Thutmose II.

Name of Thutmose II.
Horus name	Ka-nechet-user-pechti K3-nḫt-wsr-pḥtj Rich in strength
Sideline	Netjeri-nesit Nṯrj-nsjt With divine royalty
Gold name	Sechem-cheperu Sḫm-ḫprw With mighty figures
Throne name	Aa-cheper-en-Re ˁ3-ḫpr-n-Rˁ With a large figure that belongs to Re
Proper name	Djehutimes (Djehuti mes) Ḏḥwtj msj (w) Thot is born Djehutimesneferchau (Djehuti mes nefer chau) Ḏḥwtj msj (w) nfr ḫˁw Thot is born with perfect appearances Djehutimesnedjtire (Djehutimes nedjti Re) Ḏḥwtj msj (w) nḏtj Rˁ Thoth is born, protector of Re
Greek for  Manetho	Chebron, Chebros
Thutmose II before Sekhmet and Hathor ( Karnak Temple )

Thutmose II was an ancient Egyptian king ( pharaoh ) of the 18th Dynasty ( New Kingdom ) and ruled from around 1482 to 1479 BC. (Helck: 1470–1467, Krauss: 1482–1479 BC).

family

• Father: Thutmose I.
• Mother: Mutnofret , a concubine
• Wives: Hatshepsut , Isis , Mutnofret
• Brothers: Amunmose , Wadjmes
• Sisters: Hatshepsut (half sister), Nofrubiti
• Children: Two daughters with Hatshepsut, of whom only Neferu-Re is known by name; the other daughter died early. With Isis the son of the same name and later Thutmose III.

Domination

Since his older brothers Amunmose and Wadj-mes died early, Thutmose succeeded his father on the throne. To consolidate his position, Thutmose II was married to his half-sister Hatshepsut, the older daughter of Thutmose I and Queen Ahmose.

On 15th Achet II (September 29th) 1492 BC Chr. Celebrated Thutmose II. His coronation day . The reign for the very young king was first led by his stepmother, Queen Ahmose . The length of his reign remains uncertain as there is no precise information. The only documented data comes from the first two years of government. Higher data, such as can be found on a fragment of a statue (18 years) or 13 years according to Manetho, are not certain.

Scholars still argue about the length of Thutmose II's reign. Manetho gave him 13 years, and Jürgen von Beckerath also starts this time. EF Wente even gives him 15 years. In contrast to this are Hornung, W. Helck and Krauss, who suspect that he only ruled for 3 to 4 years. The thesis about a rather short reign is supported by the relatively small number of monuments to the king.

Campaigns

Thutmose II took over an empire from his father that at that time had the greatest territorial extent in its history. In the first year of Thutmose II's reign, the five Nubian principalities established by Thutmose I rebelled . Thutmose II did not personally take part in the campaign . The reason for this is said to have been the death of Thutmose I, which a Nubian prince used for the rebellion. On a stele that stood between Aswan and Philae , Thutmose II reported on the suppression of the revolt:

"9. Achet II: I got mad like a panther . Then His Majesty's army threw down those barbarians. Now the soldiers did not let one of their men live, just as His Majesty had ordered. With the exception of one of these children of the Prince of Wretched Cush , who was brought alive as a prisoner with their relatives to the place where his Majesty stayed and who was laid under the feet of the good God. "

- Certificate IV 137 - 141

A short time later, on the day of the coronation of the 15th Achet II, Thutmose II had a victory memorial set up on the third cataract near Kerma . This special day also marked the beginning of the later Opet festival . Thutmose III. Founded the Opet festival as a festival of the same name for Amun in Elephantine out of veneration of his father , which also began there later at the same time on the evening of the 14th Achet II.

A representation and inscription from the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari about an occasionally suspected military action as far as Naharina ( Syria ) is doubtful. Fighting broke out in Palestine as well , but they served to secure the copper mines in Sinai . This is reported in the life report of Ahmose Pen-Nechbet , who mentions a great number of prisoners and his commendation by the king.

