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History Overview of the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom
The Kings and Pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom included the famous names that had have survived for thousands of years. The most famous pharaoh of the 18th dynasty was Tutankhamun, the boy king whose tomb and its wonderful treasures that were discovered by Howard Carter. The discovery of the fabulous treasures found in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun prompted considerable interest in the history of ancient Egypt, the 18th dynasty, and the family tree of King Tut. His father was Akhenaten who, with his wife the beautiful Nefertiti, instigated a religious revolution in Egypt insisting that the Egyptians abandoned the gods they had worshipped for thousands of years and worship just one god, called the Aten. Akhenaten, the 'heretic pharaoh', abdicated and his son Tutankhamun eventually inherited the throne. The new king died young raising various conspiracy theories. "Who killed King Tut?" was the question everyone wanted answered and prime suspects include Ay and Horemheb, the men who succeeded Tutankhamun in the 18th dynasty. Another familiar name from the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom was that of Queen Hatshepsut. Queen Hatshepsut was one of the most successful pharaohs of the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom but there was sizeable opposition to a woman as ruler of Egypt, and after her death her name and image, like that of Akhenaten, the 'heretic pharaoh', were frequently defaced in an attempt to wipe her name from living memory. For additional interesting facts and information refer to the Queens and Consorts of ancient Egypt.

Definition of the 18th Dynasty and the Amarna Period
Definition: The 18th Dynasty of ancient Egypt consisted of a succession of kings from the same family who succeeded each other on the royal throne of Egypt by right of inheritance. The Kings of Egypt and pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty ruled for approximately 250 years during the Amarna Period and the time period known in ancient Egyptian history as the New Kingdom.

18th Dynasty Pharaohs
Overview with interesting facts and information about the 18th Dynasty Pharaohs and Kings of the New Kingdom period in ancient Egyptian history.

18th Dynasty Pharaohs

18th Dynasty Pharaohs

18th Dynasty Pharaohs - Pharaoh Ahmose I
Pharaoh Ahmose I (r.1549–1524 BC) completed the expulsion of the Hyksos 'foreign rulers' and founded the Eighteenth dynasty.

18th Dynasty Pharaohs - Pharaoh Amenhotep I
Pharaoh Amenhotep I (r.1524–1503 BC) was the son of Ahmose I and the second Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. He maintained dominance over Nubia and the Nile Delta.

18th Dynasty Pharaohs - Pharaoh Thutmose I
Pharaoh Thutmose I (r.1503–1493 BC) continued to mount military campaigns against Nubia who mounted rebellions against the Egyptians and extended the military presence of Egypt still further.

18th Dynasty Pharaohs - Pharaoh Thutmose II
Pharaoh Thutmose II (r.1493–1479 BC) was the husband of his half-sister Hatshepsut, a weak man who was dominated by his ambitious royal wife.

18th Dynasty Pharaohs - Queen Hatshepsut
Queen Hatshepsut (r.1479–1458 BC) was an extremely successful pharaoh, the ancient Egyptians did not have a word meaning queen. She was resented by many courtiers but as the wife of the previous pharaoh and the daughter of Thutmose I, she also had her supporters and reigned for over 20 years. Queen Hatshepsut instigated many trade agreements and was successful in filling the royal coffers. This enabled her to embark on ambitious building projects under the direction of the great Egyptian architect Ineni who was eventually replaced by a new architect, Senemut. Queen Hatshepsut was depicted wearing the false beard of the pharaohs as a symbol of royal authority.

18th Dynasty Pharaohs - Pharaoh Thutmose III
Pharaoh Thutmose III (r.1479–1424 BC) was the stepson of Hatshepsut. He was one of the greatest pharaohs and created the largest empire Egypt had ever known through his military campaigns and conquests in Syria and the gold rich Nubia. Thutmose III was buried in the Valley of the Kings as were the most of the kings from this period in Egypt.

18th Dynasty Pharaohs - Pharaoh Amenhotep II
Pharaoh Amenhotep II (r.1549–1524 BC) was the son of Thutmose III. He was a conceited man but did not have the vision and military drive of his father.

18th Dynasty Pharaohs - Pharaoh Thutmose IV
Pharaoh Thutmose IV (r.1424–1398 BC) was the son of  Amenhotep II but not his favored successor but became the 8th Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt. He was not the eldest son of  and is believed to have snatched power from his brother, the rightful heir. Thutmose IV was another prolific builder  and initiated the building of the largest obelisk ever built in Egypt (105 feet) at the the Temple at Karnak. His tomb was located in the Valley of the Kings.

18th Dynasty Pharaohs - Pharaoh Amenhotep III
Pharaoh Amenhotep III (r.1388–1350 BC) was the son of Thutmose IV, a man of vision who initiated magnificent artistic works, many dedicated to Amun-Ra the great sun god. During his reign ancient Egypt reached the height of its influential powers with foreign nations bringing trade options that resulted in great prosperity which he enjoyed with his chief wife Queen Tiy who played a highly influential role in the government of Egypt.  

