Thutmose I (sometimes read as Thutmosis or Tuthmosis I, Thothmes in older history works in Latinized Greek; meaning "Thoth is born") was the third pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. He received the throne after the death of the previous king, Amenhotep I. During his reign, he campaigned deep into the Levant and Nubia, pushing the borders of Egypt farther than ever before in each region. He also built many temples in Egypt, and a tomb for himself in the Valley of the Kings; he is the first king confirmed to have done this (though Amenhotep I may have preceded him).
Thutmose I's reign is generally dated to 1506–1493 BC, but a minority of scholars—who think that astrological observations used to calculate the timeline of ancient Egyptian records, and thus the reign of Thutmose I, were taken from the city of Memphis rather than from Thebes—would date his reign to 1526–1513 BC.Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, Librairie Arthéme Fayard, 1988, p. 202.Ancient Egyptian Chronology, chapter 10: "Egyptian Sirius/Sothic Dates and the Question of the Sirius–Based Lunar Calendar", Rolf Kraus, 2006, pp. 439–57. He was succeeded by his son Thutmose II, who in turn was succeeded by Thutmose II's sister, Hatshepsut.
Family
Thutmose never called himself "Son of the King", hence is believed to be born in non-royal family, to a woman named Senseneb and an unknown father.
Thutmose's wife, Queen Ahmose, who held the title of Great Royal Wife of Thutmose, was probably the daughter of Ahmose I and the sister of Amenhotep I;Gardiner 1964 p. 176 however, she was never called "king's daughter", so there is some doubt about this, and some historians believe she was Thutmose's sister.Bleiberg (2000) p.400
There is speculation marriage was meant to elevate common-born Thutmose's position, but this is disputed because his first-born son, Amenmose, was apparently born long before Thutmose's coronation. He can be seen on a stela from Thutmose's fourth regnal year hunting near Memphis, and he became the "great army-commander of his father" sometime before his death, which was no later than Thutmose's own death in his 12th regnal year.Gardiner (1964) p.179 However, it is unknown whether Amenmose was son of Ahmes and whether he was born before or after his father's ascension, and the title of commander might have been solely ceremonial as mean to mark the Prince as heir apparent.
Thutmose had two other sons—Wadjmose (by an unknown woman) and Thutmose (by Mutnofret, who was likely a daughter of Ahmose I and a sister of Amenhotep IDodson & Hilton 2004: 126, 131)—and two daughters, Hatshepsut and Nefrubity, by Ahmose. Wadjmose and Nefrubity both died young.Steindorff (1942) p.36
His son by Mutnofret succeeded him as Thutmose II and married his half-sister Hatshepsut. It was later recorded by Hatshepsut that their father willed the kingship to both her husband and her, but this is considered propaganda made by Hatshepsut's supporters to legitimise her claim to the throne when she later assumed pharaonic power.Erman (1894) p.43
Reign Dates and length of reign
A heliacal rising of Sothis was recorded in the reign of Thutmose's predecessor, Amenhotep I, which has been dated to 1517 BC, assuming the observation was made at Thebes.Grimal (1988) p.202 The year of Amenhotep's death and Thutmose's subsequent coronation can be accordingly derived, and is dated to 1506 BC by most modern scholars. But if the observation were made at either Heliopolis or Memphis, as a minority of scholars argue, Thutmose would have been crowned in 1526 BC.Helk (1983) pp.47-9 A stela from Wadi Halfa gives Thutmose's accession date as III Peret 21. Manetho records that Thutmose I's reign lasted 12 years and 9 months (or 13 years) as a certain Mephres in his Epitome. This data is supported by two dated inscriptions from Years 8 and 9 of his reign bearing his cartouche found inscribed on a stone block in Karnak.Jürgen von Beckerath (1997), p.120 Accordingly, Thutmose is usually given a reign from 1506 BC to 1493 BC (low chronology), but a minority of scholars date it from 1526 BC to 1513 BC (high chronology).
Military achievements Upon Thutmose's coronation, Nubia rebelled against Egyptian rule. According to the tomb autobiography of Ahmose, son of Ebana, Thutmose traveled up the Nile and fought in the battle, personally killing the Nubian king.Steindorff and Seele (1942) p.34 Upon victory, he had the Nubian king's body hung from the prow of his ship, before he returned to Thebes. After that campaign, he led a second expedition against Nubia in his third year in the course of which he ordered the canal at the first cataract—which had been built under Sesostris III of the 12th Dynasty—to be dredged in order to facilitate easier travel upstream from Egypt to Nubia. This helped integrate Nubia into the Egyptian empire. This expedition is mentioned in two separate inscriptions by the king's son Thure:Lorna Oakes, Pyramids, Temples and Tombs of Ancient Egypt, Hermes House, 2003. p.207
In the second year of Thutmose's reign, the king cut a stele at Tombos, which records that he built a fortress at Tombos, near the third cataract, thus permanently extending the Egyptian military presence, which had previously stopped at Buhen, at the second cataract.Breasted (1906) p.28
Campaign in the Levant and Syria The conquest of Megiddo. The victory was commemorated in reliefs at Karnak depicting the conquered cities and their rulers as captives. Each city was shown as a bound figure with "arms bound behind the back", explicitly identified as Syrian. In accompanying scenes, Thutmose III is portrayed grasping "kneeling Asiatics" "by the hair" and "in the act of smiting with his mace", while deities present "the various Syrian towns in fetters" to the king, reinforcing the imagery of physical domination and submission.
