Amenhotep the First was the son of Ahmose by his state wife, Ahmose Nefertari. Amenhotep paid more attention to rebuilding the country than his predecessor, who had concentrated on expelling the Hyksos.

Amenhotep the First inherited his father's character and made several expeditions to the northern and southern frontiers of Egypt. He traveled as far south as the Third Cataract, or waterfall, of the Nile and as far north as the towns of the Naharin near the river of Kalb in Lebanon.