Ahmose I.

This article is about the Pharaoh. For more people with this name, see Ahmose (disambiguation) .

Name of Ahmose I.
Fragmentary statue of Ahmose I.
Horus name	Aa-cheperu ˁ3-ḫprw With large figures Ka-em-Waset K3-m-W3st bull in Thebes
Sideline	Tut-mesut Twt-mswt Perfect at birth
Gold name	Tsches-taui Ṯs-t3wj That binds the two countries together
Throne name	Neb-peheti-Re Nb-pḥtj-Rˁ Lord of strength, a Re Neb-pehut-Re Nb-pḥwt-Rˁ Lord of strength, a Re
Proper name	also Ahmose Jˁḥ ms (jw) Jah is born
Greek	Manetho variants: Josephus : Tethmôsis, Thummosis Africanus : Amôs Eusebius Amôsis Eusebius, A version: Amoses Book of Sothis : Amosis, Tethmosis

Ahmose I. (* around 1560 BC; † 1525 BC) ( Egyptian Jˁḥ ms (jw) , also Amosis , German " Iah is born") was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh and founder of the 18th dynasty . He came like his predecessors Seqenenre and Kamose the Theban dynasty of Ahmosiden that is ongoing against more than 100 years of foreign rule in Lower Egypt -based Hyksos rebelled. After the death of Kamose, Ahmose I ascended the throne as a child and took the throne name Neb-peheti-Re ("Lord of strength, a Re ").

During his reign he completed the expulsion of the Hyksos from the delta region and restored Theban rule over the entire Egyptian empire, and he reaffirmed Egypt's claims to power in the formerly subjugated areas of Nubia and Canaan . He reorganized the administration of the country, had quarries, mines and trade routes reopened and began massive construction projects that have not been carried out on this scale since the Middle Kingdom . The construction program culminated in the construction of the last pyramid ever built by a native Egyptian ruler. Ahmose's policy laid the foundation for the New Kingdom , in which Egypt reached the final height of its power.

origin

In the role of the “Unifier of Egypt”, according to ancient Egyptian tradition, Ahmose I is placed at the beginning of the 18th dynasty as the founder of the New Kingdom, although he still belongs to the 17th dynasty .

He comes from the local ruling family of the Ahmosids . The family god of the Ahmosids is the moon god Iah ( Iˁḥ ). The syllable 'Ah-' in the name Ahmose ( Iˁḥ ms (Iw) ) refers as theophore syllable to the eponymous god Iah. Ahmose logically means' born of Iah 'or Iah is born'.

The Ahmosids had their headquarters in Upper Egypt around the city of Thebes . The relationship to its predecessors Senachtenre , Seqenenre and Kamose has not been clearly established. From a memorial stone from Abydos ( Cairo CG 34002 ) only the relationship to his grandmother Tetisheri can be derived:

"I remembered the mother of my mother and the mother of my father, the Great King Wife and Queen Mother Teti-Scheri, the justified. ..."

- Memorial stone for Tetisheri. Cairo CG 34002

With the title of a "(physical) king's son" he probably comes from a main line and will have been either the son of Seqenenre and Ahhotep I or Kamose and Ahhotep II , with researchers tending towards the former. Since Seqenenre and Ahhotep were still the parents of an "elder son of the king" Ahmose, who however died prematurely, Ahmose I was probably not a firstborn son. As an older brother, Kamose is also considered in some places.

family

At the beginning of his term in office, Ahmose I married his half-sister Ahmose Nefertari . Ahmose Satkamose , Ahmose Meritamun I. and Ahmose Henuttamehu may have been other co-wives.

For the first time, the children of the royal couple bore the name of the main Theban god Amun instead of the moon god Iah . The "eldest son of God's body" Ahmose Anch died in childhood and was probably identical with the posthumously venerated Ahmose Sapair . Heir to the throne of Ahmose I was his second son Amenophis I , who took his sister or half-sister Ahmose Meritamun II as his wife. Saamun ("son of Amun") and Satamun ("daughter of Amun") are attested as further children , as well as some "king sons", such as Ahmose Satait , who were only titular princes.

