Hatshepsut (/hætˈʃɛpsʊt/;[3] also Hatchepsut; meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies;[4] 1508–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt. She is generally regarded by Egyptologists as one of the most successful pharaohs, reigning longer than any other woman of an indigenous Egyptian dynasty. According to Egyptologist James Henry Breasted she is also known as "the first great woman in history of whom we are informed."[5]
Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmose I and his primary wife Ahmes. Her husband Thutmose II was the son of Thutmose I and a secondary wife named Mutneferet, who carried the title King's daughter and was probably a child of Ahmose I. Hatshepsut and Thutmose II had a daughter named Neferure. Thutmose II fathered Thutmose III with Iset, a secondary wife
Reign[edit]
Although contemporary records of her reign are documented in diverse ancient sources, Hatshepsut was described by early modern scholars as only having served as a co-regent from approximately 1479 to 1458 BC, during years seven to twenty-one of the reign previously identified as that of Thutmose III.[8] Today Egyptologists generally agree that Hatshepsut assumed the position of pharaoh and the length of her reign usually is given as twenty-two years, since she was assigned a reign of twenty-one years and nine months by the third-century BC historian, Manetho, who had access to many historical records that now are lost. Her death is known to have occurred in 1458 BC, which implies that she became pharaoh circa 1479 BC
Major accomplishments Hatshepsut established the trade networks that had been disrupted during the Hyksos occupation of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, thereby building the wealth of the eighteenth dynasty.
She oversaw the preparations and funding for a mission to the Land of Punt. The expedition set out in her name with five ships, each measuring 70 feet (21 m) long bearing several sails and accommodating 210 men that included sailors and 30 rowers. Many trade goods were bought in Punt, notably myrrh.
Most notably, however, the Egyptians returned from the voyage bearing thirty-one live myrrh trees, the roots of which were carefully kept in baskets for the duration of the voyage. This was the first recorded attempt to transplant foreign trees. It is reported that Hatshepsut had these trees planted in the courts of her Deir el Bahri mortuary temple complex. Egyptians also returned with living Puntites (people of Punt). This trading expedition to Punt was roughly during Hatshepsut's ninth year of reign.
She had the expedition commemorated in relief at Deir el-Bahri, which also is famous for its realistic depiction of the Queen of the Land of Punt, Queen Iti, who appears to have had a genetic trait called steatopygia. Hatshepsut also sent raiding expeditions to Byblos and Sinai shortly after the Punt expedition. Very little is known about these expeditions. Although many Egyptologists have claimed that her foreign policy was mainly peaceful,[14] there is evidence that Hatshepsut led
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posted Queen Tiye
Queen Tiye
Queen Tiye
Queen Tiye
Queen Tiye
Queen Tiye
Queen Tiye
Queen Tiye
Tiye (c. 1398 BC – 1338 BC, also spelled Taia, Tiy and Tiyi) was the daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu (also spelled Thuyu). She became the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III. She was the mother of Akhenaten and grandmother of Tutankhamun. Her mummy was identified as The Elder Lady found in the tomb of Amenhotep II (KV35) in 2010
Tiye's father, Yuya, was a non-royal, wealthy landowner from the Upper Egyptian town of Akhmin,[1] where he served as a priest and superintendent of oxen or commander of the chariotry.[2] Tiye's mother, Thuya, was involved in many religious cults, as her different titles attested (Singer of Hathor, Chief of the Entertainers of both Amun and Min...),[3] which suggests that she was a member of the royal family. Some Egyptologists,[note 1] believe that Tiye is of Mitanni (Armenian) origin, and she brought the Aten religion to Egypt from her native land, and taught her son, Akhenaten.[4]
It sometimes is suggested that Tiye's father, Yuya, was of Asiatic or Nubian descent due to the features of his mummy and the many different spellings of his name, which might imply it was a non-Egyptian name in origin.[5] Some suggest that the queen's strong political and unconventional religious views might have been due not just to a strong character, but to foreign descent.[3]
Tiye also had a brother, Anen, who was Second Prophet of Amun.[6] Other Egyptologists speculated that Ay, a successor of Tutankhamen as pharaoh after the latter's death, also might have been descended from Tiye. No clear date or monument can confirm the link between the two, but these Egyptologists presumed this by Ay's origins, also from Akhmin, and because he inherited most of the titles that Tiye's father, Yuya, held during his lifetime, at the court of Amenhotep III.[3][7]
Tiye was married to Amenhotep III by the second year of his reign. He had been born of a secondary wife of his father and needed a stronger tie to the royal lineage.[5] He appears to have been crowned while still a child, perhaps between the ages of six to twelve. They had at least seven, possibly more children:
1) Sitamun- The eldest daughter, who was elevated to the position of Great Royal Wife around year 30 of her father's reign.[8]
2) Isis- Also elevated to the position of Great Royal Wife.[8]
3) Henuttaneb- Not known to have been elevated to Queenship, though her name does appear in a Cartouche at least once.
4) Nebetah- Sometimes thought to have been renamed Baketaten during her brother's reign.
5) Crown Prince Thutmose- Crown Prince and High Priest of Ptah, pre-deceasing his father.
6) Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten- Succeeded his father as pharaoh, husband of Queen Nefertiti, father of Ankhesenamun, who married Tutankhamun.
7) Smenkhkare- traditionally seen as one of Akhenaten's immediate successors, today some Egyptologists such as Aidan Dodson believe he was the immediate predecessor of Neferneferuaten and a junior co-regent of Akhenaten who did not have an independent reign.[9] Sometimes identified with the mummy from KV55, and therefore Tutankhamun's father.
8) The Younger Lady from KV35- A daughter of Amenhotep III and Tiye, mother of Tutankhamun and sister-wife of KV55. Presumably one of the already-known daughters of Amenhotep III and Tiye.
