1.
Great Royal Wife
–
Great Royal Wife, or alternatively Chief Kings Wife, is the term that was used to refer to the principal wife of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. The former is also, in the form of the simplification Great Wife, while most Ancient Egyptians were monogamous, the pharaoh would have had other, lesser wives and concubines in addition to the Great Royal Wife. This arrangement would allow the pharaoh to enter into marriages with the daughters of allies. In the past the order of succession in Ancient Egypt was thought to pass through the royal women and this theory, referred to as the Heiress Theory, has been rejected ever since the 1980s and is now not accepted by Egyptologists. The throne likely just passed to the eldest living son of the pharaoh, examples include Iset, the mother of Thutmose III, Tiaa, the mother of Thutmose IV and Mutemwia, the mother of Amenhotep III. Meretseger, the wife of Senusret III, is the earliest queen whose name appears with this title. However, she is attested in the New Kingdom so the title might be an anachronism. Perhaps the first holder of its title was Nubkhaes of the Second Intermediate Period, a special place in the history of great royal wives was taken by Hatshepsut. She was Great Royal Wife to her half-brother Thutmose II, during this time Hatshepsut also became a Gods Wife of Amun. After the death of her husband, she became regent because of the minority of her stepson, the male heir. While he was very young, however, Hatshepsut was crowned as pharaoh. When she became pharaoh, she designated her daughter, Neferure and her daughter may have been the great royal wife of Thutmose III but there is no clear evidence for this proposed marriage. Elsewhere, in Kush and other states of ancient Africa. The practice of creating great wives has continued to the present day, in addition to the said queen of the Zulus, contemporary holders of the title include the numerous bearers of the Iyaafin chieftaincy of Yorubaland and the future Ndlovukati of Swaziland. List of consorts of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, for the modern queens and sultanas of Egypt Gods Wife of Amun Divine Adoratrice of Amun Interregnum queen
Great Royal Wife
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Nefertari, the Great Royal Wife of
Ramasses II, from the temple he built to her at
Abu Simbel, she holds a
sistrum and a sacred lotus
Great Royal Wife
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Hatshepsut was Great Royal Wife to Thutmose II, then regent for her stepson Thutmose III (
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)
Great Royal Wife
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Royal titulary
2.
Ancient Egypt
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Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. It is one of six civilizations to arise independently, Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt and coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh Narmer. In the aftermath of Alexander the Greats death, one of his generals, Ptolemy Soter and this Greek Ptolemaic Kingdom ruled Egypt until 30 BC, when, under Cleopatra, it fell to the Roman Empire and became a Roman province. The success of ancient Egyptian civilization came partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River valley for agriculture, the predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which supported a more dense population, and social development and culture. Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its antiquities carried off to far corners of the world and its monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travelers and writers for centuries. The Nile has been the lifeline of its region for much of human history, nomadic modern human hunter-gatherers began living in the Nile valley through the end of the Middle Pleistocene some 120,000 years ago. By the late Paleolithic period, the climate of Northern Africa became increasingly hot and dry. In Predynastic and Early Dynastic times, the Egyptian climate was less arid than it is today. Large regions of Egypt were covered in treed savanna and traversed by herds of grazing ungulates, foliage and fauna were far more prolific in all environs and the Nile region supported large populations of waterfowl. Hunting would have been common for Egyptians, and this is also the period when many animals were first domesticated. The largest of these cultures in upper Egypt was the Badari, which probably originated in the Western Desert, it was known for its high quality ceramics, stone tools. The Badari was followed by the Amratian and Gerzeh cultures, which brought a number of technological improvements, as early as the Naqada I Period, predynastic Egyptians imported obsidian from Ethiopia, used to shape blades and other objects from flakes. In Naqada II times, early evidence exists of contact with the Near East, particularly Canaan, establishing a power center at Hierakonpolis, and later at Abydos, Naqada III leaders expanded their control of Egypt northwards along the Nile. They also traded with Nubia to the south, the oases of the desert to the west. Royal Nubian burials at Qustul produced artifacts bearing the oldest-known examples of Egyptian dynastic symbols, such as the crown of Egypt. They also developed a ceramic glaze known as faience, which was used well into the Roman Period to decorate cups, amulets, and figurines. During the last predynastic phase, the Naqada culture began using written symbols that eventually were developed into a system of hieroglyphs for writing the ancient Egyptian language. The Early Dynastic Period was approximately contemporary to the early Sumerian-Akkadian civilisation of Mesopotamia, the third-century BC Egyptian priest Manetho grouped the long line of pharaohs from Menes to his own time into 30 dynasties, a system still used today
Ancient Egypt
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The
Great Sphinx and the
pyramids of Giza are among the most recognizable symbols of the civilization of ancient Egypt.
