Top 10 Facts - New Kingdom

 

1. The New Kingdom lasted from 1550 BCE - 1069 BCE

2. The New Kingdom saw the rise of the 18th dynasty and the turbulent reigns of Akhenaten and Nefertiti,  the boy king Tutankhamen and the reign of Queen Hatshepsut.

3. The New Kingdom stories connected to the bible story of Moses.

4. During the period of the New Kingdom the Pyramid Texts and the Coffin Texts evolved into the Book of the Dead. Every Egyptian aspired to own his own personalized version of the Book of the Dead.

5. There was a surge in funerals and immortality religious beliefs of ancient Egyptians and a need for protective amulets and talismans.

6. The Pharaoh Akhenaten (the father of Tutankhamen) established a new religious order worshipping the sun god Aten.

7. Pyramids were abandoned in favor of rock tombs and rulers of the 18th dynasty were buried in the Valley of the Kings which were a target for the tomb raiders.

8. It was a religious revolution during which Akhenaten attempted to ban the worship of any of the old gods. He built a new city called Amarna and demanded that people moved there. The temples of the old gods were closed.

9. The New Kingdom was a period of new ideas but ultimately led back to the culture of 'old' Egypt but it was still the age of experimentation and invention.

10. The Egyptian Priests of the New Kingdom acquired lots and lots of power, new religious cult centers emerged bringing great wealth to many cities.