Everything about Ahmose I totally explained
Ahmose descended from the
Theban Seventeenth Dynasty. His grandfather and grandmother,
Tao I and
Tetisheri, had at least twelve children, including
Tao II and
Ahhotep. The brother and sister, according to the tradition of Egyptian queens, married; their children were
Kamose, Ahmose I and several daughters. Ahmose I followed in the tradition of his father and married several of his sisters, making
Ahmose-Nefertari his chief wife.
Amenhotep I and Ramose A (the "A" and "B" designations after the names are a convention used by Egyptologists to distinguish between royal children and wives that otherwise have the same name). They may also have been the parents of Mutneferet A, who would become the wife of later successor
Thutmose I. Ahmose-ankh was Ahmose's heir apparent, but he preceded his father in death sometime between Ahmose's 17th and 22nd
regnal year. Ahmose was succeeded instead by his eldest surviving son,
Amenhotep I, with whom he might have shared
a short coregency. He captured the Second cataract fortresses.
There was no distinct break in the line of the royal family between the 17th and 18th dynasties. The historian
Manetho, writing much later during the
Ptolemaic dynasty, considered the final expulsion of the Hyksos after nearly a century and the restoration of native Egyptian rule over the whole country a significant enough event to warrant the start of a new dynasty.
Dates and length of reign
Ahmose's reign can be fairly accurately dated using the
Heliacal rise of Sirius in his
successor's reign, but because of disputes over where the observation was made from, he's been assigned a reign from 1570–1546, 1560–1537 and 1551–1527 by various sources.
Manetho gives Ahmose a reign of 25 years and 4 months; A medical examination of his
mummy indicates that he died when he was about thirty-five, supporting a 25-year reign if he came to the throne at the age of 10.
Campaigns
The conflict between the local kings of Thebes and the Hyksos king
Apepi Awoserre had started sometime during the reign of Tao II Seqenenre and would be concluded, after almost 30 years of intermittent conflict and war, under the reign of Ahmose I. Tao II was possibly killed in a battle against the Hyksos, as his much-wounded mummy gruesomely suggests, and his successor Kamose (likely Ahmose's elder brother) is known to have attacked and raided the lands around the Hyksos capital,
Avaris (modern
Tell el-Dab'a). Kamose evidently had a short reign, as his highest attested regnal year is year 3, and was succeeded by Ahmose I. Apepi may have died near the same time. There is disagreement as to whether two names for Apepi found in the historical record are of different monarchs or multiple names for the same king. If, indeed, they were of different kings, Apepi Awoserre is thought to have died at around the same time as Kamose and was succeeded by
Apepi II Aqenienre. one of which reads
Generally the regnal year is considered Ahmose's (hence scholars usually mark the 11th year as the beginning of his conquest), but Ahmose himself is referred to in the document as "that southern prince"; a rather disparaging term. For this reason many scholars, following the lead of
Donald Redford, consider the regnal year to be that of a Hyksos king.
Records of the latter part of the campaign were discovered on the tomb walls of a participating soldier,
Ahmose, son of Ebana. These records indicate that Ahmose I led three attacks against Avaris, the Hyksos capital, but had to quell a small rebellion in Egypt. After this, in the fourth attack, he conquered the city. He drove out the Hyksos completely by besieging
Sharuhen in
Gaza for three years and conquering it by the 16th year of his reign.
Foreign campaigns
After defeating the Hyksos, Ahmose began campaigning in Syria and
Nubia. A campaign during his 22nd year reached
Djahy in the
Levant and perhaps as far as the
Euphrates, although the later Pharaoh
Thutmose I is usually credited with being the first to campaign that far. Ahmose did, however, reach at least as far as Kedem (thought to be near
Byblos), according to an
ostracon in the tomb of his wife, Ahmose-Nefertari. Details on this particular campaign are scarce, as the source of most of the information, Ahmose son of Ebana, didn't travel on this land expedition; he was part of Ahmose I's navy. However, it can be inferred from archaeological surveys of southern Canaan during the late 16th century BC that Ahmose and his immediate successors intended only to destroy the cities of the Hyksos and not to conquer Canaan. Many sites there were completely destroyed and not subsequently rebuilt during this period — something a Pharaoh bent on conquest and tribute wouldn't do.
