Enciclopedia Cattolica

THUTMOSE III E IV

Thutmose III and IV

Volume XII · p. 63 · 1954

English translation · Testo originale italiano

**THUTMOSE III e IV.** - Faraoni della XVIII dinastia, di cui si fa talora il nome per identificare con uno di essi il faraone dell'oppressione o dell'esodo d'Israele (Ex. 1-12).
**THUTMOSE III e IV.** - Faraoni della XVIII dinastia, di cui si fa talora il nome per identificare con uno di essi il faraone dell'oppressione o dell'esodo d'Israele (Ex. 1-12).

Machine translation of the 1948–1954 Italian original. The original text is authoritative.

**THUTMOSE III and IV** – Pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty, sometimes named as the pharaoh of the oppression or the Exodus of Israel (Ex. 1-12).

T. III (1496-1442 B.C.) was one of the most glorious pharaohs, especially for his conquests, even in Palestine and beyond as far as the Euphrates. Freed from the heavy tutelage of his aunt Hatshepsut, in 1475 he resumed the march of the Egyptian armies into the East and occupied Palestine as far as Lebanon. In another 19 consecutive campaigns he consolidated his power throughout the East. He also extended his borders toward Nubia, reaching as far as the 4th cataract. His annals, inscribed on a wall of the Karnak enclosure at Thebes, are famous.

T. IV (1416-1408), son of Amenophis II and grandson of the previous, secured with numerous wars the conquests of the latter, including Palestine, but died at only 25 years of age. He later ordered, following a dream, the liberation of the Sphinx from the invasion of the sands. His identification with the pharaoh of the Exodus is even less probable than that of T. III.

Article illustration
(from H. E. Menn, *Temples and Portraits of the Pharaohs of the Middle Ages*, London [III, pl. 21])

Tiara – Bust of a Pope (Clement IV or Innocent VI) wearing a tiara with a single crown. Roman sculpture from the end of the 13th century – Rome, Museo di Palazzo Venezia.

BIBL.: P. E. Newberry, *The life of Rek-mara*, London 1900; Fl. Petrie, *Egypt and Israel*, ibid. 1911; G. Jéquier, *Hist. de la civilisation égyptienne*, Paris 1925, pp. 233 ff.; J. H. Breasted, *Ancient Records of Egypt*, II, Chicago 1927, pp. 53 ff.; P. Gilbert, *Esquisse d'une histoire de l'Égypte ancienne*, Brussels 1949, pp. 60 ff.