Thutmose III (variously also spelled Tuthmosis or Thothmes, ; 1485 BC - 11 March 1425 BC), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, was a pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. He is regarded as one of the greatest warriors, military commanders, and military strategists of his time; as Egypt's preeminent warrior pharaoh and conqueror; and as a dominant figure in the New Kingdom period.
Technically, Thutmose III ruled Egypt from 28 April 1479 BC until his death on 11 March 1425 BC. However, for the first 22 years of his reign he was coregent with his stepmother and aunt, Hatshepsut, who was named pharaoh.Partridge, R., 2002. Fighting Pharaohs: Weapons and warfare in ancient Egypt. Manchester: Peartree. pp. 202–203 He became sole ruler after Hatshepsut's death around 1458 BC.
Thutmose III conducted between 17 and 20 military campaigns, all victorious, which brought ancient Egypt's empire to its zenith. They are detailed in the inscriptions known as the Annals of Thutmose III. He also created the ancient Egyptian navy, the first navy in the ancient world. Historian Richard Gabriel called him the "Napoleon of Egypt".
Two years before his own death, and after the death of his firstborn son and heir Amenemhat, Thutmose III appointed a later son, Amenhotep II, as junior co-regent and successor-in-waiting
Names
Thutmose's two main names transliterate as mn-ḫpr-rꜥ ḏḥwtj-ms. The first name is usually transcribed as Menkheperre and means "the Established One of the Manifestation of Ra". The second name is transliterated as Thutmose or Tuthmosis and means "Born of Thoth" or "Thoth is born".Leprohon, Ronald (2013). The Great Name: Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary, Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature. p. 98 Manetho in his (History of Egypt) written in Greek and paraphrased by Eusebius called him Miphrês () and Misphragmuthôsis ().
Family Thutmose III was the son of Thutmose II by his secondary wife, Iset.Joyce Tyldesley, Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh, pp. 94–95 Viking, 1996. His father's Great Royal Wife was Hatshepsut. Her daughter, Neferure, was Thutmose's half-sister.
When his father died, Thutmose III was too young to rule; estimates of his age vary between two and 13 years. Hatshepsut became his regent and ultimately declared herself pharaoh, while never denying kingship to Thutmose III. As a result, Thutmose III was relegated to junior coregent (Horus), while Hatshepsut became senior coregent (Osiris). During his childhood, Hatshepsut ruled Egypt in practice and name, achieving prosperity and success. While Thutmose III is depicted as the first on surviving monuments, both were assigned the usual royal names and insignia.
When Thutmose III reached a suitable age and demonstrated his capacity, Hatshepsut appointed him to head her armies, and upon her death around 1458 BC, he was ready to rule.
Some Egyptologists speculate that Thutmose III married his half-sister, Neferure,. but there is no conclusive evidence. Neferure may have been the mother of Thutmose's firstborn son, Amenemhat, or alternatively his mother might have been the Great Royal Wife Satiah. Amenemhat predeceased his father.Dodson, Aidan. Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, Thames and Hudson. p. 132. 2004.
Surviving records attest to several other wives of Thutmose III. He is known to have at least three foreign wives, Menhet, Menwi, and Merti, who were buried together. At least one other wife, Nebtu, is known from a pillar in Thutmose's tomb. Following the death of Satiah, Merytre-Hatshepsut became the Great Royal Wife.
Children with Merytre-Hatshepsut
Amenhotep II (c. 1443 - c. 1400 BC) Iset. Menkheperre Nebetiunet Meritamen C Meritamen D
Children with unknown spouse(s)
Amenemhat Beketamun Siamun Nefertiri
Dates and length of reign
Thutmose III reigned from 1479 BC to 1425 BC according to the Low Chronology of Ancient Egypt. This has been the conventional Egyptian chronology in academic circles since the 1960s,Campbell, Edward Fay Jr. The Chronology of the Amarna Letters with Special Reference to the Hypothetical Coregency of Amenophis III and Akhenaten. p. 5. Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins Press, 1964. though in some circles the older dates 1504 BC to 1450 BC are preferred from the High Chronology of Egypt.Lipinska, Jadwiga. "Thutmose III", p. 401. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Ed. Donald Redford. Vol. 3, pp. 401–403. Oxford University Press, 2001. These dates, just as all the dates of the 18th Dynasty, are open to dispute because of uncertainty about the circumstances surrounding the recording of a Heliacal Rise of Sothis in the reign of Amenhotep I.Grimal, Nicolas. A History of Ancient Egypt. p. 202. Librairie Arthéme Fayard, 1988.
