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
6 - “The First Campaign of Victory”: Amenhotep III's River War
(Reign of Amenhotep III, Year 5, ca. 1387 B.C.)
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
Word of a Rebellion
In Year 5, word of a Nubian rebellion reached Amenhotep III in Memphis. Our conjectured absence of a viceroy would have created a power vacuum – the perfect opportunity for a local chieftain, “Ikheny the braggart,” as he was called in the report, to cause trouble. The exact date of the bulletin is not known, but the most effective time to plan a rebellion in Nubia was flood season, which started around the end of June or beginning of July, when fields were under water and farmers out of work. Amenhotep's response to this threat became one of the most celebrated, well-recorded, and lucrative events of his reign, and it guaranteed a steady flow of Nubian gold into Egypt's coffers for years to come. His account of the adventure is carved onto a stela near Aswan and Konosso, where he had previously left memorials as a prince.
After receiving the bulletin, Amenhotep gathered his officials, several of whom also left graffiti on the boulders at Aswan. Primary among these men was Amenhotep son of Hapu, who, in his autobiographical inscription, claimed to have organized combat troops to “smite the Nubians and the Asiatics.” In his words, he “levied the troops of my Lord” and “separated the gangs from their homes,” the word gang being the term commonly used for a team of workers.
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- Amenhotep IIIEgypt's Radiant Pharaoh, pp. 70 - 81Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2012