Standing Statue of King “Thutmose III”

Standing Statue of King “Thutmose III” [1]

    

Introduction:

(1)  This remarkable standing statue belongs to king Thutmose III who is considered one of the great warrior kings.

(2)   King Thutmose III made 16 successful military campaigns in Asia and one in Nubia and he spread the Egyptian domination in a great empire extended from the Ephrutus River in Syria to the fourth cataract in Nubia.

(3)  King Thutmose III invented the strategy of dividing his army into heart and two wings. He also established a great navy to support his army.

(4)  Therefore some French scholars described as Napoleon of the east.

(5)  King Thutmose III was also a wise man. He brought the sons of the Asiatic kings to Egypt to educate them on the Egyptian way so they would be loyal and faithful to Egypt when they grew up and became rulers in their countries.

Remarkable Features of the Statue:

(1)  The Statue is made out of schist [2] and it represents king Thutmose III standing with elegant and strong appearance while stepping his left leg forward as if following his heart in all of his actions.

(2)  The king is wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt, with the cobra symbol of power and protection on the forehead.

(3)  The artist represented the king with handsome and calm facial features clearly shown in the full round face, remarkable long eyebrows, wide eyes with the cosmetic lines of Kohl [3], high cheekbones, delicate nose and thin calm mouth with graceful smile.

(4)  Looking to the neck from the side, there is unique feature represented in the so called Adam’s apple which is seen for the first time in an Egyptian statue. This indicates that the artist was skillful to represent the tiny details of the statue.

(5)  The artist succeeded in depicting the strong body of the King represented in the strong muscles of the chest, the arms and the shoulders.

(6)  The king is wearing the short royal kilt “shyndet”. On the belt of the kilt there are the title and the name of the king:

NTr-nfr nb irt “The good god, lord of action”.

Mn-khpr-Ra “Stable is the existence of Re”.

di anxDt “give life forever”.

(7)  Under the feet of the king, there are nine bows called that represented the nine traditional enemies of Egypt. This symbolizes that the king is having full control of the King over his enemies. The nine bows were called psDt-psDwt“psdjet-psdjwt” in ancient Egypt.

(8)  The spaces between the legs are blocked to protect the legs from being broken. The statue is also supported by back pillar. On the base of the statue, are inscribed:

Right : Imn-Ra xnty Ax-mnw mry“Amon Re who is in front of the Akh-mnw loves ….. ”

Left : NTr-nfr Mn-xpr-Ra di anx “The good God lord of Action (Stable is the existence of Re) given life”.

Complete Text: “(right) Amon Re who is in front of the Akh-mnw loves (left) the good God lord of Action (Stable is the existence of Re) given life”.

For the Akh-mnw, it is the name of the festival hall which was built by king Thutmose III at Karnak.

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Good Luck

D. Hesham Ezz Eldin

Appendix

Historical Background about king Thutmose III :

(1)       King Thutmose III was the Son of King Thutmose II and a Secondary queen  called Isis.

(2)       After the death of Thutmose II, he succeeded his father on the throne but he was still a young child. So his was placed under the regency of his step mother and aunt in the same time queen Hatshepsut.

(3)       After two years, queen Hatshepsut placed Thutmose III under her shadow and considered herself as the sole ruler of Egypt.

(4)       During the rule of queen Hatshepsut which lasted for about 20 years, Thutmose III spent much time in the military activities. So he gained a powerful body and became talent in using military weapons and in making strategic plans for the battles.

(5)       After the death of queen Hatshepsut, Thutmose III was having at last the thrown of Egypt.

(6)       There is an opinion that king Thutmose III took revenge from queen Hatshepsut. He erased her images and destroyed her monuments.

(7)       As a king, he started his military policy in order to restore the Egyptian domination and Empire in Asia [4]. This is because Egypt started to lose its domination during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut who was not interesting in using the military power.

(8)       During his sole reign which is for about 20 years, he sent sixteen military expeditions to Asia [5].

(9)       In the battles Thutmose III proved his extraordinary military talents. He is considered to be the first leader who divided the army into a heart and two wings.

(10)  Among his important expeditions are his first expedition to the fortified land of Megiddo [6], the sixth expedition to Qadish [7] and the 8^th expedition to the Euphrates and Qarqamish.

(11)  He made one military expedition to Nubia in the last years of his reign to assure the Egyptian full control.

(12)  The Egyptian Empire during his reign extended from the Euphrates in the East to the Fourth Cataract in the South. Therefore, some western scholars called him Napoleon of the Fast however Napoleon could be also called Thutmose of Paris.

(13)  King Thutmose III was also a wise man in his external policy especially with the Asian cities. During his military expeditions in Asia, he used to bring the children of the Asiatic kings and princes. This is to educate the children on the Egyptian manner so they would love Egypt and would be loyal to it when they grow up. Beside, Thutmose would guarantee that the Asiatic cities shall not attack Egypt which houses the Asiatic children.

(14)  Egypt during the reign of Thutmose III became very wealthy.

(15)  Thutmose III had got new corps like the seeds of pomegranate and he also entered the chicken to Egypt.

(16)  Concerning the building projects, Thutmose III had many important monuments all over the country represented in for example :

-         At Karnak he rebuilt the Hypostyle Hall of Thutmose I. beside he made the Festival Hall Ax mnw and erected the 6^th Pylon as well as obelisks. He laso made the sacred lake.

-         At Deir AI-Bahary, he erected a mortuary temple between the mortuary temples of queen Hatshepsut and King Montuhotep II.

-         At Elephantine, he built a temple for goddess Satet.

-         He has other buildings at Kom Ombo, Edfu, El-Kab, Tod, Armant, Akhmim, Hermopolis and Heliopolis, Asyut, Atfish and various locations in the delta.

* Outside Egypt, he made buildings at Buhen, Amada and Semna and others.

(17)  The principal wife of king Thutmose III was Meret Re Hatshepsut and he got from her his son Amenhotep II. He also had several minor queens from Egypt and other countries for political reasons.

(18)  King Thutmose III ruled for about 54 years from 1504 to 1450 BC.

(19)  After his death, he was buried in tomb KV 34 in the Valley of the kings.  When Victor Loret discovered  the tomb in 1898, he found carved sarcophagus and some remains of statues.

-         The mummy of king Thutmose III was found in the great royal cache at Deir Al-Bahari.

(20)  His birth name of the king is +Hwty-ms (Born of god Thoth).  While his throne name nsw-biti is Mn-xpr-Ra (Stable is the existence of Re).

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[1] The statue was discovered by Legrain in the Karnak Cachette before the 7^th Pylon (1904-05).

[2] Schist used to be quarried from the Eastern Desert and Sinai.

[3]The cosmetic eyes with kohl became a tradition during the 18^th dynasty.

[4] The Egyptian empire had been established by king Thutmose I.

[5] the details of the military expeditions are registered in the Annals of Thutmose III at the Karnak Temples.

[6] in the battle of Megiddo, king Thutmose III used a strategy of surprising the enemies through attacking them from unexpected route.

[7] This expedition happened in the 31^st year of his reign.