Amenhotep II

Name of Amenhotep II.
Upper part of a statue of Amenhotep II from Karnak
Throne name	Aa-cheperu-Re ˁ3-ḫprw-Rˁ Great are the appearances of Re
Proper name	Amenhotep here with the addition : netjer heka Iunu Jmn htp, ntr hq3 Jwnw Amun is satisfied, God and ruler of Heliopolis
Greek	Amenhotep II, Amenhotep

Amenhotep II. , Also Amenhotep II. , Was the seventh ancient Egyptian king ( pharaoh ) of the 18th dynasty ( New Kingdom ), who according to one view was from 1428 to 1397 BC. Ruled. The timing of his reign varies greatly.

Other names

• Horus name : Strong Taurus, with great power (and variants)
• Nebtiname : rich in power enthroned in Thebes (or with shiny apparitions / crowns in Karnak)
• Gold name : Who conquered with his power in all countries

family

• Parents: Thutmose III. and Meritre Hatshepsut
• Siblings: Thutmose, Amenemhet, Nefertari, Baketamun, Meritamun, Meritamun, Isis, Nebetiunet
• Wives: Tiaa
• Sons: Thutmose IV. , Aa-chepru-Re, Si-Amun, Ahmose, Amenemipet, Webensenu , Nedjem, Amenhotep twice

Coronation date and reign

Amenophis II was not originally the heir to the throne, but his half-brother Amenemhet died early. In the 51st year of reign 1429 BC Thutmose III appointed. on 1st Achet IV Amenophis II to his co-regent. After his father was buried on 30 Peret III (March 4) 1425 BC. Amenophis II ascended the throne a day later on 1 Peret IV. According to Manetho , his reign was 25 years and 10 months.

Foreign policy

Amenhotep II during target practice on his chariot

Amenhotep II was considered a physically strong, tall man. His sporting achievements in running, rowing, horse training (chariots) and archery are documented. He is considered to be the first person portrayed as a runner who doesn't run to hunt, but for sporting reasons.

Campaign in the 2nd year of reign

In the second (seventh) year of the reign of Amenhotep II reached. On his first successful campaign of the boundary extension at 25 Schemu I  (April 22) 1424 v. Chr. Shamash-Edom , west of the Orontes, in Retjenu , a day's march of Qatna removed. His prey: 35 live Asians and 22 cattle . A day later he crossed the Orontes and fought against a small army unit from Qatna. The bag list is correspondingly small: 1 Mariannu , 2 horses, 1 wagon, 1 mail shirt, 1 bow, 1 quiver with arrows, 1 Maschqu and 1 inlaid bridle .

On May 6th, Amenhotep and his troops returned south to Egypt. At that time he was on the central Orontes in the Apamea region , near the town of Nija , whose inhabitants had praised him in amazement as a god . There he heard of uprisings in Aket and went to a subsequent siege of the city: I locked it in place and killed the rebels and calmed the entire Retjenu region. From 16 May to 17 May there was a break in the area around Tjerech , east of Schescherem , in order to conquer the settlements of Mendjet (Assyr. Mansuate near Ḫatarikka , between Unqi and Hamath ) on May 18 . He went on to Hetjera and Jeneq , where the princes received him with gifts.

Around May 23, Amenhotep II reached Kadesh , where the prince and the entire family had to swear an oath of allegiance to Egypt. As a token of goodwill, Amenhotep II was then invited to hunt in the Reba forest . After the hunt, Amenophis II moved on to Chaschabu (today's Tell Haschbe). As prey he gives: 16 living Mariannu, 20 dead and 60 cattle. The hands of the 20 dead were hung on the foreheads of his horses as a trophy . After this fight, the place Chaschabu offered peace. In the valley of Sharon , on the way to Egypt, Amenophis II intercepted a messenger from the king of Mittani , took him prisoner and moved on from Sabejen to Memphis, where he reached Shemu III (June 22nd).

Campaign in the 3rd year of reign

Throne and proper name of Amenhotep II.

In his third year he shows himself with his troops in Tachsi , south of Kadesch on the Orontes . He had seven killed princes tied upside down to the bow of his ship, then hanged six on the city wall of Thebes and the seventh on the wall of Napata on the 4th Nile cataract - about three thousand kilometers away. He also boasted that he had burned prisoners alive in pits.

