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riolu-gaming456 In reply to riolu-gaming456 [2017-01-25 17:20:01 +0000 UTC]

New Kingdom (1549–1069 BC)

Main article: New Kingdom of Egypt

The New Kingdom pharaohs established a period of unprecedented prosperity by securing their borders and strengthening diplomatic ties with their neighbours, including the Mitanni  Empire, Assyria , and Canaan . Military campaigns waged under Tuthmosis I  and his grandson Tuthmosis III  extended the influence of the pharaohs to the largest empire Egypt had ever seen. Between their reigns, Hatshepsut  generally promoted peace and restored trade routes lost during the Hyksos occupation, as well as expanding to new regions. When Tuthmosis III died in 1425 BC, Egypt had an empire extending from Niya  in north west Syria  to the fourth waterfall of the Nile in Nubia , cementing loyalties and opening access to critical imports such as bronze  and wood .[45]

Djeser-Djeseru  is the main building of Hatshepsut's mortuary temple complex at Deir el-Bahri ; the building is an example of perfect symmetry  that predates the Parthenon  by a thousand years

The New Kingdom pharaohs began a large-scale building campaign to promote the god Amun , whose growing cult was based in Karnak . They also constructed monuments to glorify their own achievements, both real and imagined. The Karnak temple is the largest Egyptian temple ever built.[46]  The pharaoh Hatshepsut  used such hyperbole and grandeur during her reign of almost twenty-two years.[47]  Her reign was very successful, marked by an extended period of peace and wealth-building, trading expeditions to Punt , restoration of foreign trade networks, and great building projects, including an elegant mortuary temple  that rivaled the Greek architecture of a thousand years later, a colossal pair of obelisks, and a chapel at Karnak. Despite her achievements, Amenhotep II, the heir to Hatshepsut's nephew-stepson Tuthmosis III, sought to erase her legacy near the end of his father's reign and throughout his, touting many of her accomplishments as his.[48]  He also tried to change many established traditions that had developed over the centuries, which some suggest was a futile attempt to prevent other women from becoming pharaoh and to curb their influence in the kingdom.

Around 1350 BC, the stability of the New Kingdom seemed threatened further when Amenhotep IV ascended the throne and instituted a series of radical and chaotic reforms. Changing his name to Akhenaten , he touted the previously obscure sun deity  Aten  as the supreme deity , suppressed the worship of most other deities, and attacked the power of the temple that had become dominated by the priests of Amun in Thebes, whom he saw as corrupt.[49] Moving the capital to the new city of Akhetaten (modern-day Amarna ), Akhenaten turned a deaf ear to events in the Near East  (where the Hittites , Mitanni , and Assyrians  were vying for control). He was devoted to his new religion and artistic style. After his death, the cult of the Aten was quickly abandoned, the priests of Amun soon regained power and returned the capital to Thebes. Under their influence the subsequent pharaohs Tutankhamun , Ay , and Horemheb  worked to erase all mention of Akhenaten's heresy, now known as the Amarna Period .[50]

Four colossal statues of Ramesses II  flank the entrance of his temple Abu Simbel

Around 1279 BC, Ramesses II , also known as Ramesses the Great, ascended the throne, and went on to build more temples, erect more statues and obelisks, and sire more children than any other pharaoh in history.[51]  A bold military leader, Ramesses II led his army against the Hittites  in the Battle of Kadesh  (in modern Syria ) and, after fighting to a stalemate, finally agreed to the first recorded peace treaty, around 1258 BC.[52]  With both the Egyptians and Hittite Empire  proving unable to gain the upper hand over one another, and both powers also fearful of the expanding Middle Assyrian Empire , Egypt  withdrew from much of the Near East . The Hittites  were thus left to compete unsuccessfully with the powerful Assyrians  and the newly arrived Phrygians .

Egypt's wealth, however, made it a tempting target for invasion, particularly by the Libyan  Berbers  to the west, and the Sea Peoples , a conjectured[53] [54] confederation of seafarers from the Aegean Sea . Initially, the military was able to repel these invasions, but Egypt eventually lost control of its remaining territories in southern Canaan , much of it falling to the Assyrians. The effects of external threats were exacerbated by internal problems such as corruption, tomb robbery, and civil unrest. After regaining their power, the high priests at the temple of Amun  in Thebes accumulated vast tracts of land and wealth, and their expanded power splintered the country during the Third Intermediate Period.[55]

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riolu-gaming456 In reply to riolu-gaming456 [2017-01-25 17:20:31 +0000 UTC]

Third Intermediate Period (1069–653 BC)

Main article: Third Intermediate Period of Egypt

Following the death of Ramesses XI  in 1078 BC, Smendes  assumed authority over the northern part of Egypt, ruling from the city of Tanis . The south was effectively controlled by the High Priests of Amun at Thebes , who recognized Smendes in name only.[56]  During this time, Berber  tribes from what was later to be called Libya had been settling in the western delta, and the chieftains of these settlers began increasing their autonomy. Libyan princes took control of the delta under Shoshenq I  in 945 BC, founding the Libyan  Berber, or Bubastite , dynasty that ruled for some 200 years. Shoshenq also gained control of southern Egypt by placing his family members in important priestly positions.

