View source for Seti I

{{refimprove|date=September 2024}}
{{short description|Egyptian pharaoh}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox pharaoh
| Name=Seti I
| Image=Abydos sethi.jpg
| Caption=Image of Seti I from his temple in [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]]
| PrenomenHiero=<hiero>ra-mAat-mn</hiero>
| Prenomen=''Menmaatre'' <br /> ''Eternal is the Justice of [[Ra|Re]]''
| NomenHiero=<hiero>p:t-H-C7-i-i-mr-i*i:n</hiero>
| Nomen=''Seti Merenptah'' <br /> ''He of the god [[Set (mythology)|Seth]], beloved of [[Ptah]]''<ref name="Peter Clayton 1994. p.140">Peter Clayton, Chronicle of the Pharaohs, Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1994. p.140</ref>
| GoldenHiero=<hiero>F25-N28:Z2-wsr-s-r:D44-T10:T10:T10-m-N17:N17:N17-V30:Z2</hiero>
| Golden=''Wehemkhau Weserpedjutemtawnebu'' <br /> ''He who renews the crowns, he who subjugates the [[nine bows]] in all lands''
| NebtyHiero=<hiero>F25-F31-s-G43-t:Z2-S42-Aa1*p:O39-F23:D46-r:D44-T10:t-Z2:Z2:Z2</hiero>
| Nebty=''Wehemmesut Sekhemkhepesh Derpedjetpesdjet'' <br /> ''He who renews the births, strong with a sword who subjugates the [[nine bows]]''
| HorusHiero=<hiero>-E2:D40-N28-G17-R19-S29-S34-N17:N17-</hiero>
| Horus=''Kanakht Khaemwaset-Seankhtawy'' <br /> ''The strong bull, rising in [[Thebes, Egypt|Waset]], he who makes life in the two lands''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/chronology/setyi.html | title=Sety I Menmaatre (Sethos I) King Sety I | publisher=UCL | work=Digital Egypt | access-date=2007-02-15 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://djeserkara-royalty.blogspot.com/ | title=Ancient Egyptian Royalty | access-date=2009-07-21 }}</ref>
| Reign=11 regnal years (or 9, 15)<br>1294/1290&ndash;1279 BC 
| Predecessor=[[Ramesses I]] 
| Successor=[[Ramesses II]] 
| Spouse= [[Tuya (queen)|Tuya]]<br/>[[Tanedjemet]] (?) 
| Children= [[Tia (princess)|Tia]]<br/>[[Ramesses II]]<br/>[[Henutmire]] (?) 
| Dynasty=[[Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt|19th&nbsp;Dynasty]] 
| Father= [[Ramesses I]] 
| Mother= [[Sitre]] 
| Died= around the age of 40<br>c. 1279 BC
| Burial= [[Tomb of Seti I|KV17]]; Mummy found in the [[Deir el-Bahari]] [[Royal Cache|royal cache]] (Theban Necropolis)
| Alt=Sethi I 
| Monuments= [[Mortuary Temple of Seti I]], [[Abydos, Egypt|Temple at Abydos]], [[Great Hypostyle Hall]]
}}

'''Menmaatre Seti I''' (or '''Sethos I''' in [[Greek language|Greek]]) was the second [[pharaoh]] of the [[Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt]] during the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] period, ruling {{circa|1294}} or 1290 BC to 1279 BC.<ref>{{cite book|author=Michael Rice|url=https://archive.org/details/whoswhoinancient0000rice|title=Who's Who in Ancient Egypt|publisher=Routledge|year=1999|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=J. von Beckerath|title=Chronologie des Äegyptischen Pharaonischen|publisher=Phillip von Zabern|year=1997|page=190|language=de}}</ref> He was the son of [[Ramesses I]] and [[Sitre]], and the father of [[Ramesses II]].

