Ramesses I came to power probably because of his friendship with Horemheb, to whom he also acted as vizier. As Horemheb had no heir, it is thought that he made his vizier heir to the Horus Throne. The former army officer Ramesses I Menhetpehyre hailing from the Avaris area, ruled for only two years between 1293 and 1291.

There are no great signs of this short rule, only some reliefs on the Second Pylon at Karnak and a stele at Wadi Hafa. His tomb KV 16 in the Valley of the Kings bears the signs of having been prepared in haste and is in fact only an antechamber to a planned much larger one. As so many others it was robbed in antiquity. The sarcophagus remains, but the mummy is not identified with any certainty. Two almost 2 m (6½ inch)statues of the king, made of wood and once coated with thin gold foil and statuettes of underworld deities were also found here.

The wife of Ramesses I, Sitre, became the first queen who was not interred in her husband´s tomb. Instead it was found in the Valley of the Queens, (QV38) beginning this tradition. A few paintings on the first chamber shows that it too was unfinished at the time of interment.

It could well be said that the greatest impact Ramesses I had on history was to give name to the 'Ramesside' era. His son was Seti I, well known for his temple building at Abedjou, and who in his turn became the father of Ramesses II.

Source: 'Chronicle of the Pharaohs' - Peter A. Clayton.