The Administration of Amenhotep III
In order to control his empire, a Pharaoh would have to surround himself with a band of officials. These officials were put into various roles, the importance of which varied; however, no matter what position they were put
in, these people had power far beyond that of the common Egyptian man. These officials would be in charge of a myriad of responsibilities, whether in the area of looking after the royal family, being in charge of the Pharaoh’s treasury or being responsible for the trade and interaction with foreign states, all were of importance in the administration of Egypt. With expansive wealth and land of the Egyptian Empire at the accession of Amenhotep III, the new Pharaoh had to have an army of officials to see to the growing kingdom.v These administrators followed him when he moved his residence from Memphis to Thebes; this was so that the Pharaoh was surrounded by his chosen, loyal, dedicated and competent officials. These chosen officials were of extreme importance throughout the reign of Amenhotep III, as they contributed to the immense building programs, the day- to- day issues that arose in Egypt, the trade and the duty of upholding the peace with the neighbouring nations. The major officials in his reign were given their titles through family inheritance, as was the tradition of the time, however, many of the lesser positions were given to people now of humble background, something that was completely new. The reason behind this change in the structure of administration was due to the influence of the Priesthood of Amun. The Pharaoh wished to control this influence, as observation of corruption and the need for total control in all aspects of the kingdom was vital. |
Amenhotep,Son of Hapu, was the Scribe of recruits and overseer of all works of the king during the reign of Amenhotep III and made a huge contribution to his reign. As his title states, Amenhotep, Son of Hapu- also known as Huy- was in charge of recruiting the hundreds to thousands of builders employed to design and construct the extensive building program of the Pharaoh. Huy was also in control of overseeing the development of all the King’s projects, in this position Huy would have had to have been brilliant at logistics, and in one building project (the erection of a massive statue of the King, as big as any pylon) would have had the army under his control in order to undertake it.
In both positions, Huy, was of great importance and was honoured for his contributions by the Pharaoh himself, who built Huy with a statue in the Temple of Amun at Karnak, a great honour and a mortuary temple in western Thebes which was of as much magnificence as the Pharaohs’ that surrounded it. One command that came from the King states the importance of his mortuary temple/cult-“Hear the command which is given to furnish the Ka-chapel of the hereditary prince, the royal scribe, Amenhotep, called Huy, Son of Hapu, whose excellence is extolled, in order to perpetuate his Ka-chapel with slaves, male and female, forever; son to son, heir to heir, in order that none trespass upon it forever.”(Quoted by Pamela Bradley, Ancient Egypt: Reconstructing the Past, 1999) |