaohs
Pharaoh 	Horus-name 	Reign (BCE)	Burial 	Consort(s)
Ahmose I 	Nebpehtire 	1549 - 1524	 	Ahmose-Nefertari Ahmose-Henuttamehu Ahmose-Sitkamose
Amenhotep I 	Djeserkare 	1524 - 1503	KV39? 	Ahmose-Meritamon
Thutmosis I 	Akheperkare 	1503 - 1491	KV20, KV38 	Ahmose Mutnofret
Thutmosis II 	Akheperenre 	1491 - 1479	KV42? 	Hatshepsut Iset
Thutmosis III 	Menkheper(en)re 	1479 - 1424	KV34 	Satiah Merytre-Hatshepsut Nebtu Menhet, Menwi and Merti
Hatshepsut 	Maatkare 	1503 - 1491	KV20 	
Amenhotep II 	Akheperure 	1424 - 1398	KV35 	Tiaa
Thutmosis IV 	Menkheperure 	1398 - 1388	KV43 	Nefertari Iaret Mutemwiya
Amenhotep III 	Nebmaatre 	1388 - 1348	KV22 	Tiye Gilukhipa Tadukhipa Sitamun Iset
Akhenaten 	Neferkepherure-Waenre 	1360 - 1343	Royal Tomb of Akhenaten	Nefertiti Kiya
Smenkhare 	Ankhkheperure 	1346 	 	Meritaten
Neferneferuaten	Ankhkheperure-Merwaenre 	1346 - 1343	 	
Tutankhamun 	Nebkheperre 	1343 - 1333	KV62 	Ankhesenamun
Ay 	Kheperkheperure 	1333 - 1328	KV23 	Tey Ankhesenamun
Horemheb 	Djeserkheperure-Setepenre	1328 - 1298	KV57 	Mutnedjmet
==The Pharaohs of the 19th Dynasty==
The pharaohs of the 19th dynasty ruled from approximately one hundred and ten years: from ca 1298 to 1187 BCE. The dates and names in the table are taken from Dodson and Hilton.Aidan Dodson, Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. The American University in Cairo Press, London 2004 Many of the pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings in Thebes (designated KV). More information can be found on the Theban Mapping Project website.Sites in the Valley of the Kings
Nineteenth Dynasty Pharaohs of Egypt
name of King 	Horus (Throne) Name 	date 	Burial	Queen(s)
Ramesses I 	Menpehtire 	1298 - 1296 BCE	KV16 	Sitre
Seti I 	Menmaetre 	1296 - 1279 BCE	KV17 	(Mut-)Tuya
Ramesses II 	Usermaatre Setepenre 	1279 - 1212 BCE	KV7 	NefertariIsetnofretMaathorneferureMeritamenBintanathNebettawyHenutmire
Merneptah 	Banenre 	1212 - 1201 BCE	KV8 	Isetnofret II
Seti II 	Userkheperure 	1201 - 1195 BCE	KV15 	TwosretTakhat
Amenmesse 	Menmire-Setepenre 	1200 - 1196 BCE	KV10 	??
Siptah 	Sekhaenre / Akheperre	1195 - 1189 BCE	KV47 	
Queen Twosret	Sitre-Merenamun 	1189 - 1187 BCE	KV14 	
==Pharaohs of the 20th Dynasty==
The pharaohs of the 20th dynasty ruled for approximately one hundred and twenty years: from ca 1187 to 1064 BCE. The dates and names in the table are taken from Dodson and Hilton.Aidan Dodson, Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. The American University in Cairo Press, London 2004 Many of the pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings in Thebes (designated KV). More information can be found on the Theban Mapping Project website.Sites in the Valley of the Kings
Twentieth Dynasty Pharaohs of Egypt
name of King 	Horus (Throne) Name 	date 	Burial	Queen(s)
Setnakhte 	Userkhaure 	1187 - 1185 BCE	KV14 	Tiy-merenese
Ramesses III 	Usermaatre-Meryamun 	1185 - 1153 BCE	KV11 	Iset Ta-HemdjertTiye
Ramesses IV 	User/Heqamaatre Setepenamun 	1153 - 1146 BCE	KV2 	Duatentopet
Ramesses V Amenhirkhepeshef I 	Usermaatre Sekheperenre 	1146 - 1141 BCE	KV9 	HenutwatiTawerettenru
Ramesses VI Amenhirkhepeshef II	Nebmaatre Meryamun 	1141 - 1133 BCE	KV9 	Nubkhesbed
Ramesses VII Itamun 	Usermaatre Setepenre Meryamun	1133 - 1125 BCE	KV1 	
Ramesses VIII Sethhirkhepeshef 	Usermaatre Akhenamun 	1125 - 1123 BCE	 	
Ramesses IX Khaemwaset I 	Neferkare Setepenre 	1123 - 1104 BCE	KV6 	Baketwernel
Ramesses X Amenhirkhepeshef III	Khepermaatre Setepenre 	1104 - 1094 BCE	KV18 	Tyti
Ramesses XI Khaemwaset II 	Menmaatre Setpenptah 	1094 - 1064 BCE	KV4 	Tentamun
==References==
==External links==
* Middle East on the Matrix: Egypt, The New Kingdom — Photographs of many of the historic sites dating from the New Kingdom
* New Kingdom of Egypt - Aldokkan
Category:Ancient Egypt