Thutmose I of Egypt

Thutmose I Akheperkare ( ? - 1492 BC ; sometimes spelledThutmosis) was the 3rd Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt . He ruled from 1504 BC to 1492 BC. He was thefather of the Pharaohs Thutmose II and Hatshepsut and was the first Pharaoh to be buried in the Valley of the Kings .

Thutmose I had both a common father and mother, Semiseneb, but rose through the ranks of the military to become one of themost prominent commanders under the reign of his predecessor Amenhotep I andpossibly served as a co-regent . Thereis some debate over the parentage of his wife Queen Ahmose . She was eitherthe daughter of Ahmose I and Queen Ahmose Nefertari or Thutmose I'ssister. When Amenhotep I died childless, Thutmose I ascended the throne. Amenhotep's mother, Ahmose Nefertari, continued to holdthe title of God's Wife of Amun into Thutmose's reign, legitimizing his rule.

Thutmose led several major military campaigns most notably against insurgent Hyksos tribes in the Nile Delta .He pursued the tribes all the way to the Euphrates River . In Nubia he led an expedition beyond the Third Cataract where he engaged aNubian king in hand tohand combat and slew the Nubian king. According to one of Thutmose I's admirals , Ahmose, son of Ebana , upon victory he had the Nubianking's body hung from the prow of his ship, before he returned to Thebes .

An avid builder, Thutmose I commissioned many construction projects during his rule, including the first tomb carved out atThe Valley Of The Kings. Much of his projects were at the Temple of Karnak under the supervision of the architect Ineni . These works included the fourth and fifth pylons , numerous courts and statues, the completion of the Treasurey expansion begun by Amenhotep I, and had a hypostyle hall of cedar wood constructed at Karnak to commemorate his victory over the Hyksos.

Ahmose bore him two sons, Wadjmose and Amenmose, both of whom died before Thutmose I. A son by a minor wife, Mutnofret, becamehis heir and successor Thutmose II, with rival claims by his fully royal daughter Hatshepsut .

Thutmose I's body was found in the Deir el-Bahri Cache above the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut and can viewed today in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo .

See also: List of Pharaohs