Amenhotep II, ruled 1427-1400 BC
Amenhotep II was the 7th Pharaoh of Egypt's 18th Dynasty. Amenhotep
his birth name, meaning "Amun is Pleased, Ruler of Heliopolis". He is sometimes referred to by Amenhotpe II, or the
Greek version of his name, Amenophis II. His throne name was A-kheperu-re, meaning "Great are the Manifestations of Re".
He was the son of Tuthmosis III, with whom he may have served a short co-regency of about two years. His mother was
probably Merytra, a daughter of Huy, who was a divine Adoratrice of Amun and Atum and chief of choristers for Ra.
Apparently, she also served as, at least his publicly acknowledge, wife.
Amenhotep II's reign is considered pivotal by many Egyptologists, though it is certainly popularly overshadowed by that of his two predecessors and some of his successors of the 18th Dynasty. He is generally acknowledged to have taken care of his military duties early on, thereafter establishing a peaceful and prosperous reign suitable to fairly extensive expansion of temple monuments.
Notably, Amenhotep II was well known for his athletic abilities as a young man. A number of representations of him depict his participation in successful sporting pursuits. He lived in the Memphite region where he trained horses in his father's stables, and one of his greatest athletic achievements was accomplished when he shot arrows through a copper plate while driving a chariot with the reins tied about his waist. This deed was recorded in numerous inscriptions, including a stele at Giza and depictions at Thebes. So famous was the act that it was also miniaturized on scarabs that have been found in the Levant. Sara Morris, a classical art historian, has even suggested that his target shooting success formed the basis hundreds of years later for the episode in the Iliad when Achilles is said to have shot arrows through a series of targets set up in a trench. He was also recorded as having wielded an oar of some 30 ft in length, rowing six times as fast as other crew members, though this may certainly be an exaggeration.
As a king, Amenhotep II's athletic abilities may have served him very well, for within a short period after gaining the throne, his metal would be tested. Various sources disagree on how many military expeditions he made into Syria, and in what year of his reign these occurred. These military actions are recorded on stele erected at Amada, Memphis and Karnak. Yet it is clear that there had been a revolt in the Syrian region, and possibly even in the ports on the Mediterranean sea. His father was well recognized as a military leader, sometimes referred to as the "Napoleon of ancient Egypt". Therefore it is perhaps not surprising that when a region in Syria known as Tikhsi heard of his father's death, they decided to test the new pharaoh (apparently not an uncommon practice).
Some references refer to his first expedition taking place as early as his 2nd year of rule, though others provide that it was during his 7th. Still other references indicate that he made both of these campaigns. Regardless, he fought his was across the Orontes river and claims to have subdued all before him. One city, Niy, apparently had learnt their lesson under his father, and welcomed Amenhotep II. But at Tikhsi (Takhsy, as mentioned in the Theban tomb of Amenemheb - TT85), he captured seven prices, returning with them in the autumn. They were hung face down on the prow of his ship on the return journey, and six of them were subsequently hung on the enclosure wall of the Theban temple. The other was taken south into Nubia where his was likewise hung on the walls of Napata, "in order to cause to be seen the victorious might of His Majesty for ever and ever".
According to the Stele recording these events, this first campaign netted booty consisting of 6,800 deben of gold and 500,000 deben of copper (about 1,643 and 120,833 pounds respectively), as well as 550 mariannu captives, 210 horses and 300 chariots. All sources agree that he once again campaigned in Syria during his ninth year of rule, but only in Palestine as for as the Sea of Galilee.
