Amenhotep I

Amenhotep I (ä'mĕnhō`tĕp, ā'–) or Amenophis I (ă'mĕnō`fĭs), fl. 1570 B.C., king of ancient Egypt, of the XVIII dynasty; son and successor of Amasis I. His chief exploits were military. He pushed southward into Nubia and reestablished Egypt's boundary at the Second Cataract of the Nile, as previously fixed by Sesostris III. He invaded Syria as far as the Euphrates. His successor, Thutmose I, was not his son.

Amenhotep II or Amenophis II, son and successor of Thutmose III (see under Thutmose I), succeeded (1448 B.C.) as coregent and later ruled alone for 26 years. There are records of his prowess in hunting and horsemanship. He put down a revolt in Syria and maintained his father's conquests. His tomb is at Thebes; he also built extensively at Karnak. On his death (c.1420 B.C.) he was succeeded by his son Thutmose IV (see under Thutmose I).

Amenhotep III or Amenophis III succeeded his father, Thutmose IV, c.1411 B.C. His reign (until c.1372 B.C.) marks the culmination and the start of the decline of the XVIII dynasty. It was the age of Egypt's greatest splendor; there was peace in his Asian empire (in spite of incursions by Bedouins and Hittites) and he invaded Nubia only once. This was the period of extreme elaboration in Egyptian architecture and sculpture. Amenhotep III built extensively at Thebes, Luxor, and Karnak. His wife Tiy was given an unprecedented position as queen consort and exerted much influence over her husband and his son and successor, Ikhnaton. The sources of the "solar monotheism" of the god Aton, elaborated by Ikhnaton, may be traced to the reign of Amenhotep III. Tablets found at Tel-el-Amarna shed light on the sociopolitical conditions in Egypt and Asia Minor in the 14th cent. B.C.