9) Baketaten- Sometimes thought to be Queen Tiye's daughter, usually based on a stelae with Baketaten seated next to Tiye at dinner with Akhenaten and Nefertiti.[1]
Tiye wielded a great deal of power during both her husband’s and son’s reigns. Amenhotep III became a fine sportsman, a lover of outdoor life, and a great statesman. He often had to consider claims for Egypt's gold and requests for his royal daughters in marriage from foreign kings such as Tushratta of Mitanni and Kadashman-Enlil I of Babylon. The royal lineage was carried by the women of Ancient Egypt and marriage to one would have been a path to the throne for their progeny. Tiye became her husband’s trusted adviser and confidant. Being wise, intelligent, strong, and fierce, she was able to gain the respect of foreign dignitaries. Foreign leaders were willing to deal directly through her. She continued to play an active role in foreign relations and was the first Egyptian queen to have her name recorded on official acts.[13]
Tiye may have continued to advise her son, Akhenaten, when he took the throne. Her son’s correspondence with Tushratta, the king of Mitanni, speaks highly of the political influence she wielded at court. In Amarna letter EA 26, Tushratta, king to Mitanni, corresponded directly with Tiye to reminisce about the good relations he enjoyed with her then deceased husband and extended his wish to continue on friendly terms with her son, Akhenaten.[14]
Amenhotep III died in Year 38 or Year 39 of his reign (1353 BC/1350 BC) and was buried in the Valley of the Kings in WV22; however, Tiye is known to have outlived him for as many as twelve years. Tiye continued to be mentioned in the Amarna letters and in inscriptions as queen and beloved of the king. Amarna letter EA 26, which is addressed to Tiye, dates to the reign of Akhenaten. She is known to have had a house at Amarna, Akhenaten's new capital and is shown on the walls of the tomb of Huya – a "steward in the house of the king's mother, the great royal wife Tiyi" – depicted at a dinner table with Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and their family and then being escorted by the king to her sunshade.[15] In an inscription approximately dated to November 21 of Year 12 of Akhenaten's reign (1338 BC), both she and her granddaughter Meketaten are mentioned for the last time. They are thought to have died shortly after that date.
If Tiye died soon after Year 12 of Akhenaten's reign (1338 BC), this would place her birth around 1398 BC, her marriage to Amenhotep III at the age of eleven or twelve, and her becoming a widow at the age of forty-eight to forty-nine. Suggestions of a co-regency between Amenhotep III and his son Akhenaten lasting for up to twelve years continue, but most scholars today, either accept a brief co-regency lasting no more than one year at the most,[16] or no co-regency at all.[15
Her husband devoted a number of shrines to her and constructed a temple dedicated to her in Sedeinga in Nubia where she was worshipped as a form of the goddess Hathor-Tefnut.[10] He also had an artificial lake built for her in his Year 12.[1
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posted Queen Ahmose Nefertari
Queen Ahmose Nefertari
Queen Ahmose Nefertari
Queen Ahmose Nefertari
Queen Ahmose Nefertari
Queen Ahmose Nefertari
Queen Ahmose Nefertari
Ahmose-Nefertari of Ancient Egypt was a Queen of Egypt. She was a daughter of Seqenenre Tao II and Ahhotep I, and royal sister and the great royal wife of pharaoh, Ahmose I. She was the mother of king Amenhotep I and may have served as his regent when he was young. Ahmose-Nefertari was deified after her death
Ahmose-Nefertari was a daughter of Seqenenre Tao II and Ahhotep I and the granddaughter of Senakhtenre and queen Tetisheri.[1] Ahmose-Nefertari was born in Thebes, likely during the reign of Senakhtenre Ahmose (not Tao—as this king's nomen has now been discovered to be 'Ahmose' like that of his grandson Ahmose I) .[2][3] She grew up with quite a few brothers and sisters including the princes Ahmose, Ahmose-Sipair and Binpu, and the princesses Ahmose-Henutemipet, Ahmose-Tumerisy, Ahmose-Nebetta, Ahmose-Meritamon, as well as her half-sisters Ahmose-Henuttamehu, Ahmose and Ahmose-Sitkamose.[1]
Ahmose-Nefertari may have married Pharaoh Kamose, but if so there is no record of such a marriage.[2] She did become the great royal wife of pharaoh, Ahmose I. With Ahmose she had at least three sons. She is depicted on a stela from Karnak with a son named Ahmose-ankh, a son named Siamun was reburied in the royal cache DB320, but it was her son Amenhotep I who would eventually succeed his father to the throne. She was the mother of queen Ahmose-Meritamun and Ahmose-Sitamun. She may also have been the mother of Mutnofret, the wife of Thutmose I. A prince named Ramose included among the Lords of the West and known from a statue now in Liverpool, may be another son of Ahmose-Nefertari
Ahmose-Nefertari was born during the latter part of the seventeenth dynasty, during the reign of her grandfather Senakhtenre Tao I.[2] Her father Seqenenre Tao II fought against the Hyksos and may have lost his life during a battle. He was succeeded by Kamose.[1] It is possible that Ahmose-Nefertari married Kamose, but no evidence exists of such a marriage.[2]
After the death of Kamose the throne went to Ahmose I. Pharaoh Ahmose was very young and queen-mother Ahhotep I served as regent during the early years of his reign. Ahhotep would have taken precedence at court over her daughter Ahmose-Nefertari, who was the great royal wife. Ahmose I became the first king of the eighteenth dynasty, a pharaoh ruling over a reunited country.[2]
