The pharaoh was at the pinnacle of ancient Egyptian society, having powers of a king and demi god. The old, middle and new kingdoms all had pharaohs who made major contributions towards expanding Egypt's hegemony, improving prosperity and commissioning architectural marvels. Some of the most famous pharaohs are from the New Kingdom, when Egypt was at the height of her glory.

Amenhotep I started Egypt on a period of prosperity that lasted for 150 years. Thutmose I expanded the territory even further to include Palestine and Syria. After his death, Thutmose II ruled for a short while before his death. his half sister and queen, Hatshepsut, took over as regent on behalf of his son Thutmose III by another queen. Initially, Hatshepsut ruled in Thutmose III's name, but soon gave up the pretence and crowned herself pharaoh. Hatshepsut was the first to wear the double crown, indicating sovereignty over upper and lower egypt. Her attire is shown as masculine in most statues, and she had herself buried with the other pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings. Her amazing ability to keep Thutmose III away from the throne so long is still a mystery. Finally when Thutmose III took over the throne, he defaced her name from various monuments including her funerary temple, the Deir al Bahri. Thutmose III was responsible for a period of great growth in Egypt, and established a machinery so well that it ran for a full century after him.

In contrast, his son, Amenhotep IV was a religious fanatic, physically weak, with a long thin face and misshapen body. He openly challenged the priesthood which had become very powerful by then. He introduced a new god called Aton who he considered was the one supreme and universal god. He was very much in advance of his time in his philosophy, which attributed benign qualities to his god, compared to the prevailing belief in god as a triumphant conqueror who crushed all people that came in his path. His search for truth and naturalness influenced art and architecture of that period which seems markedly different from the style prevailing in those times. He changed his name from Amenhotep (meaning Amon is content), to Akhenaton (serviceable to Aton), changed the capital from Thebes to Tel al Amarna near Cairo, and called his son Tut-ankh-aton. Tutankhaton was the boy king, more famous in death than in his brief period of rule, when he succumbed to the all powerful priests, returned to Thebes, and agreed to call himself Tutankhamon. His rule was not long however, and the army took over to restore some order in Egypt, and shared power with the civil service and the clergy.

Another great pharaoh, Rameses II, ruled Egypt for 63 years. He signed what is possibly the earliest recorded treaty with the Hittites who ruled Syria. He is however more famous for the megalomanic scale of his construction, including Abu Simbel, the great hypostyle hall at Karnak, Ramesseum at Luxor, and several structures at Memphis among others. From his period until the conquest by Alexander the Great, Egypt went into a steady decline.

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May 01 2003