Senakhtenre Ahmose - Senakhtenre's Nomen (birth Name) Discovered

Senakhtenre's Nomen (birth Name) Discovered

From a reference in Abbott Papyrus (Column III, 1.10) it was for a long time believed that Senakhtenre's nomen was Tao, where two kings with this name appear. The second mention of a king Tao was identified with Senakhtenre (the other one is Seqenenre Tao; for the latter, both names are written). However, Claude Vandersleyen rejected this view in 1983.

Kim Ryholt once observed that Senakhtenre's nomen may have been Siamun rather than Tao since:

"this nomen is inscribed on one of two stamp-seals found together in a tomb at Dra Abu el-Naga, the other being inscribed with the prenomen Seqenenre . It has been suggested that Siamun here was used as an epithet. In that case, it would stand in the place of a nomen since it follows immediatedly upon the title 'Son of Re.' However, apart from the fact that Kamose sometimes replaced his with the epithet 'the mighty ruler'...for political reasons during the war with Apophis, the title 'Son of Re' is always followed by a proper nomen during the Second Intermediate Period. Since Siamun was a popular name during this period and the New Kingdom, it seems more likely that we are dealing with a name than an epithet. The fact that the two seals were found together and are virtually identical in workmanship suggests that they were produced at about the same time and given to the official from whose tomb they come. Siamun must therefore be more or less contemporary with Seqenenre, and since it is not possible to identify Siamun with his successor (this being Kamose), it may be suggested that Siamun was the nomen of his predecessor Senakhtenre."

French Egyptologists from CFEETK (Centre Franco-Égyptien d'Étude des Temples de Karnak) in March 2012 have now published hieroglyphic inscriptions on a recently discovered large 17th dynasty limestone door built for a granary of a temple of Amun at Karnak which bears Senakhtenre's full royal name and it shows that this ruler's birth name or nomen was in fact "Ahmose" (not Tao). This is the same name as that of his grandson, Neb-Pehty-Re Ahmose I who founded the 18th dynasty by defeating the Hyksos and ousting them from Egypt. Inscriptions on the door show that this object was built on the orders of Senakhtenre himself. The door was subsequently re-used and found discovered in the foundations of a later building adjoining the temple of Ptah at Karnak. Senakhtenre's royal titulary as revealed by the door is "Hr mry-mAa.t nswt bjty snxt-n-ra sA ra jaH-ms" which translates as "The Horus Merymaat, the king of Upper and Lower Egypt Senakhtenre, the Son of Re Ahmes." The inscription on the reused door proceeds to state that Senakhtenre "made a monument for his father Amun-Re (ie. the door itself)...from the beautiful white stone (limestone here) of Anu (Tura, near Cairo)." This means that Senakhtenre imported limestone from the then Hyksos controlled area of Tura in Lower Egypt to create a large granary door for the Temple of Amun at Karnak. Meanwhile, a fragmentary lintel which the same French scholars also uncovered bore this inscription which mentioned Senakhtenre's nomen (translated into English from French):

These two separate inscriptions on the granary door and fragmentary lintel found in January–February 2012 at Karnak demonstrate that king Senakhtenre's nomen or birth name was 'Ahmose' ('Ahmes' in Ancient Egyptian) and not 'Tao' as previously thought. Sébastien Biston-Moulin writes in the summary of his ENIM 5 (22 Mars/March 2012) article (final page):

"Publication of two elements of a granary door bearing the name of king Senakhtenre Ahmose recently discovered near the temple of Ptah at Karnak. The inscriptions allow this king of the seventeenth dynasty, previously only known through the coronation name in later king-lists, to be identified more precisely. They also finally resolve uncertainties about his birth name: Ahmose. The designations of Senakhtenre Tao I or Senakhtenre Siamun for this king must be abandoned. Suggestions for identifying the king’s tomb in the Ramesside report of investigations in the Theban necropolis recorded in Papyrus Abbott must also be rejected. Only one king bears the birth name Tao: Seqenenre. That Ahmose is the son of Re name of Senakhtenre leads to the conclusion that this king must be a member of the Ahmoside royal family of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth dynasties, of which he is to date the oldest known representative. Finally, documents that bear only the son of Re name “Ahmose” can now be attributed to either Senakhtenre Ahmose or Nebpehtyre Ahmose."

King Senakhtenre would also be the husband of Tetisheri who is called the "great king's wife" and "the mother of my mother" in a stela at Abydos by pharaoh Ahmose I. Senakhtenre was, therefore, the grandfather of Ahmose I.