Amenhotep II

Circa 1426-1400 b.c.e.

King, dynasty 18

Sources

Life. Amenhotep II was the son of Thutmose III (circa 1479-1425 b.c.e.) and Great Royal Wife Meryetre-Hatshepsut. He married Queen Tiye, who was the mother of the next king, Thutmose IV (circa 1400-1390 b.c.e.). He ruled for twenty-six years, during which Egypt was prosperous and mostly at peace.

Sports and the King. Egyptian kings of Dynasty 18 (circa 1539-1295/1292 b.c.e.) had always presented themselves as warriors. During Thutmose Ill’s reign, the beginnings of a tradition of sportsmanship were also presented to the public. The greatest sportsman king, however, was Amenhotep II, who stressed his athletic ability in political propaganda.

Horseman. As a child, Amenhotep II showed a natural aptitude for horsemanship. His father entrusted the royal stable in Memphis to him at a young age. Amenhotep II learned to exercise, train, and understand horses—according to information placed on a stela he erected in Giza.

Archer. Archery was important to kings in war, but Amenhotep II also established public demonstrations of his skill. In one spectacular performance, the king rode his chariot at top speed while shooting at targets spaced about thirty-five feet apart. The king pierced each of four copper targets with arrows that passed completely through them. On another occasion he shot arrows at a copper ingot so that they protruded from the other side. In another demonstration of his strength, Amenhotep shot three hundred bows consecutively, using this same occasion to teach the army the difference between a good bow and a bad bow. The same inscription claims that no one but the king was strong enough to draw his own bow.

Sailor. Finally, Amenhotep II claimed great skill in sailing. On one occasion he claimed to have outlasted two hundred men in rowing his own riverboat. His oar was also oversized, reaching thirty-four feet in length.

Exaggerations? It is impossible to evaluate the truth of Amenhotep II’s claims to have been the greatest sportsman of all time. Certainly no one would have been able to contradict him when these claims were recorded in stone. Yet, it is striking that he insisted so often on his athletic ability as proof of his legitimacy as king. Perhaps this boast was his reaction to following his father, Thutmose III, who was without question the greatest warrior king in Egyptian history up to that time. Since Amenhotep II was trained as a warrior, but there was no need for war, he demonstrated his readiness to protect Egypt through his athletic feats.

Sources

William C. Hayes, “Egypt: Internal Affairs from Tuthmosis I to the Death of Amenophis III,” The Cambridge Ancient History, second edition, volume 2, Early History of the Middle East, edited by I. E. S. Edwards, C. J. Gadd and N. G. L. Hammond (Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press, 1966), pp. 333–338.

Peter der Manuelian, Studies in the Reign of Amenophis II (Hildesheim: Gerstenberg, 1987).