Amenhotep l, His Military Campaign

Amenhotep l was the second Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. His reign generally dated from 1526 to 1506 BC. He was a son of Ahmose I and Nefertari. Amenhotep acceded to the throne and ruled about 21 years, according to Dr. Hussein Basir in his book entitled “the warrior pharaohs”.

Amenhotep probably came to power while he was still young himself, and his mother, Ahmose-Nefertari, appears to have been regent for him for at least a short time.

The evidence for this regency is that both he and his mother are credited with founding a settlement for workers in the Theban Necropolis at Deir el-Medina.

Amenhotep l

The relationships between Amenhotep I and other possible family members are unclear. Ahhotep II is usually called his wife and sister, despite an alternative theory that she was his grandmother.

He is thought to have had one son by Ahhotep II, Amenemhat, who died while still very young. This remains the consensus, although there are arguments against that relationship as well.

Two tomb texts indicate that he led campaigns into Nubia. According to the tomb texts of Ahmose, Amenhotep sought to expand Egypt's border southward into Nubia and he led an invasion force which defeated the Nubian army.

It was probably Amenhotep I who founded the artisans village at Deir el-Medina, whose inhabitants were responsible for much of the art which filled the tombs in the Theban Necropolis for the following generations of New Kingdom rulers and nobles.

The earliest name found there is that of Thutmose I, however Amenhotep was clearly an important figure to the city's workmen since he and his mother were both its patron deities.

Amenhotep's reign saw literary developments.

"The Egyptian Book of the Dead", an important funerary text used in the New Kingdom, is believed to have reached its final form during Amenhotep's reign, since it first appears in the decoration of the tomb of his successor Thutmose I.

Contributed by Ali Abu Dashish