Editing Ahmose I (section)

==Reign==
Ahmose I ascended the throne as a "boy king" at the age of 10. He went on to rule about 25 regnal years before he died around the age of 35. The beginning of his reign would have been under a regency until his coming of age. During his reign he successfully defeated the Hyksos in Lower Egypt, reuniting the Two Lands, becoming the "patriarch" of the New Kingdom. He also started military raids into the [[Levant]] pursuing the Hyksos.

===Regency===
Ahmose ascended the throne when he was still a child, so his mother, [[Ahhotep I|Ahhotep]], reigned as [[regent]] until he was of age. Judging by some of the descriptions of her regal roles while in power, including the general honorific "carer for Egypt", she effectively consolidated the Theban power base in the years before Ahmose assumed full control. If in fact Apepi II was a successor to Apepi I, then he is thought to have remained bottled up in the delta during Ahhotep's regency, because his name does not appear on any monuments or objects south of [[Bubastis]].{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=194}}

===Campaigns===
[[File:Bracelet of Ahhotep II in 2018.jpg|thumb|Bracelet of Ahmose I in 2018]]
[[File:Dagger bearing the name of Ahmose I.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Dagger bearing the name Ahmose I on display at the [[Royal Ontario Museum]], Toronto]]
[[File:Pommel of the dagger bearing the name of king Ahmose.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Cartouche of Ahmose I on the dagger pommel, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto]]
The conflict between the local kings of Thebes and the Hyksos king [[Apepi (pharaoh)|Apepi]] had started during the reign of Ahmose's father, Seqenenre Tao, and would be concluded, after almost 30 years of intermittent conflict and war, during his own reign. Seqenenre Tao 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]]).{{sfn|Shaw|2000|p=199}} Kamose evidently had a short reign, as his highest attested regnal year is year 3, and was succeeded by Ahmose I.{{sfn|Dodson|2012}} Apepi died around a decade later.{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=189}}

====Conquest of the Hyksos====
Ahmose began the conquest of Lower Egypt held by the [[Hyksos]] starting around the 11th year of [[Khamudi]]'s reign, but the sequence of events is not universally agreed upon.{{sfn|Shaw|2000|p=203}}

Analyzing the events of the conquest prior to the siege of the Hyksos capital of Avaris is extremely difficult. Almost everything known comes from a brief but invaluable military commentary on the back of the [[Rhind Mathematical Papyrus]], consisting of brief diary entries,{{sfn|Spalinger|2005|p=23}} one of which reads:

{{blockquote|Regnal year 11, second month of ''shomu'', [[Heliopolis (Ancient Egypt)|Heliopolis]] was entered. First month of ''akhet'', day 23, this southern prince broke into [[Tjaru]].{{sfn|Redford|1992|p=71}}}}

[[File:Ahmose Axe Blade.jpg|thumb|right|120px|Copper axe blade inscribed with the titulary of pharaoh Ahmose I, [[Ashmolean Museum]].]]
While in the past this regnal year date was assumed to refer to Ahmose, it is today believed instead to refer to Ahmose's Hyksos opponent Khamudi since the Rhind papyrus document refers to Ahmose by the inferior title of 'Prince of the South' rather than king or pharaoh, as a Theban supporter of Ahmose surely would have called him.{{sfn|Schneider|2006|p=195}} Anthony Spalinger, in a JNES 60 (2001) book review of [[Kim Ryholt]]'s 1997 book, ''The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, {{circa}}1800–1550 BC'', notes that Ryholt's translation of the middle portion of the Rhind text chronicling Ahmose's invasion of the Delta reads instead as the "1st month of Akhet, 23rd day. ''He-of-the-South'' (i.e. Ahmose) strikes against [[Tjaru|Sile]]."{{sfn|Spalinger|2001|p=299}} Spalinger stresses in his review that he does not question Ryholt's translation of the Rhind text but instead asks whether:

