During the reign of Amenhotep III (c.1391 - c.1354 BC), Egypt reached a peak in both political power and cultural achievement. He began his reign at the age of 12 with his mother, Mutemwia, acting as regent until he came of age. Tuthmosis IV, his father left him a considerable empire that stretched from the Euphrates to the Sudan.
As pharaoh, Amenhotep consolidated Egypt's possessions in the ancient world through trade and diplomacy, only going to war once in the early years of his reign, a campaign which possibly secured a supply of gold for Egypt from Nubia. He also strengthened the position of his empire through intermarriage, especially with the Syrian royal line of Mitanni and the Babylonia and Arzawa of Anatolia (modern day Turkey).
Amenhotep III and Queen Tiy, along with daughters Source
Amenhotep had many wives and though several of his marriages were politically motivated, his chief wife, Tiye was selected by him early in his reign and was from a noble but non-royal family. Her importance to him is highlighted by the fact that she is depicted on many monuments and has a temple dedicated to her in Sedeinga.
Together they had two sons, Tuthmosis and Amenhotep and five daughters, Sitamen, Iset, Henuttaneb, Nebetiah and Beketaten. Tuthmosis was the eldest son and the crown prince but died in around the 30th year of his father’s reign. His brother then became the hair and would later become pharaoh, marry Nefertiti and change his name to Akhenaten. Tiye would eventually be replaced as the ‘Great Royal Wife’ by a string of other women, including at least two of the daughters she bore for Amenhotep, Sitamen, Iset and possibly Henuttaneb.
In a bid to keep his subjects up to date on current events within his empire, the pharaoh had information about hunting expeditions, important marriages and major building projects inscribed onto stone scarab seals and issued to the people.
His building projects were numerous and included the Serapeum at Saqqara, the Temple of Luxor and modifications to the Temple of Karnak. He had a huge palace complete with boating lake built at Malkata and nearby on the west bank of the Nile he erected the largest ever funerary temple.
Temple of Karnak Source
Pharaoh Amenhotep III died c 1354 BCE and was laid to rest in the western branch of the Valley of the Kings. A body that had been re-buried in the tomb of Amenhotep II may have belonged to him, if so, towards the end of his life he suffered from ill health and obesity.
Futher reading:
http://euler.slu.edu/~bart/egyptianhtml/kings%20and%20Queens/amenhotepiii.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/amenhotep_iii.shtml
