8. Aahotep I Led Armies Against Invaders, and Fought to Protect Her Son’s Throne
Queen Ahhotep I successfully led her armies against the Hyksos, fought them to a standstill, and kept them at bay long enough for her son to grow up and take over the struggle. When he came of age, her son – a heroic figure in his own right – took the reins of power, took on the Hyksos, defeated and chased them out of Egypt, and reunified the country. As Pharaoh Ahmose I, he founded the Eighteenth Dynasty, during which the Egyptian Empire reached its zenith.
At its height, Ahmose’s realm stretched from Syria in the north to Nubia in the south, and from Mesopotamia in the east to the Libyan deserts in the west. Ahhotep was not done fighting, however. Hyksos-sympathizing rebels tried to seize the throne while her son was away fighting the Nubians. So she rallied loyal troops, fought them off, and foiled their attempt. For that, Ahhotep was awarded the “Golden Flies of Valor” – Ancient Egypt’s highest military award for courage. It was discovered in her tomb, along with weapons and jewelry, thousands of years later.