Roman general and supporter of the various Roman factions in Egypt
Ahenobarbus aided Marc Antony in his effort to become master of the Roman world. The son of a prominent family that wielded much influence in the Roman Senate, he bore the name Ahenobarbus, or “red beard,” because of the traditional tale that a distant ancestor had his beard turned that color by the gods castor and Pollux. He was also noted as the grandfather of the future emperor Nero.
Originally Ahenobarbus backed Brutus and the Liberators who had assassinated Julius caesar, calling for the continuation of the Roman Republic. Following the defeat of the Republicans after Caesar’s assassination in 44 B. C.E., Ahenobarbus fled Rome and was forced to survive by working as a pirate in the Mediterranean. In 40 B. C.E., he was reconciled with Marc Antony (who had declared himself against the Liberators), serving him as the governor of Anatolia (modern Turkey) until 35 b. c.e. He was a consul of Rome when Marc Antony and octa-VIAN, the future Augustus and first emperor of Rome, proved unable to remain political allies. Ahenobarbus went with Antony to Alexandria, Egypt, but soon found CLEOPATRA VII (51-30 B. C.E.), Antony’s famed lover, to be an evil influence. He charged that she was opposed to traditional Roman values and, when Antony declined to heed his counsel, Ahenobarbus deserted Antony’s cause just before the Battle of actium in 31 b. c.e. He died soon after, supposedly of remorse, but probably from a terminal illness. His foul temper was legendary.
Ah’hotep (1) (fl. 16th century b. c.e.) Royal woman of the Seventeenth Dynasty
She was the consort of Sekenenre ta’o ii (c. 1560 b. c.e.) and the mother of the founder of the New Kingdom, ’ahmose (r. 1550-1525 b. c.e.). The daughter of Senakh-tenre ta’o i and Queen tetisheri, Ah’hotep was raised in DEIR EL-BAAS, just north of Thebes, during the period in which the hyksos, or Asiatics, ruled the northern territories. She bore two sons, kamose and ’Ahmose, and two daughters, ’ahmose-nefertari and ’ahmose-hetempet.
When Ta’o II began the war of unification, Ah’hotep stood as guardian of the Theban throne. She received Ta’o’s body when he was slain and then sent her firstborn son, Kamose, on the same crusade. Kamose died in 1550, and ’Ahmose became the new ruler. Ah’hotep served as regent for this young son, marrying him to his sister, ’Ahmose-Nefertari, who was possibly Kamose’s widow For almost 10 years, Ah’hotep ruled the Theban lands of southern Egypt, maintaining an uneasy peace with the Hyksos. When ’Ahmose began his spectacular campaign against the Asiatics, Ah’hotep maintained order and recruited more and more units for the army. Her name was linked with that of ’Ahmose in inscriptions, as in the fortress of buhen, south of ASWAN on the Nile.
She died at the age of 90 after the nation was unified, and she was given a vast mortuary complex at thebes, being buried near Kamose. Magnificent offerings were provided for her burial, including a ceremonial ax (a military honor) and a golden boat mounted on a wooden chariot with bronze wheels. ’Ahmose praised her on a stela at karnak, saying: “She is the one who performed the rites and cared for Egypt.” The immense coffin of Ah’hotep was found in 1881, used for pinudjem (1). Her mummified remains were discovered in a small tomb near the entrance to the valley of the kings. No original tomb has been identified.
Ah’hotep (2) (fl. 16th century b. c.e.) Royal woman of the Eighteenth Dynasty
She was the consort of amenhotep i (r. 1525-1504 B. C.E.). The daughter of ’ahmose and Queen ’ahmose-NEFERTARI, Ah’hotep married her brother and is listed as “King’s Daughter, King’s Wife, King’s Mother.” Amenhotep I, however, died without an heir. The son born to him by Ah’hotep died in infancy This baby, amunemhet (1), was discovered in a cache of mummies alongside his aunt, ’ahmose-merytamon. Ah’hotep was buried in
THEBES.
’Ahmose (Nebpehtire) (d. 1525 b. c.e.) Founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty and the New Kingdom ’Ahmose, whose name means “The Moon Arises,” reigned from 1550 b. c.e. until his death. ’Ahmose’s dynasty also opened the historical period called the New Kingdom (1550-1070 B. C.E.). He was the son of Sekenenre ta’o ii and Queen ah’hotep (1) at thebes, and the brother of KAMOSE, the last ruler of the Seventeenth Dynasty. Kamose and Ta’o II had waged war against the hyksos, or Asiatics, who had usurped the northeastern regions of Egypt and had perished in the attempt. ’Ahmose succeeded to the throne of Thebes when Kamose died.