The name 'Seti' means "of Set", which indicates that he was consecrated to the god [[Set (mythology)|Set]] (also termed "Sutekh" or "Seth"). As with most pharaohs, Seti had several names. Upon his ascension, he took the [[Prenomen (Ancient Egypt)|prenomen]] "mn-m3't-r'&nbsp;", usually vocalized in Egyptian as ''Menmaatre'' (Established is the Justice of Re).<ref name="Peter Clayton 1994. p.140"/> His better known [[Nomen (Ancient Egypt)|nomen]], or birth name, is transliterated as "''sty mry-n-ptḥ"'' or ''Sety Merenptah'', meaning "Man of Set, beloved of [[Ptah]]". [[Manetho]] incorrectly considered him to be the founder of the 19th Dynasty, and gave him a reign length of 55 years, though no evidence has ever been found for so long a reign.

==Reign==
===Background===
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After the enormous social upheavals generated by [[Akhenaten]]'s [[Atenism|religious reform]], [[Horemheb]], [[Ramesses I]] and Seti I's main priority was to re-establish order in the kingdom and to reaffirm Egypt's sovereignty over [[Canaan]] and [[Syria]], which had been compromised by the increasing external pressures from the [[Hittites|Hittite]] state. Seti, with energy and determination, confronted the Hittites several times in battle. Without succeeding in destroying the Hittites as a potential danger to Egypt, he reconquered most of the disputed territories for Egypt and generally concluded his military campaigns with victories. The memory of Seti I's military successes was recorded in some large scenes placed on the front of the temple of [[Amun]], situated in [[Karnak]]. A [[Mortuary Temple of Seti I|funerary temple]] for Seti was constructed in what is now known as [[Kurna|Qurna]] ([[Mortuary Temple of Seti I]]), on the west bank of the [[Nile]] at [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]] while a magnificent temple made of white limestone at [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]] featuring exquisite relief scenes was started by Seti, and later completed by his son. His capital was at [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]]. He was considered a great king by his peers, but his fame has been overshadowed since ancient times by that of his son, Ramesses II.

===Reign Length===
[[File:Basalt fragment. Part of a necklace, in relief, is shown together with a cartouche of Seti I. 19th Dynasty. From Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Basalt fragment. Part of a necklace, in relief, is shown together with a cartouche of Seti I. 19th Dynasty. From Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London]]
Seti I's accession date is known to be III Shemu day 24.<ref>Peter J. Brand, [https://www.academia.edu/40610263/The_Monuments_of_Sety_I_Epigraphic_Historical_and_Art_Historical_Analysis_2000_Probleme_der_%C3%84gyptologie_16_Leiden_E_J_Brill The Monuments of Seti I and their Historical Significance: Epigraphic, Historical and Art Historical Analysis pp.301-302 PDF] Brill, 2000, pp.301-302</ref>
Seti I's reign length was either 9 or 11 rather than 15 full years. Egyptologist [[Kenneth Kitchen]] has estimated that it was 15 years, but there are no dates recorded for Seti I after his Year 11 Gebel Barkal [[Stele|stela]]. As this king is otherwise quite well documented in historical records, other scholars suggest that a continuous break in the record for his last four years is unlikely, although it is technically possible simply that no records have been yet discovered.

[[File:GD-EG-Abydos001.JPG|thumb|Temple of [[Temple of Seti I (Abydos)|Seti I at Abydos]].]]
[[Peter Brand (Egyptologist)|Peter J. Brand]] noted that the king personally opened new rock quarries at [[Aswan]] to build obelisks and colossal statues in his Year 9.<ref>Peter J. Brand, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40000801 "The 'Lost' Obelisks and Colossi of Seti I"], ''[[JARCE]]'', '''34''' (1997), pp. 101-114</ref> This event is commemorated on two rock stelas in Aswan. However, most of Seti's obelisks and statues such as the [[Flaminio Obelisk|Flaminian]] and [[Luxor Obelisk|Luxor]] obelisks were only partly finished or decorated by the time of his death, since they were completed early under his son's reign based on epigraphic evidence (they bore the early form of Ramesses II's royal prenomen "Usermaatre"). Ramesses II used the prenomen Usermaatre to refer to himself in his first year and did not adopt the final form of his royal title "Usermaatre Setepenre" until late into his second year.<ref>Brand, "The 'Lost' Obelisks", pp. 106-107</ref>

