Ahhotep I

Ahhotep I (, alternatively Anglicized Ahhotpe or Aahhotep, "Iah (the Moon) is satisfied") was an ancient Egyptian queen who lived circa 1560–1530 BC, during the end of the Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the daughter of Queen Tetisheri (known as Teti the Small) and Senakhtenre Ahmose, and was probably the sister, as well as the queen consort, of Pharaoh Seqenenre Tao ll. The title "King's Mother" was found on the Deir el Bahari coffin.

Ahhotep I was the daughter of Queen Tetisheri and Pharaoh Senakhtenre Ahmose. She was the royal wife of the seventeenth dynasty king Seqenenre Tao; he is believed to have been her brother. Ahhotep was probably the mother of Pharaoh Ahmose I. Her exact relationship to Pharaoh Kamose is not known, but he may have been her brother in law (the brother of Seqenenre Tao) or her son. Other children of Queen Ahhotep I include the later Queen Ahmose Nefertari, who was married to her brother, Pharaoh Ahmose I. There were also Prince Ahmose Sapair, Prince Binpu, Princess Ahmose Henutemipet, Princess Ahmose Nebetta, and Princess Ahmose Tumerisy.

A stela from the reign of Ahmose I describes Ahhotep I as ruling Egypt and uniting its people, attributes that are normally only reserved for kings. It is not known when these events took place but presumably after the death of Seqenenre Tao and Kamose, when Ahmose I was too young to rule. Ahhotep is mentioned on the Kares stela (CG 34003) which dates to year 10 of Amenhotep I, and her steward Iuf mentions her on his stela (CG 34009). Iuf refers to Ahhotep as the mother of Ahmose I, and would later be the steward of Queen Ahmose, wife of Thutmose I. This suggests Ahhotep I may have died at a fairly advanced age during the reign of Thutmose I.

An alternative interpretation has been developed by Ann Macy Roth. This suggests that Seqenenre Tao had three queens:
Ahhotep I, who was the mother of a Prince Ahmose (not the future pharaoh) and several princesses named Ahmes. Sitdjehuti, who was the mother of a princess named Ahmes. Tetisheri, who was the mother of Kamose, Ahhotep II and Ahmose Henuttamehu. In this interpretation, Kamose married his sister Ahhotep II and then were the parents of Ahmose I, Ahmose Nefertari and Ahmose Sitkamose.