Home to the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts on exhibit in western North America.

New Kingdom Overview

The New Kingdom

1550 BCE – 1070 BCE

New Kingdom female headEgypt guarded herself after the Second Intermediate Period. She carved out an empire using foreign allies as “buffer states” to guard against invasion. Some of these lands never realized the Egyptians were “using” them. They constantly asked the pharaoh why he had not sent them presents of gold.

The New Kingdom, often called the “Empire Age,” began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, famous for such fascinating rulers as Hatshepsut and Amenhotep III. Another famous pharaoh, Akhnaton, set up a short-lived new religion worshiping a singled god called the Aten.

Akhnaton’s son, King Tutankamun, lived to rule for only a few short years.

Architects: Amenhotep, Son of Hapu and Senenmut

Rulers: Amenhotep III, Amenhotep IV (Akhnaton), Hatshepsut, Ramses II, Ramses III, Tutankhamun, and Thutmose III.

Monuments: Abu-Simbel, Abydos – Temple of Seti, Akhetaton (Tell-el-Amarna), Amenhotep III’s Mortuary Temple, Deir-el-Bahri (Temples of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III), and Luxor Temple.

Artifacts from the New Kingdom Period

New Kingdom female head


The New Kingdom Overview Video

 

Mummification in Ancient Egypt 

Interactive Map