{{blockquote|it is reasonable to expect a Theban-oriented text to describe its Pharaoh in this manner? For if the date refers to Ahmose, then the scribe must have been an adherent of that ruler. To me, the very indirect reference to Ahmose—it must be Ahmose—ought to indicate a supporter of the Hyksos dynasty; hence, the regnal years should refer to this monarch and not the Theban.{{sfn|Spalinger|2001|p=299}}}}
The Rhind Papyrus illustrates some of Ahmose's military strategy when attacking the Delta. Entering Heliopolis in July, he moved down the eastern delta to take [[Tjaru]], the major border fortification on the Horus Road, the road from Egypt to Canaan, in October, totally avoiding [[Avaris]]. In taking Tjaru{{sfn|Redford|1992|p=71}} he cut off all traffic between [[Canaan]] and Avaris. This indicates he was planning a blockade of Avaris, isolating the Hyksos capital from help or supplies coming from Canaan.{{sfn|El-Aref|2005}}

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 also had to quell a small rebellion further south in  Egypt. After this, in the fourth attack, he conquered the city.{{sfn|Breasted|1906|pp=7–8}} He completed his victory over the Hyksos by conquering their stronghold [[Sharuhen]] near [[Gaza City|Gaza]] after a three-year siege.{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=193}}{{sfn|Redford|1967|pp=46–49}} Ahmose would have conquered Avaris by the 18th or 19th year of his reign at the very latest.  This is suggested by "a graffito in the quarry at Tura whereby 'oxen from Canaan' were used at the opening of the quarry in Ahmose's regnal year 22."{{sfn|Redford|1992|p=195}} Since the cattle would probably have been imported after Ahmose's siege of the  town of [[Sharuhen]] which followed the fall of Avaris, this means that the reign of Khamudi must have terminated by Year 18 or 19 of Ahmose's 25-year reign at the very latest.{{sfn|Redford|1992|p=195}}

====Levantine 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]].{{sfn|Weinstein|1981|p=6}} Details on this particular campaign are scarce, as the source of most of the information, [[Ahmose, son of Ebana]], served in the Egyptian navy and did not take part in this land expedition. However, it can be inferred from archaeological surveys of southern Canaan that during the late 16th century BC Ahmose and his immediate successors intended only to break the power of the Hyksos by destroying their cities and not to conquer Canaan. Many sites there were completely laid waste and not rebuilt during this period—something a Pharaoh bent on conquest and tribute would not be likely to do.{{sfn|Weinstein|1981|p=7}}

====Nubian campaigns====
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 he too was defeated. Ahmose restored Egyptian rule over Nubia, which was controlled from a new administrative center established at [[Buhen]].{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=190}} When re-establishing the national government, Ahmose appears to have rewarded various local princes who supported his cause and that of his dynastic predecessors.{{sfn|Shaw|Nicholson|1995|p=18}}

===Art and monuments===
[[File:Ahmose 1.jpg|thumb|x80px|Fragments of an armband of Ahmose I, [[Musée du Louvre]].]]
With the re-unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under Ahmose, a renewal of royal support for the arts and monumental construction occurred. Ahmose reportedly devoted a tenth of all the productive output towards the service of the [[Ancient Egyptian religion|traditional gods]],{{sfn|Maspero|1903|p=129}} 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 building program likely lasted no more than seven years,{{sfn|Shaw|2000|p=209}} and much of what was started was probably finished by his son and successor Amenhotep I.{{sfn|Shaw|2000|p=213}}