In the mid-ninth century BC, Egypt made a failed attempt to once more gain a foothold in Western Asia . Osorkon II  of Egypt, along with a large alliance of nations and peoples, including Persia , Israel , Hamath , Phoenicia /Canaan , the Arabs , Arameans , and neo Hittites  among others, engaged in the Battle of Karkar  against the powerful Assyrian  king Shalmaneser III  in 853 BC. However, this coalition of powers failed and the Neo Assyrian Empire  continued to dominate Western Asia.

Libyan Berber control began to erode as a rival native dynasty in the delta arose under Leontopolis . Also, the Nubians  of the Kushites  threatened Egypt from the lands to the south.[57]

Around 730 BC Libyans from the west fractured the political unity of the country

Drawing on millennia of interaction (trade, acculturation, occupation, assimilation, and war[58] ) with Egypt,[59]  the Kushite king Piye  left his Nubian  capital of Napata and invaded Egypt  around 727 BC. Piye easily seized control of Thebes  and eventually the Nile Delta .[60]  He recorded the episode on his stela of victory. Piye set the stage for subsequent Twenty-fifth dynasty  pharaohs,[61]  such as Taharqa , to reunite the "Two lands" of Northern and Southern Egypt. The Nile valley empire was as large as it had been since the New Kingdom.

The Twenty-fifth dynasty ushered in a renaissance period for ancient Egypt.[62]  Religion, the arts, and architecture were restored to their glorious Old, Middle, and New Kingdom forms. Pharaohs, such as Taharqa, built or restored temples and monuments throughout the Nile valley, including at Memphis, Karnak, Kawa, Jebel Barkal, etc.[63]  It was during the Twenty-fifth dynasty that there was the first widespread construction of pyramids (many in modern Sudan ) in the Nile Valley since the Middle Kingdom.[64] [65] [66]

Piye made various unsuccessful attempts to extend Egyptian influence in the Near East , then controlled by Assyria . In 720 BC, he sent an army in support of a rebellion against Assyria, which was taking place in Philistia  and Gaza . However, Piye was defeated by Sargon II  and the rebellion failed. In 711 BC, Piye  again supported a revolt against Assyria by the Israelites  of Ashdod  and was once again defeated by the Assyrian king Sargon II . Subsequently, Piye  was forced from the Near East .[67]

From the 10th century BC onwards, Assyria fought for control of the southern Levant. Frequently, cities and kingdoms of the southern Levant appealed to Egypt for aid in their struggles against the powerful Assyrian army. Taharqa enjoyed some initial success in his attempts to regain a foothold in the Near East. Taharqa aided the Judean  King Hezekiah  when Hezekiah and Jerusalem  was besieged by the Assyrian king, Sennacherib . Scholars disagree on the primary reason for Assyria's abandonment of their siege on Jerusalem. Reasons for the Assyrian withdrawal range from conflict with the Egyptian/Kushite army to divine intervention to surrender to disease.[68]  Henry Aubin argues that the Kushite/Egyptian army saved Jerusalem from the Assyrians and prevented the Assyrians from returning to capture Jerusalem for the remainder of Sennacherib's life (20 years).[69]  Some argue that disease was the primary reason for failing to actually take the city; however, Senacherib's annals claim Judah was forced into tribute regardless.[70]

Sennacherib had been murdered by his own sons for destroying the rebellious city of Babylon , a city sacred to all Mesopotamians , the Assyrians included. In 674 BC Esarhaddon  launched a preliminary incursion into Egypt; however, this attempt was repelled by Taharqa.[71]  However, in 671 BC, Esarhaddon launched a full-scale invasion. Part of his army stayed behind to deal with rebellions in Phoenicia , and Israel . The remainder went south to Rapihu , then crossed the Sinai , and entered Egypt. Esarhaddon decisively defeated Taharqa, took Memphis , Thebes  and all the major cities of Egypt, and Taharqa was chased back to his Nubian  homeland. Esarhaddon now called himself "king of Egypt, Patros, and Kush ", and returned with rich booty from the cities of the 

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riolu-gaming456 In reply to riolu-gaming456 [2017-01-25 17:22:03 +0000 UTC]

delta; he erected a victory stele  at this time, and paraded the captive Prince Ushankhuru , the son of Taharqa in Nineveh . Esarhaddon stationed a small army in northern Egypt and describes how "All Ethiopians  (read Nubians /Kushites ) I deported from Egypt, leaving not one left to do homage to me".[72]  He installed native Egyptian princes throughout the land to rule on his behalf.[73]  The conquest by Esarhaddon effectively marked the end of the short lived Kushite Empire .

However, the native Egyptian rulers installed by Esarhaddon were unable to retain full control of the whole country for long. Two years later, Taharqa returned from Nubia and seized control of a section of southern Egypt as far north as Memphis . Esarhaddon prepared to return to Egypt and once more eject Taharqa; however, he fell ill and died in his capital, Nineveh , before he left Assyria. His successor, Ashurbanipal , sent an Assyrian general named Sha-Nabu-shu  with a small, but well trained army, which conclusively defeated Taharqa at Memphis and once more drove him from Egypt. Taharqa died in Nubia two years later. rich BOOTY    

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Pikaturtle In reply to MotherLarissa [2016-04-18 11:03:08 +0000 UTC]

Everything just happened XD

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