Domination

After the death of Kamose, Ahmose I came to the throne in childhood, presumably on the initiative of Tetisheri and Ahhotep I. The affairs of state were first taken over by the widowed Tetisheri, then by Queen Ahhotep, who was also widowed. It is even speculated that Ahhotep was appointed co-regent for some time . Both widows received special veneration by being depicted on monuments behind the king.

At the time of his accession to the throne, Egypt was in a tense situation. While Lower Egypt was controlled by the Hyksos and Egyptian vassals from the Nile Delta to the city of Memphis , Egypt's southern border on the first cataract of the Nile was threatened by invading Nubians .

Campaigns

Displacement of the Hyksos

Probably only in the 18th year of reign Ahmose I resumed the fight against the Hyksos that Seqenenre and Kamose had started . From Thebes Ahmose began to advance north and took the city of Heliopolis in the second peret month of the eleventh year of Chalmudi's reign . A short time later, on the 25th of Achet I , he captured the border fortress of Sile . On the verso of the mathematical papyrus Rhind there is a note that reports on these events:

“Year 11 (of Chamudi), 2nd month of the Shemu: capture of Heliopolis, 1st month of the flood season (Achet), day 23: He-from-the-south (Ahmose I) advances to Sile. Day 25 (or 26) Sile is reported to have been taken. Year 11, 1st month of the flood season, birthday of Seth: the majesty of this deity cried out (ie thunder). Isis birthday party: The sky made rain. "

- Note on Rhind papyrus

The inscription on a lance tip from Auaris contains a date that allows the year 11/12 of the Hyksos king Chalmudi to be equated with the year 18/19 of Ahmose.

This was followed by protracted fighting and a prolonged siege of the heavily fortified Hyksos capital Auaris in the eastern delta. The autobiography of the officer Ahmose, son of Ibana , gives information about the fighting , which is recorded in his rock tomb in el-Kab :

“When the city of Auaris was besieged, I was brave on foot before His Majesty. So I was put on (the ship's) show (of the king) in Memphis . They fought on the water in Lake Djedku from Auaris. Then I seized (an enemy) and I brought a hand so that they reported it to the royal herald. ... Now they captured Auaris. I brought booty from there: a man, three women, four people together. ... "

- Ahmose's grave inscription

The capture of Auaris seemed to take place without major resistance, since no traces of fire could be proven archaeologically. Chalmudi and the Hyksos then withdrew to their home country in the Middle East. Ahmose followed them and besieged the Sharuhe military base in southern Palestine , which could only be captured after three years.

Campaign in Nubia

After the fall of the Shahurs, Ahmose turned to Nubia, where the Prince of Kush, allied with the Hyksos kings, ruled. During the Second Intermediate Period (1650–1550 BC) the kingdom of Kerma had reached its cultural and political climax there. With the relocation of the residence from Kerma to Buhen , the kingdom of Kerma began to expand its territory to the north and to pose a serious threat to Egypt.

With the invasion of Nubia, Ahmose tried to regain sovereignty over the southern territory, which was rich in gold mines and lost with the end of the Middle Kingdom . Another soldier from Elkab named Ahmose Pennechbet , who already took part in the fighting in the city of Shahuras and later rose to be the tutor of Queen Hatshepsut's daughter, reports on the event :

“After his Majesty had defeated the Asian tribes, he went up the Nile to northern Nubia to destroy the Nubian nomads. His Majesty caused a great slaughter among them. "

- Biographical inscription by Ahmose Pennechbet

The very first campaign was successful and two more “clean-up” actions followed. Exactly how far Ahmose got into Nubia is not certain. He was probably able to recapture areas up to the second Nile cataract. Evidence of the ruler's presence extends south to Sai Island . In order to keep the resource-rich land of Kush under permanent control, the old fortresses from the Middle Kingdom were reoccupied with soldiers . In particular, Ahmose had the Buhen fortress repaired and expanded.

In the year 22 Ahmose returned to Syria- Palestine, took part in a campaign near Djahi and perhaps marched north to the Euphrates .

Domestic politics

The reunification of Egypt required a stable government. The Theban royal house previously only ruled over the southern section of Egypt and now had to take over government responsibility for the entire country. In addition, with the victory over the Hyksos and the Prince of Kush, the Egyptian borders had been expanded, which had to be preserved and defended. Ahmose managed to re-establish the bureaucratic system in Egypt and Cush , which had already been successful in the 12th Dynasty . The defense of the extensive border was only possible with the establishment of a newly created professional army .