Brand aptly notes that this evidence calls into question the idea of a 15 Year reign for Seti I and suggests that "Seti died after a ten to eleven year reign" because only two years would have passed between the opening of the Rock Quarries and the partial completion and decoration of these monuments.<ref>Brand, "The 'Lost' Obelisks", p. 114</ref> This explanation conforms better with the evidence of the unfinished state of Seti I's monuments and the fact that [[Ramesses II]] had to complete the decorations on "many of his father's unfinished monuments, including the southern half of the [[Great Hypostyle Hall]] at [[Karnak]] and portions of his father's temples at Gurnah and Abydos" during the very first Year of his own reign.<ref>Brand, "The 'Lost' Obelisks", p.107</ref> Critically, Brand notes that the larger of the two Aswan rock stelas states that Seti I "has ordered the commissioning of multitudinous works for the making of very great obelisks and great and wondrous statues (i.e. colossi) in the name of His Majesty, [[L.P.H.]] He made great barges for transporting them, and ships crews to match them for ferrying them from the quarry." (KRI 74:12-14)<ref>Brand, "The 'Lost' Obelisks", p.104</ref> However, despite this promise, Brand stresses that

{{blockquote|There are few obelisks and apparently no colossi inscribed for Seti. Ramesses II, however, was able to complete the two obelisks and four seated colossi from Luxor within the first years of his reign, the two obelisks in particular being partly inscribed before he adopted the final form of his prenomen sometime in [his] year two. This state of affairs strongly implies that Seti died after ten to eleven years. Had he [Seti I] ruled on until his fourteenth or fifteenth year, then surely more of the obelisks and colossi he commissioned in [his] year nine would have been completed, in particular those from Luxor. If he in fact died after little more than a decade on the throne, however, then at most two years would have elapsed since the Aswan quarries were opened in year nine, and only a fraction of the great monoliths would have been complete and inscribed at his death, with others just emerging from the quarries so that Ramesses would be able to decorate them shortly after his accession. ... It now seems clear that a long, fourteen-to fifteen-year reign for Seti I can be rejected for lack of evidence. Rather, a tenure of ten or more likely probably eleven, years appears the most likely scenario.<ref name=brand>{{cite book|author=Peter J. Brand (2000)|title=The Monuments of Seti I: Epigraphic, Historical and Art Historical Analysis|publisher=Brill|page=308}}</ref>}}

[[File:La tombe de Sethi 1er (KV.17) (Vallée des Rois, Thèbes ouest) -5.jpg|thumb|Astronomical ceiling of Seti I tomb showing the personified representations of stars and constellations]]
The German Egyptologist [[Jürgen von Beckerath]] also accepts that Seti I's reign lasted only 11 Years in a 1997 book.<ref>von Beckerath, Chronologie, p.190</ref> Seti's highest known date is Year 11, IV Shemu day 12 or 13 on a sandstone stela from [[Gebel Barkal]]<ref name=brand/> but he would have briefly survived for 2 to 3 days into his Year 12 before dying based on the date of Ramesses II's rise to power. Seti I's accession date has been determined by Wolfgang Helck to be III Shemu day 24, which is very close to Ramesses II's known accession date of III Shemu day 27.<ref>Brand, ''The Monuments of Seti I'', pp. 301-302</ref>

