<\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div> One gets the measure of these pompous martinets from a letter sent by Sennefer, another high official under Amenhotep II, to a farmer, demanding that food and flowers be made ready for his visit. \u201cDo not let me find fault with you concerning your post,\u201d he ranted. \u201cDo not have it lacking in good order\u2026 You shall not slack, for I know that you are sluggish and fond of eating lying down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Theft was endemic, a consequence of the staggering inequality pervasive in Egypt at the time. Of course, there\u2019s no point in judging a Bronze Age nation by the standards of today, but in Egypt the gap steadily widened as the elite abused its power. Egyptian kings and high officials happily took from other nations and even from each other. Kings purloined or demolished their predecessors\u2019 monuments, absorbed their achievements, and sometimes even helped themselves to grave goods.<\/p>\n
Egypt\u2019s downtrodden underclass were also fully aware of the spoils waiting for those courageous enough to raid graves, often helped or even commissioned by corrupt officials. Tomb-robbing really took off in the centuries following the 18th Dynasty, but two break-ins at Tutankhamun\u2019s tomb soon after his burial in c1327 BC show that gangs were already at work then. All were prepared to risk the brutal punishments meted out to criminals, including mutilation and impalement.<\/p>\n
Heights of extravagance<\/h3>\n
Many of the kings of the 18th Dynasty were young adults or even infants when they succeeded to the throne. So it was with Amenhotep III (ruled c1390\u20131352 BC), great-grandson of Thutmose III, who was still a child when he became king. Yet so embedded was the system and the divine myth with which the royal line had surrounded itself that such young kings ruled unchallenged. The otiose Amenhotep III and his fiercely dominant wife, Tiye, presided over a culture of solar worship, with the king as the supreme mortal. His reign reached new heights of extravagance.<\/p>\n
Most foreign nations handed over tribute rather than risk conflict. Surviving diplomatic correspondence shows that Amenhotep III\u2019s\u00a0neighbours constantly sought his friendship and benevolence. They took infantile pleasure in receiving evidence of his approval and good intent in the form of letters and gifts. And they grew petulant and worried if these seemed in any way to devalue their conceits about their standing in his eyes.<\/p>\n
- On the podcast | Egyptologist Aidan Dodson explores the life, death and afterlife of ancient Egypt\u2019s sun queen:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>