Ancient Egypt
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A typical Naqada II jar decorated with gazelles. (Predynastic Period)
Ancient Egypt
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The
Narmer Palette depicts the unification of the Two Lands.
3.
Akhmim
–
Akhmim is a city in the Sohag Governorate of Upper Egypt. Referred to by the ancient Greeks as Khemmis, Chemmis and Panopolis, Akhmim was known in Ancient Egypt as Ipu, Apu or Khent-min. It was the capital of the nome of Upper Egypt. The city is a suggested hometown for Yuya, the official of Tuthmosis IV, the ithyphallic Min was worshipped here as the strong Horus. Min was especially a god of the routes on the east of Egypt. Herodotus perhaps confused Coptos with Chemmis, in the Christian Coptic era, Akhmim was known as Khmin or Shmin. Monasteries abounded in this region from an early date. Shenouda the Archimandrite was a monk at Athribis near Akhmim, some years earlier Nestorius, the exiled ex-patriarch of Constantinople, had died at an old age in the neighborhood of Akhmim. Nonnus, the Greek poet, was born at Panopolis at the end of the 4th century, the bishopric of Panopolis, a suffragan of Antinoë in Thebais Prima, is included in the Catholic Churchs list of titular sees. Among the bishops of Panopolis, Le Quien mentions Arius, friend of Saint Pachomius who had built three convents in the city, Sabinus, and Menas, in the 13th century AD, a very imposing temple still stood in Akhmim. Today, little of its past glory remains, nothing is left of the town, the temples were almost completely dismantled, and their material reused in the later Middle Ages. The extensive cemeteries of ancient Akhmim are yet to be fully explored, the destroyed corner of a Greco-Roman period temple with colossal statues of Ramesses II and Meritamen were discovered in 1981. Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert, Akhmim is the largest town on the east side of the Nile in Upper Egypt. In 1907, the population of the city was 23,795, Akhmim has several mosques and two Coptic churches. The Monastery of the Martyrs is located about 6 km northeast of the city, Akhmim maintains a weekly market, and manufactures cotton goods, notably the blue shirts and check shawls with silk fringes worn by the poorer classes of Egypt. Outside the walls are the scanty ruins of two ancient temples, on the west bank of the Nile opposite of Akhmim, there is railway communication with Cairo and Aswan. Archived from the original on 27 March 2008, more about Akmims Martyrs - Saint Takla Haymanout Church, Egypt
Akhmim
–
Akhmim أخميم
4.
