GINA PASSANISI HANNAH LANE RYANNE GARCIA NORA KIESLER New Kingdom Egypt 1532 BC–c BC

Location Expanded more southern than the Old and Middle kingdoms

Society Characteristics Maintained Egyptian institutions and culture Pharaoh, scribes, and elite at the top Farmers, merchants, slaves underneath them  Made up most of the population Women still had more rights than other places  Hatshepsut became a Queen of the New Kingdom

Politics Overall, they were aggressive and expansionist and required taxes from their conquered territories Forced their culture on Nubia and had direct control, but supported collaboration with local rulers in Syria- Palestine They were centralized under an overall ruler or king/queen. Hatshepsut:  A female ruler who sent a group down towards Nubia to a place they called Punt. The group was very successful in returning with various sub-Saharan luxury goods including myrrh, gold, and timber.  She may have used this success to consider herself a legitimate ruler.  Traditionalists were opposed to have a female ruler so after she died, her image and name were scratched out wherever they were.

MORE Politics Akhenaten:  A male ruler who changed Egypt to monotheism by closing temples of other gods including the chief god Amon.  However, he may have done this just to gain superiority over the priests and renew belief in the king’s divinity.  Forced thousands of Egyptians to build the new capital (halfway between Memphis and Thebes) and serve the ruling elites.  This revolution was ultimately a failure because gov’t officials, priests, and others who were wealthy because of the traditional ways strongly disliked his reforms.  After he died, Amon became the chief god again, the capital was brought back to Thebes, and priests gained back some power which then weakened the king’s rule. Tutankhamun:  One of the immediate successors of Akhenaten Ramessides:  New dynasty established by Haremhab who seized the throne  Focused on conquest and expansion Ramesses II (a.k.a. Ramesses the Great):  Undertook large monumental building projects all over Egypt  Ruled for 66 years, lived into his 90’s  Had many wives and may have had over 100 children

Religion Burned myrrh on the altars of their gods Akhenaten:  His name means “beneficial to the Aten”. He spread the belief that Aten was the supreme deity; converted Egypt to monotheism although it ended up failing.  Only the royal family could worship Aten; the others were forced to respect/worship the divine ruler.  After Akhenaten died, Amon was reinstated as the chief god.

Intellectual Endeavors Ramesses II issued the building of many monumental projects throughout Egypt. Hugh temples and tombs were built for the ruler at the time and his/her family. The majority of the educated were wealthy men, but even less were able to write. Traveling widely exposed Egypt to exotic fruits and veggies, new musical instruments, and new technologies including better potter’s wheel and weaver’s loom.

Technology Period of innovation Egyptian soldiers, administrators, diplomats, and merchants traveled widely exposing Egypt to exotic fruits and vegetables, new musical instruments New technologies: improved potter’s wheel and weaver’s loom New modes of transportation: horses and horse-drawn carriages Increased the speed of travel and communication which created large states and empires Soldiers and government agents could cover great distances quickly for war and the horse-drawn chariots became the premier instrument of war

Economics Long-distance trade routes Trade with Mesopotamia (Indus River Valley) One natural resource was the Nile river whose floodplains provided fertile soil and farmland Deserts of Nubia = gold mines (important resource) Along the banks of the Nile, papyrus plant was used for record keeping (trade and financial transactions)

Important People Hyksos-  Ruled Egypt, first time Egypt was under foreign rule, “Princes of Foreign Lands” Kamose & Ahmose-  princes from Thebes, reunified Egypt Hatshepsut-  Queen of Egypt- ruled from BCE,  dispatched naval expedition to Punt (Sudan) in search of myrrh  there was some controversy over a women ruler and her image was frequently defaced (after her death)

MORE Important People Akhenaten-  Egyptian Pharaoh- ruled from BCE  Built a new capital at Amarna  fostered a new style of naturalistic art and created a religious revolution by imposing worship of the sun-disk, some scholars credit him with monotheism  resented by government officials and priests and after his death, things were returned to traditional ways Tutankahamun  Boy king- Ruled from BCE  Only royal tomb found that had not been ruined by robbers Ramesses II-  Pharaoh of Egypt- Ruled BCE  Dominated the New Kingdom  Monumental building projects throughout Egypt

Big Picture The New Kingdom left behind isolationism and started to extend their control over other parts of the world, such as Syria and Nubia. Hatshepsut was a woman ruler, just like the queens that ruled in Meroe. During the New Kingdom there was long-distance trade, just like in the Indus River Valley and Mesopotamia. The New Kingdom was a time of change, Ramsesses, Akhenaten and Hatshepsut all challenged the traditional type of rule in the Old and Middle Kingdom.