Amenhotep I was the second Pharaoh

Pharaoh

Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...

 of the 18th dynasty

Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt

The eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt...

 of Egypt

History of Ancient Egypt

The History of Ancient Egypt spans the period from the early predynastic settlements of the northern Nile Valley to the Roman conquest in 30 BC...

. His reign is generally dated from 1526 to 1506 BC. He was born to Ahmose I

Ahmose I

Ahmose I was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Eighteenth dynasty. He was a member of the Theban royal house, the son of pharaoh Tao II Seqenenre and brother of the last pharaoh of the Seventeenth dynasty, King Kamose...

 and Ahmose-Nefertari

Ahmose-Nefertari

Ahmose-Nefertari of Ancient Egypt was a Queen of Egypt. She was a daughter of Seqenenre Tao II and Ahhotep I, and royal sister and the great royal wife of pharaoh, Ahmose I. She was the mother of king Amenhotep I and may have served as his regent when he was young...

, but had at least two elder brothers, Ahmose-ankh

Ahmose-ankh

Ahmose-ankh was a prince during the early Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. He was the son of Pharaoh Ahmose I and Queen Ahmose Nefertari. He was the crown prince but pre-deceased his father, thus the next pharaoh was his younger brother Amenhotep I...

 and Ahmose Sapair

Ahmose Sapair

Ahmose-Sapair was an Ancient Egyptian prince during the late 17th dynasty. He was probably a son of Pharaoh Tao II the Brave and a brother of Ahmose I or the child of Ahmose I.During the 18th dynasty he appears on several monuments...

, and was not expected to inherit the throne

Enthronement

An enthronement is a ceremony of inauguration, involving a person—usually a monarch or religious leader—being formally seated for the first time upon their throne. This ritual is generally distinguished from a coronation because there is no crown or other regalia that is physically...

. However, sometime in the eight years between Ahmose I's 17th regnal year

Regnal year

A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin regnum meaning kingdom, rule.The oldest dating systems were in regnal years, and considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of rule, a third, and...

 and his death, his heir apparent

Heir apparent

An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....

 died and Amenhotep became crown prince

Crown Prince

A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....

. He then acceded to the throne and ruled for about 21 years.

Although his reign is poorly documented, it is possible to piece together a basic history from available evidence.