More recently, in 2011, the Dutch Egyptologist [[Jacobus Van Dijk]] questioned the "Year 11" date stated in the great temple of [[Amun]] on the [[Gebel Barkal]] stela—Seti I's previously known highest attested date.<ref>J. Van Dijk, [https://www.jacobusvandijk.nl/docs/Fs_Bourriau.pdf The Date of the Gebel Barkal Stela of Seti I PDF], in: in D. Aston, B. Bader, C. Gallorini, ''P. Nicholson & S. Buckingham (eds), ''Under the Potter's tree. Studies on Ancient Egypt presented to Janine Bourriau on the Occasion of her 70th Birthday'' (= ''Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta'' 204)'', Uitgeverij Peeters en Departement Oosterse Studies, Leuven - Paris - Walpole, MA 2011, pp.325–332.</ref> This monument is quite badly preserved but still depicts Seti I in erect posture, which is the only case occurring since his Year 4 when he started to be depicted in a stooping posture on his stelae. Furthermore, the glyphs "I ∩" representing the 11 are damaged in the upper part and may just as well be "I I I" instead. Subsequently, Van Dijk proposed that the Gebel Barkal stela should be dated to Year 3 of Seti I, and that Seti's highest date more likely is Year 9 as suggested by the wine jars found in his tomb.<ref>J. van Dijk, "[https://www.jacobusvandijk.nl/docs/Fs_Bourriau.pdf The Date of the Gebel Barkal Stela of Seti I PDF], in D. Aston, B. Bader, C. Gallorini, ''P. Nicholson & S. Buckingham (eds), ''Under the Potter's tree. Studies on Ancient Egypt presented to Janine Bourriau on the Occasion of her 70th Birthday'' (= ''Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta'' 204)'', Uitgeverij Peeters en Departement Oosterse Studies, Leuven - Paris - Walpole, MA 2011, pp.325–332.</ref> In a 2012 paper, [[David Aston (Egyptologist)|David Aston]] analyzed the wine jars and came to the same conclusion since no wine labels higher than Seti I's 8th regnal year were found in his [[KV17]] tomb.<ref>D. A. Aston, "[https://www.academia.edu/39997434/Radiocarbon_Wine_Jars_And_New_Kingdom_Chronology Radiocarbon, Wine Jars and New Kingdom Chronology PDF]", ''Ägypten und Levante'' 22-23 (2012-13), pp. 289–315.</ref>

===Military campaigns===
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Seti I fought a series of wars in western Asia, Libya and Nubia in the first decade of his reign. The main source for Seti's military activities are his battle scenes on the north exterior wall of the Karnak Hypostyle Hall, along with several royal stelas with inscriptions mentioning battles in Canaan and Nubia.
[[File:AbydosSethosCh-191.jpg|thumb|[[Wepwawet]] wolf-god of [[List of war deities|war]] and [[List of death deities|death]], giving scepters to Seti I, bas-relief from the Temple of Seti I]]
In his first regnal year, he led his armies along the "Horus Military road", the coastal road that led from the Egyptian city of [[Tjaru]] (Zarw/Sile) in the northeast corner of the Egyptian Nile Delta along the northern coast of the Sinai peninsula ending in the town of "Canaan" in the modern Gaza strip. The Ways of Horus consisted of a series of military forts, each with a well, that are depicted in detail in the king's war scenes on the north wall of the Karnak Hypostyle Hall. While crossing the Sinai, the king's army fought local Bedouins called the [[Shasu]]. In Canaan, he received the tribute of some of the city states he visited. Others, including [[Beth-Shan]] and [[Yenoam]], had to be captured but were easily defeated. A stele in Beth-Shan testifies to that reconquest; according to Grdsseloff, Rowe, Albrecht et Albright,<ref>Albright W. The smaller Beth-Shean stele of Sethos I (1309-1290 B. C.), Bulletin of the American schools of Oriental research, feb 1952, p. 24-32.</ref> Seti defeated Asian nomads in war against the Apirus (Hebrews). Dussaud commented Albright's article: "The interest of Professor Albright's note is mainly due to the fact that he no longer objects to the identification of "Apiru" with "Ibri" (i.e. the Hebrews) provided that we grant him that the vocal change has been driven by a popular etymology that brought the term "eber" (formerly 'ibr), that is to say the man from beyond the river."<ref>Dussaud R. Syria, Revue d'art oriental et d'archéologie, 1952, 29-3-4, p. 386.</ref> It seems that Egypt extends beyond the river. The attack on Yenoam is illustrated in his war scenes, while other battles, such as the defeat of Beth-Shan, were not shown because the king himself did not participate, sending a division of his army instead. The year one campaign continued into Lebanon where the king received the submission of its chiefs who were compelled to cut down valuable cedar wood themselves as tribute.

