(Nebpehtire) (d. 1525 B.C.E.) Founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty and the New Kingdom
’Ahmose, whose name means “The Moon Arises,” reigned from 1550 B.C.E. until his death. ’Ahmose’s dynasty also opened the historical period called the New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.E.). He was the son of Sekenenre TA’O II and Queen AH’HOTEP (1) at THEBES, and the brother of KAMOSE, the last ruler of the Seventeenth Dynasty. Kamose and Ta’o II had waged war against the HYKSOS,or Asiatics, who had usurped the northeastern regions of Egypt and had perished in the attempt. ’Ahmose succeeded to the throne of Thebes when Kamose died.
Young at the time, ’Ahmose was unable to take advantage of Kamose’s gains. The Hyksos regrouped and captured HELIOPOLIS. For perhaps a decade ’Ahmose was served by his mother as his regent, and she consolidated his southern holdings and prepared him to lead an army northward. ’Ahmose brought a military cunning and an administrative genius to bear on the war and on the subsequent decades of his reign. ’Ahmose moved against AVARIS, the Hyksos capital in the eastern DELTA, using land forces and ships that were able to navigate the eastern branches of the Nile. Placing Avaris under siege, ’Ahmose had to put down a rebellion of priests in another area with a small fleet and several units of the army. ’AHMOSE, SON OF EBANA, present at these military campaigns, detailed the activities in his funerary hieroglyphs. Other details are available from the tomb of ’AHMOSE-PEN NEKHEBET, another contemporary.
After a long period, Avaris surrendered, and the Hyksos fled into Sharuhen, a fortress in southwestern Palestine. The Egyptians followed there as well, placing Sharuhen under siege. While the army kept the Hyksos sealed inside their fortress in Palestine, ’Ahmose faced another revolt. This rebellion was instituted by A’ATA,a ruler of KERMEH, a region south of ASWAN, who faced ’Ahmose and his armies. ’Ahmose won the battle and took A’ata prisoner. The troops of A’ata were given as slaves to the veteran Egyptian soldiers. ’Ahmose then established the viceroyalty, or governorship, of Kush, or NUBIA (modern Sudan), with the administrative offices located on the ELEPHANTINE Island at Aswan. A trusted companion, ’AHMOSE SITAYET, was named to this position. A second Nubian campaign settled the region.
Sharuhen surrendered after three, or possibly six, years, and the Egyptians followed the Hyksos all the way into modern Syria. They fought battles there to rid themselves of Hyksos survivors, and when that campaign ended, ’Ahmose turned to the matter of a national government. He rewarded his loyal followers with land grants and rebuilt canals and irrigation systems. Mines and QUARRIES were opened and foreign TRADE resumed. An inscription at MASARA states that in his 22nd year of rule, ’Ahmose opened the quarry there for limestone to be used at Heliopolis and for AMUN’s temple at OPET, now part of LUXOR. The MASARA STELA, erected by an official named NEFERPERET, states that captured Hyksos oxen were used to drag the quarried stones to the barges on the Nile. ’Ahmose returned to the campaign in Palestine and on the Mediterranean coast in his later years. A STELA put up on the Euphrates River in modern Iraq by TUTHMOSIS I (r. 1504–1492 B.C.E.) refers to ’Ahmose being on the banks of that river in his own era. ’Ahmose’s chief consort was ’Ahmose-Nefertari, and they had several children: AMENHOTEP I (his heir), ’AHMOSE-SIPAIR, SIAMUN (2), and Ramose. His daughters were ’AHMOSE-MERYTAMON and AH’HOTEP (2). Other consorts were ’AHMOSE-IN-HAPI and THENT HEP, the mother of Princess Hent Temehu. TETISHERI, his grandmother, counseled him in his early years, as did his mother, Ah’hotep (1). A unique BUILDING INSCRIPTION depicts ’Ahmose and ’Ahmose-Nefertari seated together in the royal residence. This ABYDOS commemorative, a stela six and a half feet high and three feet wide, describes how the royal couple planned the great mortuary memorials for his mother, Ah’hotep, and his grandmother, Tetisheri.
