Adornment of Egypt

The new prosperity was reflected in the remarkable program of building undertaken by the king’s architects. The Temple of Amon at Karnak in particular was enlarged and enriched by many new buildings and a number of obelisks. Two of the splendid granite obelisks that he erected there are now in Istanbul and Rome; of the two, now known as Cleopatra’s Needles, with which he adorned the temple of the sun god at Heliopolis, one is in New York City’s Central Park and the other on the Thames embankment in London. During Thutmose III’s reign, art and craftsmanship received new impetus from his patronage. The exotic birds, beasts, and plants that he brought back from his campaigns in Asia are depicted on the walls of his Festival Hall at Karnak; among the gifts sent him from abroad were a live bear, an elephant, a giraffe, and “birds that give birth every day”—probably domestic hens, which were rare in the Middle East at that time.

The last decade of his reign is marked by the building of a new temple at Dayr al-Baḥrī, next to Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple. At the same time, a systematic program was instituted by Thutmose III to erase the record of her kingship and to ascribe her monuments to her immediate predecessors, Thutmose I and Thutmose II. The motive for Hatshepsut’s proscription at such a late date is not fully understood, but most of her cartouches and images vanished from public view.

During the last years of his life, Thutmose appointed his son Amenhotep II, the son of his second wife, Meryetre, as coregent. When he died, in 1425 bce, he was laid to rest in a remote corner of the Valley of the Kings in western Thebes. The mummy of the pharaoh was one of those discovered in 1889, in a hiding place where the priest-kings of the 21st dynasty (c. 1076–c. 950 bce) had put them for safety. Of the rich furniture that must originally have been placed in the tomb, only a few fragments were found. A memorial temple, which he built on a terrace at Dayr al-Baḥrī beside that of Hatshepsut, was discovered in 1962.

In the southern reaches of the western Theban mountain, the burial place of three members of his harem was found; judging by their names, they were Asiatic princesses, and though of minor rank their jewelry and equipment were extremely lavish.

Of all the kings of ancient Egypt, Thutmose III is perhaps the one who, for the modern historian, most nearly comes to life. His records, though couched in the boastful and extravagant terms thought befitting a pharaoh’s exploits, leave little doubt not only of his ability as a soldier and a statesman but also of his abilities as an athlete and a hunter of lion, wild cattle, and elephant. From his mummy it is known that he was a small man, not above five feet three inches (1.6 meters) in height. His statues show a youthful, smooth face with a large, high-bridged nose and pleasantly smiling mouth.

His fame lived after him. His name inscribed on countless amulets was thought to bring power and protection to the wearers. A popular hymn celebrating his triumphs became a model for later paeans of victory. In it the god Amon-Re says:

I set your glory and the fear of you in all lands, and the terror of you as far as the four supports of the sky...the rulers of all foreign countries are gathered together within thy grasp. I stretch out my hands to bind them for you.