Work from Ahmose's reign is made of much finer material than anything from the Second Intermediate Period, though the craftsmanship from his reign does not always match the best work from either the Old or Middle Kingdoms.{{sfn|Rice|1999|p=3}} With the Delta and Nubia under Egyptian control once more, access was gained to resources not available in Upper Egypt. [[Gold]] and [[silver]] were received from Nubia, [[lapis lazuli]] from distant parts of central Asia, [[Cedrus libani|cedar]] from [[Byblos]], and in the [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]] the [[Serabit el-Khadim]] [[turquoise]] mines were reopened. Although the exact nature of the relationship between Egypt and Crete is uncertain, at least some [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] designs have been found on objects from this period, and Egypt considered the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] to be part of its empire.{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=200}} Ahmose reopened the [[Tura (Egypt)|Tura]] [[limestone]] quarries to provide stone for monuments and used Asiatic [[cattle]] from [[Phoenicia]] to haul the stone, according to his quarry inscription.{{sfn|Quarry Inauguration|2006}}
[[File:AhmoseI-FragmentaryStela-StatueMarbleTorso MetropolitanMuseumOfArt.png|thumb|Ahmose I-Fragmentary Stela-Statue Marble Torso Metropolitan Museum Of Art]]
{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=250|caption_align=center
| align    = left
| direction =horizontal
| image1   = Ceremonial axe of Ahmose I (front and back).jpg
| image2   = Pharaoh Ahmose I slaying a Hyksos (axe of Ahmose I, from the Treasure of Queen Aahhotep II) Colorized per source.jpg
| footer=Pharaoh Ahmose I slaying a probable [[Hyksos]]. Detail of a ceremonial axe in the name of Ahmose I, treasure of Queen [[Ahhotep II]]. [[Luxor Museum]]{{sfn|Daressy|1906|p=117}}{{sfn|Morgan|2010|p=308}}{{efn|group=note|[[Pierre Montet]], discoverer of the treasure relates that: "Others [objects] were later added to them, things which came from the pharaoh Ahmose, like the axe decorated with a griffin and a likeness of the king slaying a Hyksos, with other axes and daggers".{{sfn|Montet|1968|p=80}}}}
}}
The art during Ahmose I's reign was similar to the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] royal Theban style,{{sfn|Russmann|James|2001|pp=210-211}} and [[stele|stelae]] from this period were once more of the same quality.{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=200}} This reflects a possibly natural conservative tendency to revive fashions from the pre-Hyksos era. Despite this, only three positively identified statuary images of Ahmose I survive: a single [[shabti]] kept at the [[British Museum]], presumably from his tomb (which has never been positively located), and two life-size statues; one of which resides in the [[New York City|New York]] [[Metropolitan Museum]], the other in the [[Khartoum]] Museum.{{sfn|Russmann|James|2001|pp=210-211}} All display slightly bulging eyes, a feature also present 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.{{sfn|Russmann|2005|pp=24–25}}

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 [[Egyptian faience|faience]], but intentional crafting of glass did not occur until the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty.{{sfn|Cooney|1960|p=11}} One of the earliest glass beads found contains the names of both Ahmose and Amenhotep I, written in a style dated to about the time of their reigns.{{sfn|Gordon|1982|p=296}} If glassmaking was developed no earlier than Ahmose's reign and the first objects are dated to no later than his successor's reign, it is quite likely that it was one of his subjects who developed the craft.{{sfn|Gordon|1982|p=296}}
[[File:AhmoseIAndQueen-Relief BrooklynMuseum.png|thumb|Ahmose I And Queen-Relief Brooklyn Museum]]
[[File:Jewels and Weapons of Queen Ahhotep (by Mariette).jpg|thumb|200px|The jewels and ceremonial weaponry found in the burial of Queen [[Ahhotep I|Ahhotep]], including an axe whose blade depicts Ahmose I striking down a Hyksos soldier, and the golden flies awarded to the Queen for her supportive role against the Hyksos]]

Ahmose resumed large construction projects like those before the [[Second Intermediate Period of Egypt|Second Intermediate Period]]. In the south of the country he began constructing temples mostly  built of brick, one of them in the Nubian town of [[Buhen]]. In Upper Egypt he made additions to the existing temple of [[Amun]] at [[Karnak]] and to the temple of Montu at Armant.{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=200}} According to an inscription at [[Tura (Egypt)|Tura]],{{sfn|Quarry Inauguration|2006}} he used white limestone to build a temple to [[Ptah]] and the southern harem of [[Amun]], but did not finish either project.{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=200}} He built a cenotaph for his grandmother, [[Tetisheri|Queen Tetisheri]], at [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]].{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=200}}