Queen Ahmose-Nefertari held many titles, including those of hereditary princess (iryt-p`t), great of grace (wrt-im3t), great of praises (wrt-hzwt), king’s mother (mwt-niswt), great king’s wife (hmt-niswt-wrt), god’s wife (hmt-ntr), united with the white crown (khnmt-nfr-hdjt), king’s daughter (s3t-niswt), and king’s sister (snt-niswt).[4]
A donation stela from Karnak records how king Ahmose purchased the office of Second Prophet of Amun and endowed the position with land, goods and administrators. The endowment was given to Ahmose-Nefertari and her descendants. Separately the position of Divine adoratrix was also given to Ahmose-Nefertari.[5] Records from a later era indicate that in this position she would have been responsible for all temple properties, administration of estates, workshops, treasuries and all the associated administration staff.[6]
Amenhotep I came to power while he was still young. As his mother, Ahmose-Nefertari, may have served as regent for him until he reached maturity.[5][7]
Ahmose-Nefertari is shown to be alive during the early years of the reign of Tuthmosis I. She is depicted in Nubia by the Viceroy of Kush Ahmose called Turo in the company of the newly crowned king and Queen Ahmose. A vase fragment found in KV20 was inscribed with the double cartouche of king Tuthmosis I and Ahmose-Nefertari and the epithet indicates the queen was alive. A large statue of queen Ahmose-Nefertari from Karnak may be one of the last statues created in her honor before she died
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posted Queen Twosret
Twosret (Tawosret, Tausret, d. 1189 BC conventional chronology) was the last known ruler and the final Pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty. She is recorded in Manetho's Epitome as a certain Thuoris, who in Homer is called Polybus, husband of Alcandara, and in whose time Troy was taken.[2] She was said to have ruled Egypt for seven years, but this figure included the nearly six-year reign of Siptah, her predecessor.[3] Twosret simply assumed Siptah's regnal years as her own. While her sole independent reign would have lasted for perhaps one to one-and a half full years from 1191 to 1189 BC, this number appears to be more likely to be two full years instead today. Excavation work by the University of Arizona on her mortuary temple at Gournah strongly suggests that it was completed in her reign and that Twosret may have even started a regnal year 9 which means that she had 2 independent years of rule once one deducts the nearly 6 year reign of Siptah. Her royal name, Sitre Meryamun, means "Daughter of Re, beloved of Amun
Family
Queen Twosret is thought to have been a daughter of Merenptah, possibly a daughter of Takhat, thereby making her sister to Amenmesse. She was thought to be the second royal wife of Seti II. There are no known children for Twosret and Seti II, unless KV56 represents the burial of their daughter.[5]
Queen, Regent and Pharaoh
Theodore Davis identified the Queen and her husband in a cache of jewelry found in tomb KV56 in the Valley of the Kings. This tomb also contained objects bearing the name of Rameses II. There is no consensus about the nature of this tomb. Some (Aldred) thought this was the tomb of a daughter of Seti II and Tawosret, but others (Maspero) thought this was a cache of objects originally belonging with the tomb of Tawosret herself.[6]
After her husband's death, she became first regent to Seti's heir Siptah jointly with Chancellor Bay, whom some have identified as the Irsu mentioned in the Harris Papyrus. Siptah was likely a stepson of Twosret since his mother is now known to be a certain Sutailja or Shoteraja from Louvre Relief E 26901.[7] When Siptah died, Twosret officially assumed the throne for herself, as the "Daughter of Re, Lady of Ta-merit, Twosret of Mut",[8] and assumed the role of a Pharaoh.
While it was commonly believed that she ruled Egypt with the aid of Chancellor Bay, a recently published document by Pierre Grandet in a BIFAO 100 (2000) paper shows that Bay was executed on Siptah's orders during Year 5 of this king's reign. The document is a hieratic ostracon or inscribed potshard and contains an announcement to the workmen of Deir El-Medina of the king's actions. No immediate reason was given to show what caused Siptah to turn against "the great enemy Bay," as the ostracon states. The recto of the document reads thus: Year 5 III Shemu the 27th. On this day, the scribe of the tomb Paser came announcing 'Pharaoh, life, prosperity, and health!, has killed the great enemy Bay'.[9] This date accords well with Bay's last known public appearance in Year 4 of Siptah. The ostraca's information was essentially a royal order for the workmen to stop all further work on Bay's tomb since the latter had now been deemed a traitor to the state.[10]
End of Twosret's reign
Twosret's reign ended in a civil war which is documented in the Elephantine stela of her successor Setnakhte who became the founder of the Twentieth dynasty. It is not known if she was overthrown by Setnakhte or whether she died peacefully in her short reign; if the latter is the case, then a struggle must have ensued among various factions at court for the throne in which Setnakhte emerged victorious. However, Setnakhte and his son Ramesses III described the late 19th dynasty as a time of chaos. Setnakhte usurped the joint KV14 tomb of Seti II and Twosret but reburied Seti II in tomb KV15, while deliberately replastering and redrawing all images of Twosret in tomb KV14 with those of himself. Setnakhte's decisions here demonstrate his dislike and presumably hatred for Twosret since he chose to reinter Seti II but not Twosret.[11]
Setnakhte's son, Ramesses III, later excluded Twosret and even Siptah of the 19th dynasty from his Medinet Habu list of Egyptian kings thereby delegitimizing them in the eyes of the citizenry.[12] It appears more likely that Setnakhte overthrew Twosret from power in a civil war.
