Ahmose I - Succession

Succession

Ahmose I was succeeded by his son, Amenhotep I. A minority of scholars have argued that Ahmose had a short co-regency with Amenhotep, potentially lasting up to six years. If there was a co-regency, Amenhotep could not have been made king before Ahmose's 18th regnal year, the earliest year in which Ahmose-ankh, the heir apparent, could have died. There is circumstantial evidence indicating a co-regency may have occurred, although definitive evidence is lacking.

The first piece of evidence consists of three small objects which contain both of their praenomen next to one another: the aforementioned small glass bead, a small feldspar amulet and a broken stele, all of which are written in the proper style for the early 18th dynasty. The last stele said that Amenhotep was "given life eternally", which is an Egyptian idiom meaning that a king is alive, but the name of Ahmose does not have the usual epithet "true of voice" which is given to dead kings. Since praenomen are only assumed upon taking the throne, and assuming that both were in fact alive at the same time, it is indicated that both were reigning at the same time. There is, however, the possibility that Amenhotep I merely wished to associate himself with his beloved father, who reunited Egypt.

Second, Amenhotep I appears to have nearly finished preparations for a sed festival, or even begun celebrating it; but Amenhotep I's reign is usually given only 21 years and a sed festival traditionally cannot be celebrated any earlier than a ruler's 30th year. If Amenhotep I had a significant co-regency with his father, some have argued that he planned to celebrate his Sed Festival on the date he was first crowned instead of the date that he began ruling alone. This would better explain the degree of completion of his Sed Festival preparations at Karnak. There are two contemporary New Kingdom examples of the breaking of this tradition; Hatshepsut celebrated her Heb Sed Festival in her 16th year and Akhenaten celebrated a Sed Festival near the beginning of his 17-year reign.

Third, Ahmose's wife, Ahmose Nefertari, was called both "King's Great Wife" and "King's Mother" in two stelae which were set up at the limestone quarries of Ma`sara in Ahmose's 22nd year. For her to literally be a "King's Mother," Amenhotep would already have to be a king. It is possible that the title was only honorific, as Ahhotep II assumed the title without being the mother of any known king; though there is a possibility that her son Amenemhat was made Amenhotep I's co-regent, but preceded him in death.

Because of this uncertainty, a co-regency is currently impossible to prove or disprove. Both Redford's and Murnane's works on the subject are undecided on the grounds that there is too little conclusive evidence either for or against a coregency. Even if there was one, it would have made no difference to the chronology of the period because in this kind of institution Amenhotep would have begun counting his regnal dates from his first year as sole ruler. However, co-regency supporters note that since at least one rebellion had been led against Ahmose during his reign, it would certainly have been logical to crown a successor before one's death to prevent a struggle for the crown.