Upper Egypt
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Upper Egypt is the strip of land on both sides of the Nile that extends between Nubia and downriver to Lower Egypt. Upper Egypt is between the Cataracts of the Nile above modern-day Aswan, downriver to the area between Dahshur and El-Ayait, which is south of modern-day Cairo, the northern part of Upper Egypt, between Sohag and El-Ayait, is also known as Middle Egypt. In Arabic, inhabitants of Upper Egypt are known as Saidis, in ancient Egypt, Upper Egypt was known as tꜣ šmꜣw, literally the Land of Reeds or the Sedgeland It was divided into twenty-two districts called nomes. The first nome was roughly where modern-day Aswan is and the twenty-second was at modern Atfih just to the south of Cairo, the main city of prehistoric Upper Egypt was Nekhen, whose patron deity was the vulture goddess Nekhbet. By about 3600 BC, Neolithic Egyptian societies along the Nile had based their culture on the raising of crops, shortly after 3600 BC, Egyptian society began to grow and increase in complexity. A new and distinctive pottery, which was related to the Levantine ceramics, extensive use of copper became common during this time. The Mesopotamian process of sun-drying adobe and architectural principles—including the use of the arch, concurrent with these cultural advances, a process of unification of the societies and towns of the upper Nile River, or Upper Egypt, occurred. At the same time the societies of the Nile Delta, or Lower Egypt also underwent a unification process, warfare between Upper and Lower Egypt occurred often. During his reign in Upper Egypt, King Narmer defeated his enemies on the Delta, for most of pharaonic Egypts history, Thebes was the administrative center of Upper Egypt. After its devastation by the Assyrians, its importance declined, under the Ptolemies, Ptolemais Hermiou took over the role of Upper Egypts capital city. Upper Egypt was represented by the tall White Crown Hedjet, and its symbols were the flowering lotus, in the 11th century, large numbers of pastoralists, known as Hilalians, fled Upper Egypt and moved westward into Libya and as far as Tunis. It is believed that degraded grazing conditions in Upper Egypt, associated with the beginning of the Medieval Warm Period, were the cause of the migration. In the 20th-century Egypt, the title Prince of the Said was used by the apparent to the Egyptian throne. Although the Kingdom of Egypt was abolished after the Egyptian revolution of 1952, media related to Upper Egypt at Wikimedia Commons
Upper Egypt
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Iry-Hor
Upper Egypt
–
Ka
Upper Egypt
–
King Scorpion
5.
KV35
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Tomb KV35 is an ancient Egyptian tomb located in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt. It was discovered by Victor Loret in March 1898 and contains the tomb of Amenhotep II and it has a dogs leg shape, typical of the layout of early Eighteenth Dynasty tombs, but several features make this tomb stand out. The burial chamber is a shape and divided into upper and lower pillared sections. This style of burial chamber became standard for royal burials in the later New Kingdom, later the tomb was used as a mummy cache. Some believed this mummy to be a male, however, with DNA testing, this mummy was shown in February 2010 to be a woman, the mother of Tutankhamun, and the daughter of Amenhotep III and Tiye. Her name, however, remains unknown, leaving open the possibility that she is likely either Nebetiah or Beketaten, an unknown woman D in an upturned lid of a coffin inscribed for Setnakhte. Two skulls were found in the well and an arm was found with the above Younger Lady. A body on a boat was stolen from or destroyed at the start of the 20th century, william Max Millers Theban Royal Mummy Project
KV35
–
KV35
KV35
–
Isometric, plan and elevation images of KV35 taken from a 3d model
6.
Valley of the Kings
–
The valley stands on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes, within the heart of the Theban Necropolis. The wadi consists of two valleys, East Valley and West Valley, with the 2005 discovery of a new chamber. And the 2008 discovery of two further tomb entrances, the valley is known to contain 63 tombs and chambers and it was the principal burial place of the major royal figures of the Egyptian New Kingdom, as well as a number of privileged nobles. The royal tombs are decorated with scenes from Egyptian mythology and give clues as to the beliefs, almost all of the tombs seem to have been opened and robbed in antiquity, but they still give an idea of the opulence and power of the Pharaohs. This area has been a focus of archaeological and egyptological exploration since the end of the eighteenth century, in modern times the valley has become famous for the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, and is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. In 1979, it became a World Heritage Site, along with the rest of the Theban Necropolis, exploration, excavation and conservation continues in the valley, and a new tourist centre has recently been opened. The types of soil where