At some unknown point in his reign, Seti I defeated Libyan tribesmen who had invaded Egypt's western border. Although defeated, the Libyans would pose an ever-increasing threat to Egypt during the reigns of Merenptah and Ramesses III. The Egyptian army also put down a minor "rebellion" in Nubia in the 8th year of Seti I. Seti himself did not participate in it although his crown prince, the future Ramesses II, may have.
[[File:Stele of Seti I from Tell es Shihab in the Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul.png|thumb|Stele of Seti I from Tell es Shihab in the Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul]]

===Capture of Kadesh===
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[[File:Victory Stela of Seti I, New Kalabsha, Lake Nasser, Egypt.jpg|thumb|Victory Stela of Seti I, New Kalabsha, Lake Nasser, Egypt]]
The greatest achievement of Seti I's foreign policy was the capture of the [[Syria]]n town of [[Kadesh (Syria)|Kadesh]] and neighboring territory of [[Amurru kingdom|Amurru]] from the Hittite Empire. Egypt had not held Kadesh since the time of [[Akhenaten]]. Seti I was successful in defeating a Hittite army that tried to defend the town. He entered the city in triumph together with his son [[Ramesses II]] and erected a victory stela at the site which has been found by archaeologists.<ref>{{Cite book |title= The Monuments of Seti I |last= Brand |first= P.J. |publisher= Brill Academic Pub |year= 2000 |pages=120–122}}</ref> Kadesh, however, soon reverted to Hittite control because the Egyptians did not or could not maintain a permanent military occupation of Kadesh and Amurru so close to the Hittite homelands. It is unlikely that Seti I made a peace treaty with the Hittites or voluntarily returned Kadesh and Amurru, but he may have reached an informal understanding with the Hittite king [[Muwatalli II|Muwatalli]] on the precise boundaries of their empires. Five years after Seti I's death, however, his son [[Ramesses II]] resumed hostilities and made a failed attempt to [[Battle of Kadesh|recapture Kadesh]]. Kadesh was henceforth effectively held by the Hittites even though Ramesses temporarily occupied the city in his 8th year.

The traditional view of Seti I's wars was that he restored the Egyptian empire after it had been lost in the time of Akhenaten. This was based on the chaotic picture of Egyptian-controlled Syria and Canaan seen in the [[Amarna letters]], a cache of diplomatic correspondence from the time of Akhenaten found at Akhenaten's capital at el-Amarna in Middle Egypt. Recent scholarship, however, indicates that the empire was not lost at this time, except for its northern border provinces of Kadesh and Amurru in Syria and Lebanon. While evidence for the military activities of Akhenaten, Tutankhamun and Horemheb is fragmentary or ambiguous, Seti I left a war monument that glorifies his achievements, along with a number of texts, all of which tend to magnify his prowess on the battlefield.

==Burial==
===Mummy===
[[File:Pharaoh Seti I - His mummy - by Emil Brugsch (1842-1930).jpg|thumb|Head of the mummy of Seti I]]
From an examination of Seti's extremely well-preserved mummy, Seti I appears to have been less than forty years old when he died unexpectedly. This is in stark contrast to the situation with [[Horemheb]], Ramesses I and Ramesses II who all lived to an advanced age. The reasons for his relatively early death are uncertain, but there is no evidence of violence on his mummy. His mummy was found decapitated, but this was likely caused by tomb robbers after his death. The Amun priest carefully reattached his head to his body with the use of linen cloths. It has been suggested that he died from a disease which had affected him for years, possibly related to his heart. The latter was found placed in the right part of the body, while the usual practice of the day was to place it in the left part during the mummification process. Opinions vary whether this was a mistake or an attempt to have Seti's heart work better in his afterlife. Seti I's mummy is about {{convert|1.7|m|ftin|abbr=off}} tall.<ref>Christine Hobson, ''Exploring the World of the Pharaohs: A Complete Guide to Ancient Egypt'', Thames & Hudson, (1993), p. 97</ref>

