he was estimated to have died at 44 years of age,

72 meaning that a 55-year lifespan exceeds the projections of the X-ray evidence, and thus is “an impossibly high result according to the medical evidence.”73 Yet Robins is convinced that when identifying a pharaoh’s age at death, there is good reason to cast doubt on X-ray evidence as a whole.74 Support for this criticism is found in the discrepancy over Thutmose III’s lifespan.75 While he lived at least until age 55, his mummy reportedly displays skeletal features of a man of 40–45 years old, meaning that the X-ray evidence makes him appear no less than 10–15 years younger than his actual age at death.76 Thus the 10-year discrepancy with Amenhotep II’s mummy is not problematic, and a reign of 37 1/3 years remains a fully realistic option.VI. THE SECOND ASIATIC CAMPAIGN AS THE RESULT OF THE EXODUS1. The Great Reduction in Campaigning and Expansionism.The renowned conqueror Thutmose III led 17 military campaigns into the Levant, but his son—in stark contrast—led only two or three. While many scholars have attempted to determine the exact number, there exists a virtual dearth of discussion about this sharp decline. Aharoni attributes it to an underlying diminishment of Egyptian power: “Already in the days of Amenhotep II, the son of Thutmose III, cracks began to appear in the structure of the Egyptian Empire.”77 Vandersleyen hints at the dissipation of Egypt’s might by the end of Amenhotep II’s reign: “It seems possible to consider this reign as unsuccessful, a time of decline: a few exploits abroad, a few preserved memorials, an almost complete absence of sources after the ninth year of the reign.”78 Yet the intervening years featured neither Egypt’s engagement/loss in war nor a significant change in the political climate. Der Manuelian writes, “Despite Thutmose III’s military success, Mitanni remained Egypt’s primary adversary in Dynasty 18, and there is no reason to doubt her continued aggressive policy in the reign of the young king Amenhotep II.”79While this may be true, Amenhotep II’s Year-9 campaign was the last to pit Egypt against Mitanni. During the reign of Thutmose IV, Mitanni—under threat from the Hittite King Tudhaliyas II—attempted to forge an alliance with its Egyptian arch-enemy, demonstrating a complete reversal in relations between these formerly incompatible superpowers. EA (Amarna Letter) 109 reveals that by the mid-14th century BC, Egypt held only nominal control of Palestine, as they no longer struck fear into the Canaanite rulers.80 One author notes that “this relative military inertness lasted until Horemheb’s coming to power” in ca. 1335 BC.81 How does one explain this great disparity in Egypt’s campaigning, the uncharacteristic change in political policy toward their bitter enemy to the north, and Egypt’s general loss of power and imperialistic dominance?2. The Motivation for the Recording of Amenhotep II’s Asiatic Campaigns.The relative shortage of military activity during Amenhotep II’s reign cannot be attributed to timidity. He recorded his few military excursions into Asia in The Annals of Amenhotep II, which contain not a complete, daily record of each stop on the various routes, but only a selection of the events that accentuate his courage and present him in a positive light.82 Pritchard adds that “Amenhotep II gloried in his reputation for personal strength and prowess. His records, therefore, contrast with those of his predecessor and father, Thutmose III, in emphasizing individual achievement.”83 Thus Amenhotep II’s exploits were motivated by a thirst to attain universal fame and glory.3. The Number of Amenhotep II’s Asiatic Campaigns.Prior to the discovery of the Memphis Stele, most scholars assumed that both Amenhotep II’s Asiatic campaign, as recounted on the fragmentary Karnak Stele, and the operations against Takhsi, mentioned in the Amada and Elephantine Stelae, describe one event. With the Memphis Stele’s discovery, it is still possible that the Karnak, Amada, and Elephantine Stelae refer to a common campaign, but the notion of only one campaign was proven false, since the Memphis Stele clearly delineates two distinct, separately numbered campaigns.84 However, its text presents a dilemma: “The translator finds it impossible to reconcile the dates in these several stelae.”85 The available evidence allows for two views: (1) Amenhotep II conducted three Asiatic campaigns; (2) Amenhotep II conducted two Asiatic campaigns. Relevant inscriptional evidence from antiquity solves this dispute, which is critical to this pharaoh’s biography.a. The Evidence from the Memphis Stele.Two sources record multiple Asiatic campaigns under Amenhotep II: the Memphis and Karnak Stelae, which are partially duplicates in content. Both stelae are attributable to this pharaoh with confidence, as they begin with his complete titulary. The Memphis Stele, later reused by a 21st-Dynasty prince as part of the ceiling of his burial chamber (ca. 875 BC), offers the more extensive text. It presents both an earlier campaign in central and northern Syria, and a later one in Palestine, dating “his first victorious campaign” to Year 7, Month 1, Season 3, Day 25 (ca. 15 May) and “his second victorious campaign” to Year 9, Month 3, Season 1, Day 25 (ca. 15 November).86b. The Evidence from the Karnak Stele.Another source that attests to the Asiatic campaigns, lying to the south of the Eighth Pylon at Karnak, is the Karnak Stele, which survives in a more damaged state than the Memphis Stele. The Karnak Stele consists of a two-part relief, with each displaying a pharaoh who is presenting an offering to Amun-Re. Between the two parts is a vertical line of text that records Seti I’s restoration of the monument.87 Whether this stele originally bore the same dates as those on the Memphis Stele is unknown, but that it recounts the same two campaigns described on the Memphis Stele is now clear. Hoffmeier even refers to them as “two nearly identical stelae,” though the Karnak Stele devotes much less space to the second campaign than does the Memphis Stele.88 Both stelae were hacked-up during the Amarna Revolution and restored during the 19th Dynasty, with the Karnak Stele betraying poorer restoration.89 Its postscript names Thutmose as the erector, assumed to be Thutmose IV, who evidently erected the stele after his accession.90c. The Evidence from the Amada and Elephantine Stelae.The Amada and Elephantine Stelae also offer evidence regarding the number of campaigns, as both speak of a “first victorious campaign” of Amenhotep II, during which seven Syrian chiefs were captured in the region of Takhsi. Both texts state that they were erected “after his majesty returned from Upper Retenu, having felled all those who had rebelled against him while he was extending the borders of Egypt.91 His majesty came joyously to his father Amun, having slain with his own bludgeon the seven chiefs who were in the district of Takhsi.”92 Both stelae commence with this date: Year 3, Month 3, Season 3, Day 15 (ca. 4 July), which coincides with a celebration after the Egyptians returned from the first campaign.93 This date demonstrates that the “first victorious campaign” transpired no later than Year 3 of Amenhotep II. How can this date be resolved with the Year-7 date on the Memphis Stele, when both describe his first campaign? These ancient sources allow for two theories on how many campaigns were launched. d. The Theory of Three Asiatic Campaigns Launched by Amenhotep II. Many scholars believe that Amenhotep II campaigned into Asia three times, with two options offered to resolve the conflicting information on the stelae. (1) The numbering of campaigns is particular to individual stelae. Drioton and Vandier suggest that Amenhotep II undertook Asiatic campaigns in Years 3, 7, and 9, and that the “first victorious campaign” on the Memphis Stele is the first of two campaigns described on that particular stele.94 Thus the scribe merely used