Ramses I

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Men-pehty-Ra Ra-mesesu, or Ramesses I, was the founder of the 19th dynasty, belonging to the New Kingdom of Egypt. The dates of his short reign are estimated from c. 1295 to 1294 BCE C., or from 1320 B.C. c.-1318 a. C.

Biography

Originally called Paramesu, he came from a prestigious military family around the city of Avaris, in the Nile Delta region. He was a career military man, initially chief archer, a job he inherited from his father, from name Seti, and became a general of the royal army. Ramesses found favor with Horemheb, pharaoh of the then-discredited 18th dynasty who appointed Ramesses chaty (a kind of vizier) and consequently the second most powerful man in the kingdom.

Before dying, Horemheb linked his chaty to the throne, who, although he was already an old man, had the advantage of having male offspring —which surely must have favored his choice, since Horemheb himself lacked a heir-. Therefore, Ramesses immediately associated his son, Seti I, to the throne as co-regent and, on his death, heir. As such, he undertook several military operations and, in particular, the attempt to recover Egypt's lost possessions in Syria. Seti's son, the future Ramses II, was then about 10 years old.

For his part, the pharaoh busied himself with construction projects in Egypt, most importantly the completion of the second temple at Karnak, begun by his predecessor. In any case, the reign of Ramses I was a period of transition between the 18th dynasty (Horemheb) and the 19th, initiated by him.

His Great Royal Wife was Sitra, also elderly, who was the first sovereign to be buried in the Valley of the Queens. It is unlikely that Ramesses I was the husband of the obscure Tanedyemy, presumed only daughter of Horemheb, who was perhaps the wife of Seti I.

Ramesses died after ruling for a brief period of 16 months and was buried in the Valley of the Kings; His tomb was discovered by Giovanni Belzoni in 1817 and designated KV 16. It is small and appears to have been hastily completed. The mummy attributed to Ramses I has suffered great vicissitudes throughout history, for which reason it is not known with certainty if it is actually the one that has been usually attributed to him, originating from the Deir el-Bahari hiding place.