I love all the characters I write in my books. The good characters and the bad characters. The goofy and the serious. The messed up and the semi-normal. What you should know is that all of my characters originate from somewhere, and are either based on parts of me or fictionalized versions of people in my head or that I meet along the way. However, in some cases, a character is fictionally based on someone who lived in the long-ago past.

So here’s a nugget I’m going to share with you: Pharaoh, in my Past Life Series, is based on Thutmose III. There, I’ve said it. The secret is finally out. I’ve long been debating whether or not to expose this little tidbit, and as time went on I realized that my ancient Egyptian storyline was becoming much more detailed, to the point that I knew some smarty pants would eventually make the connection and see the character for who he really was…and is.

So here are some really interesting nuggets about Thutmose III — Egypt’s Warrior Pharaoh — that drive his story in my Series:

• His birth name was probably Djehutymes III in Egyptian, but he is frequently referred to by his Greek name of Tuthmosis (Born of the god Thoth). He is also known as Thutmose III, Thutmosis, and his Throne name was Men-kheper-re, which means Lasting is the Manifestation of Re.
• He was co-regent with his aunt, Hatshepsut, for the first 21 years of his reign because he was too young to rule Egypt when he became Pharaoh.
• He was called the Napoleon of Egypt and considered a military genius.
• He never lost a battle and is recorded to have captured 350 cities!
• The largest battle Thutmose III ever fought was the Battle of Megiddo, which forced the Canaanite arms out of the land.
• He was an excellent administrator and statesman, and an accomplished horseman, archer, athlete, and discriminating patron of the arts.
• Thutmose III didn’t care for pompous, self-indulgent activities and seems to have been a sincere and fair-minded man.
• He had 7 wives.
• He stood at 5ft 3.58in.
• Cleopatra’s Needles were constructed during his reign. Two of those obelisks are now in New York City and London (and, unfortunately, eroding due to exposure to elements and man).
• Thutmose III constructed FIFTY temples during his time as Pharaoh.
• He reigned over Egypt for 54 years!
• His tomb was discovered in 1898 by Victor Loret in the Valley of the Kings, however, according to archaeological records, “Happily the face, which had been plastered over with pitch at the time of embalming, did not suffer at all from this rough treatment, and appeared intact when the protecting mask was removed. Its appearance does not answer to our ideal of the conqueror. His statues, though not representing him as a type of manly beauty, yet give him refined, intelligent features, but a comparison with the mummy shows that the artists have idealised their model. The forehead is abnormally low, the eyes deeply sunk, the jaw heavy, the lips thick, and the cheek-bones extremely prominent; the whole recalling the physiognomy of Thutmosis II, though with a greater show of energy.”

So Thutmose III may not have physically lived up to our ideal of what a conqueror of his caliber looked like, but his images are proof that even the ancient Egyptians told tall tales. It was their way of ensuring the people saw their Pharaoh as he was supposed to be envisioned: as the powerful son of their all-powerful and ever-present god, Amun.

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