Ahmose I's campaigns in Nubia are better documented. Soon after the first Nubian campaign, a Nubian named Aata rebelled against Ahmose, but was crushed. After this attempt, an anti-Theban Egyptian named Tetian gathered many rebels in Nubia, but this too was defeated. Ahmose re-established Egyptian rule over Nubia and placed it under a new administrative center established at
Buhen.
Art and monumental constructions
With the re-unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under Ahmose, a re-dedication to the arts and monumental construction occurred. Ahmose 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. However, as the defeat of the Hyksos occurred relatively late in Ahmose's reign, his subsequent monumental building program likely lasted no more than seven years, and much of what was started was likely finished by his son and successor Amenhotep I.
Work from Ahmose's reign is constructed of much finer material than anything from the Second Intermediate Period; with the delta and Nubia under Egyptian control once more, access was gained to distant resources not present in Upper Egypt.
Gold and
silver were received from Nubia,
Lapis Lazuli from distant parts of central Asia,
cedar from
Byblos, and in the
Sinai the
Serabit el-Khadim turquoise mines were reopened. Although the exact nature of the relationship is uncertain, at least some
Minoan designs have been found on objects from this period, and Egypt considered the
Aegean to be part of its empire.
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. All display slightly bulging eyes, a feature also depicted on selected stelae depicting the pharaoh. Based on style, a small limestone sphinx that resides at the
National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, has also been tentatively identified as representing Ahmose I.
The art of
glass making is thought to have developed during Ahmose's reign. The oldest samples of glass appear to have been defective pieces of
faience, but intentional crafting of glass didn't occur until the beginning of the 18th dynasty. One of the earliest glass beads found contains the names of both Ahmose and Amenhotep I, which are written in a style which would be dated to about the time of their reign. If glassmaking was developed no earlier than Ahmose's reign and the first objects are dated to no later than sometime in his successor’s reign, it's quite likely that it was one of his subjects who developed the craft.
Under Ahmose's reign, the city of
Thebes became the capital for the whole of Egypt, as it had been in the previous
Middle Kingdom. It also became the center for a newly established professional
civil service, where there was a greater demand for scribes and the literate as the royal archives began to fill with accounts and reports. Having Thebes as the capital was probably a strategic choice, as it's located in the center of the country; having had to repel the Hyksos in the north as well as the Nubians to the south, Thebes' placement meant that any future opposition at either border could be easily met.
Several stelae detailing the work done by Ahmose were found at Karnak, two of which depict him as a benefactor to the temple. In one of these stelae, known as the "
Tempest Stele", he claims to have rebuilt the pyramids of his predecessors at Thebes that had been destroyed by a major storm. The
Thera eruption in the Aegean has been implicated by some scholars as the source of this damage, but similar claims are common in the propaganda of other pharaohs, to show them overcoming the powers of darkness. Due to the lack of evidence, no definitive conclusion can be reached.
Pyramid
The remains of his
pyramid in
Abydos were discovered in 1899 and identified as his in 1902. This pyramid and the related structures became the object of renewed research as of 1993 by an expedition sponsored by the
Pennsylvania-
Yale Institute of Fine Arts,
New York University under the direction of Stephen Harvey. Most of its outer casing stones had been robbed for use in other building projects over the years, and the mound of rubble upon which it was built has collapsed. However, two rows of intact casing stones were found by Arthur Mace, who estimated its steep slope as about 60 degrees, based on the evidence of the limestone casing (compare to the less acute 51 degrees of the
Great Pyramid of Giza). Although the pyramid interior hasn't been explored since 1902, work in 2006 uncovered portions of a massive mudbrick construction ramp built against its face. At the foot of the pyramid lay a complex of stone temples surrounded by mud brick enclosure walls. Research by Harvey has revealed three structures to date in addition to the "Ahmose Pyramid Temple" first located by Arthur Mace. This structure, the closest to the base of the pyramid, was most likely intended as its chief cult center. Among thousands of carved and painted fragments uncovered since 1993, several depict aspects of a complex battle narrative against an Asiatic enemy. In all likelihood, these reliefs, featuring archers, ships, dead
asiatics and the first known representation of
horses in Egypt, form the only representation of Ahmose's Hyksos battles. and 3) a terraced temple built against the high cliffs, featuring massive stone and brick terraces. These elements reflect in general a similar plan undertaken for the cenotaph of
Senwosret III and in general its construction contains elements which reflect the style of both
Old and
Middle Kingdom pyramid complexes.
