EGYPT’S GOLDEN AGE: POWERFUL PHARAOHS
AND THE CHOICES THAT SHAPED EGYPT
Elizabeth Anderson―English 252-07
A
ncient Egypt has fascinated the minds of millions throughout history as
we’ve come to learn about how the ancient Egyptians lived and what they believed in. Our movies are filled with archaeologists searching for lost tombs and
hidden treasures, finding mummies and being haunted by curses. What fascinates
us the most are the lives of the Pharaoh’s, the vast lands they controlled and the
many great cities they built and left behind. The question puzzling archaeologists
and historians alike in modern days is; how did Egypt fall from power, was it
caused by some catastrophe or was it due to the choices of the pharaohs? The
choices of the pharaohs directly affected and shaped Egypt and it’s economy
through war, famine and religion.
A Positive Influence
The pharaoh who had quite possibly the most positive influence in
Egypt’s Golden Age was Thutmose III, who reigned from 1479-1426 BCE during
the eighteenth dynasty. He was a great statesman, highly skilled hunter and warrior and never tired of boasting of his achievements, records of which still exist
today. His war campaigns brought the Egyptian empire to the height of its
strength by conquering all of Syria, crossing the river Euphrates to fight and ultimately defeat the Mitannians, and then crossing over the Nile into the Sudan and
claiming many territories there (Dorman and Drower, “Thutmose III”). In a war
campaign, the pharaoh brought home much “booty and tribute from the king's
conquests enabled him to carry out an extensive building program and to establish
new feasts and special offerings. He built more than fifty temples—some attested
Egypt’s Golden Age • 1
How did Egypt
fall from power,
was it caused by
some catastrophe or was it
due to the choices of the pharaohs?
only by written sources—not only in Egypt but also in Nubia and Palestine
(Redford, “Thutmose III”, Oxford Encyclopedia).” After the death of his wife Hatshepsut, he became and even more formidable opponent on the battlefield and began a fierce set of campaigns against the Nubian and Levantine powers to be.
The Choices of
Thutmose III were
in the interest of
Egypt’s economy,
wealth, food and
lands.
The choices of Thutmose III were in the interest of Egypt’s economy,
wealth, food and lands, he fought to expand ancient Egypt and to bring home many
riches to his nation. His experience in both war and in matters of state benefited
Egypt and brought the nation into a time of prosperity. Through his war campaigns, Thutmose III was able to bring back many riches from his conquered foreign nations. Three generations of Pharaohs saw prosperity through the reigns of
this great family until the infamous reign of Amenhotep IV or more commonly
known as Akhenaton. In the reign of Akhenaton, Egypt’s golden age saw a sharp
change and one that was not only unpopular- but also one that changed ancient
Egypt’s entire belief system.
A Negative Influence
Amenhotep IV began his reign 1353-1336 BCE during the eighteenth dynasty in ancient Egypt and quickly became one of Egypt’s most controversial rulers.
Also known as the heretical king, he quickly began to make big changes in Ancient
Egypt that had many negative effects on the nation as a whole. Even more famous
than his decisions for his empire, Amenhotep IV was married to the very beautiful
Nefertiti and his son who succeeded him was the boy king Tutankhamen. The moment Amenhotep IV came into power he began to make, “sweeping changes in the
spheres of religion, architecture and art (Dorman, “Akhenaton”).” He found that he
did not like the god Amon and decided to create a temple dedicated to the god
Aton, or the sun god, and changed the human form into simply a sun disc. From
this he chose to change his name from Amenhotep, which had the name of the god
2 • Egypt’s Golden Age
Amon he disliked, to Akhenaton after the god of the sun Aton and required all of
Egypt to pray to this one god, instead of the many they did for centuries.
Religion is not the only thing Akhenaton decided to change; he made drastic changes to the design of art and architecture, elongating the faces and depicting
the men with large hips and round bellies. Another great change was the personal
touches that Akhenaton and his wife Nefertiti put in their tombs, depictions of
them playing with and kissing their children on the mouth. This kind of private
look into the lives of the pharaohs had never been depicted in any other lifetime of
previous pharaohs. It was also considered controversial, for the ancient Egyptians
believed that the pharaohs were God’s on Earth and yet here they are acting like
normal men.
