Thutmose II
| Thutmose II | |
|---|---|
| Thutmosis II, Chebron, Chebros | |
Relief of Thutmose II in Karnak Temple complex.
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| Pharaoh | |
| Reign | disputed, 1493–1479 BC, 1513–1499 BC (18th Dynasty) |
| Predecessor | Thutmose I |
| Successor | Hatshepsut |
| Consort | Hatshepsut, Iset |
| Children | Thutmose III, Neferure |
| Father | Thutmose I |
| Mother | Mutnofret |
| Born | C.1510 BC |
| Died | 1479 BC |
| Burial | KV42 (now considered unlikely) Royal Cache of mummies at Deir el-Bahari (Theban Necropolis) |
Thutmose II (sometimes read as Thutmosis, Thothmes or Tuthmosis II and meaning Born of Thoth, probably pronounced during his lifetime as Djhutymose) 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 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 was the son of Thutmose I and a minor wife, Mutnofret. He was, therefore, 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 that 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. 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.
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