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Thutmose

THUTMOSE (also Tuthmosis, Thotmes). The word does not appear in the Bible but is a common personal name and one of the great royal names of Egypt. It was given to four kings of the Eighteenth Dynasty. The outstanding Thutmose was Thutmose III, one of the greatest military leaders and administrators of antiquity. Thutmose I made a military expedition beyond the Euphrates and also extended the southern boundary to the Third Cataract. He did some building at Karnak; one of his obelisks still stands there. Thutmose II married his half-sister, Hatshepsut, and their daughter became the wife of Thutmose III. Hatshepsut was regent for a period after the death of Thutmose II and even had herself proclaimed “king”; upon her death, Thutmose III burst from obscurity and attempted to eliminate all references to this aunt and mother-in-law. He began his seventeen expeditions to Palestine-Syria with a brilliantly strategic victory over an Asiatic coalition at Megiddo. He reached beyond the Euphrates and set up a stele beside that left by his grandfather (Thutmose I). An ardent sportsman, Thutmose III here engaged in a great elephant hunt. He was also active in the south and pushed the boundary to Gebel Barkal, just below the Fourth Cataract.

The records of his expeditions are preserved in his annals at Karnak. The tribute gained from his successes greatly enriched the priesthood of Amon at Thebes, while the influx of foreign products and peoples effected a cosmopolitanism that eventually contributed to the breakdown of the empire that had been built in large measure by the abilities of Thutmose III. In building activity he is credited with constructions at Karnak: the hall of the annals, a building erected to conceal the obelisks of Hatshepsut; the Sixth Pylon; the Seventh Pylon; and the Festival Hall to the east. On the west bank he built at Thebes, and to the north he erected a mortuary temple that has not survived. He also built temples at other sites in Egypt and Nubia. For various reasons Thutmose III has been considered the Pharaoh of the Oppression, and his successor, Amenhotep II, the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Although this is an attractive hypothesis in many respects, it is burdened with difficulties, and the identity of those pharaohs is still problematic. Thutmose IV, the son of Amenhotep II, is the last of the kings of this name. The Dream Stele, which stills stands between the forelegs of the Sphinx at Giza, relates how he came to the throne.——CEDV



THUTMOSE thut mōs’ (Egyp. dḥwty-ms, [the god] Thoth is born). An Egyp. name popular during the New Kingdom and the personal name (nomen) of four kings of the 18th dynasty. Thutmose I, the third king of the dynasty, was the son of Amenhotep I. A vigorous ruler, Thutmose I engaged in military expeditions in Nubia, reaching beyond the Third Cataract, and in Asia, where he crossed the Euphrates and set up a memorial stela. His tomb was the first to be located in the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings (Biban el Moluk), W of Thebes. He did some building at Karnak, where one of his obelisks still stands. His son, Thutmose II, had a brief and unimpressive reign. He married his half-sister, Hatshepsut, and their daughter married Thutmose III, who was the son of Thutmose II and a concubine. Upon his death the young Thutmose III was crowned, but Hatshepsut succeeded in becoming regent and “king.” Thutmose III remained in a subordinate and obscure position until her death, serving as a priest in the temple of Amon in Karnak, where an inscr. purports to describe how he was divinely chosen for the kingship. His brilliant victory over an Asiatic coalition at Megiddo marked the first of seventeen campaigns in Palestine-Syria. Like his grandfather (Thutmose I), he crossed the Euphrates and set up a stela. In this area he also engaged in a celebrated elephant hunt. In the S he extended the boundary to Gebel Barkal (Napata), just below the Fourth Cataract. Famous as a military strategist and capable as an administrator, Thutmose III created the Egyp. empire. He built extensively at Karnak: the Hall of the Annals, where the accounts of his expeditions were recorded; the Sixth Pylon; the Seventh Pylon; and the large Festival Hall to the E of the site of the Middle Kingdom structures. His mortuary temple, now largely destroyed, stood at the edge of the western desert. He also built at Medinet Habu and other sites in Egypt and Nubia. Thutmose IV, the son of Amenhotep II, was the last of the Thutmosids. His Dream Stela, located between the forelegs of the Sphinx at Giza, tells how he became king. The name Thutmose does not appear in the Bible, but Thutmose III has sometimes been regarded as the Pharaoh of the Oppression.

Bibliography

W. F. Edgerton, The Thutmosid Succession (1933); J. A. Wilson, The Burden of Egypt (1951), 166-205; G. Steindorff and K. C. Seele, When Egypt Ruled the East (2nd ed., 1957), 34-46, 53-72; A. H. Gardiner, Egypt of the Pharaohs (1961), 177-205.