Father of the famed “heretic Pharaoh,” Akhenaten, and grandfather to the famous King Tut, Amenhotep III was one of Kemet's (Egypt’s) greatest Neswet's "nswt-bjtj" (Pharaohs) and the most successful of the 18th Dynasty.
Amenhotep's temple is located in Nubia, in the town of Soleb, in present day Sudan and was dedicated to the Netcher (Sun Deity), Amun Re. His wife was the powerful Queen Tiye known for her intellectual and political acumen. Amenhotep III genuinely loved and honored his wife, and regarded her as a partner in his life. He devoted a number of shrines in her honor and constructed a temple dedicated to her in Nubia in the city of Sedeinga, also in present day Sudan.
Amenhotep III built a temple to his wife Queen Tiye in Sedeinga in northern Sudan, where she was worshiped as a form of Hathor ... The temple at Sedeinga was the pendant to Amenhotep III's own, larger temple at Soleb, fifteen kilometres to the south (an arrangement followed a century later by Ramses II at Abu Simbel, where there are likewise two temples, the larger southern temple dedicated to the king, and the smaller, northern temple dedicated to the queen, Nefertiry, as Hathor).
Amenhotep III's reign was also marked by an extraordinary level of artistic production, evidenced by numerous statues, reliefs and other items. Decorations display different styles, showing an evolution throughout his reign from the conservative representation inherited from Thutmose IV to a more naturalistic rendering of human form and, at the end of his life, emphasizing portraits depicting a much younger pharaoh than previously.
During his reign, Kemet enjoyed wealth, peace and stability. When Amenhotep III died, he left behind a country that was at the very height of its power and influence, commanding immense respect in the international world.
In 2023, Christopher Ehret reported that the physical anthropological findings from the “major burial sites of those founding locales of ancient Egypt in the fourth millennium BCE, notably El-Badari as well as Naqada, show no demographic indebtedness to the Levant”. Ehret specified that these studies revealed cranial and dental affinities with "closest parallels" to other longtime populations in the surrounding areas of Northeastern Africa “such as Nubia and the northern Horn of Africa”.
Ehret, Christopher (20 June 2023). Ancient Africa: A Global History, to 300 CE. Princeton: Princeton University Press. pp. 83–85.
Collection: Louvre Museum, Department of Egyptian Antiquities
https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010012168
Date of creation: Amenhotep III, 1391-1353
Origin: KV22 Tomb of Amenhotep III (Valley of the Kings, Upper Kemet)
"I have not spoken angrily or arrogantly. I have not cursed anyone in thought, word or deeds." ~35th & 36th Principals of Ma'at
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