Ahmose is the first king of the 18th Dynasty and the first king of the New Kingdom. He is best known for the final expulsion of the Hyksos rulers of the delta after he assumed the throne from his brother, Kamose. He assumed the throne when he was only about 10 years old (probably around 1550, according to clayton) and was only 35 years old when he died.

He is the pharaoh credited with finally ending the war begun by his grandfather, Tao II. He was definitely a "warrior king"and also campaigned against southern Palestine and Nubia.

This meant, of course, that he left most of the daily rule of his country to local administrators. He kept them loyal with generous gifts of land. This would seem to me to be a continuation of the problems of the earlier dynasties -- where the local and provincial leaders eventually gain too much power because they had land and weren't kept in line by the pharaoh.

He is clearly regarded as the pharaoh who defeated the Hyksos, but that is about all that is known. The events of his reign are known only from the tombs and writings of his officials -- not even the date of his final victory is known, or the year of reunification of Egypt into a single land.

He did leave behind a number of monuments that attest to his reign and the power he once again claimed as the sole pharaoh of Egypt. A cenotaph (false tomb) and temple in Abydos. The pyramid accompanying the temple is the last known pyramid built in Egypt (at least, one that may have been used as a royal tomb. The pyramid was initially investigated in 1899 and 1902 when the pyramid and mortuary complex where excavated, but not entirely mapped. Thousands of fragments of building (mostly blocks and corners) were found to attest to his reign (and, to the reign of Apophis, the opposing king).

He also added to the temples of Amun and Montu at Karnak on the eastern bank -- a scheme which many pharaohs to follow him would adopt, which explains the hodgepodge building at Karnak and Luxor temples as each successive pharaoh added his own chapels and pylons to the great temple.

Ahmose was buried in Dra Abu el-Naga in the cliff tombs there, but the exact location of his tomb is not known. His mummy was moved in the 21st Dynasty to the royal cache in Deir el-Bahari.

pharaohs

Ahmose
Amenhotep I
Thutmose I
Thutmose II
Hatshepsut
Thutmose III
Amenhotep II
Thutmose IV
Amenhotep III
Amenhotep IV
Smenkhkare
Tutankhamun
Ay
Horemheb

Monuments

Pyramid of Ahmose
Temple complex
Cenotaph