Thutmose II
| Thutmose II | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Relief of Thutmose II in the Karnak temple complex | |||||
| Pharaoh of Egypt | |||||
| Reign | 1493–1479 B.C.E. (disputed), 18th Dynasty | ||||
| Predecessor | Thutmose I | ||||
| Successor | Hatshepsut | ||||
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Royal titulary
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| Consort(s) | Hatshepsut, Iset | ||||
| Children | Thutmose III, Neferure | ||||
| Father | Thutmose I | ||||
| Mother | Mutnofret | ||||
| Died | 1479 B.C.E. | ||||
| Burial | Wadi C-4, Western Wadis (original burial); Mummy found in the Deir el-Bahari royal cache (Theban Necropolis) [disputed] | ||||
Thutmose II (sometimes read as Thutmosis, or Tuthmosis II and meaning Thoth is Born) was the fourth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. He built some minor monuments and initiated at least two minor campaigns but did little else during his rule and was probably strongly influenced by his wife, Hatshepsut. His reign is generally dated from 1493 to 1479 B.C.E.
Thutmose II's mummy was found in the Deir el-Bahri Cache above the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut and can be viewed today in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. His tomb, in the Western Wadis near the Valley of the Queens, was found in 2022 and confirmed to be his in 2025. The tomb was built under waterfalls, leading to periodic flooding which damaged the tomb throughout the ages. His mummified body was moved to another location a few years after he was buried there.
Family
Thutmose II was the son of Thutmose I and a secondary wife, Mutnofret. He was a lesser son of Thutmose I and chose to marry his fully royal half-sister, Hatshepsut, in order to secure his kingship. While he successfully put down rebellions in Nubia and the Levant and defeated a group of nomadic Bedouins, these campaigns were specifically carried out by the King's generals, and not by Thutmose II himself. This is often interpreted as evidence that Thutmose II was still a minor at his accession. Thutmose II fathered Neferure with Hatshepsut, but also managed to father a male heir, the famous Thutmose III, by a lesser wife named Iset before his death.
Some archaeologists believe that Hatshepsut was the real power behind the throne during Thutmose II’s rule because of the similar domestic and foreign policies which were later pursued under her reign, and because of her claim that she was her father’s intended heir. She is depicted in several raised relief scenes from a Karnak gateway dating to Thutmose II's reign both together with her husband and alone.[1] She later had herself crowned Pharaoh several years into the rule of her husband's young successor Thutmose III; this is confirmed by the fact that "the queen's agents actually replaced the boy king's name in a few places with her own cartouches" on the gateway.[1]
Dates and length of reign
Manetho's Epitome refers to Thutmose II as "Chebron" (which is a reference to his prenomen, Aakheperenre) and gives him a reign of 13 years, but this figure is highly disputed among scholars. The reign length of Thutmose II has been a controversial and much debated topic among Egyptologists with little consensus given the small number of surviving documents for his reign, but a 13-year reign is preferred by older scholars while newer scholars prefer a shorter 3-4 year reign for this king due to the minimal amount of scarabs and monuments attested under Thutmose II. It is still possible to estimate when Thutmose II's reign would have begun by means of a heliacal rise of Sothis in Amenhotep I's reign, which would give him a reign from 1493 B.C.E. to 1479 B.C.E.,[2] although uncertainty about how to interpret the rise also permits a date from 1513 B.C.E. to 1499 B.C.E.,[3] and uncertainty about how long Thutmose I ruled could also potentially place his reign several years earlier still. Nonetheless, scholars generally assign him a reign from 1493 or 1492 to 1479.[2][4]
Argument for a short reign
Ineni, who was already aged by the start of Thutmose II's reign, lived through this ruler's entire reign into that of Hatshepsut.[5] In addition, Thutmose II is poorly attested in the monumental record and in the contemporary tomb autobiographies of New Kingdom officials. A clear count of monuments from his rule, which is the principal tool for estimating a king's reign when dated documents are not available, is nearly impossible because Hatshepsut usurped most of his monuments, and Thutmose III in turn reinscribed Thutmose II's name indiscriminately over other monuments.[2] However, apart from several surviving blocks of buildings erected by the king at Semna, Kumma and Elephantine, Thutmose II's only major monument consists of a limestone gateway at Karnak that once lay at the front of the Fourth Pylon's forecourt. Even this monument was not completed in Thutmose II's reign but in the reign of his son Thutmose III which hints at "the nearly ephemeral nature of Thutmose II's reign."[1] The gateway was later dismantled and its building blocks incorporated into the foundation of the Third Pylon by Amenhotep III.[1] In 1987, Luc Gabolde published an important study which statistically compared the number of surviving scarabs found under Thutmose I, Thutmose II and Hatshepsut.[6] While monuments can be usurped, scarabs are so small and comparatively insignificant that altering their names would be impractical and without profit; hence, they provide a far better insight into this period. Hatshepsut's reign is believed to have been for 21 years and 9 months. Gabolde highlighted, in his analysis, the consistently small number of surviving scarabs known for Thutmose II, compared to Thutmose I and Hatshepsut respectively; for instance, Flinders Petrie's older study of scarab seals noted 86 seals for Thutmose I, 19 seals for Thutmose II and 149 seals for Hatshepsut while more recent studies by Jaeger estimate a total of 241 seals for Thutmose I, 463 seals for Hatshepsut and only 65 seals for Thutmose II.[6] Hence, unless there was an abnormally low number of scarabs produced under Thutmose II, this would indicate that the king's reign was rather short-lived. On this basis, Gabolde estimated Thutmose I and II's reigns to be approximately 11 and three full years, respectively.
