New Kingdom

The New Kingdom is a period of time in Egypt that happened from 1520 B.C. to 1075 B.C.

This period of time was a time when Egypt was very powerful, and they had a lot of money.

Dynasties

The dynasties that ruled during the New Kingdom were the Eighteenth Dynasty, the Nineteenth Dynasty and the Twentieth Dynasty.

How Did the New Kingdom Form?

Before the New Kingdom, there was a period called the Second Intermediate Period.

This was a time when a group of people that were not from Egypt ruled.  They were called the Hyksos.

Then, in 1540 B.C., a young ruler named Ahmose I became the king of Lower Egypt.

He was only 10 years old when he began to rule the area.

Not only was he so young, but Ahmose I became one of the greatest rulers of the New Kingdom.

He was so powerful and smart that he was able to defeat the Hyksos and he became the single ruler of Egypt.

Ahmose I was the first ruler of the New Kingdom.

Culture

It was during the New Kingdom that there were pharaohs that were trying to take over lands such as Kush and Nubia.  They also were trying to take over other lands such as Syria, Israel and Lebanon.

Egypt became a place where there was a lot of trading and they would trade with other nations.  They also discovered gold mines during this time, and they used the gold to become a very wealthy area.

They used this gold to buy things from other nations and Egypt became very wealthy.

Building

The pharaohs took all the wealth that they got, and they started building temples.  The temples were huge, and they were made for the gods.

One temple was called the Temple of Luxor and it was built in Thebes.

Then, they built on to it and made a Temple of Karnak.

Some pharaohs begin to build temples that would honor them as gods.

Since this was a time when the people thought that the pharaohs were gods, the people agreed with these ideas.

Ramses II had a temple built for himself and there was also the Temple of Hatshepsut that was built to honor that pharaoh.

Tombs

Tombs were also being built during this time to bury the dead kings and pharaohs.  Some of these tombs are being found today by archeologists.

There was a place called the Valley of the Kings where many pharaohs were buried such as Pharaoh Thutmose I, Pharaoh Tutankhamun and more.

Inside of these tombs were found treasures, art, mummies and money.

How Did the New Kingdom End?

The New Kingdom ended after Pharaoh Ramesses III became the ruler of the Egyptian Empire.

He was a violent king and he wanted to rule different areas so he would fight battles with them.

Ramesses III is also known to fight battles by sea and to try to take over tribe areas in Libya.

All of these wars caused there to be a drought and a famine.  A drought is when there is not enough water and a famine is when there is not enough food.

When Ramesses III died, the government fought against itself and when Ramesses XI took over, he was not able to keep the area united.  Ramesses XI was the last king to rule in the New Kingdom.

Facts About the New Kingdom:

• Many of the kings, eleven in fact, had the name Ramesses.
• One woman named Hatshepsut be came pharaoh and she ruled the area for over 20 years.
• Pharaoh Akhenaten thought that people should only serve one god and he called Aten to be the Egyptian god that the people served.
• Pharaoh Akhenaten named their new capital city Amarna to honor Aten.
• The Third Intermediate Period followed the New Kingdom.
• When Thutmose III ruled Egypt, he was considered the strongest ruler. He is called “Napoleon of Egypt” because of his strong rulings.

What Did You Learn?

1. What is the period of time between 1520 B.C. and 1075 B.C. called?  The period between this time is called the New Kingdom.
2. How many dynasties ruled during the New Kingdom? There were three dynasties: The Eighteenth Dynasty, Nineteenth Dynasty and Twentieth Dynasty during this period.
3. What caused the New Kingdom to form? The New Kingdom formed when foreign people came to take over Egypt.  During this time, King Ahmose I took over the reign.  He was a strong ruler and he was able to defeat the Hyksos and make Egypt one area under one rule.
4. What was special about King Ahmose I? King Ahmose I was only 10 years old when he began ruling Egypt.
5. Why did the New Kingdom fall? The New Kingdom fell because Ramesses III wanted to try to take over land that did not belong to him.  Due to all of his wars, he caused there to be droughts and famines.
6. What does famine mean? Famine means not having enough food to eat in an area.
7. What does drought mean? Drought means not having enough water to drink.