Twosret's highest known date is a Year 8 II Shemu day 29 hieratic inscription found on one of the foundation blocks (FB 2) of her mortuary temple at Gournah in 2011 by Richard Wilkinson's University of Arizona Egypt expedition team.[13] Since this was only a foundation inscription and Twosret's temple, although never finished as planned, was at least partially completed, it is logical to assume that some time must have passed before her downfall and the termination of work on her temple project. Richard Wilkinson stressed that Twosret's mortuary temple was "largely structurally completed," although bearing minimal decoration,[14] therefore, she would have ruled for several more months beyond II Shemu 29 of her 8th Year for her temple to reach completion. She could, hence, have possibly ruled for 6 more months and nearly started her 9th regnal year around the interval of IV Akhet/I Peret—when her husband died (since she assumed Siptah's reign as her own)--before she was overthrown by Setnakhte. Or she could have even started a brief 9th regnal year and had 8 full years of rule (a figure which includes the 6 year reign of Siptah her predecessor).
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posted Queen Nofret
Queen Nofret
Queen Nefret
Queen Nofret
Nofret II (her name means Beautiful One) was an ancient Egyptian queen of the 12th dynasty. She was a daughter of Amenemhat II and wife of Senusret II.[1]
Along with Khenemetneferhedjet I she was one of the two known wives of Senusret II; his other two possible wives were Khenemet and Itaweret. All four were also Senusret's sisters. Two of her statues were found at Tanis and these are now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The small pyramid in her husband's Kahun pyramid complex was probably built for her.[1]
Her titles: King's Daughter; Great of Sceptre; Lady of the Two Lands
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posted Queen Meritamun
Queen Meritamun
Queen Merit Amun
Queen Merit Amen
Meritamen (also spelled Meritamun, Merytamen, Merytamun, Meryt-Amen; Ancient Egyptian: Beloved of Amun) was a daughter and later Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Ramesses the Great
Meritamen was a daughter of Ramesses and his favourite wife Nefertari. She appears as the fourth daughter in the list of daughters in Abu Simbel and had at least four brothers: Amun-her-khepeshef, Pareherwenemef, Meryre and Meryatum, as well as a sister named Henuttawy. Meritamen may have had more brothers and sisters, but these five are known from the facade of Queen Nefertari's temple in Abu Simbel.
Meritamen's siblings are relatively well-known to us. Her eldest brother - Amun-her-khepeshef - was the crown prince until at least year 25 of the reign of their father. Prince Prehirwenemef is known to have served in the army and is depicted in the battle scenes from Kadesh. The youngest sibling known to us - Prince Meryatum - would later become High Priest of Re in Heliopolis.
Around the time her mother died (around the 24th or 25th regnal year), Meritamen became Great Royal Wife, along with her half-sister Bintanath
Meritamen was buried at QV68 in the Valley of the Queens. The tomb of Meritamen was described by Lepsius. An interesting scene in the tomb shows Meritamen consecrating cloth-boxes to Osiris and Hathor. The inscriptions identify the Queen as The Osiris, King's Daughter, Great Royal Wife, Lady of Both Lands, Merytamen, may she live. She is said to be "Bringing a box of clothing, eternally; consecrating the box of clothing three times" (sic).[1]
The sarcophagus-lid is now in Berlin (15274). Meritamen's titles on the sarcophagus lid are given twice. At the head she is described as: "[King's Daughter], Great [Royal Wife], Lady of Both Lands, Merytamen, justified". Over the head she is described as: "The Osiris, King's Daughter beloved of him, Great Royal Wife, Lady of Both Lands, Merytamen, justified".[1
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posted Queen Nefertiti
Queen Nefertiti
Queen Nefertiti
Queen Nefertiti
Queen Nefertiti
Queen Nefertiti
Queen Nefertiti
Queen Nefertiti and Pharaoh Akhenaton
Neferneferuaten Nefertiti (/ˌnɛfəˈtiːtɪ/[1]) (ca. 1370 BC – ca. 1330 BC) was the Great Royal Wife (chief consort) of Akhenaten, an Egyptian Pharaoh. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a religious revolution, in which they worshiped one god only, Aten, or the sun disc. Akhenaten and Nefertiti were responsible for the creation of a whole new religion which changed the ways of religion within Egypt. With her husband, she reigned at what was arguably the wealthiest period of Ancient Egyptian history.[2] Some scholars believe that Nefertiti ruled briefly as Neferneferuaten after her husband's death and before the accession of Tutankhamun, although this identification is a matter of ongoing debate.[3]
Nefertiti had many titles including Hereditary Princess (iryt-p`t); Great of Praises (wrt-hzwt); Lady of Grace (nbt-im3t), Sweet of Love (bnrt-mrwt); Lady of The Two Lands (nbt-t3wy); Main King’s Wife, his beloved (hmt-niswt-‘3t meryt.f); Great King’s Wife, his beloved (hmt-niswt-wrt meryt.f), Lady of all Women (hnwt-hmwt-nbwt); and Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt (hnwt-Shm’w-mhw).[4]
She was made famous by her bust, now in Berlin's Neues Museum, shown to the right. The bust is one of the most copied works of ancient Egypt. It was attributed to the sculptor Thutmose, and it was found in his workshop. The bust is notable for exemplifying the understanding Ancient Egyptians had regarding realistic facial proportions
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posted High Priestess and God Wife of Amun Karomama
High Priestess and God wife of Amun Karomama
Karomama Meritmut (prenomen: Sitamun Mutemhat) was an ancient Egyptian high priestess, a God's Wife of Amun during the 22nd dynasty.[1]
She is possibly identical with Karomama, a daughter of Pharaoh Osorkon II, who was depicted in the sed-hall of the pharaoh. She followed Henuttawy as high priestess. She is depicted in the Karnak chapel Osiris-Nebankh ('Osiris, Lord of Life'). A bronze statue of hers, which she received from her treasurer Ahentefnakht, is in the Louvre now;[1] a votive statue of Maat she also received from him, was found in Karnak, a stela of hers, her canopic jars and ushabtis are in Berlin.[2] She was followed as God's Wife by Shepenupet
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posted High Priestess Amenirdis
High Priestess Amenirdis
High Priestess Amenirdis
Amenirdis I (Khaneferumut) was a God's Wife of Amun in ancient Egypt.[1]
She was a Kushite princess, the daughter of Pharaoh Kashta and Queen Pebatjma. She is likely to have been the sister of pharaohs Shabaka and Piye.[1][2] Kashta arranged to have Amenirdis I adopted by the Divine Adoratrice of Amun, Shepenupet I, at Thebes as her successor.[3] This shows that Kashta already controlled Upper Egypt prior to the reign of Piye, his successor.[4]
She ruled as high priestess approximately between 714 and 700 BCE, under the reigns of Shabaka and Shabataka, and she adopted Piye's daughter Shepenupet II as her successor. Upon her death, she was buried in a tomb in the grounds of Medinet-Habu.[1]
She is depicted in the Osiris-Hekadjet ('Osiris, Ruler of Eternity') temple in the Karnak temple complex, and in Wadi Gasus, along with Shepenupet I. She is mentioned on two offering tables, five statues, a stela and several small objects including scarabs
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posted Priestess Takushit
Priestess Takushit
Priestess Takushit
Statue of the princess - priestess Takushit.