Campaigns in the 8th – 10th centuries Government year

After the Nubia campaign in the eighth year of reign, Amenophis II moved a year later, in mid-September 1419 BC. In the 9th year of the reign after Retjenu and on October 13, 1419 BC reached In his second victorious campaign the city of Aphek (today's Tell El-Muchmar ). Then he led his troops to the places Jehem and Mepsen and the settlements of Chettjen and Soko (today's Esch-Schuweke ). Once there, he accepted tribute payments and spoils of war: horses flew like a shooting star, and herds, horses and all cattle were brought to him . The following night, Amun appeared to him in a dream to proclaim Amenophis II's strength and protection for the next actions.

The next day Amenhotep II struck the towns of Aturin (Adoraim) and Mekterjen (Magdalajin) and names the spoils of war: 34 prisoners of their greats, 57 Mariannu, 231 living Asians, 372 dead, 54 horses, 54 chariots and all fighting equipment. Women and children from Retenu were made further prisoners after being screened. In the absence of structures that could accommodate all prisoners, two trenches were dug. The prisoners were transported to the area in between to set fire to the trenches. Amenhotep II waited until the main army arrived and moved on the next morning.

The victory over the place Ancheret (Anacharath in Issachar Jos. 19.15) took place on October 19, 1419 BC. BC, the day of the royal coronation . This day also represented the first day of the 10th year of the reign. Here, too, a bag list was drawn up: 17 living Mariannu, 6 princely children, 68 living Asians, 123 dead, 7 horses, 7 chariots made of silver and gold with all battle equipment, 443 Bulls, 370 cows and herds without numbers as well as countless prey brought by the army.

The campaign then led Amenophis II to the Megiddo region ; the prince Qeq of Qeb-Semen (cf. Gog 1.Chr. 5,4) was captured with his wife, children and followers and another prince was installed.

The return to Memphis is indicated on the Karnak stele with the 27th Epihpi. The date of arrival, however, is a loan from the campaign in the 2nd (7th) year of the reign and was subsequently entered on the damaged stele. The actual arrival probably took place in mid-November, just in time for the start of winter. Due to the information in the 2nd (7th) year of government, a duration of just under a month can be assumed for the route to Memphis. The total number of prisoners can be found in the other entries. The numbers illustrate the military success of the second campaign:

127 princes from Retjenu, 179 brothers of the princes, 3,600 Aper ( Apiru ?), 15020 Shasu Bedouins, 36,300 Hurrians and 15020 people from Nuḫašše .

Construction activity

His vizier is after Rechmire ( TT100 ), who was already under Thutmose III. served, Amenemope-Pairi ( KV48 ). Viceroy von Kusch is usersatet . Sennefer is in office as Theban Mayor.

Extensive building activity by the king is documented throughout the country. Today almost everything has been destroyed and often only inscriptions are left.

Round sculpture

Statue of Amenhotep II ( Museo Egizio , Turin)

The statues of Amenhotep II follow those of their predecessor in type, iconography and initially physiognomy. Further developments can be seen in iconography and physiognomy. In terms of physiognomy, his sculpture is characterized by slender cheeks and a pointed chin. An essential iconographic detail is the lapping of the Schendit (a royal apron ), which is only depicted under Amenhotep II, both right over left (cf.Kairo EM CG 42075, New York MMA 13.182.6) and left over right (conventional) can be. This allows unlabeled statues to be dated to him.

Grave of Amenhotep II

In 1898, Victor Loret found Amenhotep II's grave in the Valley of the Kings ( KV35 ), the king's mummy was still in its coffin. In the right side chamber, the mummies of 20 people were discovered, including 9 other rulers who had been reburied here in the 21st dynasty to protect them from grave robbers . To the grave itself, 85 steps lead into the underworld , through corridors into rooms with fully painted walls under a ceiling studded with stars. A colorful world of images tells of a dangerous journey on the sun ship through the night.

Today some of the mummies are in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. After attempts were initially made to leave Amenhotep II in his sarcophagus , the mummy was severely damaged in a break-in by modern grave robbers. Therefore, she was also transferred to Cairo in 1923 . His son Thutmose IV succeeded him.

