Most of ancient Egypt fell to foreign conquest in the seventeenth century BC. Life under foreign occupation is seldom pleasant. So resistance and rebellion often flared across Egypt, as natives sought to expel the invaders. It was in that turbulent period that ancient Egypt’s first warrior queen, Ahhotep I, emerged. Below are some fascinating facts about that fascinating ruler.
The Amazing Ahhotep
Ahhotep I (circa 1560 – 1530 BC) was a warrior queen of the Ancient Egyptian Seventeenth Dynasty. She led armies in combat against the Hyksos – foreign Semitic invaders who had conquered Egypt’s Nile Delta. After her husband was killed fighting the invaders, Ahhotep took over Egypt’s throne and armies as regent during the minority of her son, Ahmose I. As regent, she kept up the pressure against the Hyksos until her son was old enough to take over the fight.
As recounted in an ancient stele that recorded Ahhotep’s deeds: “The king’s wife, the noble lady, who knew everything, assembled Kemet [Egypt]. She looked after what her Sovereign had established. She guarded it. Ahhotep assembled her fugitives. She brought together her deserters. She pacified her Upper Egyptians. [The queen] subdued her rebels, The king´s wife Ahhotep given life. … She is the one who has accomplished the rites and taken care of Egypt… She has looked after her soldiers, she has guarded her, she has brought back her fugitives and collected together her deserters, she has pacified Upper Egypt and expelled her rebels.“
Ahhotep’s Awards
Eventually, Ahhotep’s son, Pharaoh Ahmose I, came of age, took over the reins of power, drove out the Hyksos, and reunified Egypt. After he rid his kingdom from the last remnants of foreign occupation, Ahmose went on to found the Eighteenth Dynasty, which became ancient Egypt’s most famous and successful. During that dynasty, the Egyptian Empire reached the zenith of its power, and stretched from Syria in the north to Nubia in the south, and from Mesopotamia in the west to the Libyan deserts in the west.
Ahhotep was not done with fighting, even after her son came of age and assumed power. While Ahmose was busy in the south warring with Nubians, a cabal of Hyksos-sympathizing rebels attempted to seize the throne. So his mother rallied loyal troops, fought them off, and foiled their attempt. For that, Ahhotep was rewarded with the “Golden Flies of Valor” – ancient Egypt’s highest military award for courage – which was discovered by archaeologists in a tomb, along with weapons and jewelry, thousands of years later.
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Some Sources & Further Reading
Carney, Elizabeth D. – Women and Military Leadership in Pharaonic Egypt
History Halls – Fighting Women: Queen Tomyris