Controversy
Probably one of the most controversial things Akhenaton did besides
changing his name, religion, art and architecture, was to move the nations capital
north around 200 miles of Thebes to a new capital that he built and called after
himself-Akhetaton (Dorman, “Akhenaton”). All of the aristocracy, builders, painters, sculptors, priests and so forth all had to pack up their lives and move to this
new city with the pharaoh and his family. This caused much havoc as thousands
had to abandon their homes, tombs they were building, farms and lives in Thebes.
Akhenaton ignored the plight and needs of the people in the distant lands Egypt
controlled, including the needs of his own people. Egypt’s riches, prosperity and
lands began to fall apart and to struggle with famine and neglect from the disinterest of a pharaoh that was far away from his people.
After the death of Akhenaton, the people of this new capital abandoned
the city, religion and lifestyle that was previously adopted during his lifetime. Much
had changed in the ancient Egyptian landscape that “when Akenhaten died, he left
his country in a bad state. His experiment at Amarna was over. His religious exEgypt’s Golden Age • 3
After the death of
Akhenaton, the
people of this new
capital abandoned
the city, religion
and lifestyle that
was previously
adopted during his
lifetime.
tremism had left his dynasty, country and empire staring disaster in the
face” (“Egypt’s Golden Empire,” PBS.org). So unpopular and controversial were
the decisions of this heretic king, the people of ancient Egypt sought destroy all
references to Akhenaton including both his monuments and any and all cartouches
depicting his name or his actions. His son Tutankhamen’s reign was very short and
shrouded in mystery, for there isn’t much known about him and his reign other
than the fact that he came to power very young and also died very young. What
he’s more famous for are for the many riches that were found in his tomb in the
late 1800s, which was found intact and hadn’t been robbed. His father’s memory
was all but erased and his reign was short, filled with a time where ancient Egyptians were busy eradicating everything his father Akhenaton believed and did.
The choices of the
ancient pharaohs
directly affected
the ancient Egyptians and whether
the land would
prosper or falter.
As we can see here, the choices of the ancient pharaohs directly affected
the ancient Egyptians and whether the land would prosper or falter. Under the
reign of Thutmose III the land was full of riches due to the many war campaigns
by a skilled warrior pharaoh who conquered foes and brought those lands and riches into the ancient empire. He was a skilled statesman and took care to build up the
empire that he had received and pass that greatness onto his own children. However, just because his great grandfather made good choices for the people of Egypt,
Akhenaton chose to go his own way and in doing so he brought much confusion
and ruin to Egypt. The drastic changes in both the religion and in the location of
the capital removed people from the whole of both their beliefs and from their
family homes and tombs. These types of changes were the type of changes that sit
at the fundamental core of most people; their religion and their families home were
at the very core of most ancient Egyptians.
Conclusion
The economics of a nation are greatly affected by the choices of their leaders, which can be done for good or for bad based on the care and instructions of
4 • Egypt’s Golden Age
those in power. When work is done with the welfare of the people of the nation in
mind, many great things can befall a nation and they can prosper and grow. On the
other hand, when a leader is selfish and makes too many drastic changes for his or
her own good, it can have negative effects on not only the people of the nation but
on its economy and standing with other nations. Akhenaton chose to do as he
pleased and it had very negative effects on the people of ancient Egypt as well as
the ancient economy. A lesson can be learned here that the fate of a nation can
depend on the choices of one person and if they choose selfishly without regard to
their people, terrible things can happen.
Works Cited
Dorman, Peter F. “Akhenaton” Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Jan 2013. http://
www.britannica.com.byui.idm.oclc.org/EBchecked/topic/11544/Akhenaton
Drower, Margaret. “Thutmose III.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Jan 2013. http://
www.britannica.com.byui.idm.oclc.org/EBchecked/topic/594493/Thutmose-III
“Egypt’s Golden Empire: New Kingdom, Tutankhamen,” PBS.org. 19 Jan 2013. http://
www.pbs.org/empires/egypt/newkingdom/tutankhamen.html
Redford, Donald B. “Thutmose III.” Oxford Encyclopedia, 16 Feb 20123, Oxford University Press,
2001.
Egypt’s Golden Age • 5
The fate of a nation can depend on
the choices of one
person.