The stepmother and aunt of Thutmose III, Queen Hatshepsut, kept her stepson away from power for a long time, depriving him of the throne, which belonged to him by right. That is why the young Pharaoh Thutmose III was determined to completely erase the memory of the woman, whom he considered a usurper.
Twenty years of guardianship is all that we know about the life of Pharaoh Thutmose III before he could finally take the throne of his ancestors and rightfully reign over Egypt.
We know a lot about the period of the reign of this pharaoh, who, undoubtedly, was one of the greatest kings who ascended the Egyptian throne until then. However, much less is known about the long years of his life that preceded this. These were the years of the famous regency, the years when Thutmose languished with impatience and suffered in anticipation of the ascension to the throne, which he could rightly consider his own. Where was he at that time? What did he do?
The regent decides to take possession of the crown
Let us recall that Thutmose III, the future ruler of Egypt, was only five years old when his father, Pharaoh Thutmose II, died. Thus, he has not yet reached the age at which he could rule the state. That is why the great royal consort of his father, Queen Hatshepsut, became the regent of Egypt. This woman, who was the boy's stepmother and aunt at the same time, quickly got rid of the burden of the regency and decided to take the crown on herself. She went further. Hatshepsut not only conferred the title of king with all his names, she also ordered to depict herself in a schenti loincloth with a wide belt and breast decoration and in a double crown, that is, in all the traditional regalia of the pharaohs that were used since the times of ancient dynasties. How did the future great ruler spent these twenty years while his stepmother,whom he considered a usurper, controlled Egypt and ruled the fate of the kingdom?
Warrior Prince
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The subsequent reign of Thutmose III indicates that this pharaoh had not only a love of conquest, but also the talents of a military leader, as well as the abilities of a strategist. He was a real soldier. He possessed all the qualities necessary for this: a strong character, a commanding flair, a decisive spirit. In addition, Thutmose could boast of good physical shape. He was brave, enduring, skillfully wielded weapons, confidently rode a horse and drove a chariot. Let us conclude that he acquired all these talents by no means during his cloudless youth, spent in the cozy walls of the palace.
Undoubtedly, every young prince, like, indeed, many other young people from his class, at an early age joined military service. In the army, noble youths quickly learned to obey orders that tempered their character, trained in military affairs and went through a good school of life.
The future pharaoh harbored malice
However, in the army, the future pharaoh not only learned the intricacies of interacting with people, but also learned how to act when he leads the troops. All this time, Thutmose nurtured a grudge against the one who, he believed, took his throne, as well as against all those who surrounded the queen. The two main characters in this story - officials - were named Senenmut and Hapi-Soneb. The first was the empress's confidant, and, as some dared to speak openly, her lover. As for the second, he was her vizier. Senenmut and Hapi-Soneb have always been rivals, although it should be noted that both officials did not allow their opposition to interfere with their duties.
In the environment of Hatshepsut there was also a certain chancellor Nehesi, the treasurer of Tutti and the governor of Nubia, Inebni. All these people formed a kind of council that was completely subordinate to the queen. They enjoyed her undivided confidence; with the assistance of these people, who occupied all the most important positions in the government, the queen ruled her country. She ruled this way until her death, that is, for a very long time after her stepson reached the age at which he could rule himself.
Indeed, from that moment on, Thutmose III could become the only ruler of Egypt and rule in full force. Then he could finally give free rein to his revenge - after all, it is not difficult to imagine what annoyance and despair this energetic and ambitious prince experienced. It is not uncommon for a queen to rule Egypt until her legal heir came of age, but she had to hand over the throne to him as soon as the prince reached the age of independent rule. But, as we have already said, the inner circle of the queen had influence and was interested in leaving everything as it is.
Real mass destruction
The first concern of Thutmose III, after he came to power, was to destroy any reminders of the rule of his hated stepmother. That is why the death of the queen was followed by a real mass destruction, which was entrusted to the workers of the pharaoh. Nothing escaped his revenge. The inscriptions split under the blows of hammers, statues were toppled from their pedestals and shattered under the onslaught of the crowd, the ureus> sacred serpent was torn from the queen's mask. Everything that could only remind of Hatshepsut was barbarously smashed, sanded, erased and destroyed. The bas-reliefs were split, the cartouches with the name of the ruler were destroyed and replaced with cartouches with the names of Thutmose I and Thutmose II. Twenty years of ancient Egyptian history have been erased. The impression was that Hatshepsut had never been in power.