Excavations at the site of Avaris by [[Manfred Bietak]] have shown that Ahmose had a palace constructed on the site of the former Hyksos capital city's fortifications. Bietak found fragmentary Minoan-style remains of the [[fresco]]es that once covered the walls of the palace; there has subsequently been much speculation as to what role this Aegean civilization may have played in terms of trade and in the arts.{{sfn|Shaw|2000|p=208}}

Under Ahmose's reign, the city of [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]] became the capital for the whole of Egypt, as it had been under the [[Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt|11th Dynasty]] in the early 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.{{sfn|Tyldesley|2001|pp=18–19}} Having Thebes as the capital was probably a strategic choice as it was located at the center of the country, the logical conclusion from having had to fight the Hyksos in the north as well as the Nubians to the south. Any future opposition at either border could be met easily.{{sfn|Maspero|1903|pp=130-131}}

Perhaps the most important shift was a religious one: Thebes effectively became the religious as well as the political center of the country, its local god Amun credited with inspiring Ahmose in his victories over the Hyksos. The importance of the temple complex at Karnak (on the east bank of the Nile north of Thebes) grew and the importance of the previous cult of [[Ra]] based in [[Heliopolis (Ancient Egypt)|Heliopolis]] diminished.{{sfn|Tyldesley|2000|p=100}}

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.{{sfn|Shaw|2000|p=210}} The [[Thera eruption#Impact on Egyptian history|Thera eruption]] in the Aegean has been implicated by some scholars as the source of the damages described in the Tempest Stele.{{sfn|Ritner|Moeller|2014|pp=1–19}}

=== Length and date of reign ===
[[File:Two gold and silver boats from Ahhotep II’s tomb.jpg|thumb|200px|Two gold and silver barques or boats<ref>[https://www.globalegyptianmuseum.org/record.aspx?id=15497 Egyptian Museum Catalogue No. JE4682]</ref> donated by Ahmose I and [[Kamose]] to Queen [[Ahhotep II]].]]
According to [[Josephus]] in ''[[Against Apion|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.{{sfn|Waddell|1971|pp=101 & 109}}{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=193}} 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 (Eusebius)|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.{{sfn|Waddell|1971|p=115}} The 25 years figure is seemingly supported by a 'Year 22' inscription from his reign at the stone quarries of [[Tura (Egypt)|Tura]].{{sfn|Breasted|1906|p=12}} 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.{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=193}}
[[File:AhmoseI-CartoucheFromAMonument RosicrucianMuseum.png|thumb|Ahmose I-Cartouche From A Monument Rosicrucian Museum]]
Ahmose's reign can be fairly accurately dated using the [[Sothic cycle|Heliacal rise of Sirius]] in his [[Amenhotep I#Dates and length of reign|successor's reign]], but because of disputes over from where the observation was made, he has been assigned a reign from 1570 to 1546&nbsp;BC, 1560–1537&nbsp;BC, 1551–1527&nbsp;BC and 1539–1514&nbsp;BC by various sources.{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=193}}{{sfn|Helck|1983|pp=47–49}}{{sfn|Ahmose I|2015}} The radiocarbon date range for the start of his reign is 1570–1544 BC, the mean point of which is 1557 BC.{{sfn|Ramsey|Dee|Rowland|Higham|2010|p=1556}}{{efn|group=note|Significantly reduced dates for his reign (1194 to 1170 BC) were suggested by [[David Rohl]],{{sfn|Rohl|1997}} but these were rejected by the majority of Egyptologists.{{sfn|Bennett|1996}} A radiocarbon study published in 2010 suggested minor revisions in the traditional chronology but did not support Rohl's theory.{{sfn|Ramsey|Dee|Rowland|Higham|2010|p=1556}}}}
[[File:Winged Griffin Plaque Inscibed with the Name Nebpehtyre (Ahmose I) MET DP112344.jpg|thumb|Winged Griffin Plaque Inscibed with the Name Nebpehtyre (Ahmose I) MET DP112344]]
[[File:Winged Griffin Plaque Inscibed with the Name Nebpehtyre (Ahmose I) MET DP112345.jpg|thumb|Winged Griffin Plaque Inscibed with the Name Nebpehtyre (Ahmose I)]]