Thutmose II

Hieroglyphs, the throne name of Thutmose II (Aakheperenre) on an obelisk on the last floor of the Temple of Hatshepsut, on Luxor's west bank, Egypt.

Cartouche of Thutmose IL

Cartouche of Thutmose II at Buhen

Thutmose II (sometimes read as Thutmosis, or Tuthmosis II and meaning Thoth is Born) was the fourth Pharaoh of the 18th 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 BC. Thutmose II's body 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.

Thutmose II might never have ruled Egypt but for the early death of Wadjmose and Amenmose, the eldest sons of Thutmose I, leaving him as the only heir. He became the fourth ruler of Egypt's 18th Dynasty. He was apparently the oldest son of Mutnefert, a minor royal queen of Thutmose I, who was herself the sister of Thutmose I's principal queen, Ahmose.

Dates & Length of Reign

Manetho's Epitome calls Thutmose "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. Some Egyptologists prefer to shorten his reign by a full decade to only 3 years because his highest Year Date is only a Year 1 II Akhet day 8 stela. The reign length of King 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 years reign is preferred by older scholars while newer scholars prefer a shorter 3 - 4 years 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 BC to 1479 BC, although uncertainty about how to interpret the rise also permits a date from 1513 BC to 1499 BC, and uncertanty 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.

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. 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. 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." The gateway was later dismantled and its building blocks incorporated into the foundation of the Third Pylon by Amenhotep III. In 1987, Luc Gabolde published an important study which statistically compared the number of surviving scarabs found under Thutmose I, Thutmose II and Hatshepsut. 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. 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 3 full years, respectively. Consequently, the reign length of Thutmose II has been a much debated subject among Egyptologists with little consensus given the small number of surviving documents for his reign.

Argument for a Long Reign

King Thutmose's reign is still traditionally given 13 or 14 years. 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. 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 adulthoood 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. Alan Gardiner noted that at one point, a monument had been identified by Georges Daressy in 1900 which was dated to Thutmose's 18th year, although its precise location has not been identified. This inscription is now usually attributed to Hatshepsut, who certainly did have an 18th year. von Beckerath observes that a Year 18 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. 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.

In order to strengthen his position and legitimize his rule, he was married to Hatshepsut, the oldest daughter of Thutmose I and Queen Ahmose. She was very possibly older then Thutmose II. During this period, Hatshepsut also carried the title, "God's Wife of Amun", a position she may have had even before the death of Thutmose I. Hatshepsut would have been both Thutmose II's half sister and cousin. In the light of history she became a much better known pharaoh then her husband.

We believe that Thutmose II had only one son by a harem girl named Isis (or Iset). However, Thutmose III would have to wait to rule Egypt until after Hatshepsut death. Thutmose II must have realized the ambitions of his wife, because he attempted to foster the ascent of his son to the throne by naming his son as his successor before he died. But upon Thutmose II's death, his son was still very young, so Hatshepsut took advantage of the situation by at first naming herself as regent, and then taking on the full regalia of the pharaoh. He may have also had as many as two daughters by Hatshepsut. We are fairly sure one of them was named Neferure and another possible daughter named Neferubity.

We know that Thutmose II was a physically week person, and many Egyptologists speculate that even during his rule, Hatshepsut may have been the real power behind the throne.

We believe that Thutmose II (Born of the God Thoth) which was his birth name (called by the Greeks), ruled for about fourteen years before dying in his early thirties. However, recent scholars wish to have his rule shortened to three years. He is also sometimes called Thutmose II, or Thutmosis II and his throne name was A-kheper-en-re., which means "Great is the Form of Re". The Oxford History of Egypt places his reign from 1492-1479, while the Chronicle of the Pharaohs provides dates of 1518 to 1504. Aidan Dodson's Monarchs of the Nile gives his reign as 1491-1479 BC.

We know that he sent campaigns to Palestine and Nubia, attested to by a short inscription in the temple at Deir el-Bahari and a rock-cut stele at Sehel south of Aswan. We are told that he had to crush a revolt in Nubia in his first year and that this bought about the demise of the kingdom of Kush at Kerma. Apparently, to punish the Kushites for their rebelion, he had everyone put to death with the exception of a royal son, who was bought back to Egypt as a hostage. We are told that the Palestine campaign was against the Shosu Bedouin in the region of Nahrin. However, the term Shosu may also refer to Nubians, and some Egyptologists believe that this reference really relates to the campaign in Nubia.

We also have evidence of Thutmose II's building projects. Traces of a temple built by him have been found just north of the temple of Medinet Habu on the West Bank at Luxor (ancient Thebes). This small temple, known as Shespet-ankh (Chapel of Life), was finished by his son, Thutmose III. He also had built a pylon shaped limestone gateway in front of the Fourth Pylons forecourt at Karnak which also had to be completed by Thutmose III. The material from this gate and another limestone structure were later reused in the building of Karnak's Third Pylon foundation.

However, the gate has since been rebuilt in Karnak's Open Air Museum. Scenes on the gate sometimes depict Thutmose II with Hatshepsut, and sometimes Hatshepsut alone. On one side of the gate, Thutmose II is shown receiving crowns, while other scenes depict his daughter, Nefrure and Hatshepsut receiving life from the gods. We also know of a building project in Nubia at Semna and Kumma, and surviving blocks from his buildings at Elephantine. A statue of Thutmose II was found at Elephantine that was probably commissioned by Hatshepsut.

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 elboww 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. 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."

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