Thutmose III

Thutmose III (also written as Tuthmosis III; called Manahpi(r)ya in the Amarna letters) (? - 1426 BC), was a Pharaoh of Egypt in the Eighteenth Dynasty. He ruled 1479 BC - 1426 BC.

Granite statue of Pharaoh Thutmose III

He was the son of Pharaoh Thutmose II and Isis, a minor wife. When Thutmose II died in 1458 BC, Thutmose III became ruler. However, he shared the beginning of his reign with Hatshepsut, his father's wife, who acted as regent and eventually co-ruler. For approximately 22 years Thutmose III had little power over the empire. He married Hatshepsut's youngest daughter, Meritre, with whom he had a son named Ahmose II. At some point, however, Hatshepsut disappears from the historical record and Thutmose III ruled by himself until his death in 1427 BC or 1426 BC (some sources list his death ranging from 1425 BC to 1430 BC).

Thutmose's military campaigns

He was an active expansionist ruler, sometimes referred to as the Napoleon of Egypt, because he was recorded to have captured 350 cities during his rule, conquering much of the Near East, from the Euphrates to Nubia. He was the first Pharao to cross the Euphrates, during his campaign against Hanilgalbat.

Thutmose III made in all 17 military campaigns. He defeated a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Kadesh in Battle of Megiddo. After victory in battle he conquered Megiddo after a siege of 7 or 8 months (see Siege of Megiddo).

His tomb in the Valley of the Kings (KV34) is the first in which we find the complete Amduat, an important New Kingdom Ancient Egyptian funerary text.

de:Thutmosis III. zh:图特摩斯三世