The 18th Dynasty of Egypt Essay

Submitted By CandiceJadeMckittric
Words: 1385
Pages: 6

During the eighteenth Dynasty, there was a deliberate expansion policy that was collectively carried out by numerous Pharaohs that lead to the 'empire'. This was most notably due to the work of Thutmose III who extensively contributed to the 'empire' through his extensive military campaigns. The concept of 'Extending the boundaries of Egypt' was first introduced by Thutmose I and was further built upon by his successors throughout the eighteenth dynasty. The establishment, administration and maintenance of the empire were also important … for the Pharaohs. However, the expansion of the 'empire' was also extensively contributed by the prominent officials, including the Viceroy of Kush throughout the eighteen dynasty leading to the significant 'empire'.

Egypt, following the Middle Kingdom, experienced a decline in power in the eighteenth dynasty and went into a state of severe confusion. This was due to the dominance in foreign rule by the Hyksos for over a century. The undivided Egyptians were unable to expel the Hyksos as they were militarily more advanced therefore allowing for their powerful rule. The foundations for 'extending the boundaries of Egypt' were first established by Ahmose, who lead the expulsion of the Hyksos, liberating the Egyptians from this foreign rule. This has significantly important for the Egyptians as it meant that they could further expand and protect the borders of the existing boundaries. Amenhotep I was the successor of Ahmose who immediately embarked on a deliberate expansion policy into the region of Nubia. They immediately took control of Nubia in order to gain more wealth through the acquiring of gold and collecting the abundant amount of valuable and exotic resources. This lead to the extension of the Egyptian 'empire' as this region was efficiently under Egyptian controlm and allowed for welath to infiltrate into Egypt in order to continue further military campaigns in the surrounding regions. Amenhotep I was able to maintain this control by strategically building fortresses in the region of Nubia to eliminate any uprisings against the Egyptian control but also to protect the Egyptians living in Nubia. The 'empire' was further extended upon as those living in Nubia were over time Egyptianised, which lead to spreading the Egyptian ways and influence among the land. The following Pharaohs were able to further consolidate Egypt and extend the boundaries of Egypt in order to build their wealthy and powerful 'empire'.

Thutmose I was a significantly important Pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty as he explored and extended further than any other Pharaoh had gone before. Just like the previous Pharaohs he campaigned into Nubia, exploiting the valuable resources of the Asian regions. By his reign Nubia was totally under the Egyptian control. This extended and added to the 'empire' of this time as it built upon the wealth that was being received into Egypt through the booty, trubute and taxes that were being collected. The evidence to support this is seen on the stelae that was erected along the region of Nubia that commemorated the signifiacnce of such an expansion and addition to the Egyptian 'empire'. The wealth that was collected allowed for Thutmose I to further conquer surrounding regions and spread the Egyptian ways among those people. Furthmore, this control was able to effectively prokject an image and message of power and great strength to the south and east. Thutmose I was able to maintain this economic growth by efficiently eliminating sporadic uprisings against the Egyptian rule and moreover continue to increase and emphasise the wealth and royalty of the Egyptian 'empire' of the eighteenth dynasty.

Hatshepsut however took a different approach to extending the boundaries of Egypt. Her approach was through the Punt expedition in the ninth year of her reign which was furthest Egypt had been in over five hundred years. This was an effective measure as it demonstrated that military