Ahmose I
Ahmose I (sometimes written as Amosis or Aahmes, meaning "Iah (the Moon) is born"[24]) was a pharaoh and founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, classified as the first dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. He was a member of the Theban royal house, the son of pharaoh Seqenenre Tao and brother of the last pharaoh of the Seventeenth Dynasty, Kamose. During the reign of his father or grandfather, Thebes rebelled against the Hyksos, the rulers of Lower Egypt. When he was seven years old, his father was killed,[25] and he was about ten when his brother died of unknown causes after reigning only three years. Ahmose I assumed the throne after the death of his brother,[26] and upon coronation became known as Nebpehtyre, nb-pḥtj-rꜥ "The Lord of Strength is Ra".
Ahmose I
c. 25 years in the mid 16th century BC[note 1] (Egyptian chronology) (disputed)
25 years and 4 months in Manetho
Ahmose-Nefertari, God's Wife of Amun, Ahmose-Sitkamose, Ahmose-Henuttamehu, Kasmut, Thenthapi
c. 1525 BC
Mummy found in the Deir el-Bahri royal cache, but was likely originally buried in Abydos or Dra' Abu el-Naga'
Palace at Avaris, Temple of Amun at Karnak, Temple of Montu at Hermonthis
During his reign, Ahmose completed the conquest and expulsion of the Hyksos from the Nile Delta, restored Theban rule over the whole of Egypt and successfully reasserted Egyptian power in its formerly subject territories of Nubia and Canaan.[26] He 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. This building program culminated in the construction of the last pyramid built by native Egyptian rulers. Ahmose's reign laid the foundations for the New Kingdom, under which Egyptian power reached its peak. His reign is usually dated to the mid-16th century BC.
Dates and length of reign[edit]
Ahmose's reign can be fairly accurately dated using the Heliacal rise of Sirius in his successor's reign, but because of disputes over from where the observation was made, he has been assigned a reign from 1570 to 1546 BC, 1560–1537 BC, 1551–1527 BC and 1539–1514 BC by various sources.[34][35][36] According to Josephus in Contra Apionem and Theophilus of Antioch in his Apologia ad Autolycum, Manetho's Aegyptiaca stated that the pharaoh who expelled the Hyksos from Egypt was named "Tethmôsis" and reigned for 25 years and 4 months.[37][34] At the opposite, according to the Byzantine scholar George Syncellus, Sextus Julius Africanus wrote that the Aegyptiaca reported the king to be named "Amôs". Syncellus also notes that Eusebius in his Chronicon told that an "Amôsis" or "Amoses"—depending on the version of Eusebius—is mentioned in the Aegyptiaca as reigning 25 years and founding the eighteenth dynasty from Thebes.[38] The 25 years figure is seemingly supported by a 'Year 22' inscription from his reign at the stone quarries of Tura.[39] 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.[34] The radiocarbon date range for the start of his reign is 1570–1544 BC, the mean point of which is 1557 BC.[20][note 2]