Who was THUTMOSE I ?
Thutmose I (1504-1492 BCE) was one of the most important pharaohs of the 18th dynasty. His dynastic name means "born from the god Thoth", the god of wisdom and justice, through which he sought to legitimize his power since he was a military man and not the designated heir to the throne. Thutmose I in fact succeeded Amenophis I, who is said to have had no sons but only a daughter, which is why upon his death there was a succession crisis soon resolved by the advent of Thutmose I who took power.
Of Thutmose I we know that he was the son of Senseneb, a lady of the court, while it is unknown who his father was: some historians claim that he was an illegitimate son of Amenophis I, but Thutmose I never claimed this and no one can establish the truth. As the Egyptian monarchy was matriarchal, Thutmose I, who had no divine blood, succeeded in becoming pharaoh of Egypt by marrying Princess Ahmes, the daughter of Amenophis I, the only rightful heir to the throne, and from their union two children were born: Hatshepsut, who became queen of Egypt, and Amenemes, who died prematurely.
From Mutnefert, a secondary wife, was born Thutmose II, his successor.
We know that of his children, many by concubines and secondary wives, Thutmose I favored his daughter Hatshepsut to such an extent that he associated her with the throne when she was just 15 years old, and the daughter returned his affection by consecrating a chapel for her father at Deir el-Bahari.
Information about Thutmose I's life and activities is provided to us from the writings left by his architect Ineni, from which we deduce that although he ruled only 13 years, Thutmose I was a great warrior who succeeded in expanding Egypt's borders as never before, both in Asia where he even reached the banks of the Euphrates, and in Nubia by reaching as far as the fifth cataract, at El Kenisa, where he had inscriptions engraved to testify to his exploits. He led the most extraordinary military campaigns in Egyptian history that gave the country peace and stability, caring to give his people tranquility and security in their borders.
Also driven by a strong constructive impulse, he erected monuments throughout the country and enlarged the grand temple of Amun at Karnak where he ordered two new pylons to be built, in addition to statues, courtyards and a vestibule: the fourth (in front of which he had two obelisks erected, one of which bears his name engraved) and the fifth, and between them he created an area used as the "Coronation Hall."
Thutmose I was the first pharaoh to be buried in the Valley of the Kings, thus inaugurating the royal necropolis: the preparatory work of his hypogeum tomb is described by the architect Ineni, who points out that for the first time the tomb, excavated in a secret and almost inaccessible place, was detached from the funerary temple that was instead visible to all. This new way of conceiving the funerary complex was devised by the pharaohs of the 18th dynasty so that royal mummies would no longer be looted and tombs plundered.
Thutmose I was probably buried in two tombs, KV20 and KV38. Tomb KV20 was discovered in 1904 by archaeologist Howard Carter and was intended for a double burial: one for Thutmose I and one for his daughter Hatshepsut, as two quartzite sarcophagi with their names were found there, unfortunately empty. Tomb KV38 was discovered by Victor Loret in 1899 and a sarcophagus engraved with Thutmose I's name was found inside, which was also empty.
Why did Thutmose I have two tombs in the Valley of the Kings?
Probably his daughter Hatshepsut transferred her father's mummy from the older KV38 to KV20 to be together, or perhaps KV38 was prepared by Thutmose III to transfer Thutmose I's mummy from KV20. However things turned out, the mummy of Thutmose I was not found in either tomb, and the body still has not been identified with certainty, although it is likely to be one of the royal mummies found in the "cachette" at Deir el-Bahari, a hiding place where, in the late period, the bodies of pharaohs were placed to prevent them from being looted by thieves.
Undoubtedly Thutmose I was a glorious pharaoh, the first of the great Thutmoseds, endowed with extraordinary courage, who knew how to make Egypt a country with secure borders, father of Egypt's most famous queen, the great Hatshepsut.
