Amenhotep III

Amenhotep III took the throne in June 1386 BC after his father Thutmose IV died, though his mother Mutemwiya was only a minor wife. Over the next 38 or 39 years he presided over a reign of exceptional prosperity and grandeur, pushing Egypt's artistic and international influence to heights it had never reached before or since. Few pharaohs were ever deified while still breathing; he was one of them. When he died around 1349 BC, his son Amenhotep IV succeeded him and promptly changed his name to Akhenaten, setting a very different course.