The rulers were required to provide hostages and engage in dynastic submission, and "many a Syrian king's daughter was received into the harem of the pharaoh", reinforcing Egyptian control through elite incorporation and marriage politics. Textual sources from the time of Thutmose I include references to Retenu, Naharin, and the 'land of Mitanni'. The last is believed to be the first historical reference to that kingdom.
Many Levantine sites were destroyed in the middle of the 16th century BC, and these destructions have often been attributed to the military campaigns of Thutmose I, or of his predecessor Amenhotep I. Initially these campaigns may have aimed at defeating the power of the Hyksos, who were formerly strong in this area.As many as 20 sites in the Levant suffered destruction at this time. For example, the fiery destruction of Stratum XVIII at Gezer has been assigned to the second half of the 16th century BC, the time of Amenhotep I and Thutmose I, based on the pottery and scarabs discovered in the destruction debris.
It does not appear that the Egyptians' aim at this stage was to control the area permanently, because they established no permanent presence in the area. This happened later, during the 18th dynasty.
Rebellions in the south Thutmose had to face one more military threat, another rebellion by Nubia in his fourth year.Steindorff and Seele (1942) p.35 His influence accordingly expanded even farther south, as an inscription dated to his reign has been found as far south as Kurgus, south of the fourth cataract.Shaw and Nicholson (1995) p.289 He inscribed a large tableau on the Hagar el-Merwa, a quartz outcrop long and wide 1200 meters from the Nile, on top of several local inscriptions. This is the furthest south the Egyptian presence is attested. During his reign, he initiated a number of projects that effectively ended Nubian independence for 500 years. He enlarged a temple to Sesostris III and Khnum, opposite the Nile from Semna.Erman (1894) p.503 There are also records of specific religious rites the viceroy of El-Kab was to have performed in the temples in Nubia in proxy for the king.Breasted (1906) p.25 He also appointed a man called Turi to the position of viceroy of Kush, also known as the "King's Son of Cush".Breasted (1906) p.27 With a civilian representative of the king permanently established in Nubia, Nubia did not dare revolt as often as it had and was easily controlled by future Egyptian kings.
Building projects
Thutmose I organized great building projects during his reign, including many temples and tombs, but his greatest projects were at the Temple of Karnak under the supervision of the architect Ineni.Breasted (1906) p.41 Before Thutmose, Karnak probably consisted only of a long road to a central platform, with a number of shrines for the solar bark along the side of the road.Grimal (1988) p.300 Thutmose was the first king to drastically enlarge the temple. He had the fifth pylon built along the temple's main road, along with a wall around the inner sanctuary and two flagpoles to flank the gateway. Outside of this, he built a fourth pylon and another enclosure wall. Between pylons four and five, he had a hypostyle hall constructed, with columns made of cedar wood. This type of structure was common in ancient Egyptian temples, and supposedly represents a papyrus marsh, an Egyptian symbol of creation.Shaw (2003) p.168 Along the edge of this room he built colossal statues, each one alternating wearing the crown of Upper Egypt and the crown of Lower Egypt. Finally, outside of the fourth pylon, he erected four more flagpoles and two obelisks, although one of them, which now has fallen, was not inscribed until Thutmose III inscribed it about 50 years later. The cedar columns in Thutmose I's hypostyle hall were replaced with stone columns by Thutmose III, but at least the northernmost two were replaced by Thutmose I himself. Hatshepsut also erected two of her own obelisks inside Thutmose I's hypostyle hall.
In addition to Karnak, Thutmose I also built statues of the Ennead at Abydos, buildings at Armant, Ombos, el-Hiba, Memphis, and Edfu, as well as minor expansions to buildings in Nubia, at Semna, Buhen, Aniba, and Quban.
Thutmose I was the first king who definitely was buried in the Valley of the Kings. Ineni was commissioned to dig this tomb, and presumably to build his mortuary temple. His mortuary temple has not been found, possibly because it was incorporated into or demolished by the construction of Hatshepsut's mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri.Gardiner (1964) p.170 His tomb, however, has been identified as KV38. In it was found a yellow quartzite sarcophagus bearing the name of Thutmose I, but Thutmose III may have moved his body into the tomb of Hatshepsut, KV20, which also contains a sarcophagus with the name of Thutmose I on it.
Death
Burial