18th Dynasty Pharaohs
Overview with interesting facts and information about the 18th Dynasty Pharaohs and Kings of the New Kingdom period in ancient Egyptian history.

18th Dynasty Pharaohs

18th Dynasty Pharaohs

18th Dynasty Pharaohs - Pharaoh Akhenaten
Pharaoh Akhenaten (r.1351–1334 BC) was the son of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and had received an excellent education and experienced the influence of foreign ideas and different culture at the court of his father. These new ideas and foreign influences must have had a profound effect and Akhenaten, with his wife Queen Nefertiti, initiated a completely new religion worshipping just one god and attempting to stop the worship of the other older gods. He alienated both the priests and many of the Egyptian people. He uprooted the whole city of Thebes and moved the population to a new city called Amarna, that was dedicated to the new god Aten. This  pharaoh initially ruled as Amenhotep IV, but later changed his name to Akhenaten in deference to the god he worshipped. He eventually abdicated and in a short time ancient Egypt reverted to the old religion and Amana was abandoned.

18th Dynasty Pharaohs - Pharaoh Smenkhkare
Pharaoh Smenkhkare (r.1335–1334 BC) tried to continue with the new religious beliefs, some believe that was actually Tiy or Nefertiti who took the name of Smenkhkare and the role of pharaoh until Tutankhamun was old enough to rule, others believe that Queen Tiy and Amenhotep III were his parents.

18th Dynasty Pharaohs - Pharaoh Neferneferuaten
There is also considerable mystery surrounding the next short-lived Pharaoh Neferneferuaten (r.1334–1332 BC). Little is known about Smenkhkare and Neferneferuaten as the priests and officials destroyed almost all records relating to the Armana period making every attempt to obliterate the name of Akhenaten for ever.

18th Dynasty Pharaohs - Pharaoh Tutankhamun
Pharaoh Tutankhamun (r.1332–1323 BC) took the throne under the strong influence of the priests of Amun. He and wife (also his half sister, the daughter of Nefertiti) were forced to leave Armana, the only home he had known and return to Thebes and the worship of the old gods. His birth name was Tutankhaten (“the living image of Aten”) was changed to Tutankhamun (“the living image of Amun”). The Grand Vizier who served Tutankhamun was Ay who was the father of Nefertiti and the grandfather of Ankhesenpaaten, the wife of Tutankhamun. His General of the Armies was Horemheb (who was also designated heir to the throne). King Tutankhamun died unexpectedly at the age of 18. He reigned for just 9 years and the cause of his death still remains a mystery. He was buried in his hastily prepared tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

18th Dynasty Pharaohs - Pharaoh Ay
Pharaoh Ay (r.1323–1319 BC) was the father of Nefertiti. When Tutankhamen died Ay, who was in his late 60's, married his widow, Ankhesenpaaten  against her wishes and took the opportunity to seize the throne from General Horemheb. He tried to re-establish the worship of Aten, but had a more flexible attitude towards the worship of the Amun and the other gods. Ay died after a reign of 4 years and the rightful heir Horemheb took the throne and desecrated the tomb of Ay, whom he hated.

18th Dynasty Pharaohs - Pharaoh Horemheb
Pharaoh Horemheb (r.1319–1292 BC) took the throne of Egypt and eradicated all traces of the heretic religion. Pharaoh Horemheb had the names of Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Ay and to a lesser extent, Tutankhamun, publicly condemned and removed from Ancient Egyptian records and history. His death saw the end of the 18th Dynasty and the beginning of the reign of Ramses I and the 19th Dynasty which included the pharaohs involved in the story of the Exodus and Moses.

18th Dynasty
Discover fast, interesting fun facts about 18th Dynasty for kids with some amazing, cool and quick information about ancient Egypt and Egyptians. Ideal for children, homework, schools, teachers and kids of all ages! Find fascinating fun facts about 18th Dynasty for kids and the history, culture and civilisation of the ancient Egyptians and ancient Egypt. Interesting, fun facts about 18th Dynasty for research, schools, students and kids of all ages.

18th Dynasty Chronology
The following 18th Dynasty Chronology details the names of the Kings and Pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty and the dates of the years during which they reigned.

18th Dynasty Chronology

Name - Dates of Reign

Pharaoh Ahmose I - 1549–1524 BC

Pharaoh Thutmose I - 1503–1493 BC

Queen Hatshepsut - 1479–1458 BC

Pharaoh Amenhotep II - 1424–1398 BC

Pharaoh Amenhotep III - 1388–1350 BC

Pharaoh Smenkhkare - 1335–1334 BC

Pharaoh Tutankhamun - 1332–1323 BC

Pharaoh Horemheb - 1319–1292 BC

18th Dynasty
Learning about the ancient Egyptians and 18th Dynasty inspires everyone to visit historical sites and undertake Egypt Travel and Tours to experience the wonders of this magical land at first hand. Many people choose to experience a tour of Egypt on a Nile Cruise stopping at the famous destinations and sites of Egypt such as the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx. The information and facts about 18th Dynasty will provide you with a great insight into Egypt and the legacy of the ancient Egyptians.

18th Dynasty