the Valley of the Kings is located are a sandwich of dense limestone and other sedimentary rock. During the Pleistocene the valley was carved out of the plateau by steady rains, there is currently little year-round rain in this part of Egypt, but there are occasional flash floods that hit the valley, dumping tons of debris into the open tombs. The quality of the rock in the Valley is inconsistent, ranging from finely-grained to coarse stone, the occasional layer of shale also caused construction and conservation difficulties, as this rock expands in the presence of water, forcing apart the stone surrounding it. It is thought that some tombs were altered in shape and size depending on the types of rock the builders encountered, builders took advantage of available geological features when constructing the tombs. Some tombs were quarried out of existing limestone clefts, others behind slopes of scree, the problems of tomb construction can be seen with tombs of Ramesses III and his father Setnakhte. Setnakhte started to excavate KV11 but broke into the tomb of Amenmesse, so construction was abandoned and he usurped the tomb of Twosret. When looking for a tomb, Ramesses III extended the partly-excavated tomb started by his father, the tomb of Ramesses II returned to an early style, with a bent axis, probably due to the quality of the rock being excavated. The area of the Theban hills is subject to infrequent violent thunder storms, recent studies have shown that there are at least seven active flood stream beds leading down into the central area of the valley. This central area appears to have been flooded at the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty, the tombs KV63, KV62, and KV55 are dug into the actual wadi bedrock rather than the debris, showing that the level of the valley was five meters below its present level. This was the area that was the subject of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project ground scanning radar investigation, the Theban Hills are dominated by the peak of al-Qurn, known to the Ancient Egyptians as ta dehent, or The Peak. It has an appearance, and it is probable that this echoed the pyramids of the Old Kingdom. Its isolated position also resulted in reduced access, and special police were able to guard the necropolis
Valley of the Kings
–
Location of the valley in the Theban Hills, west of the Nile, October 1988 (red arrow shows location)
Valley of the Kings
–
Panorama of the valley, looking north
Valley of the Kings
–
al-Qurn dominates the valley.
Valley of the Kings
–
View of the central East Valley, showing area around
KV62
7.
Thebes, Egypt
–
Thebes, known to the ancient Egyptians as Waset, was an ancient Egyptian city located east of the Nile about 800 kilometers south of the Mediterranean. Its ruins lie within the modern Egyptian city of Luxor, Thebes was the main city of the fourth Upper Egyptian nome. It was close to Nubia and the desert, with their valuable mineral resources. It was a center and the wealthiest city of ancient Egypt at its heyday. The Ancient Egyptians originally knew Thebes as Wose or Wase A was was the scepter of the pharaohs, a staff with an animals head. Thebes is the Latinized form of the Greek Thebai, the form of the Demotic Egyptian Ta-pe. This was the name not for the city itself but for the Karnak temple complex on the northern east bank of the city. As early as Homers Iliad, the Greeks distinguished the Egyptian Thebes as Thebes of the Hundred Gates, as opposed to the Thebes of the Seven Gates in Boeotia, from the end of the New Kingdom, Thebes was known in Egyptian as Niwt-Imn, the City of Amun. Amun was the chief of the Theban Triad of gods whose other members were Mut and this name appears in the Bible as the Nōʼ ʼĀmôn of the Book of Nahum and probably also as the No mentioned in Ezekiel and Jeremiah. In the interpretatio graeca, Amun was seen as a form of Zeus, the name was therefore translated into Greek as Diospolis, the City of Zeus. To distinguish it from the other cities by this name. The Greek names came into use after the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great. Thebes was located along the banks of the Nile River in the part of Upper Egypt about 800 km from the Delta. It was built largely on the plains of the Nile Valley which follows a great bend of the Nile. As a natural consequence, the city was laid in a northeast-southwest axis parallel to the river channel. Thebes had an area of 93 km2 which included parts of the Theban Hills in the west that culminates at the sacred 420-meter al-Qurn, in the east lies the mountainous Eastern Desert with its wadis draining into the valley. Significant of these wadis is Wadi Hammamat near Thebes and it was used as an overland trade route going to the Red Sea coast. In the fourth Upper Egyptian nome, Thebes was found to have neighboring towns such as Per-Hathor, Madu, Djerty, Iuny, Sumenu, according to George Modelski, Thebes had about 40,000 inhabitants in 2000 BC
Thebes, Egypt
–
Egypt - Temple of Seti, east entrance, Thebes. Brooklyn Museum Archives, Goodyear Archival Collection
Thebes, Egypt
–
Luxor Temple
Thebes, Egypt
–
The Theban Necropolis
8.