Argument for a long reign
Although Ineni's autobiography can be interpreted to say that Thutmose reigned only a short time, it also calls Thutmose a "hawk in the nest," indicating that he was perhaps a child when he assumed the throne.[5] Since he lived long enough to father two children—Neferure and Thutmose III—this suggests that he may have had a longer reign of 13 years in order to reach adulthood and start a family. The German Egyptologist, J. Von Beckerath, uses this line of argument to support the case of a 13-year reign for Thutmose II.[7] Alan Gardiner noted that at one point, a monument had been identified by Georges Daressy in 1900,[8] which was dated to Thutmose's 18th year, although its precise location has not been identified.[9] This inscription is now usually attributed to Hatshepsut, who certainly did have an 18th year. von Beckerath observes that an 18-year date appears in a fragmentary inscription of an Egyptian official and notes that the date likely refers to Hatshepsut's prenomen Maatkare, which had been altered from Aakheperenre Thutmose II, with the reference to the deceased Thutmose II being removed.[7] There is also the curious fact that Hatshepsut celebrated her Sed Jubilee in her Year 16 which von Beckerath believes occurred 30 years after the death of Thutmose I, her father, who was the main source of her claim to power. This would create a gap of 13 to 14 years where Thutmose II's reign would fit in between Hatshepsut and Thutmose I's rule.[7]
Campaigns
Upon Thutmose's coronation, Kush rebelled, as it had the habit of doing upon the transition of Egyptian kingship. The Nubian state had been completely subjugated by Thutmose I,[10] but some rebels from Khenthennofer rose up, and the Egyptian colonists retreated into a fortress built by Thutmose I.[5] On account of his relative youth at the time, Thutmose II dispatched an army into Nubia rather than leading it himself, but he seems to have easily crushed this revolt with the aid of his father's military generals.[5]
Thutmose also seems to have fought against the Shasu Bedouin in the Sinai, in a campaign mentioned by Ahmose Pen-Nekhbet.[9] Although this campaign has been called a minor raid, there is a fragment which was recorded by Kurt Sethe which records a campaign in Upper Retenu, or Syria, which appears to have reached as far as a place called Niy where Thutmose I hunted elephants after returning from crossing the Euphrates. This quite possibly indicates that the raid against the Shasu was only fought en route to Syria.[5]
Burial
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Until 2025, a variety of locations had been proposed for the location of Thutmose II's tomb. It was speculated that it may have originally been KV42, but the lack of royal funerary equipment suggests the tomb was never used for burial.[11] In 2020, a team led by Polish archeologist Andrzej Niwiński proposed a location near the Temple of Thutmose III and Temple of Hatshepsut due to the discovery of a chest bearing Thutmose's cartouche.[12]
In 2022, a joint Anglo-Egyptian team led by the University of Cambridge's McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities uncovered a new tomb in the Western Wadis, near the Valley of the Kings.[13][14] The tomb, designated Wadi C-4, was likened by the excavators to KV5 due to both tombs being filled with rubble and debris from flash floods, and was believed to have been dedicated during the reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III.[13] While the king's tomb was discovered in 2022, the king's purported remains were found in the Royal Cache of Mummies at Deir el-Bahari (Theban Necropolis) in 1881.
In 2025, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced that the tomb Wadi C-4 was the tomb of Thutmose II.[15] The tomb showed many features typical for a king's burial, such as a blue-painted ceiling with yellow stars, the remains of an Amduat depicted on the walls and inscribed vessels bearing the king's name and Hatshesput's name as his great wife. Additionally, fragments of alabaster jars with the names of Thutmose II and Hatshepsut were found in the tomb which helped confirm ownership.[16] The tomb was built under a waterfall, leading to periodic flash flooding which damaged the tomb throughout the ages.[16] According to the Mohamed Abdel Badi, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector: "The tomb is situated in a poorly-chosen place beneath two waterfalls and at the bottom of a slope down which water would have (and did) pour in the much wetter weather of the 18th dynasty."[17] Only a few years after he was buried there, the body was moved to another location.[16]
Mummy
Thutmose II's mummy was discovered in the Deir el-Bahri cache, revealed in 1881. He was interred along with other 18th and 19th dynasty leaders including Ahmose I, Amenhotep I, Thutmose I, Thutmose III, Ramesses I, Seti I, Ramesses II, and Ramesses IX, as well as the 21st dynasty pharaohs Psusennes I, Psusennes II, and Siamun.
