Manfred Renner Amenhotep III ( Amenophis III / Amāna-Ḥātpa, meaning Amun is Satisfied ) = Nebmaatre, also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. According to different authors, he ruled Egypt from June 1386 to 1349 BC, or from June 1388 BC to December 1351 BC/1350 BC, after his father Thutmose IV died. Amenhotep III was Thutmose IV's son by a minor wife, Mutemwiya. Amenhotep III appears in the tomb of his tutor Heqaerneheh ( TT64 ), and on two Konosso graffiti.Four ancient Egyptian pharaohs, thought to have suffered from a disabling form of arthritis, may have been misdiagnosed. In a paper published online today in Arthritis & Rheumatology, researchers propose that Amenhotep III ( portrayed in an ancient relief above ) and three other pharaohs had an often asymptomatic form of arthritis known as diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis ( DISH ), rather than the more debilitating ankylosing spondylitis ( AS ) originally deduced from x-rays taken of their mummies in 1980.
 |
Amenhotep III, Ancient Egypt Pharaoh.
|
The new findings are based on an examination of more detailed CT scans of the mummies of 13 Egyptian pharaohs and queens who lived between 1492 and 1153 B.C.E. In today’s study, the researchers spotted no sign of the erosion of the sacroiliac joints or fused facet joints, which are hallmarks of AS. Instead, in the mummies of Amenhotep III and three other pharaohs, they detected all the standard criteria for DISH, including a distinctive pattern of ossification along the vertebral bodies. The average age at death of these four rulers was a relatively old 63 by ancient Egyptian standards, making a DISH diagnosis especially plausible: The disease is most common among people over the age of 40 and afflicts twice as many men as women. The symptoms of AS, by contrast, generally begin in early adulthood. Amenhotep III, who died at age 50, was likely little-bothered by DISH. He had no signs of spinal deformity or involvement of the disease in his cervical spine, suggesting that he was either asymptomatic or experienced only mild back stiffness when he got up in the morning.
Amenhotep III’s Sed Festival :
Amenhotep wanted his Sed Festivals to be far more spectacular than those of the past. He served as king for 38 years celebrating three Sed Festivals during his reign. Rameses II set the record for Sed Festivals with 14 during his 67-year reign. Amenhotep III appointed Amenhotep, son of Hapu, as the official to plan the ceremony. Amenhotep-Hapu was one of the few courtiers alive to serve at last Sed Festival ( Amenhotep II ). One of the major highlights of the Festival was the king’s dual coronation. He is enthroned separately for Upper and Lower Egypt. For Upper Egypt, Amenhotep wears the white crown but changes to the red crown for the Lower Egypt coronation. After the Sed Festival, Amenhotep III transcended from being a near-god to one divine. Few Egyptian kings lived long enough for their own celebration. Those who survived used the celebration as the affirmation of transition to divinity.
Thanks a lot Manal Raafat
Amenhotep III’s Sed Festival :
Amenhotep wanted his Sed Festivals to be far more spectacular than those of the past. He served as king for 38 years celebrating three Sed Festivals during his reign. Rameses II set the record for Sed Festivals with 14 during his 67-year reign. Amenhotep III appointed Amenhotep, son of Hapu, as the official to plan the ceremony. Amenhotep-Hapu was one of the few courtiers alive to serve at last Sed Festival ( Amenhotep II ). One of the major highlights of the Festival was the king’s dual coronation. He is enthroned separately for Upper and Lower Egypt. For Upper Egypt, Amenhotep wears the white crown but changes to the red crown for the Lower Egypt coronation. After the Sed Festival, Amenhotep III transcended from being a near-god to one divine. Few Egyptian kings lived long enough for their own celebration. Those who survived used the celebration as the affirmation of transition to divinity.
Thanks a lot Manal Raafat
