Photograph by Kenneth Garrett

Seti I, whose well-preserved mummy rests in Cairo's Egyptian Museum, did much to promote prosperity during his 11-year rule. He overran Palestine, made peace with the Hittites in Syria, opened mines and quarries, and enlarged the great Temple of Amun at Karnak.

The discovery of Seti I's tomb in 1817 caused as much of a furor in the European press as the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb 105 years later.