Found on Kom Tourougka, near Lake Mareotis, south of Alexandria, in 1880. Copper alloy with precious metal inlay. End of 25th Dynasty, approximately 670 BC. The statue had a ritual votive, and funerary use.
The woman’s name means ‘the Ethiopian’ and may refer to her relation or marriage to an Ethiopian. Her father was Akanosh II, great chief of the Ma tribe from Libya. The figure’s characteristic garment is executed with inlaid decoration, a technique in which the engraved design is inlaid with precious metal wire. The motifs are hieroglyphs and deities of the northeast region of the Nile Delta, Takushit’s homeland
Her name means “the Ethiopian” and possibly refers to a family connection to or a marriage with an Ethiopian. According to the inscriptions that the statue bears, her father was Akan II, the Great Chief of the Libyan tribe Ma, and her office was of priestess “waab” (pure-chaste priestess), which according to the religious hierarchy was the lowest priestly title.
The use of the statue was ceremonial while the priestess was alive, and was part of the ritual equipment of the sanctuary, in which there was a priestess. After her death, it was used for votive and funerary ends and it decorated her tomb, which, according to the custom of the time, is located within the sanctuary precinct
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posted
Queen Nitocris
Nitocris (Greek: Νίτωκρις) has been claimed to have been the last pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty. Her name is found in the Histories of Herodotus and writings of Manetho, but her historicity is questionable. She might have been an interregnum queen. If she is in fact a historical person, then she may be the sister of Merenre Nemtyemsaf II and the daughter of Pepi II and Queen Neith.[
According to Herodotus (Histories ii-100), she invited the murderers of her brother, the "king of Egypt", to a banquet, then killed them by flooding the sealed room with the Nile. ... [Nitocris] succeeded her brother. He had been the king of Egypt, and he had been put to death by his subjects, who then placed her upon the throne. Determined to avenge his death, she devised a cunning scheme by which she destroyed a vast number of Egyptians. She constructed a spacious underground chamber and, on pretense of inaugurating it, threw a banquet, inviting all those whom she knew to have been responsible for the murder of her brother. Suddenly as they were feasting, she let the river in upon them by means of a large, secret duct. (Herodotus)[1] Then, to avoid the other conspirators, she committed suicide (possibly by running into a burning room). Manetho claims she built the "third pyramid" at Giza, which is attributed by modern historians and archaeologists to pharaoh Menkaure of the Fourth dynasty. Manetho was most likely confused by the similarity of the names Menkaura (the prenomen or "throne name" of Nitocris) and Menkaure. Herodotus also has a Babylonian queen of the same name and talks of her constructions in Babylon, mainly connected with diverting the Euphrates. His story about her tomb and the inscription on it which fooled Darius into opening it, only to have another inscription on the inside that chastised the opener for being so greedy is an early example of a familiar cultural meme.
Nitocris is not mentioned, however, in any native Egyptian inscriptions and "she" probably did not exist. It was long claimed that Nitocris appears on a fragment of the Turin King List, dated to the Nineteenth Dynasty, under the Egyptian name of Nitiqreti (nt-ỉqrtỉ). The fragment where this name appears was thought to belong to the Sixth Dynasty portion of the king list, thus appearing to confirm both Herodotus and Manetho. However, microscopic analysis of the Turin King List suggests the fragment was misplaced in reassembling the fragmentary text, and that the name Nitiqreti is in fact a faulty transcription of the praenomen of a clearly male king Netjerkare Siptah I,[1][2] [3] who is named on the Abydos King List as the successor of the Sixth Dynasty king Nemtyemsaf II. On the Abydos King List, Netjerkare Siptah is placed in the equivalent spot that Neitiqreti Siptah holds on the Turin King List.
Neithhikret or Nitocris or Neith-Iquerti or Nitokerty Sixth Dynasty (~2148-44 BCE) She is known only through a story in Herodotus and several brief mentions of her name elsewhere, but there is no other historical or archaeological evidence for her existence, much less ruler-ship. She is mentioned on one king list (Turin) and not another (Abydos). If she existed, she lived at the end of the dynasty, may have been married to a husband who was not royal and may not even have been a king, and probably had no male offspring.