The unification of the country with the dissolution of the previous local principalities did not go entirely without serious conflicts. Officer Ahmose, son of Abana, reports of an uprising by the rebel Tetian. According to Wolfgang Helck, he was a member of the old "Teti clan", who was pushed into the background by the rise of the Senachtenre family and his descendants and who now put on a coup to keep his position. However, the uprising was successfully suppressed.

In the area of ​​state administration, the Middle Kingdom was taken as a model. The previously hereditary priestly, military and administrative offices could now be resold contrary to the usual tradition. As one of the most important innovations, Ahmose created the office of “Overseer of the Southern Countries”, which later received the title “ King's Son of Kush ”. The holder of this office administered the land of Nubia as the king's representative. Its task was to combat possible civil unrest at an early stage. The first representatives are Ahmose-Satait and Turi , who were based in the city of Aniba .

Another important newly created position was that of Amun's wife of God . The title was given to the eldest daughter of the royal couple, who rose to become the fictional wife of the god Amun and whose marriage thus secured additional legitimacy for the ruler's throne. The office was retained until the late Egyptian period and was first exercised by the king's sister and wife, Ahmose-Nefertari.

In addition to the above-mentioned officer Ahmose, son of Abana and the soldier Ahmose Pennechbet, the head of the ships Neschi can also be found in the administration. In addition, the high priests of Amun , Djehuti and Min-Monthu ( TT232 ), the mayor of Thebes and garrison commander Tetiki ( TT15 ) and the treasurer Neferperet should be emphasized.

Construction activities

Not much has been preserved of the temples and other structures from his reign. It is believed that a large part of the building was made of adobe bricks and is either weathered or reused for other structures. In Karnak , Ahmose expanded the temple of Amun-Re by clad the floor, ceiling and supporting columns with cedar wood. He also restored religious centers such as the Ptah Temple in Memphis or the Month Temple in Armant .

Buildings in Abydos South

→ Main article : Ahmose pyramid

In Abydos he built the Ahmose pyramid, the last great pyramid of an Egyptian ruler. It is a cenotaph pyramid with a temple of worship, an Osiris tomb and another cenotaph pyramid for his grandmother Tetisheri.

Ahmose's storm stele

→ Main article : Storm stele

Ahmose I had the storm stele erected on which an extreme natural disaster is reported. The natural disaster is said to have occurred between the 11th and 22nd year of Ahmose I's reign. According to Jürgen von Beckerath's dating, the catastrophe should have occurred between 1539 BC. BC to 1528 BC Have taken place.

Term of office

Manetho (Josephus) did not name the entire reign of Ahmose I, but only a remaining period of 25 years and four months, calculated from the Hyksos' expulsion from Egypt (1, 94). The beginning of the rest of the reign is with the "393. Year after Danaos' flight from his brother Aegyptus to Argo ”(2, 16).

The highest attested date of Ahmose I is year 22 and can be found in an inscription in the Tura quarries, which is why many Egyptologists attribute Manetho's reign of 25 years to him.

Dating

In 2006 Manfred Bietak presented the report of the special research area SCIEM2000 , which confirms a largely stable chronology in the meantime based on the dates of the heliacal rise of Sirius , especially for the 18th dynasty . The older headings, such as those by Erik Hornung and Wolfgang Helck, have therefore been partially revised.

Ebers calendar and the heliacal rise of Sirius

The period of the heliacal rise of Sirius mentioned in the Ebers calendar is determined in 1550 BC. Chr. As the year of the takeover of government by Ahmose, whose appointment corresponds, among other things, to the assignment of Jürgen von Beckerath. The coronation day (9th Epiphi) of Amenhotep I makes Ahmose's death around the 29th / 30th, taking into account the embalming duration of 70 days . Parmouthi (April 20/21) 1525 BC BC probably.

Heliacal rise of Sirius on the 30th Payni in the first year of Ahmose's reign
Observation site	Egyptian date	Gregorian calendar	Possible years
Memphis	30. Payni	3rd of July	1577 to 1574 BC Chr.
Elephantine	30. Payni	June 27th	1553 to 1550 BC Chr.