Yet these stele, erected after year nine of Amenhotep II's rule, that provide us with this information do not bear hostile references to either Mitanni or Nahrin, the general regions of the campaigns. This is probably intentional, because apparently the king had finally made peace with these former foes. In fact, an addition at the end of the Memphis stele records that the chiefs of Nahrin, Hatti and Sangar (Babylon) arrived before the king bearing gifts and requesting offering gifts (hetepu) in exchange, as well as asking for the breath of life. Though good relations with Babylon existed during the reign of Tuthmosis III, this was the first mention of a Mitanni peace, and it is very possible that a treaty existed allowing Egypt to keep Palestine and part of the Mediterranean coast in exchange for Mitanni control of northern Syria. Underscoring this new alliance, with Nahrin, Amenhotep II had inscribed on a column between the fourth and fifth pylons at Karnak, "The chiefs (weru) of Mitanni (My-tn) come to him, their deliveries upon their backs, to request offering gifts from his majesty in quest of the breath of life". The location for this column in the Tuthmose wadjyt, or columned hall, was significant, because the hall was venerated as the place where his father received a divine oracle proclaiming his future kingship. It is also associated with the Tuthmose line going back to Tuthmosis I, who was the first king to campaign in Syria. Furthermore, we also learn that Amenhotep II at least asked for the hand of the Mitanni king, Artatama I, in marriage. By the end of Amenhotep II's reign, the Mitanni who had been so recently a vile enemy of Egypt, were being portrayed as a close friend.
After these initial campaigns, the remainder of Amenhotep II's long reign was characterized by peace in the Two Lands, including Nubia where his father settled matters during his reign. This allowed him to somewhat aggressively pursue a building program that left his mark at nearly all the major sites where his father had worked. Some of these projects may have even been initiated during his co-regency with his father, for at Amada in Lower Nubia dedicated to Amun and Ra-Horakhty celebrated both equally, and at Karnak, he participated in his father's elimination of any vestiges of his hated stepmother, Hatshepsut. There was also a bark chapel built celebrating his co-regency at Tod.
However, he also left monuments at Pnub on Argo Island, at Sai, Uronarti, Kumma, Buhen, Qasr Ibrim, Sehel, Elephantine, Gebel Tingar, Gebel el-Silsila, Elkab, Armant, Karnak, Thebes, including his tomb and a funerary temple, Medamud, Dendera, Giza and Heliopolis.
Of these, his building work at Giza and Karnak are particularly notable. At Giza he built a temple dedicated to the god Horemakhet, a sun-god identified with the Great Sphinx. This Sphinx and its adjoining amphitheatre became the site of a cult of royal ancestors, including Amenhotep II himself and his son, Tuthmosis IV, who set up the great dream stele between its paws. The Sphinx's (Horemakhet) cult lasted well into Roman times and pilgrims left votive offerings in the enclosure wall of the amphitheatre or in the chapels if possible. Hence, Amenhotep II's addition of a chapel to the cult was significant.
At Karnak, after finishing his father's work of eliminating Hatshepsut's name, he set about creating his sed-festival just as his father had done before him. This pavilion, reconstructed in modern times by Charles Van Siclen, was a court of relief carved square pillars with decorated walls on the sides, and has been dated to the late part of his reign. Following an old tradition, the decorations featured elaborate royal regalia for the king, especially emphasizing solar connections, including multiple sun discs on top of crowns, and tiny falcons set above the sun discs, creating an association with Ra-Horakhty. It also included scenes of his mother. The building was built in front of Karnak's south entrance at the eighth pylon, which in effect, created a new main gateway to the complex. An inscription on one of the pillars implies that this may not have been to celebrate his first sed festival, though such text is difficult to interpret, and is sometimes though to simply imply wishes expressed for the king's coming jubilees. The gardens of Amun were directly in front of this chapel, but the building was dismantled at the end of the 18th Dynasty to accommodate alterations made by Horemheb. The material was later reused for a different building constructed by Seti I at the beginning of the 19th Dynasty.
Amenhotep II also built another temple to Amun in the northern Karnak district, a precinct that was later dedicated to Montu of Thebes. However, the material from this project was also later used to form part of the foundations of a temple constructed by Amenhotep III, which was still later adapted to building projects during the Greek Period. However, he apparently participated in several other building projects in the area of Karnak including probably building a ceremonial residence or palace.
Also notable was his additions to nearby temple of Montu at Medamud about eight kilometers north, particularly since later there was a processional way between northern Karnak and Medamud.
