The New Kingdom: When ancient Egypt was the ancient world's undisputed superpower

During the Second Intermediate Period of Egyptian history, a people group known as the Hyksos had migrated into the Nile delta region in northern Egypt.

Modern historians assume that the Hyksos originated somewhere in the middle east and brought with them new technologies, such as the war chariot into Egypt.

While pharaonic power was decentralised during the 17th century BC, the Hyksos built a power based around the Egyptian city of Avaris, from which they attacked the Egyptians to the south.

Eventually, a series of Egyptian rulers from Thebes began pushing back against Hyksos attacks.

One of the most famous was a man known as Kamose. During his very short reign of around 5 years, Kamose was able to invade Hyksos-controlled regions of Egypt, even reaching to Avaris itself.

After Kamose's death, Ahmose I (who reigned from 1550 to 1525 BC) completed the counterattack and forced the last Hyksos leaders out of Egypt. They had been in Egypt for over 100 years.

This event is seen by modern historians as the birth of the New Kingdom.

Ahmose I was the first pharaoh of this new dynasty, known as the 18th Dynasty, and its rulers would be some of the most prosperous and powerful in all of Egyptian history. 

Each one continued to grow Egypt's influence through successful military conquests which, in turn, funded some of Egypt's most famous monuments. 

Also, during this time, the city of Thebes became the most important location in Egypt, as pharaohs chose to build new palaces there and invest in the massive temple complex of Amun, called Karnak.

Under the rule of Ahmose's successor, Amenhotep I (who ruled from around 1514 to 1493 BC), the pharaohs began building their burial complexes on the western bank of the Nile River at Thebes, rather than in grand pyramids at Giza, as they did in the Old Kingdom.

The naturally occurring valley in this new location was ideal for the construction of royal tombs.

This area became known as the Valley of the Kings.

Amenhotep I had no son to replace him, so the next pharaoh was one of Egypt's best generals.

He became Thutmose I and ruled from around 1493 to 1482 BC. This new ruler marched the Egyptian armies into Syria and conquered many city states in the region.

He even crossed the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia and set up a stela near Carchemish to commemorate the achievement.

Following Thutmose I's death, Thutmose II (c. 1493–79 BC) replaced him and spent time solidifying Egypt's new territorial conquests.

Thutmose II had married his half-sister, Hatshepsut, and they had two daughters together.

Unfortunately, they had no son together to become his heir. So, Thutmose II announced that one of his sons, called Thutmose III, from one of his other wives, would be next in line to the throne.

However, when Thutmose II died around 1479 BC, young Thutmose III was still a small child and was not yet old enough to rule.

So, even though Thutmose III was crowned as the next pharaoh, his stepmother, Hatshepsut, was assigned as his regent.

This meant that she ruled Egypt until the boy became old enough to take over control.

Initially, Hatshepsut acted as regent in traditional ways: enacting laws and making decisions in the name of her stepson.

However, around five years into Thutmose III's time as pharaoh, she decided to take over the position of pharaoh herself. 

To justify her seizure of power, Hatshepsut claimed that she was really the daughter of the god Amun.

Also, she claimed that the god had appeared to her and gave her permission to rule instead.

Upon taking the powers of the pharaoh, she acted as sole ruler over Egypt until her death in around 1458 BC.

During this time, she had monuments under her own name, and several statues from this time depicting her wearing full pharaonic clothes.

While female rulers had existed before in Egyptian history, particularly in the Old Kingdom, Hatshepsut took care to show herself as a male ruler in a number of her statues.

This may be due to the fact that the role of the pharaoh was traditionally a male position and that anyone in that role, regardless of gender, had to portray themselves as a man.

By the time of Hatshepsut's death, Thutmose III was now old enough to take back the throne, which he did.

With the return of Thutmose III to the throne, Egypt once more focused on military expansion.

The pharaoh marched into Syria once more and defeated a coalition of Canaanite city-states at the Battle of Megiddo in 1457 BC. 

As a result, the Syrian princes swore allegiance to Thutmose III. To avoid any rebellions against his rule, Thutmose established garrisons of Egyptian troops across the region.

However, the greatest threat to Egyptian expansion at the time was the people of Mitanni, located north of Syria.

Thutmose crossed the Euphrates and attacked them around Carchemish.

Shocked by the speed and success of Egyptian forces, the people of Babylon, Assyria, and the Hittites gave up the fight and acknowledged Egyptian dominance of the region. 

Upon his return to Egypt, Thutmose III had his victories and achievements carved into the walls of Karnak.

To the south, Thutmose III invaded the kingdom of Nubia and set up Egyptian fortresses to reduce the chance of any revolts. 

These regions were forced to give the pharaoh a new supply of gold from the Nubian mines, as well as wood, perfume, ivory, and animal skins that were traded from other parts of Africa. 

As a result, Thutmose III dramatically increased the wealth of the Egyptian empire, which was spent on expanding the army and improving construction projects at Karnak. 

Many modern commentators call Thutmose III the 'Napoleon of Egypt', as a way of recognising both the vast military successes he experienced, as well as the long-term benefits he brought to his people, just as the modern Napoleon did.