After his death

Head of the mummy of Ahmose I.

Ahmose I (top row, second from right) in the ancestral gallery in the tomb of Inhercha ( TT359 ).

After Ahmose's death, his wife Ahmose-Nefertari lived for at least 10 years. Her influence on her son Amenhotep I was as strong as that of her mother and grandmother on their husbands and children. Together with her son she built a mortuary temple at el-Qurna and, like Ahmose before, was buried on the burial hill of Dra Abu el-Naga. Recently, the Egyptologist Aidan Dodson assigned the burial site with the identifier KV32 in the Valley of the Kings to Ahmose. His limestone shabti figure in the British Museum is also the first known specimen of a pharaonic shabti.

The graves can no longer be located today, but the mummies of both deceased were found in the cachette of Deir el-Bahari (DB / TT320), where Amun priests hid them in the 22nd Dynasty under Scheschonq I to protect them from grave robbers . Investigations of the mummy, which is now in the museum in Luxor , revealed that Ahmose I was around 35 years old and 1,635 meters tall when he died. He also suffered from arthritis in his back and knees.

literature

• Darrell D. Baker: The Encyclopedia of the Egyptian Pharaohs. Volume I: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty (3300-1069 BC). Bannerstone Press, London 2008, ISBN 978-1-905299-37-9 , pp. 9-11.
• Jürgen von Beckerath : Chronology of the pharaonic Egypt. The timing of Egyptian history from prehistoric times to 332 BC BC (= Munich Egyptological Studies. Volume 46). von Zabern, Mainz 1997, ISBN 3-8053-2310-7 .
• Erik Hornung : The New Kingdom. In: Erik Hornung, Rolf Krauss, David A. Warburton (eds.): Ancient Egyptian Chronology (= Handbook of Oriental studies. Section One. The Near and Middle East. Volume 83). Brill, Leiden / Boston 2006, ISBN 978-90-04-11385-5 , pp. 197-217 ( online ).
• Flavius ​​Josephus : The new complete works of Josephus. Revised edition. Translated by William Whiston . Comment by Paul L. Maier . Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids MI 1999, ISBN 0-8254-2924-2 .
• Susanne Martinssen-von Falck: The great pharaohs. From the New Kingdom to the Late Period. Marix, Wiesbaden 2018, ISBN 978-3-7374-1057-1 , pp. 35–42.
• Gay Robins: Meritamun, Daughter of Ahmose, and Meritamun, Daughter of Thutmose III. In: Göttinger Miscellen . (GM). Volume 56, Göttingen 1982, pp. 79-88.
• Hermann A. Schlögl : The ancient Egypt (= Beck'sche series 2305. CH Beck knowledge ). 3rd revised edition. Beck, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-406-48005-8 .
• Thomas Schneider : Lexicon of the Pharaohs. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002, ISBN 3-491-96053-3 , pp. 45-47.
• Claude Vandersleyen : Ahmose. In: Wolfgang Helck (Hrsg.): Lexikon der Ägyptologie (LÄ). Volume I, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1975, ISBN 3-447-01670-1 , Sp. 99-101.

Web links

Commons : Ahmose  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• phouka.com (English)
• Ahmose, Founder of the 18th Dynasty and the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt (English)

