Amenhotep III
Amenhotep III
1399 av. J.-C. — 1350 av. J.-C.
Égypte antique
Pharaoh of the 18th Egyptian dynasty (c. 1391–1353 BC), he ruled Egypt at the height of its diplomatic and artistic power. His reign was marked by relative peace, intensive building activity, and exceptional cultural refinement.
Key Facts
- Reigned from approximately 1391 to 1353 BC during the 18th Dynasty
- Built the Temple of Luxor and expanded the Karnak complex
- Erected the Colossi of Memnon at Thebes, standing 18 meters tall
- Father of Amenhotep IV (later Akhenaten), who would revolutionize Egyptian religion
- Conducted intensive diplomatic exchanges with Mitanni, Babylon, and the Hittite kingdom through the Amarna Letters
Works & Achievements
A masterpiece of New Kingdom architecture dedicated to the Theban triad (Amun, Mut, and Khonsu), begun by Amenhotep III and completed by Ramesses II. Its colonnades with open papyrus-capital columns and harmonious proportions make it one of the most beautiful religious complexes of the ancient world.
The largest mortuary temple ever built in Egypt, guarded by two 18-meter quartzite colossi. Though largely destroyed, it originally housed hundreds of royal statues, sphinxes, and stelae, some of which are preserved in the Cairo Museum.
A temple built in Nubia dedicated to Amun-Ra and to the pharaoh's own living divinity. Its finely carved reliefs — some depicting Amenhotep III making offerings before his own divine statue — bear witness to the exceptional artistic refinement of his reign.
A palatial complex spanning several hectares, including royal residences, temples, storehouses, workshops, and an artificial lake. Excavations have uncovered remarkably delicate wall paintings depicting birds, fish, and plants of the Nile.
Amenhotep III constructed the third pylon of the great Temple of Amun at Karnak, incorporating blocks from earlier monuments into its foundations. This massive structure reflects his determination to inscribe his name in Egypt's most powerful sanctuary.
A unique set of over 200 faience scarabs distributed throughout the empire to announce official events of the reign — royal marriages, hunts, and building projects. These objects represent an exceptional primary historical source with no equivalent elsewhere in pharaonic history.
Anecdotes
Amenhotep III had hundreds of blue faience scarabs crafted to commemorate the great occasions of his reign: his marriage to Tiye, his lion hunts, the construction of the royal lake. These small engraved objects circulated as far as Syria and Nubia, serving both as good-luck charms and as official bulletins of pharaonic power.
The so-called 'lion hunt scarabs' record that Amenhotep III killed no fewer than 102 lions during the first ten years of his reign. This feat, perhaps partly symbolic, asserted his divine power: the pharaoh, like the god Ra, was vanquishing the chaos embodied by wild beasts.
To honor his Great Royal Wife Tiye — who was of non-royal origin, the daughter of a provincial nobleman — Amenhotep III had an artificial lake nearly 2 kilometers long dug in just fifteen days near his palace at Malkata. The first ceremonial sailing on this lake was celebrated with a series of commemorative scarabs bearing the inscription 'Aten gleams.'
Amenhotep III went further than any pharaoh before him: he had himself worshipped as a living god during his own lifetime, identified with Amun-Ra. At Soleb, in Nubia, he dedicated a temple to his own divinity — an exceptional practice that prefigures the divine cults of the Ptolemaic pharaohs.
The two Colossi of Memnon, statues approximately 18 meters tall carved from red quartzite, guarded the entrance to his mortuary temple on the west bank of Thebes. After an earthquake in the 1st century BC, one of them began emitting a strange sound each morning at sunrise that Greek travelers identified as the voice of the Trojan hero Memnon greeting his mother, the goddess of Dawn.
Primary Sources
"In year 1, under the majesty of King Nebmaatre, son of Re Amenhotep ruler of Thebes, given life, and of the Great Royal Wife Tiye, may she live. The name of her father is Yuya, the name of her mother is Thuya. She is the wife of a mighty king whose southern border is at Karoy and whose northern border is at Naharina."
"List of lions that His Majesty killed with his own hand from year 1 to year 10: 102 fierce lions."
"His Majesty commanded that a lake be dug for the Great Royal Wife Tiye in the town of her father Djarukha. Its length is 3,700 cubits, its width 700 cubits. His Majesty celebrated the festival of the opening of the lake in the third month of the first season, on the first day, when His Majesty sailed upon it in the barque Aten-gleams."
"Why has my brother not sent me a daughter in marriage? If you give me a daughter, I will send you back gold in great quantity." Amenhotep III replies by justifying Egyptian matrimonial policy and the restrictions placed on royal unions.
The temple is dedicated to Amun-Re and to a deified Amenhotep III himself, designated as "Nebmaatre, lord of Nubia." The reliefs show the pharaoh officiating before his own divine image, attesting to the royal cult practiced during his lifetime.
Key Places
The religious capital and main residence of Amenhotep III, Thebes was home to the great temples of Amun-Ra. It was here that he built the Temple of Luxor and greatly expanded the Karnak complex, erecting the third pylon.
A vast royal palace built on the western bank of the Nile, comprising royal apartments, temples, workshops, and the famous artificial lake dug for Queen Tiye. It is the largest known palatial complex of the New Kingdom, its halls adorned with vivid nature paintings.
Two colossal statues standing roughly 18 meters tall in red quartzite once marked the entrance to Amenhotep III's mortuary temple, the largest ever built in Egypt. They became a tourist attraction in Greek antiquity after an earthquake caused one of them to emit a mysterious "singing" sound.
A temple built in Nubia and dedicated to Amun-Ra as well as to the living deity of the pharaoh himself. It reflects the reach of Egyptian influence and stands as one of the earliest examples of a royal cult devoted to a reigning sovereign during his own lifetime.
The ancient administrative capital of Egypt where Amenhotep III maintained a secondary court and commissioned several monuments. The city remained a major economic and political hub, serving as a gateway for international trade with the Near East.