The mummy was unwrapped by Gaston Maspero on July 1, 1886. There is a strong familial resemblance to the mummy of Thutmose I, his likely father, as the mummy face and shape of the head are very similar. The body of Thutmose II suffered greatly at the hands of ancient tomb robbers, with his left arm broken off at the shoulder-joint, the forearm separated at the elbow joint, and his right arm chopped off below the elbow. His anterior abdominal wall and much of his chest had been hacked at, possibly by an axe. In addition, his right leg had been severed from his body.[18] All of these injuries were sustained post-mortem, though the body also showed signs that Thutmose II did not have an easy life, as the following quote by Gaston Maspero attests:
He had scarcely reached the age of thirty when he fell a victim to a disease of which the process of embalming could not remove the traces. The skin is scabrous in patches, and covered with scars, while the upper part of the skull is bald; the body is thin and somewhat shrunken, and appears to have lacked vigour and muscular power.[19]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Betsy Bryan, "The 18th Dynasty before the Amarna Period" in The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt Donald Redford (ed.), (Oxford University Press, 2000, ISBN 0195102347), 236.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt. (Librairie Arthéme Fayard, 1988, ISBN 0631193960).
- ↑ Wolfgang Helk, Schwachstellen der Chronologie-Diskussion. (Göttingen: Göttinger Miszellen, 1983), 47-49. (in German)
- ↑ Ian Shaw and Paul Nicholson, The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2003, ISBN 0810990962).
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 James Henry Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, Vol. II (University of Chicago Press, 2001 (original 1906), ISBN 0252069757), 47.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Luc Gabolde, "La Chronologie du règne de Thoutmosis II, ses conséquences sur la datation des momies royales et leurs répercutions sur l'histoire du développement de la Vallée des Rois." SAK 14 (1987): 61–87.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Jürgen von Beckerath, "Chronologie des Pharaonischen Ägypten," MÄS 46 (Mainz: (Philip von Zabern, 1997).
- ↑ G. Daressy, ASAE 1, 90 (20) (1900).
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Alan Gardiner, Egypt of the Pharaohs (Oxford University Press, 1964, ISBN 0195002679), 180.
- ↑ George Steindorff and Keith Seele, When Egypt Ruled the East. (University of Chicago, 1963, ISBN 978-0226771991).
- ↑ M. Eaton-Krauss, The Fate of Sennefer and Senetnay at Karnak Temple and in the Valley of the Kings The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 85 (1999): 113–129. Retrieved February 24, 2025.
- ↑ Jessica Esther Saraceni, Are Egyptologists Close to Finding a Pharaoh's Intact Tomb? Archaeology Magazine (March 12, 2020). Retrieved February 24, 2025.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Latest Discovery in Wadi C (2022) Theban Mapping Project. Retrieved February 24, 2025.
- ↑ Angy Essam, Egypt announces the discovery of royal tomb in the Western Valley of Theban Mountain on Luxor's West Bank EgyptToday (January 15, 2023). Retrieved February 24, 2025.
- ↑ Long-lost royal tomb of King Thutmose II finally discovered in Luxor State Information Service (February 18, 2025. Retrieved February 24, 2025.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Frances Mao, Last undiscovered tomb of Tutankhamun dynasty found BBC (February 23, 2025). Retrieved February 24, 2025.
- ↑ Rosa Rahimi, Tomb of ancient Egyptian King unearthed in 'remarkable' discovery CNN (February 19, 2025). Retrieved February 24, 2025.
- ↑ G. Elliot Smith. The Royal Mummies. (1912) (reprint ed. Duckworth, 2000 (original 1912), ISBN 071562959X), 28-29.
- ↑ Gaston Maspero, M.L. McClure (trans.), History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 4 (Andalus Publications, 2025).
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Breasted, James Henry (ed.). Ancient Records of Egypt, Vol. II. University of Chicago Press, 2001 (original 1906). ISBN 0252069757
- Erman, Adolf. H.M. Tirard (trans.). Life in Ancient Egypt. London: Macmilian and Company, 2003 (original 1894). ISBN 0766176606
- Gardiner, Alan. Egypt of the Pharaohs: An Introduction. Oxford University Press, 1964. ISBN 0195002679
- Grimal, Nicolas. A History of Ancient Egypt. Librairie Arthéme Fayard, 1988. ISBN 0631193960
- Helk, Wolfgang. Schwachstellen der Chronologie-Diskussion. Göttingen: Göttinger Miszellen, 1983. (in German)
- Maspero, Gaston. M.L. McClure (trans.). History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 4. Andalus Publications, 2025. ASIN B0DWXR3S2T
- Redford, Donald (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 0195102347
- Shaw, Ian, and Paul Nicholson. The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2003. ISBN 0810990962
- Shaw, Ian. Exploring Ancient Egypt (Places in Time). Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 019511678X
- Smith, G. Elliot. The Royal Mummies. reprint ed. Duckworth, 2000 (original 1912). ISBN 071562959X
- Steindorff, George, and Keith Seele. When Egypt Ruled the East. University of Chicago, 1963. ISBN 978-0226771991
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