Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt

Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt

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Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt

The Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, New Kingdom.

Rulers
Seti I and Ramesses II
Merneptah
Nineteenth Dynasty timeline
See also
References

Rulers

The Nineteenth Dynasty was founded by Vizier Ramesses I, whom Pharaoh Horemheb chose as his successor to the throne. This dynasty is best known for its military conquests in modern Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. The warrior kings of the early 18th Dynasty had encountered only little resistance from neighbouring kingdoms, allowing them to expand their realm of influence easily.

Towards the end of the 18th Dynasty, the situation had changed radically. Helped by Akhenaten's apparent lack of interest in international affairs, the Hittites had gradually extended their influence into Syria and Palestine to become a major power in international politics. A power that both Seti I and his son Ramesses II would need to deal with.

Seti I and Ramesses II

Egyptian and Hittite Empires, around the time of the Battle of Kadesh.

New Kingdom Egypt reached the zenith of its power under Seti I and Ramesses II ("The Great"), who campaigned vigorously against the Libyans and the Hittites. The famous city of Kadesh was first captured by Seti I before this king decided to concede it to Muwatalli of Hatti in an informal peace treaty between Egypt and Hatti. Ramesses II later attempted unsuccessfully to alter this situation in his fifth regnal year by launching an attack on Kadesh in his Second Syrian campaign in 1274 BC, and was caught in history's first recorded military ambush, but thanks to the arrival of the Ne'arin, Ramesses was able to rally his troops and turn the tide of battle against the Hittites. Ramesses II later profited from the Hittites' internal difficulties during his eighth and ninth regnal years, when he campaigned against their Syrian possessions, capturing Kadesh and portions of Southern Syria, and advancing as far north as Tunip where no Egyptian soldier had been seen for 120 years. He ultimately accepted that a campaign against the Hittites was an unsupportable drain on Egypt's treasury and military.^[1] In his 21st regnal year, Ramesses signed the first recorded peace treaty with Urhi-Teshub's successor, Hattusili III and with that act Egypt-Hittite relations improved significantly. Ramesses II even married two Hittite princesses, the first after his second Sed Festival. At least as early as Josephus, it was believed that Moses lived during the reign of Ramesses II (though the time of the Eighteenth Dynasty has also been suggested).

Merneptah

This dynasty declined as internal fighting between the heirs of Merneptah for the throne increased. Amenmesse apparently usurped the throne from Merneptah's son and successor, Seti II, but he ruled Egypt for only 4 years. After his death, Seti regained power and destroyed most of Amenmesse's monuments. Seti was served at Court by Chancellor Bay, who was originally just a 'royal scribe' but quickly became one of the most powerful men in Egypt gaining the unprecedented privilege of constructing his own tomb in the Valley of the Kings (KV17). Both Bay and Seti's chief wife Twosret reportedly had a sinister reputation in Ancient Egyptian folklore.^[2] After Siptah's death Twosret ruled Egypt for two more years, but she proved unable to maintain her hold on power amid the conspiracies and powerplays being hatched at the royal court. She was likely ousted in a revolt led by Setnakhte, founder of the Twentieth Dynasty.

Nineteenth Dynasty timeline

<timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:12 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:30 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = early

DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:-1300 till:-1180 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:-1292

Colors = id:canvas value:rgb(0.97,0.97,0.97) id:PA value:green id:GP value:red

Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas

BarData = barset:Rulers

PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till barset:Rulers

 from: -1292 till: -1290 color:PA text:"Ramesses I (1292 BC – 1290 BC)"
 from: -1290 till: -1279 color:PA text:"Seti I (1290 BC – 1279 BC)"
 from: -1279 till: -1213 color:PA text:"Ramesses the Great (1279 BC – 1213 BC)"
 from: -1213 till: -1203 color:PA text:"Merneptah (1213 BC – 1203 BC)"
 from: -1203 till: -1199 color:PA text:"Amenmesse (1203 BC – 1199 BC)"
 from: -1203 till: -1197 color:PA text:"Seti II (1203 BC – 1197 BC)"
 from: -1197 till: -1191 color:PA text:"Siptah (1197 BC – 1191 BC)"
 from: -1191 till: -1190 color:PA text:"Twosret (1191 BC – 1190 BC)"
 barset:skip