She may have been the daughter of Pepi II. In Herodotus, she is said to have succeeded her brother Metesouphis II upon his death, and then to have avenged his death by drowning his murderers and committing suicide
NITOCRIS: (6th Dynasty)
The Turin Canon mentions her name and Manetho said of her that she was braver than a man, the most beautiful of women, and fair skinned with red cheeks. Herodotus says that a group of conspirators assassinated the king and installed his sister, Nitocris, on the throne instead. She had a large underground chamber built and then invited to dinner in it all the men she believed to have been involved in the murder of her brother. She then committed suicide by throwing herself onto burning embers. No archeological evidence of her reign has ever been found. If she did rule her reign marked the end of the 6th dynasty and the Old Kingdom
A cluster of tombs belonging to first dynasty pharaohs was found at Abydos. Each consists of a large underground chamber lined with mud bricks. Surrounding it were rows consisting of small rooms for the burial of retainers dispatched to serve their monarch in the next world. All had been plundered. One of these tombs had a stela bearing the name Merneith, with no title or other information. It is tempting to dismiss the stela as a coincidence but all of the tombs and known pharaohs have been matched. If it is not her tomb the mystery is even deeper.
She also has a tomb at Saqqara alongside those of other 1st Dynasty monarchs.
A seal bears her name along with the names of other Pharaohs.
This is not much to go on, but it will have to do. Above the other names on the seal is the Horus symbol signifying a pharaoh. Above her name are the symbols for the title King’s Mother. Nowhere do we find any of the symbols used to designate a reigning Pharaoh, but why else would her name appear with that of other rulers. She must have been a very remarkable woman to be granted the privilege of a tomb in the royal burial grounds at Abydos and at Saqqara. There is certainly sufficient evidence to prove the existence of a very prominent queen bearing the name Merneith. Whether that is enough to prove she ruled as Pharaoh is another question. It should be noted that Merneith is normally a male name. The female equivalent would be Merytneith (and in some English language books that is how her name appears). We know she has to be a woman because she bears the title King’s Mother. Based on the length of the reigns of her husband Djet and her son Den, it is not impossible to believe that she served as regent for an infant son until he reached maturity, but we just do not know
Tomb stela of Merneith from the Umm el-Qa'ab
Merneith (Meritnit, Meryet-Nit or Meryt-Neith) was a consort and a regent of Ancient Egypt during the first dynasty. She may have been a ruler of Egypt in her own right, based on several official records – if this was the case, she would be the first female pharaoh and the earliest queen regnant in recorded history. Her rule occurred the thirtieth century B.C., for an undetermined period. Merneith’s name means "Beloved by Neith" and her stela contains symbols of that deity. She may have been Djer's daughter, and was probably Djet's senior royal wife. She was the mother of Den,[2] her successor
Family
Merneith is linked in a variety of seal impressions and inscribed bowls with kings Djer, Djet and Den. Merneith may have been the daughter of Djer, but there is no conclusive evidence. As the mother of Den, it is likely that Merneith was the wife of Djet. No information about the identity of her mother has been found.[3][4]
A clay seal found in the tomb of her son, Den, was engraved with "King's Mother Merneith".[2] It also is known that Den’s father was Djet, making it likely, therefore, that Merneith was Djet’s royal wife
Merneith is believed to have become ruler upon the death of Djet. The title she held, however, is debated. It is possible that her son Den was too young to rule when Djet died, so she may have ruled as regent until Den was old enough to be the king in his own right.
The strongest evidence that Merneith was a ruler of Egypt is her tomb. This tomb in Abydos (Tomb Y) is unique among the otherwise exclusively male tombs. Merneith was buried close to Djet and Den. Her tomb is of the same scale as the tombs of the kings of that period. Two grave stelae bearing her name were discovered near her tomb. Merneith's name is not included in the king lists from the New Kingdom. A seal containing a list of pharaohs of the first dynasty was found in the tomb of Qa'a, the third known pharaoh after Den, her son. However, this list does not mention the reign of Merneith.[4]
A few other pieces of evidence exist elsewhere about Merneith: Merneith’s name appears on a seal found in the tomb of her son, Den. The seal includes Merneith on a list of the first dynasty kings. Merneith's name was the only name of a woman included on the list. All of the names on the list are the Horus names of the kings. However, Merneith's name is accompanied by the title "King's Mother". Merneith’s name may have been included on the Palermo Stone.[4] Items from the great mastaba (Nr 3503, 16 x 42 m) in Saqqara where her name has been found in inscriptions on stone vessels, jars, as well as the seal impressions. In particular, there is one seal from Saqqara which shows Merneith's name in a serekh.[4] Merneith Enclosure. This is a group of tombs from the cemetery at Shunet el-Zebib. These tombs are dated to the time of Merneith.[5] Merneith's name was found on objects in king Djer's tomb in Umm el-Qa'ab
At Abydos, the tomb belonging to Merneith was found in an area associated with other pharaohs of the first dynasty, Umm el-Qa'ab. Two stelae made of stone, identifying the tomb as hers, were found at the site.
In 1900 William Petrie discovered Merneith’s tomb and, because of its nature, believed it belonged to a previously unknown pharaoh. The tomb was excavated and was shown to contain a large underground chamber, lined with mud bricks, which was surrounded by rows of small satellite burials, with at least 40 subsidiary graves for servants.[4][6]
The servants were thought to assist the ruler in the afterlife. The burial of servants with a ruler was a consistent practice in the tombs of the early first dynasty pharaohs. Large numbers of sacrificial assets were buried in her tomb complex as well, which is another honor afforded to pharaohs that provided the ruler with powerful animals for eternal life. This first dynasty burial complex was very important in the Egyptian religious tradition and its importance grew as the culture endured.
Inside her tomb archaeologists discovered a solar boat[7] that would allow her to travel with the sun deity in the afterlife.
