Ahmose was an Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

ian royal queen of pharaoh, Thutmose I

Thutmose I

Thutmose I was the third Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. He was given 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 further than ever before...

, and the mother of queen and later, pharaoh, Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut also Hatchepsut; meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies;1508–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt...

. Her name means "Child of Moon".

Family

It is not known who Ahmose's father and mother were. It has been suggested that Ahmose was either a daughter of pharaoh Amenhotep I

Amenhotep I

Amenhotep I was the second Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. His reign is generally dated from 1526 to 1506 BC. He was born to Ahmose I and Ahmose-Nefertari, but had at least two elder brothers, Ahmose-ankh and Ahmose Sapair, and was not expected to inherit the throne...

 or a daughter of pharaoh 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 possibly Ahmose I's sister-wife 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...

. Ahmose was never called a King's Daughter. This fact creates some doubt about these theories about Ahmose's royal family connections. However, Ahmose did hold the title King's Sister. This may suggest that she was a sister of pharaoh Thutmose I

Thutmose I

Thutmose I was the third Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. He was given 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 further than ever before...

.

Ahmose is identified with an impressive array of titles: Hereditary Princess (iryt-p`t), Great of Praises (wrt-hzwt), Mistress of Great Beloved Sweetness (nebt-bnrt-‘3(t)-mrwt), Great King’s Wife, his beloved (hmt-niswt-wrt meryt.f), Mistress of Gladness (hnwt-ndjm-ib), Lady of all Women (hnwt-hmwt-nbwt), Mistress of the Two Lands (hnwt-t3wy), Companion of Horus (zm3yt-hrw), Beloved Companion of Horus (zm3yt-hrw-mryt.f), King’s Sister (snt-niswt)

Ahmose was the Great Royal Wife

Great Royal Wife

Great Royal Wife or Chief King's Wife is the term used to refer to the chief wife of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. While most Ancient Egyptians were monogamous, the pharaoh would have had other, lesser wives and concubines in addition to the Great Royal Wife...

 of Thutmose I. She is depicted in Deir-el-Bahari and she appears there with a daughter named Neferubity. Ahmose was also the mother of the queen-pharaoh Hatshepsut. It is not known with certainty whether Princes Amenmose

Amenmose (prince)

Amenmose was an Ancient Egyptian prince. He lived during the 18th dynasty and was the eldest son and designated heir of Thutmose I. He predeceased his father....

 and Wadjmose

Wadjmose

Wadjmose was an ancient Egyptian prince of the 18th dynasty; a son of Pharaoh Thutmose I.He is likely to have been born a few years before his father ascended the throne. He had a brother named Amenmose; it is disputed who their mother was. If they were born to Queen Ahmose, they were full brothers...

 were her sons. They are generally thought to be the sons of Queen Mutnofret

Mutnofret

Mutnofret was a queen during the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. She was a secondary wife of Thutmose I and the mother of Thutmose II....

, another wife of Tuthmose I.

Monuments and Inscriptions

An official named Yuf served as the second prophet of the dues (S'w) of the altar, the door-keeper of the temple, and as a priest. He also served a number of royal women. He first served queen Ahhotep

Ahhotep

* Ahhotep I, Ancient Egyptian queen who lived during the 17th dynasty* Ahhotep II, believed to have been the wife of ancient Egyptian pharaoh Kamose who reigned 1526–1506 BC...

, the mother of pharaoh 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...

, he was responsible for repairing the disturbed tomb of Queen Sobekemsaf, and eventually served Queen Ahmose. Yuf recorded that Queen Ahmose appointed him as assistant treasurer and entrusted him with the service to a statue of her majesty.

Ahmose features prominently in the divine conception scenes. Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut

Hatshepsut also Hatchepsut; meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies;1508–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt...

 had scenes created showing how the god Amun

Amun

Amun, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu , was a god in Egyptian mythology who in the form of Amun-Ra became the focus of the most complex system of theology in Ancient Egypt...

 approached her mother, Ahmose, and how she (Hatshepsut) was of divine birth. The inscriptions show how the god Thoth first mentions Queen Ahmose to Amun

Amun

Amun, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu , was a god in Egyptian mythology who in the form of Amun-Ra became the focus of the most complex system of theology in Ancient Egypt...

. "Ahmose is her name, the beneficent, mistress of [--], She is the wife of the king Aakheperkare (Thutmose I), given life forever" (from Breasted's Ancient Records). The god Amun

Amun

Amun, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu , was a god in Egyptian mythology who in the form of Amun-Ra became the focus of the most complex system of theology in Ancient Egypt...

 then proceeds to the palace and makes himself known to the Queen. They proceed to conceive a child and Amun declares that she should be named Khnemet-Amun-Hatshepsut. Amun proceeds to the god Khnum and instructs him to create Hatshepsut. The scenes continue to show the confinement of the queen and the birth of her divine daughter.

Many years later Pharaoh Amenhotep III

Amenhotep III

Amenhotep III also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty. According to different authors, he ruled Egypt from June 1386 to 1349 BC or June 1388 BC to December 1351 BC/1350 BC after his father Thutmose IV died...

 copied these scenes almost exactly to show how Amun

Amun

Amun, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu , was a god in Egyptian mythology who in the form of Amun-Ra became the focus of the most complex system of theology in Ancient Egypt...

 visited his mother queen Mutemwiya and conceived the royal prince.