Amenhotep III
–
Amenhotep III, also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. According to different authors, he ruled Egypt from June 1386 to 1349 BC, or from June 1388 BC to December 1351 BC/1350 BC, Amenhotep III was Thutmoses son by a minor wife, Mutemwiya. His reign was a period of unprecedented prosperity and artistic splendour, when he died in the 38th or 39th year of his reign, his son initially ruled as Amenhotep IV, but then changed his own royal name to Akhenaten. The son of the future Thutmose IV and a minor wife Mutemwiya and he was a member of the Thutmosid family that had ruled Egypt for almost 150 years since the reign of Thutmose I. Amenhotep III was the father of two sons with his Great Royal Wife Tiye and their first son, Crown Prince Thutmose, predeceased his father and their second son, Amenhotep IV, later known as Akhenaten, ultimately succeeded Amenhotep III to the throne. Amenhotep III also may have been the father of a third child—called Smenkhkare, Amenhotep III and Tiye may also have had four daughters, Sitamun, Henuttaneb, Isis or Iset, and Nebetah. They appear frequently on statues and reliefs during the reign of their father, Nebetah is attested only once in the known historical records on a colossal limestone group of statues from Medinet Habu. Amenhotep III elevated two of his four daughters—Sitamun and Isis—to the office of royal wife during the last decade of his reign. Evidence that Sitamun already was promoted to office by Year 30 of his reign, is known from jar-label inscriptions uncovered from the royal palace at Malkata. The goddess Hathor herself was related to Ra as first the mother and later wife, hence, Amenhotep IIIs marriage to his two daughters should not be considered unlikely based on contemporary views of marriage. Amenhotep III is known to have married several women, Gilukhepa. Tadukhepa, the daughter of his ally Tushratta of Mitanni, Around Year 36 of his reign, a daughter of Kurigalzu, king of Babylon. A daughter of Kadashman-Enlil, king of Babylon, a daughter of Tarhundaradu, ruler of Arzawa. A daughter of the ruler of Ammia, Amenhotep III has the distinction of having the most surviving statues of any Egyptian pharaoh, with over 250 of his statues having been discovered and identified. Since these statues span his life, they provide a series of portraits covering the entire length of his reign. Their lengthy inscribed texts extol the accomplishments of the pharaoh, for instance,123 of these commemorative scarabs record the large number of lions that Amenhotep III killed with his own arrows from his first regnal year up to his tenth year. Similarly, five other state that the foreign princess who would become a wife to him, Gilukhepa. She was the first of many such princesses who would enter the pharaohs household, another eleven scarabs record the excavation of an artificial lake he had built for his Great Royal Wife, Queen Tiye, in his eleventh regnal year, Regnal Year 11 under the Majesty of
Amenhotep III
–
Colossal statue of Amenhotep III
Amenhotep III
–
Vase in the Louvre with the names Amenohotep III and Tiye written in the
cartouches on the left, (and Tiye's on the right).
Amenhotep III
–
Queen Tiye, whose husband, Amenhotep III, may have been depicted to her right in this broken statue
Amenhotep III
–
One of the many commemorative scarabs of Amenhotep III. This scarab belongs to a class called the "marriage scarabs," which affirm the divine power of the king and the legitimacy of his wife, Tiye.
Walters Art Museum,
Baltimore.
9.
Sitamun
–
Sitamun was an Ancient Egyptian princess and queen consort during the 18th dynasty. Sitamun is considered to be the eldest daughter of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and she was later married to her father around Year 30 of Amenhotep IIIs reign. Sitamun is very well attested, most notably in the tomb of Yuya and Thuya where three finely made chairs were discovered, as these chairs were used, and are of progressively larger size, it is assumed they belonged to Sitamun as she was growing up. They were then placed in her grandparents tomb in the tradition of placing objects which had meaning in the persons life. She is also depicted on the stele of her nurse Nebetkabeny, almost nothing is known of her life beyond being the oldest daughter of a powerful queen. In the last decade of her fathers reign, she was promoted to the status of Great Royal Wife. Sitamuns elevation to her role as Great Royal Wife of her father and she maintained her own rooms in the Malkata palace complex, and Amenhotep, son of Hapu was appointed as the steward of her properties here. She is attested on a Karnak statue of Amenhotep, son of Hapu where she is mentioned as the kings Great Royal Wife and she also appears on a relief from Amenhotep IIIs mortuary temple, found by William Matthew Flinders Petrie. Sitamun is among a handful of figures that appear near the end of the reign of Amenhotep III and this was an era of Egyptian history in which women assumed far more prominent and powerful roles with Amenhotep IIIs wife Tiye, Sitamuns mother, being a particular example. Prior to Tiyes reign, no previous queen ever figured so prominently in her husbands lifetime, one possibility is that she was married to an heir who never assumed the throne. Another possibility is that she died prematurely or went into seclusion after her brother Akhenaten became king and she was an aunt of Tutankhamun. She vanishes at the end of Amenhotep IIIs reign and is not mentioned during Akhenatens reign, a separate chamber was carved for her in Amenhotep IIIs tomb in the Valley of the Kings, but there is no evidence that she was ever buried there. Schäfers Amarna in Religion und Kunst, Leipzig 1931, E. Riefstahl Thebes in the Time of Amenhotep III, NY1964
Sitamun
–
A relief from Amenhotep II's mortuary temple adapted for Sitamun, on display at the
Petrie Museum,
London (UC 14373).