There is some dispute as to if this pyramid was Ahmose's burial place, or if it was a
cenotaph. Although earlier explorers Mace and Currelly were unable to locate any internal chambers, it's unlikely that a burial chamber would have been located in the midst of the pyramid's rubble core. In the absence of any mention of a tomb of King Ahmose in the tomb robbery accounts of the Abbott Papyrus, and in the absence of any likely candidate for the king's tomb at Thebes, it's possible that the king was interred at Abydos, as suggested by Harvey. 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's cult, argue for the importance of the king's Abydos cult. However, other
Egyptologists believe that the pyramid was constructed (like Tetisheri's pyramid at Abydos) as a cenotaph and that Ahmose may have originally been buried in the southern part of
Dra' Abu el-Naga' with the rest of the late 17th and early 18th Dynasties.
Mummy
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. He 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. It was found within a coffin that bore his name in
hieroglyphs, and on his bandages his name was again written in hieratic script. While the cedarwood coffin's style dates it squarely to the time of the 18th dynasty, it was neither of royal style nor craftsmanship, and any
gilding or
inlays it may have had were stripped in antiquity. He 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 Pinedjum II, whose name also appeared on the mummy's wrappings. Around his neck a garland of
delphinium flowers had been placed. The body bore signs of having been plundered by ancient grave-robbers, his head having been broken off from his body and his nose smashed.
The body was 1.63 m in height. The mummy had a small face with no defining features, though he'd slightly prominent front teeth; this may have been an inherited family trait, as this feature can be seen in some female mummies of the same family, as well as the mummy of his descendant, Thutmose II.
A short description of the mummy by Gaston Maspero sheds further light on familial resemblances:
in length, but the development of the neck and chest indicates extraordinary strength. The head is small in proportion to the bust, the forehead low and narrow, the cheek-bones project and the hair is thick and wavy. The face exactly resembles that of
Tiûâcrai [TaoII Seqenenre] and the likeness alone would proclaim the affinity, even if we were ignorant of the close relationship which united these two Pharaohs.
The mummy is now in the
Luxor Museum alongside the purported one of
Ramesses I, as part of a permanent exhibition called "The Golden Age of the Egyptian Military".
Succession
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. If there was a co-regency, Amenhotep couldn't have been made king before Ahmose's 18th regnal year, the earliest year in which Ahmose-ankh, the heir apparent, could have died. There is circumstantial evidence indicating a co-regency may have occurred, although definitive evidence is lacking.
The first piece of evidence consists of three small objects which contain both of their
praenomen next to one another: the aforementioned small glass bead, a small feldspar amulet and a broken stele, all of which are written in the proper style for the early 18th dynasty. The last stele said that Amenhotep was "given life eternally", which is an Egyptian idiom meaning that a king is alive, but the name of Ahmose doesn't have the usual epithet "true of voice" which is given to dead kings. There are two contemporary New Kingdom examples of the breaking of this tradition;
Hatshepsut celebrated her Heb Sed Festival in her 16th year and Akhenaten celebrated a Sed Festival near the beginning of his 17-year reign.
Third, Ahmose's wife, Ahmose Nefertari, was called both "King's Great Wife" and "King's Mother" in two stelae which were set up at the limestone quarries of Ma`sara in Ahmose's 22nd year. For her to literally be a "King's Mother," Amenhotep would already have to be a king. It is possible that the title was only honorific, as
Ahhotep II assumed the title without being the mother of any known king; though there's a possibility that her son Amenemhat was made Amenhotep I's co-regent, but preceded him in death.
Because of this uncertainty, a co-regency is currently impossible to prove or disprove. Both Redford's and Murnane's works on the subject are undecided on the grounds that there's too little conclusive evidence either for or against a coregency. Even if there was one, it would have made no difference to the chronology of the period because in this kind of institution Amenhotep would have begun counting his regnal dates from his first year as sole ruler. However, co-regency supporters note that since at least one rebellion had been led against Ahmose during his reign, it would certainly have been logical to coronate a successor before one's death to prevent a struggle for the crown.
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