Year 54 The length of Thutmose III's reign is known to the day thanks to findings in the tomb of the military commander Amenemheb-Mahu,Redford, Donald B. The Chronology of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol 25, No 2. p. 119. University of Chicago Press, 1966. who records Thutmose III's death to his master's 54th regnal year,Breasted, James Henry. Ancient Records of Egypt, Vol. II p. 234. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1906. on the 3rd month of Peret (i.e. 7th month), day 30.Murnane, William J. Ancient Egyptian Coregencies. p. 44. The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 1977. The day of Thutmose III's accession is known to be Year 1, 1st month of Shemu (9th month), day 4, and astronomical observations can be used to establish the exact dates of the beginning and end of the king's reign (assuming the low chronology). Jürgen von Beckerath dates his coronation to 28 April 1479 BC, claiming that it is a "chronological certainty", and then calculates 11 March 1425 BC as the date of his death.
Military campaigns
Thutmose III conducted at least 16 campaigns in 20 years. American Egyptologist James Breasted referred to him as "the Napoleon of Egypt" for his conquests and expansionism.J.H. Breasted, Ancient Times: A History of the Early World; An Introduction to the Study of Ancient History and the Career of Early Man. Outlines of European History 1. Boston: Ginn and Company, 1914, p. 85 He is recorded to have captured 350 cities during his rule and conquered much of the Near East from the Euphrates River to Nubia. He was the first pharaoh after Thutmose I to cross the Euphrates River, doing so during his campaign against Mitanni. His campaign records were inscribed onto the walls of the temple of Amun at Karnak (transcribed in Urkunden IV). He transformed Egypt into a hegemonic power, stretching from the Asian regions of Syria in the North, to Upper Nubia in the south.
Much is known about Thutmose III as a warrior and ruler, through the writings of his royal scribe and army commander Thanuny. The pharaoh was able to conquer so many lands because of revolutionary developments in military technology. The Hyksos may have brought advanced weaponry, such as horse-drawn chariots, around 1650 BC, which the Egyptians adopted in the process of driving them out. Thutmose III encountered little resistance from neighbouring kingdoms, allowing him to expand his realm easily. His army also portaged boats over dry land.
Campaign 1: Battle of Megiddo
When Hatshepsut died on the 10th day of the sixth month of Thutmose III's 21st year, according to a stela from Armant, the king of Kadesh advanced his army to Megiddo.Redford, Donald B. Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times. p. 156. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ, 1992. Thutmose III mustered his own army and marched from Egypt, passing through the border fortress of Tjaru (Sile) on the 25th day of the eighth month. The army moved through the coastal plain as far as Jamnia, then turned inland, reaching Yehem, a small city near Megiddo, in the middle of the ninth month of the same year.Steindorff, George; and Seele, Keith. When Egypt Ruled the East. p. 53. University of Chicago, 1942.
The ensuing Battle of Megiddo was likely the largest battle of Thutmose's 17 campaigns. A ridge of mountains jutting inland from Mount Carmel stood between Thutmose and Megiddo and he had three attack routes to choose from.Redford, Donald B. Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times. p. 157. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ, 1992. The northern and southern routes around the mountain were judged by his generals to be safest, but Thutmose (as he boasted in an inscription) called them cowards and took the dangerous route through the Aruna mountain pass,Steindorff, George; and Seele, Keith. When Egypt Ruled the East. p. 54. University of Chicago, 1947. which he said was only wide enough for single-file "horse after horse and man after man." Such a pass does exist, although it is not as narrow as Thutmose claims.Gardiner, Alan. Egypt of the Pharaohs. p. 192 Oxford University Press, 1964 The army emerged on the plain of Esdraelon, brilliantly cutting between the rear of the Canaanite forces and Megiddo city. According to Thutmose III's Hall of Annals in the Temple of Amun at Karnak, the battle occurred on "Year 23, I Shemu [day] 21, the exact day of the feast of the new moon",Urkunden der 18. Dynastie 657.2 a lunar date. This date corresponds to 9 May 1457 BC, based on Thutmose III's accession in 1479 BC. In the battle, Thutmose routed the Canaanite forces, but allowed many to escape into Megiddo while his troops stopped to plunder.Steindorff, George; and Seele, Keith. When Egypt Ruled the East. p. 55. University of Chicago, 1942. Thutmose was forced to besiege the city, and finally took it after a siege of seven or eight months.
The size of the two forces is difficult to determine. Most scholars believe that the Egyptian army was more numerous. Redford uses the time to march the army through the pass estimate the Egyptian numbers, and the number of sheep and goats captured in the battle to estimate the Canaanite force, concluding both armies were around 10,000 men..
This campaign drastically changed the political situation in the ancient Near East. By taking Megiddo, Thutmose gained control of all of northern Canaan, forcing the Syrian princes to send tribute and noble hostages to Egypt.Steindorff, George; and Seele, Keith. When Egypt Ruled the East. p. 56. University of Chicago, 1942. Beyond the Euphrates, the Assyrian, Babylonian and Hittite kings honored Thutmose with gifts, which he claimed as "tribute" on the walls of Karnak.Gardiner, Alan. Egypt of the Pharaohs. p. 193 Oxford University Press, 1964 The only notable absence was Mitanni, which would bear the brunt of subsequent Egyptian campaigns into Western Asia.
Campaigns 2–4: Tours of Canaan and Syria