New Kingdom of Egypt (Of Kings and Gods)

Eighteenth Dynasty
The Eighteenth Dynasty contained some of Egypt's most famous s, including, , , , and. Hatshepsut concentrated on expanding Egypt's by sending a commercial expedition to the.

Thutmose III ("the of Egypt") expanded Egypt's army and wielded it with great success to consolidate the  created by his predecessors. This resulted in a peak in Egypt's power and wealth during the reign of Amenhotep III. During the reign of (ca. 1479–1425 BC),, originally referring to the king's palace, became a form of address for the person who was king.

One of the best-known 18th Dynasty Pharaohs is Amenhotep IV, who changed his name to in honor of the  and whose exclusive worship of the Aten is often interpreted as history's first instance of. Akhenaten's religious fervor is cited as the reason why he was subsequently written out of Egyptian history. Under his reign, in the 14th century BC, flourished and attained an unprecedented level of realism. (See .)

Towards the end of the 18th Dynasty, the situation had changed radically. Aided by Akhenaten's apparent lack of interest in international affairs, the had gradually extended their influence into  and  to become a major power in international politics—a power that both  and his son  would need to deal with during the 19th dynasty.

Nineteenth Dynasty
("the Great") sought to recover territories in the Levant that had been held by the 18th Dynasty. His campaigns of reconquest culminated in the, where he led Egyptian armies against those of the. Ramesses was caught in history's first recorded military ambush, although he was able to rally his troops and turn the tide of battle against the Hittites thanks to the arrival of the Ne'arin. The outcome of the battle was undecided with both sides claiming victory at their home front, ultimately resulting in a peace treaty between the two nations.

Ramesses II was also famed for the huge number of children he sired by his various wives and s; the he built for his sons, many of whom he outlived, in the  has proven to be the largest funerary complex in Egypt.

His immediate successors continued the military campaigns, although an increasingly troubled- which at one point put a usurper  on the throne- made it increasingly difficult for a pharaoh to effectively retain control without incident.