Remarks

1. ↑ The spelling withoccurs between the 18th and 22nd year of government. Daniel Polz : The beginning of the New Kingdom. On the prehistory of a turning point (= German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department. Special publication 31). de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 2007, ISBN 978-3-11-019347-3 , p. 57; Claude Vandersleyen: L'Egypte et la vallée du Nil. Tome 2: De la fin de l'Ancien Empire à la fin du Nouvel Empire. Paris 1995, p. 217.
2. ↑ Remaining reign after expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt 25 years and 4 months.
3. ↑ ^{a b c} reign 25 years.
4. ^ Reign for 28 years.
5. ↑ The ancient Egyptian deity Iah - family god of the Ahmosids
6. ↑ ^{a b c} Alfred Grimm, Sylvia Schoske: In the sign of the moon. Egypt at the beginning of the New Kingdom (=  writings from the Egyptian collection . Volume 7 ). State Collection of Egyptian Art, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-87490-691-4 , p. 42 .
7. ↑ A. Grimm, S. Schoske: In the sign of the moon. Munich 1999, pp. 47-48.
8. ↑ A. Grimm, S. Schoske: In the sign of the moon. Munich 1999, pp. 44-45.
9. ↑ A. Grimm, S. Schoske: In the sign of the moon. Munich 1999, pp. 42-44.
10. ↑ A. Grimm, S. Schoske: In the sign of the moon. Munich 1999, pp. 45-47.
11. ↑ A. Grimm, S. Schoske: In the sign of the moon. Munich 1999, pp. 65-66.
12. ↑ A. Grimm, S. Schoske: In the sign of the moon. Munich 1999, p. 66.
13. ↑ Kim Ryholt : The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, c. 1800-1550 BC (= Carsten Niebuhr Institute Publications. Vol. 20). Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Near Eastern Studies, University of Copenhagen; Museum Tusculanum Press, Copenhagen 1997, ISBN 8772894210 , p. 187.
14. ↑ ^{a b c d} Schneider: Lexicon of the Pharaohs. Düsseldorf 2002, p. 46.
15. ↑ A. Grimm, S. Schoske: In the sign of the moon. Munich 1999, p. 68.
16. ↑ A. Grimm, S. Schoske: In the sign of the moon. Munich 1999, p. 56.
17. ↑ Schlögl: Ancient Egypt. Munich 2008, p. 189.
18. ↑ ^{a b} Baker: The Encyclopedia of the Egyptian Pharaohs. London 2008, p. 10.
19. ^ Baker: The Encyclopedia of the Egyptian Pharaohs. London 2008, pp. 10-11.
20. ^ Schneider: Lexicon of the Pharaohs. Düsseldorf 2002, pp. 46-47.
21. ↑ Schlögl: Ancient Egypt. Munich 2008, pp. 189–190.
22. ↑ Schlögl: Ancient Egypt. Munich 2008, p. 190.
23. ^ Schneider: Lexicon of the Pharaohs. Düsseldorf 2002, p. 47.
24. ↑ ^{a b} Baker: The Encyclopedia of the Egyptian Pharaohs. London 2008, p. 11.
25. ^ William Whiston: The new complete works of Josephus. Pp. 942-943; Flavius ​​Josephus: About the originality of Judaism. (Contra Apionem) (= writings of the Institutum Judaicum Delitzschianum 6). Published by Folker Siegert. With contributions by Jan Dochhorn and Manuel Vogel. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-54206-4 , p. 114.
26. ^ William Whiston: The new complete works of Josephus. P. 961.
27. ↑ Cf. SCIEM2000: Workshop Egypt & Time: Precision of the historical Chronology. Vienna June 30th to July 2nd, 2005.
28. ↑ Cf. also Gernot Wilhelm: The Egyptian Chronology of the New Kingdom. In: Bernd Jankowski, Gernot Wilhelm (Hrsg.): Texts from the environment of the Old Testament . New series, volume 1: Texts on legal and economic life. Gütersloher Verlags-Haus, Gütersloh 2004, ISBN 3-579-05289-6 , p. 359.
29. ^ Jean Meeus : Astronomical Algorithms - Applications for Ephemeris Tool 4.5. Barth, Leipzig 2000, for: Ephemeris Tool 4.5 according to Jean Meeus, conversion program, 2001 .
30. ↑ July 3rd in the Gregorian calendar corresponds to July 18th in the proleptic calendar.
31. ↑ June 27 of the Gregorian calendar corresponds to July 12 of the proleptic calendar.
32. ↑ Ahmose I Nebpehtire '. ancientneareast.net, August 10, 2004, archived from the original on October 8, 2008 ; accessed on May 7, 2013 . 
33. ↑ Nicholas Reeves , Richard H. Wilkinson: The Valley of the Kings. Mysterious realm of the dead of the pharaohs. Weltbild-Verlag, Augsburg 2000, ISBN 3-8289-0739-3 , p. 197.

predecessor	Office	successor
Kamose	Pharaoh of Egypt 18th Dynasty (beginning)	Amenhotep I.