THE EARLY 18TH DYNASTY IN THE NORTHERN LEVANT: NEW FINDS AND A REASSESSMENT OF THE SOURCES

The relations between Egypt and the Levant during the New Kingdom, starting with Thutmose III of the second half of the 18th Dynasty until the demise of the Egyptian empire during the 20th Dynasty, are well attested in historical and archaeological sources. However, of the extent and nature of the contacts between Egypt and the Levant during the period of the early 18th Dynasty, only very little is known. This transitional period immediately following the Second Intermediate Period in terms of Near Eastern Bronze Age chronology also referred to as the Late Bronze Age I saw the political unification of the Egyptian state under Pharaoh Ahmose, the first king of the 18th Dynasty and also laid the pragmatic foundations of an aggressive Egyptian imperial strategy in the Levant for the succeeding "mature" 18th Dynasty, with Thutmose III campaigning almost every year, and establishing a dense network of Egyptian strongholds and administrative centers that still existed during the Amarna period. The article discusses the evidence and nature of contacts between Egypt and the Levant during the end of the Second Intermediate Period and the reign of Thutmose III.