Egyptian Striding King Amenhotep I

Description

The son of Ahmose and Queen Ahmose Nefretiri, Amenhotep I was the second king of the 18th Dynasty. He may have ascended to the throne at a relatively young age, for an elder brother had been designated as heir only about five years earlier. He may have even served brief co-regency with his father, however. He evidently carried on many of the practices of his father, and his mother certainly played an important part in his reign, acting as God's Wife of Amun. Amenhotep I may have been married to his sister, (Ahmose-) Merytamun, who was a God's Wife of Amun, though there is apparently little documentation to substantiate this relationship. Better known is this king's daughter, Satamun, who is known both from her coffin found in one of the royal mummy caches, and from two statues at central and southern Karnak. 

Amenhotep was this king's birth name, which means "Amun is pleased". He is also known as Amenhotpe I, and Amenophis I by the early Greeks. His throne name was Djeser-ka-re, or "Holy is the Soul of Re". His Horus name was Ka-Waf-Taw (Bull who conquers the land) and his "Two Ladies" name was Aa-nerw (He who inspires great terror). 

Regardless of the ferocity of his "Two Ladies" name, Amenhotep I seem to have had a fairly peaceful reign. He may have faced a Libyan uprising his first year as king, but if he did, Amenhotep I successfully overcame the ancient enemies preventing an invasion in the Delta area. We learn from inscriptions provided by Ahmose son of Ebana, with verification from Ahmose-Pen-Nekhbet, that Amenhotep I also led a military expedition into Kush ( Nubia) in about year eight of his reign past the second cataract of the Nile, and apparently after his victory, brought captives back to Thebes. However, this appears to have been little more than a skirmish. He appointed a man named Turi as Viceroay of Kush, and established a temple marking Egypt's southern boundary at the Nubian down of Sai.

Amenhotep I was given the rare honor of being declared a titular god upon his death by the priests. He was regarded as the patron god of the Theban necropolis, alongside his mother, Ahmose Nefretiri, whose posthumous renown probably exceeded that of her son. In fact, her name appears in the litany of Amenhotep I's own cult.

Amenhotep I and his mother were especially worshipped at Deir el-Medina on the west bank at Thebes, where the craftsmen and who build and decorated the royal tombs lived. In fact, this community was probably either established in his or his father's reign. Peret, the third month in ancient Egypt, was devoted to and named after Amenhotep I, and several rituals dramatizing his death, burial and resurrection took place at Deir el-Medina during the month of Peret. However, Amenhotep I became a fairly major deity with a number of festivals throughout the year.  

The king and his mother's cult remained strong, particularly at Deir el-Medina, throughout the New Kingdom. However, most houses during the Ramessid era contained, in their front rooms, a scene honoring the two. They were usually depicted with black or blue skin, the colors of resurrection, and so were associated with that religious element.

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