HOREMHEB

flourished 13th century BC also spelled Harmhab, or Haremhab, also called Djeserkhepere last king of the 18th dynasty of Egypt (reigned 13191292 BC); he restored the traditional Amon religion that a previous ruler, Akhenaton, had replaced with the worship of the god Aton. Having been general commander of the army in northern Egypt before he took the throne, Horemheb appointed soldiers to major offices and made Memphis his capital. He destroyed all symbols of the Aton religion, built and restored buildings in honour of Amon, and removed the names of heretic kings from the list of pharaohs. As a gift to Amon, Horemheb began work on the great hypostyle hall at Karnak, the largest room ever constructed in Egypt. He restored Egypt's prosperity and its authority in foreign lands by resuming the trading expeditions that had almost ceased during the religious heresy. Ramses I, whom Horemheb had chosen as his vizier, became his successor and founded the 19th dynasty. A large tomb built by Horemheb before he took the throne was discovered in 1975 at Saqqarah, near Memphis. It remained unused, however, as Horemheb was buried in a royal tomb in the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings.