Interlude: A Royal Contest.
In 1418 BCE, Amunhotep II died. But he did not leave a clear heir, and the throne could have gone to a number of young princes. Almost immediately, the politicking began. Who would win? Only the Sphinx knew…
Bibliography
- Hutan Ashrafian, “Familial epilepsy in the pharaohs of ancient Egypt’s eighteenth dynasty,” 2012.
- Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, 1994.
- James E. Harris, “The Identification of the Eighteenth Dynasty Royal Mummies: A Biological Perspective,” 1991.
- Peter der Manuelian, Studies in the Reign of Amenophis II, 1987.
- Ian Shaw (ed.), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, 2000.
- J.J. Shirley, The Culture of Officialdom, 2005.
Tutmose wasn’t necessarily sickly in life and not capable of hunting etc. He may have been emaciated at death but there are many diseases that could have caused that in a relatively rapid time before death with him being previously healthy. Also his dream may simply have been a dream, although the apparent visions of his grandson Akhenaten does hit at a possible genetic medical cause such as epilepsy. In summary, he could have been sickly and epilectic but alternatively he may not have been. Perhaps further study of the mummy could say more. Do you know if his is planned to tested in a similar way to the 2010 Tutankhamun family genetic and pathology study?
Ah, time for the fallout of Amenhotep’s failures. Honestly significantly less bloody than it could have been, only a few casualties.
Your discussion of Thutmose’s dream has me curious, did Egyptian religion value religious experiences that came to people while they were awake, because they’ve long been significant in other religions; talking in tongues, seeing gods, that kind of business.
Regarding the dream, it reminds me greatly of that 12th dynasty propaganda document, I believe it was called the teachings of Amenemhat, in terms of its conveniently constructed nature.
I’d love to see how it actually went down, as I doubt it was quite as pious a victory as Thutmose would have us believe