Religion, art, architecture, economy and everyday life in New Kingdom Egypt, including the priesthood of Amun, the temple system, mortuary practices, and the social structure

What this dot point is asking

NESA wants you to describe the religious, artistic, economic, and social aspects of New Kingdom Egyptian society, focusing on the period to the death of Thutmose IV.

Religion

Amun and the priesthood

Amun was originally a local Theban god. With the rise of the Eighteenth Dynasty (whose origins were in Thebes), Amun was promoted to chief deity. The fusion with the sun god Ra produced Amun-Ra, the supreme deity.

Karnak Temple. Amun's main sanctuary. The largest temple complex in Egypt. Continuously expanded by Eighteenth Dynasty pharaohs (Thutmose I's pylons, Hatshepsut's obelisks, Thutmose III's Festival Hall, Amenhotep III's later additions).

Luxor Temple. Smaller than Karnak. Connected by an avenue of sphinxes. Site of the Opet Festival.

Priesthood. Hierarchical: high priest of Amun (often a royal appointee, sometimes the pharaoh's son or close relative), priests of various ranks, lay priests serving rotationally.

Wealth. Temple of Amun owned vast estates. Annual revenue from agriculture, mining, and royal grants. The wealth of the Amun priesthood would become politically problematic by the later New Kingdom.

Other gods

Osiris. God of the afterlife. Central to mortuary religion.

Isis. Wife of Osiris. Goddess of motherhood, magic, healing.

Horus. Son of Osiris and Isis. The pharaoh as Horus-incarnate.

Thoth. God of wisdom, writing, the moon.

Hathor. Goddess of love, joy, music.

Anubis. Embalming god.

The pharaoh as divine

The pharaoh was god-king. Religious authority and political authority were inseparable. The pharaoh performed key rituals at major temples (or delegated to high priests).

Heb-sed festival (jubilee). Every 30 years (theoretically); renewed the pharaoh's authority. Major royal investiture ritual.

Opet Festival at Thebes. Annual procession of Amun's image from Karnak to Luxor and back. Renewed the divine connection between the pharaoh and Amun.

Mortuary religion

Belief in afterlife. The deceased's spirit (ka and ba) continued existence. The body must be preserved (mummification). The tomb must be provisioned with goods and magical texts.

Book of the Dead. Funerary text containing spells to navigate the afterlife.

Valley of the Kings. Tombs of New Kingdom pharaohs from Thutmose I. Approximately 65 tombs catalogued (KV1 to KV65, with some lower numbers reused or revised). Rock-cut, hidden, separate from mortuary temple.

Mortuary temples. Built separately from the tomb. Hatshepsut's Deir el-Bahari is the masterpiece. The temple maintained the cult of the deceased pharaoh.

Art and architecture

Monumental architecture. Temples (Karnak, Luxor, Deir el-Bahari), tombs (Valley of the Kings), and palaces. Use of cut stone (limestone, sandstone, granite). Pillared halls (hypostyle), obelisks, pylons, sphinx avenues.

Painting. Tomb walls with painted scenes of daily life, religious texts, the deceased's journey. Conventions of figure proportion remained relatively stable.

Sculpture. Royal statuary (pharaonic figures with regalia). Smaller funerary statues. Hatshepsut's representations show her in male pharaonic regalia.

Economy

Agriculture. Foundation of the economy. Cereals (wheat, barley), flax, vegetables, fruits. Cattle herding.

Crafts. Pottery, textiles, jewellery, metalwork (copper, bronze; some gold), faience.

Trade. Hatshepsut's Punt expedition (incense, exotic goods). Trade with Nubia (gold, ivory, slaves), Syria-Palestine (timber, copper), the Aegean.

Mining. Sinai (turquoise, copper), Eastern Desert (gold), Nubia (gold).

Taxation. Substantial state taxation supported the army, building program, and priesthood.

Society

Royal family. Pharaoh, Great Royal Wife, other wives, sons and daughters.

Court. Vizier, generals, priests, royal stewards.

Priesthood. Hierarchical. Major temples employed thousands.

Scribal administration. Literate bureaucrats. Trained in scribal schools. Critical to running the empire.

Military. Professional core plus seasonal levies. Avenue for social mobility.

Free citizens. Farmers, craftsmen, merchants. The majority of Egyptians.

Slaves. Prisoners of war and chattel slaves. Used in agriculture, mining, and household service.

Women. Could own property, conduct business, and serve as priestesses. Hatshepsut and the divine wives of Amun show the heights women could reach.

Everyday life

Food. Bread (staple), beer (daily drink for most adults), fish, vegetables, fruits. Meat (rare for most).

Housing. Mud-brick houses. Elaborate for the wealthy; modest for ordinary Egyptians.

Clothing. Linen (for hot climate). Simple kilts and dresses. Wigs and elaborate jewellery for the wealthy.

Family. Monogamous marriage was the norm for ordinary Egyptians; royalty practised polygamy.

In one sentence

New Kingdom Egyptian society was structured around the divine pharaoh (Horus-incarnate, son of Ra), the priesthood of Amun-Ra centred on Karnak and Luxor temples, the mortuary religion focused on the Valley of the Kings and separate mortuary temples (Hatshepsut's Deir el-Bahari), and the broader social hierarchy from royal family through court, priesthood, scribal administration, military, free citizens, and slaves; the temple economy, monumental art and architecture, and the empire's foreign trade all expressed the wealth and ambition of the Eighteenth Dynasty.