Horemheb
Horemheb
1350 av. J.-C. — 1291 av. J.-C.
Égypte antique
The last pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Horemheb was first a general under Tutankhamun and Ay before seizing the throne. He restored the traditional order and erased the traces of Akhenaten's religious revolution.
Key Facts
- Commander-in-chief under Tutankhamun and Ay before becoming pharaoh (c. 1319 BCE)
- Restored the cult of Amun and dismantled Akhenaten's religious reforms
- Had the names of Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and Tutankhamun chiseled out to erase the Amarna period
- Issued a royal decree against corruption and abuses by royal officials
- Having no heir, he appointed his vizier Ramesses as his successor, inaugurating the Nineteenth Dynasty
Works & Achievements
A royal decree carved at Karnak, constituting one of the oldest known legislative texts in history. It organizes the courts, regulates taxation, and prescribes severe penalties for administrative and military corruption.
Massive monumental gateways erected at the entrance to the Temple of Amun at Karnak, built in part from the dismantled blocks of Akhenaten's temples. They symbolically assert the restoration of traditional worship and the renewed power of Thebes.
An exceptional funerary monument bearing witness to Horemheb's power and prestige before his accession to the throne. Its reliefs document the military campaigns and royal honors bestowed upon the future pharaoh.
A grand pharaonic tomb at Luxor, the first to present the Book of Gates in its complete form on its walls. It marks a definitive break with the Amarna style and the revival of Theban funerary canons.
The restitution of lands, revenues, and privileges to the temples of Amun and other Egyptian gods, which had been suppressed by Akhenaten. This religious restoration gave Horemheb the legitimacy he needed to rule without a dynastic heritage.
Anecdotes
Before becoming pharaoh, Horemheb had a magnificent tomb built for himself at Saqqara in his role as general. Rediscovered in 1975 by an Anglo-Dutch archaeological mission, this tomb features exceptional military reliefs that testify to his great power long before he ever ascended the throne.
Horemheb launched one of the most sweeping memory-erasure campaigns in Egyptian history: he ordered the names of Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, and Ay chiseled off monuments across the land, then claimed their years of rule as his own in the official records. Officially, his reign was backdated to the death of Amenhotep III — effectively erasing four decades of Egyptian history.
To combat the corruption that had eaten through the administration during the troubled Amarna period, Horemheb issued a sweeping reform decree carved at Karnak, one of the oldest known legislative texts in existence. It prescribed severe penalties — including mutilation — for any official who abused their position.
His builders reused stone blocks from Akhenaten's temples, known as talatat, as fill material inside the pylons at Karnak. It was only in the twentieth century, when archaeologists dismantled these structures, that thousands of carved blocks were recovered — enough to reconstruct entire scenes from the Atenist revolution.
Having no direct heir, Horemheb named his vizier Paramessu, a veteran general of advanced age, as his successor. This pragmatic choice proved historic: Paramessu took the throne as Ramesses I and founded the Nineteenth Dynasty, ushering in the great age of the Ramesside pharaohs.
Primary Sources
"His Majesty spent all his time seeking the welfare of Egypt [...] His Majesty deliberated with his heart to drive out evil and destroy falsehood, so that the strong could not oppress the weak."
The god Horus of Hout-nesout chose Horemheb to be the lord of the Two Lands, entrusting him with eternal kingship and placing the double crown upon his head before the entire divine assembly.
"Horemheb, general of generals of the king, standard-bearer at the right hand of the king, royal scribe, favorite of the king above all others, whose master rejoices in his counsel."
The earliest complete occurrences of the Book of Gates, illustrating the deceased pharaoh's nocturnal journey before the deities of the twelve hours of the night, guided by Ra.
Key Places
Major religious center where Horemheb erected the Ninth and Tenth Pylons and where his great legislative edict was inscribed. It was here that he officially restored the cult of Amun following the Atenist period.
An exceptional nobleman's tomb built before Horemheb's accession to the throne, decorated with reliefs depicting his military victories and his standing at court. It was rediscovered in 1975 by a joint archaeological mission.
Horemheb's royal tomb at Luxor, the first to feature the complete Book of Gates on its walls and one of the largest in the valley. Its decoration marks the return to traditional Theban artistic conventions.
The administrative capital of northern Egypt and Horemheb's principal residence when he commanded the armies. He also governed much of his reign from here, overseeing military and judicial affairs.
The short-lived capital founded by Akhenaten on a virgin site, abandoned after his death. Horemheb ordered its systematic dismantling, erasing it down to its foundations in an effort to wipe this episode from collective memory.