The Autobiography of Ahmose Pen Nekhbet is a tomb inscription from ancient Egypt, which is significant to

Egyptology Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious p ...

studies. Ahmose Pen Nekhbet was an ancient Egyptian official who started his career under

Ahmose I Ahmose I ( egy, jꜥḥ ms(j .w), reconstructed /ʔaʕaħ'maːsjə/ ( MK), Egyptological pronunciation ''Ahmose'', sometimes written as ''Amosis'' or ''Aahmes'', meaning " Iah (the Moon) is born") was a pharaoh and founder of the Eighteent ...

and served all the pharaohs until

Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Officially, Thutmose III ruled Egypt for almost 54 years and his reign is usually dated from 2 ...

. His autobiographical inscriptions are important for the understanding of the history of the early New Kingdom, though less detailed than those of his contemporary

Ahmose, son of Ebana Ahmose, son of Ebana, served in the Egyptian military under the pharaohs Ahmose I, Amenhotep I, and Thutmose I. His autobiography has survived and is intact on the wall of his tomb and has proven a valuable source of information on the late 17t ...

. In his tomb he mentions his brother Khaemwaset and his wife Ipu, who may be identical with the royal nurse

Ipu Ipu is a percussion instrument made from gourds that is often used to provide a beat for hula dancing. There are two types of ipu, the ipu heke (), which is a double gourd made by taking two gourds of different sizes, cutting them and joining t ...

, mother of Queen

Satiah Satiah (also, Sitiah, Sitioh; “Daughter of the Moon”) was an ancient Egyptian queen, the Great Royal Wife of Thutmose III. Family Satiah was the daughter of the royal nurse Ipu. It is possible that her father was the important official Ahmos ...

. His tomb is located in

Nekhen Nekhen ( egy, nḫn, ); in grc, Ἱεράκων πόλις Hierakonpolis ( either: City of the Hawk, or City of the Falcon, a reference to Horus or ''Hierakōn polis'' "Hawk City" in arz, الكوم الأحمر, el-Kōm el-Aḥmar, lit=the ...

where it is given the designation EK2. Under Ahmose I he fought in Northern

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

; then he followed

Amenhotep I Amenhotep I () ( egy, jmn-ḥtp(w) /jaˌmanuwˈħatpaw/ "Amun is satisfied"; Amarna cuneiform ''a-ma-an-ha-at-pe'' or ''-at-pa''), Amenôthes I, or Amenophis I, (,) from Ancient Greek Ἀμένωφις ,Dodson & Hilton (2004) p.126 additionally ...

Nubia Nubia () (Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), or ...

, accompanied

Thutmose I Thutmose I (sometimes read as Thutmosis or Tuthmosis I, Thothmes in older history works in Latinized Greek; Ancient Egyptian: '' ḏḥwtj- ms'', ''Tʼaḥawtī-mīsaw'', , meaning "Thoth is born") was the third pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of E ...

Naharin Naharin, MdC transliteration ''nhrn'', was the ancient Egyptian term for the kingdom of Mitanni during the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt. The 18th dynasty was in conflict with the kingdom of Mitanni for control of the Levant from the ...

, and campaigned with

Thutmose II Thutmose II (sometimes read as Thutmosis or Tuthmosis II, Thothmes in older history works in Latinized Greek; Ancient Egyptian: /''ḏḥwty.ms''/ ''Djehutymes'', meaning "Thoth is born") was the fourth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egy ...

Sinai Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...

. He held many offices such as wearer of the royal seal, chief treasurer and herald. His autobiography ends with the assertion that he had been the tutor of

Neferure Neferure (or Neferura) was an Egyptian princess of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the daughter of two pharaohs, Hatshepsut and Thutmose II. She served in high offices in the government and the religious administration of Ancient Egy ...

, daughter of

Hatshepsut Hatshepsut (; also Hatchepsut; Egyptian: '' ḥꜣt- špswt'' "Foremost of Noble Ladies"; or Hatasu c. 1507–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the second historically confirmed female pharaoh, af ...

References

*"Biography of Ahmose Pen-Nekhbet" in ''Ancient Records of Egypt'' by J. H. Breasted, Part Two, sections 17ff, 40ff
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External links

Ancient Egyptian soldiers Ancient Egyptian autobiographies