Although there is no call from ancient Egypt more prominent than that of Tutankhamun, his reign was far from remarkable, especially when compared to some of the other men who ruled the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms. Rhiannon Davies proposes six calls of men who left their mark – on the monuments they built or in the battles they won – as the ultimate hard pharaohs.
In the case of some of ancient Egypt’s most prominent figures, their reputations were based less on what they did in life than on what they left to be discovered by Egyptologists. It was the discovery of his grave in 1922 by Howard Carter. that made Tutankhamun known throughout the world, and to hear Nefertiti’s call is to believe his magnificent limestone bust found in 1912.
However, the legacy of many Egyptian pharaohs has survived thousands of years, glimpsed in the colossal monuments and statues they and recorded in hieroglyphic inscriptions.
Here are six of the toughest pharaohs who have left their mark on the sands of Egypt. . .
On the podcast| Questions from Joyce Tyldesley’s listeners about the royal rulers of ancient Egypt:
He ruled from 2667 to 2648 BC.
Djoser’s reign saw the creation at Saqqara of one of Egypt’s most prominent monuments: this sprawling necropolis, dating back to predynastic times, houses the Step Pyramid, a monumental design that was the first of its kind to be built in history. Saqqara marked a radical break with earlier design paintings in Egypt, which also incorporated dust bricks.
The shape of the buildings is also different, with stepped pyramids replacing the flat-roofed royal tombs. Imhotep, one of Djoser’s advisers, imagined these radical conceptions. Before the pharaoh built the Step Pyramid, he won the admiration of the Egyptians for rebuilding the temple. of Khnum (the god of the Nile).
Djoser also made history as the first pharaoh to make Memphis his only home. This helps the city become the center of the Old Kingdom’s beating. He lived there with his wife (and probably his half-sister), Hetephernebti, who happens to have been his only wife.
He ruled from 2589 to 2566 BC.
While the Greek publisher Herodotus claimed that Cheops’ reign was one of suffering and oppression, this damning view contrasts with his reputation as a sensible pharaoh and builder. He commissioned the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. Herodotus is also guilty of the not unusual concept that the pyramids were built with slave labor. Most likely, the 2. 3 million building blocks were placed through recruited workers.
He ruled from 1390 to 1352 BC.
Prevailing at a time of relative peace, Amenhotep ensured that the empire prospered economically and culturally. He worked to identify strong industrial relationships, using clay tablets to speak with the rulers of neighboring kingdoms in the earliest diplomatic letters in history. He also distributed more than two hundred stone beetles inscribed five of the most important events of the first 12 years of his reign, and erected temples and statues. His seven sons of his leading queen included Akhenaten, his successor.
He ruled from 1352 to 1336 BC.
The Egyptians worshipped a pantheon of gods, but Akhenaten believed that there was only one deity to worship, a sun god known as Aten, and that his subjects were attached to him.
In 1346 BC, he created a new capital, committed to Aten, at Amarna. His wife, Nefertiti, is depicted acting alongside him and supporting him in those beliefs. However, after Akhenaten’s death, Egypt temporarily returned to its original form of worship. .
He ruled from 1479 to 1425 BC.
Nicknamed “the Napoleon of Egypt” by Egyptologists, Thutmose is a military force. He began his education in the arts of war in his youth, when his mother-in-law Hatshepsut ruled Egypt as co-regent. After his death in 1458 a. se raised the force exclusively and put his military technology to intelligent use. Thutmose expanded the Egyptian empire more than ever, winning 17 campaigns.
He seized Syria from the north and his troops campaigned in Nubia, a former province in North Africa. Here they crushed tribes and many of them made paintings in the gold mines of the region, the profits filled the coffers of Egypt. Thanks to the wealth of those mines and the tribute sent through the villages Thutmose had conquered, the pharaoh was able to embark on an ambitious building program. He enlarged the main temple of Karnak entrusted to Amun, then king of the gods, adorned the site with reinforced granite obelisks, and erected more than 50 temples.
Thutmose was also an avid hunter who fed on elephants and lions. In his later years, he appointed his son Amenhotep II his co-regent. It came out in 1889.
This article was first published in the July 2022 issue of BBC History Revealed.
Rhiannon Davies is a segment editor for BBC History magazine and our Tudor Ambassador, writing a bimonthly newsletter in which she shares the latest Tudor news, anniversaries and content with her audience. He also appears on the award-winning podcast HistoryExtra.
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