Abydos was the site of many ancient temples, including Umm el-Qa'ab, the royal necropolis, where early pharaohs were entombed.[8] These tombs began to be seen as extremely significant burials and in later times it became desirable to be buried in the area, leading to the growth of the town's importance as a cult site
Cemetery B, Umm el-Qa'ab. Tombs of the pharaohs of the first and second dynasty of Egypt
Plan of the main chamber of Merneith's tomb
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posted Noble woman Tuya/Tjuyu
Noble woman Tuya
Noble woman Tuya/Tjuyu
Tjuyu (sometimes transliterated as Thuya or Thuyu) was an Egyptian noblewoman, and the mother of queen Tiye, wife of pharaoh Amenhotep III. She is the grandmother of Akhenaten, and great grandmother of Tutankhamun
Tjuyu is believed to be a descendant of Queen Ahmose-Nefertari, and she held many official roles in the interwoven religion and government of Ancient Egypt. She was involved in many religious cults; her titles included 'Singer of Hathor' and 'Chief of the Entertainers' of both Amun and Min.[1] She also held the influential offices of Superintendent of the Harem of the god Min of Akhmin and of Amun of Thebes.[2] She married Yuya, a powerful Ancient Egyptian courtier of the eighteenth dynasty. She is believed to have died in around 1375BC in her early to mid 50s
Yuya and Thuya had a daughter named Tiye, who became the consort and Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. The great royal wife was the highest Egyptian religious position, serving alongside of the pharaoh in official ceremonies and rituals.
Yuya and Thuya also had a son named Anen, who carried the titles Chancellor of Lower Egypt, Second Prophet of Amun, sm-priest of Heliopolis and Divine Father.[3]
They also may have been the parents of Ay,[4] an Egyptian courtier active during the reign of pharaoh Akhenaten, who eventually became pharaoh, as Kheperkheprure Ay, however, there is no conclusive evidence regarding the kinship of Yuya and Ay, although certainly, both men came from Akhmim.[5]
Tomb
Together with her husband, Tjuyu was buried in the Valley of the Kings, in KV46, where their largely unpillaged remains were found in 1905. It was the best-preserved tomb discovered before that of Tutankhamun, Tjuyu's great-grandson. The tomb was discovered by a team of workmen that were led by American millionaire Theodore M. Davis and archaeologist Arthur Weigall.[
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posted Queen Cleopatra VII
Queen Cleopatra VII
Queen Cleopatra VII
Queen Cleopatra VII
Statue said to be resembling Cleopatra VII
Cleopatra VII Philopator (Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ; Late 69 BC[1] – August 12, 30 BC) - who, being far better known than all others of that name, is known to history as Cleopatra without qualifications - was the last active pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, only shortly survived by her son, Caesarion as pharaoh. The name Cleopatra is derived from the Greek name Κλεοπάτρα (Kleopatra) which meant "she who comes from glorious father" or "glory of the father" in the feminine form, derived from κλέος (kleos) "glory" combined with πατήρ (pater) "father" (the masculine form would be Kleopatros Κλεόπατρος).[2][3]
Cleopatra was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a family of Greek [4] origin that ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great's death during the Hellenistic period. The Ptolemies, throughout their dynasty, spoke Greek[5] and refused to speak Egyptian, which is the reason that Greek as well as Egyptian languages were used on official court documents such as the Rosetta Stone.[6] By contrast, Cleopatra did learn to speak Egyptian[7] and represented herself as the reincarnation of an Egyptian goddess, Isis.
Cleopatra originally ruled jointly with her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes, and later with her brothers, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, whom she married as per Egyptian custom, but eventually she became sole ruler. As pharaoh, she consummated a liaison with Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne. She later elevated her son with Caesar, Caesarion, to co-ruler in name.
After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, she aligned with Mark Antony in opposition to Caesar's legal heir, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (later known as Augustus). With Antony, she bore the twins Cleopatra Selene II and Alexander Helios, and another son, Ptolemy Philadelphus (her unions with her brothers had produced no children). After losing the Battle of Actium to Octavian's forces, Antony committed suicide. Cleopatra followed suit, according to tradition killing herself by means of an asp bite on August 12, 30 BC.[8] She was briefly outlived by Caesarion, who was declared pharaoh by his supporters but soon killed on Octavian's orders. Egypt became the Roman province of Aegyptus.
To this day, Cleopatra remains a popular figure in Western culture. Her legacy survives in numerous works of art and the many dramatizations of her story in literature and other media, including William Shakespeare's tragedy Antony and Cleopatra, George Bernard Shaw's play Caesar and Cleopatra, Jules Massenet's opera Cléopâtre and the 1963 film Cleopatra
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posted Princess Meritaten
Princess Meritaten
Princess Meritaten
Meritaten also spelled Merytaten or Meryetaten (14th century BC) was an ancient Egyptian queen of the eighteenth dynasty, who held the position of Great Royal Wife to Pharaoh Smenkhkare, who may have been a brother or son of Akhenaten. Her name means "She who is beloved of Aten"; Aten being the sun-god her father worshipped; Meritaten also may have served as pharaoh in her own right under the name, Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten.[1]
Family
Pharaoh Akhenaten (center) and his family adoring the Aten solar disk. The next figure leftmost is Meritaten, the daughter of Akhenaten, adorned in a double-feather crown. Meritaten was the first of six daughters born to Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife, Nefertiti. Her sisters are Meketaten, Ankhesenpaaten, Neferneferuaten Tasherit, Neferneferure, and Setepenre.[2] She is known to have later married Pharaoh Smenkhare. There are no known children, but the young girls named Meritaten-tasherit and Ankhesenpaaten-tasherit are sometimes conjectured to be the daughters of Meritaten and Smenkhare.[1]
Biography
She was born early in her father's reign, before the royal family moved to the new capital established by her father, Akhetaten. She was shown beside her mother in reliefs carved into the Hut-Benben, a temple devoted exclusively to Nefertiti. She also appears—along with her parents and younger sister Meketaten;on the boundary stelae designating the boundaries of the new capital.[1]
During Akhenaten's reign she was the most frequently depicted and mentioned of the six daughters. Her figure appears on paintings in temples, tombs, and private chapels. She is shown not only on the pictures showing the family life of the pharaoh, which were typical of the Amarna Period, but on official ceremonies too. She also is mentioned in diplomatic letters, by the name Mayati.[1]
Meritaten's titles include Great Royal Wife, which can indicate either marriage to her father or to Akhenaten's co-ruler Smenkhkare, whom some believe was her (half-)uncle or half-brother, although a simpler explanation for the title may be that Meritaten simply assumed her mother's duties and office of "Great Royal Wife".