In April 2021, his mummy was moved from the [[Museum of Egyptian Antiquities]] to the [[National Museum of Egyptian Civilization]] along with those of 17 other kings and 4 queens in an event termed the [[Pharaohs' Golden Parade]].<ref name=Parisse>{{cite news |last=Parisse |first=Emmanuel  |date=5 April 2021 |title=22 Ancient Pharaohs Have Been Carried Across Cairo in an Epic 'Golden Parade'  |url=https://www.sciencealert.com/22-ancient-pharaohs-have-been-carried-across-cairo-in-an-epic-golden-parade |work=ScienceAlert  |access-date=5 April 2021}}</ref>

===Tomb===
[[File:Pharaoh Seti I, detail of a wall painting from the Tomb of Seti I at the Valley of the Kings, Western Thebes, Egypt. Neues Museum.jpg|thumb|Pharaoh Seti I, detail of a wall painting from the Tomb of Seti I, KV17, at the Valley of the Kings. Neues Museum]]
[[File:Hieroglyphs from the tomb of Seti I.jpg|thumb|right|Hieroglyphs from the tomb of Seti I]]
[[Tomb of Seti I|Seti's well-preserved tomb]] (KV17) was found in 1817 by [[Giovanni Belzoni]], in the [[Valley of the Kings]];<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2020/06/this-pharaohs-painted-tomb-was-missing-its-mummy|title = This pharaoh's painted tomb was missing its mummy|date = 25 June 2020}}</ref> it proved to be the longest at {{convert|446|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}}<ref>{{cite news| title=Pharaoh Seti I's Tomb Bigger Than Thought | url =http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080417-seti-tomb.html | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080420142208/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080417-seti-tomb.html | url-status =dead | archive-date =20 April 2008 | access-date = 2008-04-19}}</ref> and deepest of all the New Kingdom royal tombs. It was also the first tomb to feature decorations (including the ''[[Book of the Heavenly Cow]]'')<ref name="EncycloBooks.com">{{cite web |url= http://encyclobooks.com/Legends-Of-The-Gods/|title= Legend of the Gods|publisher= Kegan Paul|year= 1912|access-date= 2011-10-16|url-status= usurped|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120425071307/http://encyclobooks.com/Legends-Of-The-Gods/|archive-date= 2012-04-25}}</ref> on every passageway and chamber with highly refined bas-reliefs and colorful paintings – fragments of which, including a large column depicting Seti I with the goddess [[Hathor]], can be seen in the [[National Archaeological Museum, Florence]]. This decorative style set a precedent which was followed in full or in part in the tombs of later New Kingdom kings. Seti's [[mummy]] itself was discovered by [[Émile Brugsch]] on June 6, 1881, in the [[Royal Cache]] (tomb DB320) at [[Deir el-Bahari]] and has since been kept at the [[Egyptian Museum]] in Cairo.{{sfn|Rohl|1995|pp=71-73}}

His huge [[sarcophagus of Seti I|sarcophagus]], carved in one piece and intricately decorated on every surface (including the goddess [[Nut (goddess)|Nut]] on the interior base), is in [[Sir John Soane's Museum]].<ref name="Soane">{{cite web|url= http://www.soane.org/collections/egyptian_and_classical_antiquities/|title= Egyptian Collection at the Sir John Soane's Museum|access-date= 2007-02-15|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101003115841/http://www.soane.org/collections/egyptian_and_classical_antiquities|archive-date= 2010-10-03}}</ref> Soane bought it for exhibition in his open collection in 1824, when the [[British Museum]] refused to pay the £2,000 demanded.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/nov/05/sir-john-soane-museum-recreates-sepulchral-chamber-of-pharaoh-seti-i|title = Sir John Soane's museum recreates architect's vision of pharaoh's tomb|website = [[TheGuardian.com]]|date = 5 November 2017}}</ref> On its arrival at the museum, the alabaster was pure white and inlaid with blue [[copper sulphate]]. Years of the London climate and pollution have darkened the alabaster to a buff colour and absorbed moisture has caused the [[hygroscopic]] inlay material to fall out and disappear completely. A small watercolour nearby records the appearance, as it was.

