18th and became a constant underlying theme of New Kingdom political life after a hundred years of foreign rule. A second key characteristic of the New Kingdom was steady expansion of the empire. Under 18th Dynasty pharaohs ruling from Thebes, Palestine and Syria became provinces, Nubia was conquered as far as the foot of the Fourth Cataract, conquest was extended as far north as the Upper Euphrates, and governors were appointed for all the important cities and towns of the resulting empire. As a result, 18th Dynasty Egypt becomes the richest country in the world which, in turn, leads to a prolific level of construction of the period (Budge, 1977:9).The expulsion of the Hyksos was not without cost. Ahmose lost his father Seqenenre II and his brother Kahmose within about three years of each other, leaving him sole heir to the throne at a very young age. His mother, Queen Ashotep, may have been co-regent with him in the early years of his reign. He was faced with the task of consolidating Egypt?s borders, which he did in a series of rapid campaigns. He also initiated temple building projects, the best evidence of which comes from remains and inscriptions at Abydos. Historians generally agree that he reigned 25 to 26 years and that he was buried in the area of the Thebian necropolis, though the location of his tomb is unknown (Clayton, 1994, 100-101).Amenhotep I, who reigned for 25 years like his father, left few records. According to another Ahmose, a soldier in the pharaoh?s army, Amenhotep led a military ex-pedition to Kush; a Nubian and Libyan campaign are also briefly mentioned. He also initiated building work on the temple of Karnak and appears to be the first king to make the radical decision to build his mortuary temple away from his burial place (Clayton, 1994:101). Apart from this start atnew construction, little is known of this Pharaoh.Amenhotep was succeeded not by his son but by a military man. Historians believe that such ...