Young at the time, ’Ahmose was unable to take advantage of Kamose’s gains. The Hyksos regrouped and captured Heliopolis. For perhaps a decade ’Ahmose was served by his mother as his regent, and she consolidated his southern holdings and prepared him to lead an army northward. ’Ahmose brought a military cunning and an administrative genius to bear on the war and on the subsequent decades of his reign. ’Ahmose moved against AVARIS, the Hyksos capital in the eastern delta, using land forces and ships that were able to navigate the eastern branches of the Nile. placing Avaris under siege, ’Ahmose had to put down a rebellion of priests in another area with a small fleet and several units of the army. ’ahmose, son of ebana, present at these military campaigns, detailed the activities in his funerary hieroglyphs. Other details are available from the tomb of ’ahmose-pen NEKHEBET, another contemporary
After a long period, Avaris surrendered, and the Hyksos fled into Sharuhen, a fortress in southwestern Palestine. The Egyptians followed there as well, placing Sharuhen under siege. While the army kept the Hyksos sealed inside their fortress in palestine, ’Ahmose faced another revolt. This rebellion was instituted by a’ata, a ruler of kermeh, a region south of ASWAN, who faced ’Ahmose and his armies. ’Ahmose won the battle and took A’ata prisoner. The troops of A’ata were given as slaves to the veteran Egyptian soldiers. ’Ahmose then established the viceroyalty, or governorship, of Kush, or NUBIA (modern Sudan), with the administrative offices located on the elephantine Island at Aswan. A trusted companion, ’ahmose sitayet, was named to this position. A second Nubian campaign settled the region.
Sharuhen surrendered after three, or possibly six, years, and the Egyptians followed the Hyksos all the way into modern Syria. They fought battles there to rid themselves of Hyksos survivors, and when that campaign ended, ’Ahmose turned to the matter of a national government. He rewarded his loyal followers with land grants and rebuilt canals and irrigation systems. Mines and QUARRIES were opened and foreign trade resumed. An inscription at masara states that in his 22nd year of rule, ’Ahmose opened the quarry there for limestone to be used at Heliopolis and for amun’s temple at opet, now part of LUXOR. The masara stela, erected by an official named neferperet, states that captured Hyksos oxen were used to drag the quarried stones to the barges on the Nile. ’Ahmose returned to the campaign in palestine and on the Mediterranean coast in his later years. A stela put up on the Euphrates River in modern Iraq by tuthmosis i (r. 1504-1492 b. c.e.) refers to ’Ahmose being on the banks of that river in his own era.
’Ahmose’s chief consort was ’Ahmose-Nefertari, and they had several children: amenhotep i (his heir), ’ahmose-sipair, siamun (2), and Ramose. His daughters were ’ahmose-merytamon and ah’hotep (2). Other consorts were ’ahmose-in-hapi and thent hep, the mother of Princess Hent Temehu. tetisheri, his grandmother, counseled him in his early years, as did his mother, Ah’hotep (1). A unique building inscription depicts ’Ahmose and ’Ahmose-Nefertari seated together in the royal residence. This ABYDOS commemorative, a stela six and a half feet high and three feet wide, describes how the royal couple planned the great mortuary memorials for his mother, Ah’hotep, and his grandmother, Tetisheri.
’Ahmose was about 35 years old when he died in 1525 B. C.E. His tomb was erected at dra-abu el-naga on the western shore of Thebes, and a second false tomb was erected in Abydos with a terraced temple. This was a true pyramid with scenes of his expulsion of the Hyksos. ’Ahmose’s funerary complex cult continued for a long time after his death. His remains were found in deir el-BAHRI in 1881, not in his undiscovered tomb, and they were wreathed in pale blue delphiniums. ’Ahmose’s mummified remains were also protected by a covering of tough black resin. He was buried in a large cedar coffin. Forensic studies indicate that ’Ahmose was of medium height, somewhat thin, with a firm chin and good teeth. He suffered from arthritis and scoliosis, both diseases prominent in the dynasty. ’Ahmose was not circumcised, although it was a custom of the time.
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