Thutmose () was the eldest son of

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

Amenhotep III Amenhotep III ( , ; "Amun is satisfied"), also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or Amenhotep the Great and Hellenization, Hellenized as Amenophis III, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty. According to d ...

and Queen Tiye, who lived during the

Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt The Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XVIII, alternatively 18th Dynasty or Dynasty 18) is classified as the first dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. The Eighteenth Dynasty ...

Early life

Thutmose died young and his death had an on-going impact. Although he was heir to the throne of his father Amenhotep III, his early death led to the reign of

Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Akhenaton or Echnaton ( ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning 'Effective for the Aten'), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eig ...

, his younger brother—as the successor to the Egyptian throne—and the intrigues of the century leading up to

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Pharaoh, Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of th ...

, the start and ultimately the failure of

Atenism Atenism, also known as the Aten religion, the Amarna religion, and the Amarna heresy, was a religion in ancient Egypt. It was founded by Akhenaten, a pharaoh who ruled the New Kingdom under the Eighteenth Dynasty. The religion is described as ...

, the Amarna letters, and the changing roles of the kingdom's powers.

Career

Prince Thutmose served as a high priest of

Ptah Ptah ( ; , ; ; ; ) is an ancient Egyptian deity, a creator god, and a patron deity of craftsmen and architects. In the triad of Memphis, he is the husband of Sekhmet and the father of Nefertem. He was also regarded as the father of the ...

in ancient Memphis. His full royal titles were "''Crown Prince'', ''Overseer of the Priests of Upper and Lower Egypt'', ''High Priest of Ptah in Memphis'' and ''Sm-priest'' (of Ptah)." He is known from a relatively small number of objects. A small schist statuette in the

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

shows the prince as a

miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...

and another small schist statue in Berlin depicts him as a mummy lying on a bier.Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson (2004), p.157 The miller statuette is inscribed on three sides with this text: : ''(right)''...the king's son the sem-priest Djhutmose''; (left) ''I am the servant of this noble god, his miller; ''(front)'' Incense for the Ennead of the western necropolis. Prince Thutmose is best remembered for the

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

of his

cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

, ''Ta-miu'' (she-cat), now in the

Cairo Museum The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum (, Egyptian Arabic: ) (also called the Cairo Museum), located in Cairo, Egypt, houses the largest collection of Egyptian antiquities in the world. It houses over 120, ...

.Arielle Kozloff & Betsy Bryan, "Royal and Divine Statuary," Egypt’s Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III and his World, (Cleveland, 1992), p.425, fig.XIV.1 The cat sarcophagus of Prince Thutmose conclusively establishes that he was indeed the eldest son of Amenhotep III, since it provides his then current title of 'Crown Prince.' Thutmose is also attested by a total of seven pairs of calcite and pottery vases in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

in Paris.

Death

Prince Thutmose disappears from the public records and appears to have died some time during the third decade of Amenhotep III's kingship, fairly late. In his place, his younger brother Amenhotep IV, later known as Akhenaten, succeeded to the throne.

References

14th-century BC Egyptian people 14th-century BC clergy Memphis high priests of Ptah Princes of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt Children of Amenhotep III Ancient Egyptian heirs apparent who never acceded {{AncientEgypt-bio-stub