28 Facts About Ahmose I

Ahmose I was a member of the Theban royal house, the son of pharaoh Seqenenre Tao and nephew of the last pharaoh of the Seventeenth dynasty, Kamose.

Ahmose I then reorganized the administration of the country, reopened quarries, mines and trade routes and began massive construction projects of a type that had not been undertaken since the time of the Middle Kingdom.

Ahmose I's reign laid the foundations for the New Kingdom, under which Egyptian power reached its peak.

Ahmose I's reign is usually dated to the mid-16th century BC.

Ahmose I followed in the tradition of his father and married several of his sisters, making Ahmose-Nefertari his chief wife.

Ahmose I was succeeded instead by his eldest surviving son, Amenhotep I, with whom he might have shared a short coregency.

Kamose evidently had a short reign, as his highest attested regnal year is year 3, and was succeeded by Ahmose I Apepi died around a decade later.

Ahmose I ascended the throne when he was still a child, so his mother, Ahhotep, reigned as regent until he was of age.

Ahmose I began the conquest of Lower Egypt held by the Hyksos starting around the 11th year of Khamudi's reign, but the sequence of events is not universally agreed upon.

Ahmose I completed his victory over the Hyksos by conquering their stronghold Sharuhen near Gaza after a three-year siege.

Ahmose I would have conquered Avaris by the 18th or 19th year of his reign at the very latest.

Ahmose I did reach at least as far as Kedem, according to an ostracon in the tomb of his wife, Ahmose I-Nefertari.

Ahmose I restored Egyptian rule over Nubia, which was controlled from a new administrative center established at Buhen.

When re-establishing the national government, Ahmose I appears to have rewarded various local princes who supported his cause and that of his dynastic predecessors.

Ahmose I reportedly devoted a tenth of all the productive output towards the service of the traditional gods, reviving massive monumental constructions as well as the arts.

Work from Ahmose I's reign is made of much finer material than anything from the Second Intermediate Period, though the craftsmanship from his reign does not always match the best work from either the Old or Middle Kingdoms.

Ahmose I reopened the Tura limestone quarries to provide stone for monuments and used Asiatic cattle from Phoenicia to haul the stone, according to his quarry inscription.

The art during Ahmose I's reign was similar to the Middle Kingdom royal Theban style, and stelae from this period were once more of the same quality.

Ahmose I resumed large construction projects like those before the Second Intermediate Period.

Ahmose I built a cenotaph for his grandmother, Queen Tetisheri, at Abydos.

Excavations at the site of Avaris by Manfred Bietak have shown that Ahmose I had a palace constructed on the site of the former Hyksos capital city's fortifications.

Several stelae detailing the work done by Ahmose I were found at Karnak, two of which depict him as a benefactor to the temple.

Certainly the great number of cult structures located at the base of the pyramid located in recent years, as well as the presence at the base of the pyramid of a cemetery used by priests of Ahmose I's cult, argue for the importance of the king's Abydos cult.

Ahmose I's mummy was discovered in 1881 within the Deir el-Bahri Cache, located in the hills directly above the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut.

Ahmose I was interred along with the mummies of other 18th and 19th dynasty leaders Amenhotep I, Thutmose I, Thutmose II, Thutmose III, Ramesses I, Seti I, Ramesses II and Ramesses IX, as well as the 21st dynasty pharaohs Pinedjem I, Pinedjem II and Siamun.

Ahmose I's mummy was unwrapped by Gaston Maspero on June 9,1886.

Ahmose I had evidently been moved from his original burial place, re-wrapped and placed within the cache at Deir el-Bahri during the reign of the 21st dynasty priest-king Pinedjem II, whose name appeared on the mummy's wrappings.

Ahmose I was succeeded by his son, Amenhotep I A minority of scholars have argued that Ahmose had a short co-regency with Amenhotep, potentially lasting up to six years.