Co-regency

The aim of the article is to reconsider the question of the co-regency of Thutmose III and Amenhotep II in the light of recent research casting into doubt the existence of this institution in the Middle Kingdom. The author re-examines the sources cited in favour of the co-regency, showing that the co-regency hypothesis generates more problems than it allegedly solves. Instead of searching for one simple solution  for  all  seemingly  insurmountable  problems  raised  up  by  the  available  evidence,  the  author  proposes  to  explain  each  problem  individually. As a result, it seems that questions such as the alleged double coronation date of Amenhotep II, the problem of his two ‘first victorious  campaigns’,  or  the  presence  of  the  images  of  Thutmose  III  and  Amenhotep  II  in  the  temple  of  Amada  can  be  satisfactorily  explained without any necessity to maintain that both pharaohs ever ruled together, even for a brief period of time.