The tomb also had an entrance to a secret tunnel hidden behind the sarcophagus, which Belzoni's team estimated to be {{convert|100|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}} long.<ref name="El-Aref">{{cite news|last1=El-Aref |first1=Nevine |title=Secret Tunnels And Ancient Mysteries |url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/Archive/2009/970/he1.htm |access-date=Jan 31, 2019 |work=Al-Ahram Weekly |issue=970 |date=Oct 29, 2009}}</ref> However, the tunnel was not truly excavated until 1961, when a team led by Sheikh Ali Abdel-Rasoul began digging in hopes of discovering a secret burial chamber containing hidden treasures.<ref name="El-Aref" /> The team failed to follow the original passage in their excavations, and had to call a halt due to instabilities in the tunnel;<ref name="Williams">{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Sean |title=No Secret Burial At End Of Seti I Tunnel |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/history/no-secret-burial-at-end-of-seti-i-tunnel-2014674.html |access-date=Jan 30, 2019 |work=The Independent |date=June 30, 2010}}</ref> further issues with permits and finances eventually ended Sheikh Ali's dreams of treasure,<ref name="El-Aref"/> though they were at least able to establish that the passage was over {{convert|30|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}} longer than the original estimate. In June 2010, a team from Egypt's [[Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (Egypt)|Ministry of Antiquities]] led by Dr. [[Zahi Hawass]] completed excavation of the tunnel, which had begun again after the discovery in 2007 of a downward-sloping passage beginning approximately {{convert|136|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}} into the previously excavated tunnel. After uncovering two separate staircases, they found that the tunnel ran for {{convert|174|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}} in total; unfortunately, the last step seemed to have been abandoned prior to completion and no secret burial chamber was found.<ref name="Williams" />

==Alleged co-regency with Ramesses II==
Around Year 9 of his reign, Seti appointed his son [[Ramesses II]] as the crown prince and his chosen successor, but the evidence for a [[coregency]] between the two kings is likely illusory. [[Peter J. Brand]] stresses in his thesis<ref>{{cite thesis |degree=PhD | author=Peter J. Brand | title=The Monuments of Seti I and their Historical Significance |chapter=Studies on the Historical Implications of Seti I's Monuments | chapter-url=http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/tape17/PQDD_0009/NQ35116.pdf | year=1998 |publisher=University of Toronto | access-date=2011-02-26 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610181114/http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/tape17/PQDD_0009/NQ35116.pdf | archive-date=2007-06-10 }}</ref> that relief decorations at various temple sites at [[Karnak]], [[Kurna|Qurna]] and Abydos, which associate Ramesses II with Seti I, were actually carved after Seti's death by Ramesses II himself and, hence, cannot be used as source material to support a co-regency between the two monarchs. In addition, the late William Murnane, who first endorsed the theory of a co-regency between Seti I and Ramesses II,<ref>{{cite book|author=William Murnane|title=Ancient Egyptian Coregencies|year=1977}} Seminal book on the Egyptian coregency system</ref> later revised his view of the proposed co-regency and rejected the idea that Ramesses II had begun to count his own regnal years while Seti I was still alive.<ref>{{cite book|author=W. Murnane|title=The road to Kadesh: A Historical interpretation of the battle reliefs of King Seti I at Karnak |publisher=SAOC|year=1990|pages=93 footnote 90}}</ref> Finally, [[Kenneth Kitchen]] rejects the term co-regency to describe the relationship between Seti I and Ramesses II; he describes the earliest phase of Ramesses II's career as a "prince regency" where the young Ramesses enjoyed all the trappings of royalty including the use of a royal titulary and [[harem]] but did not count his regnal years until after his father's death.<ref>K.A. Kitchen, ''Pharaoh Triumphant: The Life and Times of Ramesses II, King of Egypt'', Benben Publication, (1982), pp. 27-30</ref> This is due to the fact that the evidence for a co-regency between the two kings is vague and highly ambiguous. Two important inscriptions from the first decade of Ramesses' reign, namely the Abydos Dedicatory Inscription and the Kuban Stela of Ramesses II, consistently give the latter titles associated with those of a crown prince only, namely the "king's eldest son and hereditary prince" or "child-heir" to the throne "along with some military titles."<ref>Brand, ''The Monuments of Seti I'', pp. 315–316</ref>