With the constant influx of money and flurry of building projects at the temple of Karnak at Thebes, it meant that a large contingent of priests was employed to fulfil the various roles a temple required.

Over time, these priests came to hold a lot of power, both in a religious and an economic sense.

The Karnak temple directly owned a lot of the farmland around Thebes, and the income from them flowed directly into the temple coffers.

By the middle of the 18th Dynasty, the high priest of Amun at Karnak was in control of as much income as the pharaoh himself. This included a great deal of political power. 

As a result, the priesthood of Amun was one of the most powerful institutions in New Kingdom Egypt.

By the reign of Amenhotep III (1390 to 1352 BC), tensions between the Karnak priesthood and the pharaoh became well-known.

On one hand, the pharaoh needed to receive legitimacy from the god of Amun to justify his position on the throne and to sanction military expansion.

On the other, the priests of Amun at Karnak relied upon the continued monetary gifts they received from the pharaoh as a result of these successful campaigns. 

However, both the high priest and the pharaoh saw each other as a rival centre of power in Egypt.

The conflict between the pharaoh and the Karnak priesthood may have fueled a dramatic religious revolution of pharaoh Amenhotep IV, who was the son of Amenhotep III.

Five years into the reign of the new pharaoh, he announced that he was no longer worshipping Amun.

Instead, he promoted the worship of a single god: a sun-disk known as the Aten.

Amenhotep IV then officially changed his name to Akhenaten, and moved his capital city to a brand-new site, where he built a new city called Akhetaten.

The traditional gods and temples of Egypt were minimised and anyone who wanted the pharaoh's favour had to join him at his new city and worship the Aten.

However, Akhenaten's religious innovations were not well received by the people of Egypt and his reign was relatively short-lived.

When he died in around 1334 BC, the city of Akhetaten was soon abandoned and the subsequent pharaohs returned to Thebes.

The period of time where Akhenaten and his immediate successors ruled is known as the Amarna Period, as 'Amarna' is an alternate name for Akhetaten.

Following the death of Akhenaten, a series of obscure pharaohs ruled in Egypt.

There seems to have been significant discontent among the people about the changes made to the traditional religious practices of Egyptian society.

When the young Tutankhamun, who may have been one of Akhenaten's sons, took the throne in about 1332 BC, there was pressure to overturn the controversial changes.

Tutankhamun was the one that finally returned the royal court to Thebes and reopened the old temples.

Since he died less than ten years later, in around 1323 BC, Tutankhamun's reign was relatively short.

Today, Tutankhamun is best known for his tomb, which was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter. 

The young pharaoh's tomb contained a wealth of treasures, including gold masks and statues.

In comparison to many other pharaohs, Tutankhamun didn't rule long enough to gain significant military conquests or construct impressive monuments.

His only claim to fame was the undoing of Akhenaten's religious changes.

Two Egyptian generals, Ay and Horemheb, became the next pharaohs, which brought the 18th Dynasty to an end.

The 19th and 20th Dynasties were a time of even greater change in Egypt.

The 19th Dynasty was started under the rule of Ramses I, who reigned briefly around 1292 to 1290 BC.

He was replaced by his son, Seti I, who ruled from around 1290 to 1279 BC.

Seti was another successful military leader who expanded Egypt's borders back into Syria.

During this time, the Mitanni peoples had disappeared and a new empire from Asia Minor, known as the Hittites, became the new main threat.

One of the most important figures from this period was Ramses II. He was one of the most famous pharaohs in Egyptian history and he ruled for over 60 years.

During his reign, Ramses II built an incredible number of temples and monuments, including the famous Abu Simbel temple complex.

He also expanded Egypt's territory by conquering parts of Nubia and Syria.

Ramses II was the son of Seti I, and he ruled from around 1279 to 1213 BC. The first decade of his time on the throne was relatively peaceful.

However, the most famous battle he took part in was the Battle of Kadesh, which took place five years into his reign, at which he halted the advance of the Hittite king.

Ramses II had many wives, the most important of which was Nefertari. In fact, he built a temple for her at Abu Simbel and she was buried in the Valley of the Queens near Thebes.

Then, the 20th Dynasty, which lasted from around 1189 to 1077 BC, saw a gradual decline in Egypt's power and prestige.

A series of pharaohs, all named Ramses, sought to recreate the glories of Ramses II's time in power.

However, constant military pressures from external threats, and a failing economy at home, meant that these rulers were never able to realise their aims.

One of the things that made stability in Egypt more difficult were the vast number of children and, as a result, descendants that Ramses II had. 

As a result, there were constant challengers to the throne, and times of successions often fell into periods of civil war, as different pharaohs sought to seize power.

Finally, the New Kingdom came to an end around 1070 BC, collapsing into the Third Intermediate Period.

The Third Intermediate Period saw a return to constant foreign invasions and civil wars.

During this time, different dynasties tried to charge of the northern regions of Egypt, while the Karnak priesthood became the major power in the south.

But Egypt would never again return to the power they enjoyed during the New Kingdom period.