Meritaten's name seems to replace that of another royal lady in several places, among them in the Northern Palace and in the Maru-Aten. This had been misinterpreted as evidence of Nefertiti's disgrace and banishment from the royal court, but more recently the erased inscriptions turned out to be the name of Kiya, one of Akhenaten's secondary wives, disproving that interpretation.[1]
According to some scholars such as J.P. Allen, Ankhkheperure Smenkhkare ruled together with Meritaten, but in the year following Akhenaten's death Smenkhkare himself died. These Egyptologists suggest that Meritaten was the 'king's daughter' Akenkeres who is recorded in Manetho's Epitome to have assumed the throne for herself as the female king Neferneferuaten. Neferneferuaten is assigned a reign of 2 years and 1 month and is placed in Manetho's account as the immediate predecessor of Rathothis, who is believed to be Tutankhamun
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posted Egypt first Pharaoh Narmer/Mena and Egypt first female Prime minister( in front of him) in procession.
See also: Family tree of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
Akhenaten, Nefertiti and their children
As Amenhotep IV, Akhenaten was married to Nefertiti at the very beginning of his reign, and six daughters were identified from inscriptions. Recent DNA analysis has revealed that with one of his biological sisters, the "Younger Lady" mummy, Akhenaten fathered Tutankhaten (later Tutankhamen).[28] The parentage of Smenkhkare, his successor, is unknown, and Akhenaten and an unknown wife have been proposed to be his parents.
A secondary wife of Akhenaten named Kiya is known from inscriptions. Some have theorized that she gained her importance as the mother of Tutankhamen, Smenkhkare, or both.
This is a list of Akhenaten's children (known and theoretical) with suggested years of birth: Smenkhkare? – year 35 or 36 of Amenhotep III's reign Meritaten – year 1. Meketaten – year 3, possibly earlier. Ankhesenpaaten, later Queen of Tutankhamun – year 4. Neferneferuaten Tasherit – year 8. Neferneferure – year 9. Setepenre – year 9. Tutankhaten – year 8 or 9 – renamed Tutankhamun later.[29]
His known consorts were: Nefertiti, his Great Royal Wife. Kiya, a lesser Royal Wife. A daughter of Šatiya, ruler of Enišasi[30] A daughter of Burna-Buriash, King of Babylon[30]
It has been proposed that Akhenaten may have taken some of his daughters as sexual consorts, to attempt to father a male heir by them, but this is very debatable. It does seem certain that like his father, Amenhotep III, Akhenaten named at least one daughter as Great Royal Wife. But this does not exclusively indicate she was his sexual consort as the position was also an important ceremonial position.[31] Meritaten is recorded as Great Royal Wife to Smenkhkare in the tomb of Meryre II in Akhet-Aten. She is also listed alongside King Akhenaten and King Neferneferuaten as Great Royal Wife on a box from the tomb of Tutankhamen. Letters written to Akhenaten from foreign rulers make reference to Meritaten as 'mistress of the house'. Meketaten, Akhenaten's second daughter. Meketaten's death in childbirth is recorded in the royal tombs of Amarna about the year 13 or 14. Since no husband is known for her, the assumption has been that Akhenaten was the father. The inscription giving the filiation of the child are damaged to prevent resolving the issue. Various monuments originally for Kiya, was reinscribed for Akhenaten's daughters Meritaten and Ankhesenpaaten, the revised inscriptions list a Meritaten-tasherit ("junior") and an Ankhesenpaaten-tasherit. Some view this to indicate that Akhenaten fathered his own grandchildren. Others hold that since these grandchildren are not attested to elsewhere, that they are fictions invented to fill the space originally filled by Kiya's child.[32]
Two other lovers have been suggested, but are not widely accepted: Smenkhkare, Akhenaten's successor and/or co-ruler for the last years of his reign. Rather than a lover, however, Smenkhkare is likely to have been a half-brother or a son to Akhenaten. Some have even suggested that Smenkhkare was actually an alias of Nefertiti or Kiya, and therefore one of Akhenaten's wives (see below). Tiye, his mother. Twelve years after the death of Amenhotep III, she is still mentioned in inscriptions as Queen and beloved of the King, but kings' mothers often were. The few supporters of this theory (notably Immanuel Velikovsky) consider Akhenaten to be the historical model of legendary King Oedipus of Thebes, Greece and Tiye the model for his mother/wife Jocasta
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posted Princess Shepensopdet
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posted Queen Kiya
Queen Kiya
Queen Kiya
Queen Kiya
Queen Kiya
Kiya was one of the wives of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Little is known about her, and her actions and roles are poorly documented in the historical record, in contrast to those of Akhenaten's first (and chief) royal wife, Nefertiti. Her unusual name suggests that she may originally have been a Mitanni princess.[1] Surviving evidence demonstrates that Kiya was an important figure at Akhenaten’s court during the middle years of his reign, when she bore him a daughter.[2][3] She disappears from history a few years before her royal husband’s death. In previous years, she was thought to be mother of Tutankhamun, but recent DNA evidence suggests this is unlikely
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