Hence, no clear evidence supports the hypothesis that Ramesses II was a co-regent under his father. Brand stresses that:

{{cquote|Ramesses' claim that he was crowned king by Seti, even as a child in his arms [in the Dedicatory Inscription], is highly self-serving and open to question although his description of his role as crown prince is more accurate...The most reliable and concrete portion of this statement is the enumeration of Ramesses' titles as eldest king's son and heir apparent, well attested in sources contemporary with Seti's reign.<ref>Brand, ''The Monuments of Seti I'', p. 316</ref>
}}

==See also==
*[[Dorothy Eady]]
*[[List of colossal sculpture in situ]]
*[[Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt family tree]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* [[Peter J. Brand|Brand, Peter J.]] ''[https://www.academia.edu/40610263/The_Monuments_of_Sety_I_Epigraphic_Historical_and_Art_Historical_Analysis_2000_Probleme_der_%C3%84gyptologie_16_Leiden_E_J_Brill The Monuments of Seti I: Epigraphic, Historical, and Art-Historical Analysis].'' E. J. Brill, Leiden 2000, {{ISBN|978-9004117709}}.
*Epigraphic Survey, ''The Battle Reliefs of King Sety I''. Reliefs and Inscriptions at Karnak vol. 4. (Chicago, 1985).
*Caverley, Amice "The Temple of King Sethos I at Abydos", (London, Chicago, 1933–58), 4 volumes.
*Gaballa, Gaballa A. ''Narrative in Egyptian Art''. (Mainz, 1976)
*<!--[[Michael G. Hasel|-->Hasel, Michael G.<!--]]-->, ''Domination & Resistance: Egyptian Military Activity in the Southern Levant, 1300-1185 BC'', (Leiden, 1998). {{ISBN|90-04-10984-6}}
*[[Kenneth Kitchen|Kitchen, Kenneth]], ''Pharaoh Triumphant: The Life and Times of Ramesses II'' (Warminster, 1982). {{ISBN|0-85668-215-2}}
*Liverani, Mario ''Three Amarna Essays'', Monographs on the Ancient Near East 1/5 (Malibu, 1979).
*Murnane, William J. (1990) ''The Road to Kadesh'', Chicago.
*{{cite book | last = Rohl | first = David M. | title = Pharaohs and Kings: A Biblical Quest | author-link = David M. Rohl | edition = illustrated, reprint | publisher = Crown Publishers | year = 1995 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=aeKCAAAAIAAJ | isbn = 9780517703151}}
*Schulman, Alan R. "Hittites, Helmets & Amarna: Akhenaten's First Hittite War," ''Akhenaten Temple Project'' volume II, (Toronto, 1988), 53–79.
*Spalinger, Anthony J. "The Northern Wars of Seti I: An Integrative Study." ''Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt'' 16 (1979). 29–46. 
*Spalinger, Anthony J. "Egyptian-Hittite Relations at the Close of the Amarna Age and Some Notes on Hittite Military Strategy in North Syria," ''Bulletin of the Egyptological Seminar'' 1 (1979):55-89.
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Seti I}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071228114155/http://www.archaeowiki.org/Seti_I Seti I - Archaeowiki.org]
* [http://www.memphis.edu/hypostyle/ The Karnak Hypostyle Hall Project website]
* [http://pharaoh.se/pharaoh/Seti-I The complete titulary of Seti I]
* [http://cuicui.be/egypt-kings-valley-seti-i-tomb/ 360° full-screen photospheric visit of Seti I tomb]

{{Pharaohs}}
{{Rulers of the Ancient Near East}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Seti I| ]]
[[Category:13th-century BC pharaohs]]
[[Category:Pharaohs of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt]]
[[Category:Ancient Egyptian mummies]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:13th-century BC deaths]]
[[Category:Ramesses I]]