Horemheb was one of the military and political advisors to Tutankhamun, and after Ay reigned for a short time, he took the throne. He is considered to be the last king of the 18th Dynasty, although contemporary sources show that the 19th Dynasty considered him their founder.

In later king lists, which ignored the entire period of Aten-worship begun by Akhenaton, Horemheb is listed as the direct successor to Amenthotep III and the years associated withAkhenaton, Tutankhamun, and Ay were rolled into his reign.

The main goal of his reign was to restore order after the fall of the Amarna period, and he is the pharaoh credited with returning power and organization to the government and the cult of Amun. When he was successful in restoring the pharaoh's role, he turned to the administration of the government and returned temple property and lands to the nobles.

As part of his plan to restore order and power to Egypt, Horemheb chastised his nobles for cheating the poor and misappropriating salves and property, promising the death penalty for those actions. He secured foreign relations by marrying his daughter to Solomon of the Israelis. But Horemheb was a successful military leader, and under Tutankhamun had led several campaigns into Nubia and Syria.

He built some monuments of his own, but usurped many of the monuments of Tutankhamun and his predecessors, including claiming credit for the rebuilding of the Amun cult and priesthood after the Amarna Period and Akhenaton's rule. Horemheb does appear to be the pharaoh who began the systematic dismantling of Akhenaton's temples and the Aten temples of Amarna. The names of the heretics -- including Akhenaton, Nefertiti, and Tutankhamun -- were not specifically targeted until the 19th Dynasty, most notably by Ramesses II.

Horemheb constructed the second, ninth, and tenth pylons at the Temple of Karnak using stones taken from the palaces in Amarna. He took over scenes carved for Tutankhamun at Luxor temple and scenes carved for Ay at Medinet Habu.

He had no children when he died -- or none that survived him -- and so near the end of his reign he appointed his military commander, Paramessu, as "Deputy of His Majesty in Upper and Lower Egypt", setting him up as the designated heir to the throne. When Horemheb died, Paramessu changed his name to the more royal Ramesses I.

A tomb was built for him in Saqqara during the time he served Tutankhamun. However, after his coronation as pharaoh, work was begun on another, royal tomb for him in the Valley of the Kings.

pharaohs

Ahmose
Amenhotep I
Thutmose I
Thutmose II
Hatshepsut
Thutmose III
Amenhotep II
Thutmose IV
Amenhotep III
Amenhotep IV
Smenkhkare
Tutankhamun
Ay
Horemheb

Dynasty 1

Temple of Amun, Karnak
Temple of Luxor
Tomb KV 57, Valley of the Kings
Tomb of Draa Abul Naga Roy