Sitamun
–
Sitamun's chair
10.
Henuttaneb
–
Henuttaneb was one of the daughters of Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep III of the 18th dynasty and his Great Royal Wife, Queen Tiye. She was a sister of Pharaoh Akhenaten and she also had several more siblings - one other brother and several sisters. Henuttanebs name means Lady of All Lands and was frequently used as a title for queens. She was the daughter of her parents. Henuttaneb is shown on a statue from Medinet Habu. She also appears in the temple at Soleb and on a carnelian plaque and her name appears on three faience fragments. It is unclear whether Henuttaneb was elevated to the rank of queen like Sitamun and she is nowhere mentioned as Kings Wife, but on the aforementioned carnelian plaque her name is enclosed in a cartouche, a privilege which only kings and their wives were entitled to. After the death of her father she is not mentioned again
Henuttaneb
–
Colossal statues (JE 33906), between her parents,
Amenhotep III and
Tiye, there stands Henuttaneb,
Egyptian Museum (Cairo).
11.
Thutmose (prince)
–
Thutmose was the eldest son of pharaoh Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye, who lived during the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. Prince Thutmose served as a priest of Ptah in ancient Memphis and his full royal titles are given in the sarcophagus of his pet cat, Crown Prince, Overseer of the Priests of Upper and Lower Egypt, High Priest of Ptah in Memphis and Sm-priest. A small schist statuette of the prince as a miller is in the Louvre Museum while a recumbent mummiform schist figure is in Berlin, Prince Thutmose is best remembered for the limestone sarcophagus of his cat, Ta-miu, now in the Cairo Museum. The cat sarcophagus of Prince Thutmose conclusively establishes that he was indeed the eldest son of Amenhotep III, Thutmose is also attested by a total of 7 pairs of calcite and pottery vases in the Louvre. Prince Thutmose disappears from the records and appears to have died some time during the third decade of Amenhotep IIIs kingship. In his place, his younger brother Amenhotep IV, better known as Akhenaten, in his 1939 book Moses and Monotheism Sigmund Freud presented the idea that Crown Prince Thutmoses younger brother Akhenaten was associated with the Biblical character Moses. The idea was more recently reconsidered by Egyptologist Jan Assmann in Moses the Egyptian
Thutmose (prince)
–
Prince Thutmose's schist recumbent bier
Thutmose (prince)
–
Sarcophagus of Prince Thutmose's cat, Ta-miu
12.
