22 Facts About Thutmose I

Thutmose I was the third pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt.

Thutmose I received the throne after the death of the previous king, Amenhotep I During his reign, he campaigned deep into the Levant and Nubia, pushing the borders of Egypt farther than ever before in each region.

Thutmose I built many temples in Egypt, and a tomb for himself in the Valley of the Kings; he is the first king confirmed to have done this.

Queen Ahmose, who held the title of Great Royal Wife of Thutmose I, was probably the daughter of Ahmose I and the sister of Amenhotep I; but she was never called "king's daughter," so there is some doubt about this, and some historians believe she was Thutmose I's sister.

Second, Thutmose I's first-born son with Ahmose, Amenmose, was apparently born long before Thutmose I's coronation.

Thutmose I can be seen on a stela from Thutmose's fourth regnal year hunting near Memphis, and he became the "great army-commander of his father" sometime before his death, which was no later than Thutmose's own death in his 12th regnal year.

Thutmose I had another son, Wadjmose, and two daughters, Hatshepsut and Nefrubity, by Ahmose.

Manetho records that Thutmose I's reign lasted 12 years and 9 months as a certain Mephres in his Epitome.

Thutmose I's Majesty commanded to dig this canal after he found it stopped up with stones [so that] no [ship sailed upon it]; Year 3, first month of the third season, day 22.

Thutmose I's Majesty sailed this canal in victory and in the power of his return from overthrowing the wretched Kush.

Textual sources from the time of Thutmose I include references to Retenu, Naharin, and the 'land of Mitanni'.

The fiery destruction of Stratum XVIII at Gezer has been assigned to the second half of the 16th century BCE, the time of Amenhotep I and Thutmose I, based on the pottery and scarabs discovered in the destruction debris.

Thutmose I had to face one more military threat, another rebellion by Nubia in his fourth year.

Thutmose I inscribed a large tableau on the Hagar el-Merwa, a quartz outcrop c 40m long and 50m wide 1200 meters from the Nile, on top of several local inscriptions.

Thutmose I enlarged a temple to Sesostris III and Khnum, opposite the Nile from Semna.

Thutmose I organized great building projects during his reign, including many temples and tombs, but his greatest projects were at the Temple of Karnak under the supervision of the architect Ineni.

Thutmose I was the first king to drastically enlarge the temple.

Thutmose I had the fifth pylon built along the temple's main road, along with a wall around the inner sanctuary and two flagpoles to flank the gateway.

Thutmose I was the first king who definitely was buried in the Valley of the Kings.

Thutmose I was not destined to lie alongside his daughter after Hatshepsut's death.

Unfortunately, Thutmose I's remains were disturbed late during the 20th dynasty when KV38 was plundered; the sarcophagus's lid was broken and all this king's valuable precious jewelry and grave goods were stolen.

Thutmose I's mummy was discovered in the Deir el-Bahri Cache above the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, revealed in 1881.