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The New Kingdom
During a second time of disruption and breakdown of strong central rule called the Second Intermediate Period (1640-1550 B.C.) the country was invaded by foreigners from the east. These invaders were defeated and expelled and the country was once again reunited by princes from Thebes. In the New Kingdom, Thebes became the political center and Amun, the god of Thebes, as Amun-re, became the chief deity in all of Egypt. The New Kingdom was a period of great prosperity. Egypt exerted great influence on the Asian Near East and further south in Africa to Nubia In Dynasty 18, the artistic expression of Egypt in sculpture, painting, and the decorative arts was especially well developed. Immense building projects were carried out throughout the country. Toward the end of this dynasty, Akhenaten, the king who succeeded his father Amenhotep III, attempted to reform the official religion to the worship of a single god. The condition of the country as well as its foreign relations were neglected. This ten-to-fifteen-year revolution resulted in lawless confusion but it was unsuccessful and soon forgotten. The rulers of Dynasty 19 under a new family of kings restored order which lasted well into Dynasty 20. This idealized godlike image of the king, characterized by almond-shaped eye, long sloping nose, thin lips and slightly protruding chin with long false beard, is in a classic style of the most skillful carving known from ancient Egypt. Most of the complex headdress can still be seen. It consists of plumes, horns, and cobras, each relating to various gods. The single cobra of kingship is at his brow. Because the long beard is curved at the end, it identifies this as an image of the king who has died and become a god. This relief was probably commissioned by Queen Hatshepsut for her father, Tuthmosis I. |
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