Nubian Campaign of Thutmose I

Thutmose I launched an aggressive military campaign into Nubia, pushing further south along the Nile than any previous pharaoh. He sailed past the dangerous Second Cataract and fought his way to the Third Cataract, deep into the territory of the Kushite kingdom. The pharaoh personally killed the Nubian chief in battle, and his body was hung from the bow of the royal ship as a warning. Thutmose established a new southern frontier and built fortresses to consolidate Egyptian control over Nubian gold mines, which would fund Egypt's imperial expansion for centuries.