’Ahmose was about 35 years old when he died in 1525 B.C.E. His tomb was erected at DRA-ABU EL-NAGA on the western shore of Thebes, and a second false tomb was erected in Abydos with a terraced temple. This was a true pyramid with scenes of his expulsion of the Hyksos. ’Ahmose’s funerary complex cult continued for a long time after his death. His remains were found in DEIR ELBAHRI in 1881, not in his undiscovered tomb, and they were wreathed in pale blue delphiniums. ’Ahmose’s mummified remains were also protected by a covering of tough black resin. He was buried in a large cedar coffin. Forensic studies indicate that ’Ahmose was of medium height, somewhat thin, with a firm chin and good teeth. He suffered from arthritis and scoliosis, both diseases prominent in the dynasty. ’Ahmose was not circumcised, although it was a custom of the time.
She was the Great Wife, or ranking consort, of TUTHMOSIS I
(r. 1504–1492 B.C.E.). Although she is sometimes mentioned as a daughter of ’AHMOSE and sister of AMENHOTEP I, in her titles she is called “King’s Sister” but not “King’s Daughter.” She may have been the daughter of Prince ’AHMOSE-ANKH. She was given in marriage to Tuthmosis I when he was designated as the heir of Amenhotep I. ’Ahmose bore four children: her sons AMENMOSE and WADJMOSE, and her daughters NEFERUKHEB and HATSHEPSUT. Neither of ’Ahmose’s sons was designated as heir to the throne. Neferukheb died young, and Hatshepsut became a queen- pharaoh of Egypt.
’Ahmose was celebrated in the temple reliefs erected by Hatshepsut, who ruled from 1473 to 1458 B.C.E. The temple is at DEIR EL-BAHRI on the western shore of the Nile at Thebes. These inscriptions and a portrait were designed to validate Hatshepsut’s usurpation of the throne. ’Ahmose is described as having been visited by the god AMUN, who fathered Hatshepsut in a shower of gold. She did not live to see her daughter raised to the throne, as she died at a young age. The portraits of Queen ’Ahmose depict a vigorous, handsome woman.
’Ahmose (2) (fl. 15th century B.C.E.) Prince of the Eighteenth Dynasty
The son of AMENHOTEP II (r. 1427–1401 B.C.E.), he was not the designated heir to the throne and served as the high priest of the god RE at HELIOPOLIS. A burial stela at the cemetery of the MNEVIS bulls, the THEOPHANIES of the god Re in some eras, was discovered bearing his name. His burial site remains undocumented.
’Ahmose-ankh (fl. 16th century B.C.E.) Prince of the Eighteenth Dynasty
The son of ’AHMOSE (r. 1550–1525 B.C.E.), this prince is an obscure figure but is reported in some lists to have been the original heir to the throne. When ’Ahmose-ankh
died, ’AHMOSE-SIPAIR became the heir and possibly coregent, also dying before ’Ahmose. AMENHOTEP I became the second king of the dynasty. It is possible that Queen ’AHMOSE (1), the consort of TUTHMOSIS I (1504–1492 B.C.E.), was a daughter of Prince ’Ahmose-ankh.
’Ahmose-Hetempet (fl. 16th century B.C.E.) Royal woman of the Seventeenth Dynasty
’Ahmose-Hetempet was a daughter of Sekenenre TA’OII
(c. 1560 B.C.E.) and Queen AH’HOTEP (1). Her mummified remains were discovered in DEIR EL-BAHRI in 1881. ’Ahmose-Hetempet had dark hair and was discovered in a sycamore coffin. Her original tomb has not been located. ’Ahmose-Hettinehu (fl. 16th century B.C.E.) Royal woman of the Seventeenth Dynasty
She was a daughter of Sekenenre TA’OII (c. 1560 B.C.E.) and Queen ’AHMOSE-IN-HAPI. Her remains were found at DEIR EL-BAHRI, damaged and refurbished. ’Ahmose-Hettinehu’s coffin was made of acacia and saved from her original vandalized tomb.