Throne name of Thutmose II, Temple of Hatshepsut , Luxor

Domestic politics

An Ahmose Pennechbet and A-cheper-Re-seneb are known as viziers , Seni, who was already in office under his father , was Viceroy of Kush .

Construction activity and monuments

Evidence of building activity by Thutmose II is only available in small numbers and is concentrated in Karnak and West Thebes. So he built at Karnak before the 4th pylon a Festhof with gatehouse, a chapel and two colossal statues before the 8th Pylon. His mortuary temple in Korna was not until Thutmose III. accomplished. Remains of two obelisks were found in Tod, other inscriptions in Semna / Kumme, Buhen , Elkab and Koptos .

Two statues of the king were found, which show him at a temple in Elephantine in Sedfest robe and which were donated by his great royal wife Hatshepsut. Thutmose II is also depicted in her mortuary temple in Deir el-Bahari.

The details of his grave are not certain. According to popular belief, he was buried in KV42 in the Valley of the Kings , whereas Nicholas Reeves doubts this.

His mortuary temple was located northwest of Medinet Habu and is now completely destroyed. This was found in 1926 by the French archaeologist Bernard Bruyère and was named "House of Life".

On the 3rd Schemu I  1479 BC Thutmose II died; his mummy (possibly confused with that of Thutmose I) was found in the cachette of Deir el-Bahari . An English anatomist examined the mummy Thutmose II and concluded it was 20 to 30 years old. He was of delicate stature, about six feet tall and had a prominent, protruding nose. It was not possible to determine which illness ultimately led to his death. His tomb in the Valley of the Kings remained unfinished and has no inscriptions.

Succession

Head of the mummy of Thutmose II.

There was disagreement at court as to who should succeed the sick pharaoh. One group saw Hatshepsut as the rightful successor because she was the legitimate heir. Many consultants advocated a male successor. Finally, the oracle of Amun was asked about the succession to the throne. The priests of Amun appointed the young prince for this, so that after Thutmose II's death, Thutmose, son of Isis, who was only seven years old, on the 4th Schemu I 1479 BC. BC ascended the throne . Before he became Thutmose III. was able to rule the Egyptian empire, but his stepmother Hatshepsut ruled as regent and pharaoh.

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. 467-469.
• Peter A. Clayton: The Pharaohs. Weltbild, Augsburg 1998, ISBN 3-8289-0661-3 , p. 102.
• Arne Eggebrecht : Egypt's rise to world power. von Zabern, Mainz 1987, ISBN 3-8053-0964-3 .
• Rolf Gundlach : The Egyptian Court of the New Kingdom - Its society and culture in the field of tension between domestic and foreign policy. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2006, ISBN 3-447-05324-0 .
• 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 ).
• Nicholas Reeves and Richard H. Wilkinson: The Valley of the Kings. Mysterious realm of the dead of the pharaohs. Bechtermünz, Augsburg 2000, ISBN 3-8289-0739-3 , pp. 96-97.
• Hermann A. Schlögl : Ancient Egypt . Beck, Munich 2008, ISBN 3-406-48005-5 .
• Thomas Schneider : Lexicon of the Pharaohs. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002, ISBN 3-491-96053-3 , pp. 290-291.

Web links

• Biography with further references
• Short biography of Thutmose II.

Notes and individual references

1. ^ Siegfried Schott: Ancient Egyptian festival dates . Verlag der Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz / Wiesbaden 1950, p. 87, certificate IV 82.
2. ^ Hermann-Alexander Schlögl: The old Egypt. P. 197.
3. ^ Siegfried Schott: Ancient Egyptian festival dates. P. 84, certificate. IV 824, 10.

predecessor	Office	successor
Thutmose I.	Pharaoh of Egypt 18th Dynasty	Hatshepsut