Other than his mother, Amenhotep II made public none of his wives, though he certainly demonstrated his procreative powers. A number of princes are attested to, including another Amenhotep, Tuthmosis, Khaemwaset (possibly), Amenemopet, Ahmose, Webensenu and Nedjem, among others. Yet though he probably also sired a number of princesses, they like his queens, are difficult to document.
The lack of documentary evidence of his queens and princesses was doubtless a conscious rejection of the dynastic role played by woman as "god's wives of Amun". Perhaps he (as well as his father) realized that queens such as Hatshepsut, who represented the dynastic family, could be dangerous if they became too powerful.
As usual, different resources provide different time frames for Amenhotep II's reign. While the Chronicle of the Pharaohs by Peter A. Clayton gives his reign lasting from 1453 until 1419 BC, The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt provides a reign between 1427 until 1400 BC. Regardless, upon his death he was buried in the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank at Luxor (ancient Thebes) in tomb KV35. Prior to the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb by Howard Carter, KV35 was the only royal burial in Egypt where the pharaoh was discovered in his own sarcophagus. However, he was not alone in his tomb for the priests in antiquity had used it for a hiding place for other royal mummies.
Amenophis II's tomb is an architectural delight. Designated KV 35, it was located by Victor Loret on the slope opposite of the Valley of the King's main wadi in March of 1998. Like most all of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, it had been extensively looted, though there were a few surprises.
This is a large tomb with complex architecture, though very similar in many respects to the tomb of Tuthmosis III. Like other tombs in the valley, there are two sets of stairways and two corridors prior to the ritual shaft. New for this tomb are decorations depicting the king performing ritual acts before Osiris, Anubis and Hathor. From the ritual shaft, the tomb takes a 90 degree turn into the two pillared vestibule. Wide flight of stairs leads out of the vestibule into a third corridor and then into a large, six pillared room. This room has images of the king in the presence of various deities.
At the back (south) of the six pillared room beyond the last set of pillars is the burial chamber. The burial chamber contains the kings red quartzite sarcophagus and until 1928, the mummy of the king. The mummy was transferred to the Cairo Museum at that time. However, this is one of the surprises in this tomb, for unlike other tombs in the valley, Amenophis II's mummy was found intact, with a garland of mimosa flowers at his neck, though the coffin he was laid in was perhaps a replacement. Normally, tomb robbers would search the mummies for gold amulets and other valuable objects, but for some reason they ignored the mummy of this king.
There is one annex to either side of the six pillared room, and two more annexes, one one each side of the burial chamber. The burial chamber includes the complete text of the Book of Amduat, including the corresponding illustrations. The whole text is laid out as though on a huge papyrus. This text, in simple paint (no reliefs), is in cursive hieroglyphs. On the ceiling is the familiar pattern of gold stars on a dark blue background.
Within the the western lateral annex, which was enclosed by a stone wall, Loret found his second surprise, for here he found the sarcophagi and mummies of nine other royal burials, as well as his son, Webensenu, and probably his mother, Hatshepsut-Meryetre. These included Tuthmosis IV, Amenophis III, Merneptah, Sety II, Siptah, Setenakhte, Ramesses IV, Ramesses V and Ramesses VI. In all, he found remains of 17 royal burials in the cache. This cache was likewise note violated. Hence, Loret's discovery of this tomb ranks high in the annuls of Egyptology.
We believe it was the high priest Pinudjem I (1070-1037 BC) who had these mummies stored in Amenophis II's tomb at the beginning of the 21st Dynasty, just as Pinudjem II (990-969 BC) transferred the mummies found in the Deir el-Bahri cache.
Though the tomb had been robbed, perhaps more than once in antiquity, there were a number of items found within the tomb by Loret. These objects ranged from the magical to the mundane. Some of these included:
· A papyrus with extracts from the Book of Caverns · Emblems in wood · A broken Osiris bed · At least one large wooden funerary couch · Large wooden figure of serpent found near the entrance to the antechamber · Three barques · Large wooden Sekhmet figure that was made for the kings son Webensenu · Almost life-size cow head statue found in the sepulchral hall · Vases of green faience· Resin-coated wooden panther · 30 empty storage jars · Miniature wooden coffins