literature

• Darrell D. Baker: The Encyclopedia of the Egyptian Pharaohs. Volume I: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty (3300-1069 BC). Bannerstone Press, London 2008, ISBN 978-1-905299-37-9 , pp. 40-43.
• Michel Defossez: L'inscription d'Amenhotep II à Giza. Notes de lecture. In: Göttinger Miscellen . (GM) Vol. 85, Göttingen 1985, pp. 25-36.
• Kurt Galling (Ed.): Text book on the history of Israel (TGI). Mohr, Tübingen 1979, ISBN 978-3-16-142361-1 .
• Wolfgang Helck : To the queens of Amenhotep II. In: Göttinger Miszellen. Vol. 53, Göttingen 1982, pp. 23-26.
• Erik Hornung : The New Kingdom. In: Erik Hornung, Rolf Krauss, David A. Warburton (eds.): Ancient Egyptian Chronology (= Handbook of Oriental studies. Section One. The Near and Middle East. Volume 83). Brill, Leiden / Boston 2006, ISBN 978-90-04-11385-5 , pp. 197-217 ( online ).
• Christian Leblanc: Une tête méconnue d'Amenophis II, au Musée du Caire. In: Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department. (MDAIK) Vol. 43, von Zabern, Mainz 1987, ISBN 3-8053-0537-0 , pp. 183-186.
• Mary A. Littauer, Joost Crouwel: Unrecognized Linch Pins from the Tombs of Tutankhamun and Amenophis II: A Reply. In: Göttinger Miscellen. Vol. 100, Göttingen 1987, pp. 57-62.
• Peter Der Manuelian : Studies in the reign of Amenophis II. Gerstenberg, Hildesheim 1987, ISBN 3806781052 .
• Susanne Martinssen-von Falck: The great pharaohs. From the New Kingdom to the Late Period. Marix, Wiesbaden 2018, ISBN 978-3-7374-1057-1 , pp. 79–86.
• Magnus Reisinger: Development of the Egyptian royal sculpture in the early and high 18th dynasty. Agnus, Münster 2005, ISBN 3-00-015864-2 .
• Robert Ritner: Unrecognized Decorated Linch Pins from the Tombs of Tutankhamon and Amenhotep II. In: Göttinger Miszellen. Vol. 94, Göttingen 1986, pp. 53-56.
• Charles C. van Siclen: A New Historical Text of Amenhotep II. In: Göttinger Miszellen. Vol. 82, Göttingen 1984, pp. 61-64.
• Charles C. van Siclen: The texts of Amenhotep II from Bigeh. In: Göttinger Miscellen. Vol. 87, Göttingen 1985, pp. 85-88.
• Thomas Schneider : Lexicon of the Pharaohs. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002, ISBN 3-491-96053-3 , pp. 60-61.
• Gay Robins : Meritamun, daughter of Ahmose, and Meritamun, daughter of Thutmose III. , in: GM 56, Göttingen, 1982, pp. 79-87.
• Aidan Dodson , Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. London, 2004, pp. 132-141.

Web links

• Amenhotep II - biography

Remarks

1. ↑ Jürgen von Beckerath: Handbuch der Ägyptischen Könignames , 1999, p. 286
2. ↑ Further references to specialist literature on dating can be found, for example, at Philip Derstine: Early Eighteenth Dynasty Chronology and Thutmoside Succession , in: Göttinger Miszellen 252 (2017), pp. 41–59, here p. 59. This differentiates for the rule as represented Positions early dating 1450-1425, conventional dating 1438-1412, late dating 1425-1400 and his own dating 1440-1414 BC. Chr.
3. ↑ The term 7th year of government was subsequently inserted into the Memphis stele by a restorer. Since this stele speaks of the first victorious campaign, the text refers to the second year of the reign. This makes it very doubtful whether there was another campaign in the seventh year of government (K. Galling: Textbuch zur Geschichte Israels. Tübingen 1979, p. 29.)
4. ↑ 25th day of the 3rd month of Achet (25th Hathyr); November 21 of the Egyptian calendar (deviation in 1419 BC from the Gregorian calendar 2007: 39 days) (36 days compared to 46 BC).
5. ^ K. Galling: Text book on the history of Israel. Tübingen 1979, p. 32.
6. ↑ 1st day of the 4th month Achet (1st Choiak); November 27 of the Egyptian calendar.
7. ^ K. Galling: Text book on the history of Israel. Tübingen 1979, p. 33.
8. ↑ see note K. Galling: text book on the history of Israel. Tübingen 1979, p. 29.
9. ^ K. Galling: Text book on the history of Israel. Tübingen 1979, p. 34.
10. ^ K. Galling: Text book on the history of Israel. Tübingen 1979, p. 35.

predecessor	Office	successor
Thutmose III.	Pharaoh of Egypt 18th Dynasty	Thutmose IV.