Of course, the vindictive king did not spare the late ruler's high-ranking officials, especially those who helped ensure that she remained in power after the prince came of age. In relation to them, the new pharaoh showed complete ruthlessness - he did not rest until he punished his enemies even in the grave. Among them was Tuti, the treasurer, and the vizier of Hapi-sonneb. As in the case of the queen, their images were broken, and the bas-reliefs were chipped off.
Faith in double death
In fact, such cruelty of the king towards his already vanished enemies was not a sign of impulsive rage, which he gave free rein. Such actions are consistent with the belief of the ancient Egyptians in a double death.
The physiological death of a person can also be followed by eternal death. This death befalls the soul of the deceased and is the result of the destruction of everything that, according to beliefs, can provide him with life in another world. In particular, this concerned the destruction of food offerings that were left in burials. This second death was considered final.
Senenmuth Riddle
One question remains: what happened to Senenmuth, the closest of the queen's former advisers? Indeed, the disappearance of this man, whose role in the entourage of the ruler can hardly be overestimated, remains one of the greatest mysteries. We do not know when, under any circumstances, death overtook him. Despite the fact that the alleged burial place of Senenmut has been found, researchers are still at a loss in conjecture, trying to determine what became of his mummy. According to one hypothesis, this loyal servant of Hatshepsut fell out of favor, which alienated him from the queen in the last years of her reign. It seems to us that this may explain his mysterious disappearance from the courtyard and the silence that envelops his death.
Indeed, it appears that Senenmuth was buried in a tomb that was dug into the hillside overlooking Thebes, next to the graves of his parents, surrounded by the graves of his many servants. Senenmuth was well aware of the possible consequences of the events in which he took part, so he could not help but imagine what would happen to him after death. Especially if, as we assume, he really fell into disgrace.
Senenmuth knew that the vengeance of the future pharaoh, whom he had helped keep away from power for so long, would pursue him to the very grave in order to destroy his eternal life. Therefore, in all likelihood, he took some precautions.
In the tomb, which was intended for this close adviser to the queen, archaeologists discovered that the wall paintings were made in two layers. Each top layer was separated from the bottom with a layer of plaster. Thus, even if the first layer of drawings were destroyed, the second, hidden under the plaster, would have survived. And the enemies of the deceased could not deprive him of eternal life.
However, the calculation of the unfortunate Senenmuth turned out to be inaccurate, since the workers of Thutmose III, apparently, were masters of their craft and knew well what to pay attention to. They immediately determined that the layer of plaster was hiding the second wall mural, and that, in turn, was also erased and destroyed. As for the sarcophagus, it was literally smashed to smithereens. Archaeologists have found more than a thousand fragments. As a result, it was possible to restore two-thirds of this magnificent sarcophagus, which was decorated with numerous names and titles of Senenmuth.
So, Thutmose III, until his death, persecuted his stepmother and aunt, who robbed him of his long years of reign and whom he so deeply hated. His punishment befell all those who surrounded her, supported and gave advice. This is how Pharaoh's revenge was accomplished.
State of Egypt
Hatshepsut was a ruler who did not like war. During her reign, a strict policy of peace and neutrality was observed in relation to all of Egypt's neighbors. That is why twenty years of her reign have become a time of peace and serenity. However, this approach contributed to the fact that Egypt's neighbors began to behave more and more belligerent and aggressive. This was especially true of the Mitannians and Hittites, who were the most dangerous enemies of the pharaohs. From the very first day, as Thutmose III ascended the throne, he was forced to react to this aggression and get involved in wars with his neighbors. He spent seventeen campaigns until he defended his country from danger and gave Egypt a reputation as a great power long respected by its restless neighbors.
HOSTED STATUES
I wonder what a tomb though! Senenmut was desecrated and the inscriptions concerning him were carefully destroyed; surprisingly many of his magnificent sculptures have come down to us. In total, more than twenty-five images and statues of this close adviser to the queen are known. Perhaps they happily escaped Pharaoh's keen gaze, or - which is also possible - Thutmose III felt that he had avenged his enemy enough by desecrating his grave.