Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- PROLOGUE The Birthplace of Amenhotep III
- 1 An Heir Unapparent
- 2 The Making of an Heir Apparent
- 3 Thutmose IV and King's Son Amenhotep in Nubia
- 4 Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!
- 5 Establishing Divine Might and Divine Right
- 6 “The First Campaign of Victory”: Amenhotep III's River War
- 7 The Spoils of War
- 8 The King's First Two Wives
- 9 The Lost Years
- 10 Bringing Heaven to Earth to See the Living Gods: Building the King's Religious Monuments at Thebes
- 11 Per Hai (“The House of Rejoicing”) at Malkata
- 12 Beneath The Divine Falcon's Wings a New World Takes Shape
- 13 The First Jubilee Festival (Heb-Sed)
- 14 Raising Up Old Officials and Buying a New Bride
- 15 International Trade in Princesses and Other Goods
- 16 A Mixed Forecast: Dazzling Sun and Dark Clouds
- 17 The Last Hurrah
- 18 Whose Heaven Is It? The Reign of Akhenaten and Beyond
- EPILOGUE One God Left Standing
- Notes and References
- Glossary of Ancient Personal Names
- Bibliography
- Index
PROLOGUE - The Birthplace of Amenhotep III
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- PROLOGUE The Birthplace of Amenhotep III
- 1 An Heir Unapparent
- 2 The Making of an Heir Apparent
- 3 Thutmose IV and King's Son Amenhotep in Nubia
- 4 Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!
- 5 Establishing Divine Might and Divine Right
- 6 “The First Campaign of Victory”: Amenhotep III's River War
- 7 The Spoils of War
- 8 The King's First Two Wives
- 9 The Lost Years
- 10 Bringing Heaven to Earth to See the Living Gods: Building the King's Religious Monuments at Thebes
- 11 Per Hai (“The House of Rejoicing”) at Malkata
- 12 Beneath The Divine Falcon's Wings a New World Takes Shape
- 13 The First Jubilee Festival (Heb-Sed)
- 14 Raising Up Old Officials and Buying a New Bride
- 15 International Trade in Princesses and Other Goods
- 16 A Mixed Forecast: Dazzling Sun and Dark Clouds
- 17 The Last Hurrah
- 18 Whose Heaven Is It? The Reign of Akhenaten and Beyond
- EPILOGUE One God Left Standing
- Notes and References
- Glossary of Ancient Personal Names
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
THE FAIYUM OASIS
The Faiyum oasis, the once-idyllic birthplace of Amenhotep III, lies southwest of ancient Memphis in the Libyan desert (Map 1). At 40 miles wide, it is Egypt's second broadest stretch of arable land after the Nile Delta. On its northern edge, 150 feet below sea level, is its largest feature – the shrunken, brackish inland sea called Lake Qarun (Horn). In the past, connecting streams and canals made Qarun a catch basin for the Nile's annual floodwaters when they were especially high. Herodotus wrote that the lake (called “Moeris” in his day) was actually man-made, which, considering what we shall see of Amenhotep III's projects, is not entirely impossible, and that water flowed into it from the Nile six months of the year but reversed itself the other six months.
Waterfowl, fish, and other aquatic life were abundant there – so much so, according to the Greek historian, that taxes were paid to the royal treasury on their account. The perch was worshiped as a local god, as was its nemesis, the crocodile, Sobek, the principal god of the Faiyum's administrative seat, Shedet (Greek Crocodilopolis). The surrounding land was rich, producing wheat, barley, flax, hemp, figs, pomegranates, and grapes. Uncultivated wild heath was home to game animals such as gazelles, feral cattle, and hare as well as their predators, foxes and jackals.
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- Information
- Amenhotep IIIEgypt's Radiant Pharaoh, pp. 16 - 20Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2012