Akhenaten
–
Akhenaten known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV, was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC. An early inscription likens the Aten to the sun as compared to stars, Akhenaten tried to bring about a departure from traditional religion, yet in the end it would not be accepted. After his death, his monuments were dismantled and hidden, his statues were terminated and he was all but lost from history until the discovery during the 19th century of the site of Akhetaten, the city he built and designed for the worship of Aten, at Amarna. DNA analysis has determined that the man buried in KV55 is the father of King Tutankhamun, the future Akhenaten was a younger son of Amenhotep III and Chief Queen Tiye. The eldest son Crown Prince Thutmose was recognized as the heir of Amenhotep III but he died relatively young, there is much controversy around whether Amenhotep IV succeeded to the throne on the death of his father Amenhotep III or whether there was a coregency. Other literature by Donald Redford, William Murnane, Alan Gardiner, in February 2014, the Egyptian Ministry for Antiquities announced what it called conclusive evidence that Akhenaten shared power with his father for at least 8 years. The evidence came from the found in the Luxor tomb of Vizier Amenhotep-Huy. A team of Spanish archeologists have been working at this tomb, Amenhotep IV was crowned in Thebes and there he started a building program. He decorated the entrance to the precincts of the temple of Amun-Re with scenes of his worshiping Re-Harakhti. He soon decreed the construction of a dedicated to the Aten in Eastern Karnak. This Temple of Amenhotep IV was called the Gempaaten, the Gempaaten consisted of a series of buildings, including a palace and a structure called the Hwt Benben which was dedicated to Queen Nefertiti. Other Aten temples constructed at Karnak during this time include the Rud-menu, during this time he did not repress the worship of Amun, and the High Priest of Amun was still active in the fourth year of his reign. The king appears as Amenhotep IV in the tombs of some of the nobles in Thebes, Kheruef, Ramose, in the tomb of Ramose, Amenhotep IV appears on the west wall in the traditional style, seated on a throne with Ramose appearing before the king. On the other side of the doorway, Amenhotep IV and Nefertiti are shown in the window of appearance with the Aten depicted as the sun disc. In the Theban tomb of Parennefer, Amenhotep IV and Nefertiti are seated on a throne with the sun disk depicted over the king, among the latter-known documents referring to Amenhotep IV are two copies of a letter from the Steward Of Memphis Apy to the pharaoh. The documents were found in Gurob and are dated to regnal year 5, third month of the Growing Season, on day 13, Month 8, in the fifth year of his reign, the king arrived at the site of the new city Akhetaten. A month before that Amenhotep IV had officially changed his name to Akhenaten, Amenhotep IV changed most of his 5 fold titulary in year 5 of his reign. The only name he kept was his prenomen or throne name of Neferkheperure, some recent debate has focused on the extent to which Akhenaten forced his religious reforms on his people
Akhenaten
–
Statue of Akhenaten in the early
Amarna style.
Akhenaten
–
Relief representing Amenhotep IV before he changed his name to Akhenaten,
Neues Museum, Berlin
Akhenaten
–
Bronze plate with the titulary of Amenhotep IV before he changed his name to Akhenaten,
British Museum.
Akhenaten
–
Pharaoh Akhenaten (center) and his family worshiping the
Aten, with characteristic rays seen emanating from the solar disk.
13.
Smenkhkare
–
Ankhkheperure Smenkhkare Djeser Kheperu was a short-lived pharaoh in the late 18th dynasty. His names translate as Living are the Forms of Re and Vigorous is the Soul of Re – Holy of Forms and his reign was during the Amarna Period, a time when Akhenaten sought to impose new religious views. He is to be distinguished from his predecessor, the female ruler Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten. Unlike Neferneferuaten, Smenkhkare did not use epithets in his name or cartouche. Very little is known of Smenkhkare for certain because later kings, beginning with Horemheb, for the complete historiography regarding the names, see Neferneferuaten Smenkhkare was known as far back as 1845 from the tomb of Meryre II. There he and Meritaten, bearing the title Great Royal Wife, are shown rewarding the tombs owner, the names of the king have since been cut out but had been recorded by Lepsius circa 1850. Later, a different set of names emerged using the throne name. This led to a deal of confusion since throne names tended to be unique. For the better part of a century, the repetition of names was taken to mean that Smenkhare changed his name to Neferneferuaten at some point. Indeed, Petrie makes exactly that distinction in his notes of 1894. By the 1970s, feminine traces in some versions of the name, among them, that Nefertiti was masquerading as Smenkhkare before changing her name again to Neferneferuaten. When considered with various stela depicting Akhenaten with another king in familiar, if not intimate poses, in 1978, it was proposed that there were 2 individuals using the same name, a male king Smenkhkare and a female Neferneferuaten. Ten years later, James Allen pointed out the name Ankhkheperure nearly always included an epithet referring to Akhenaten such as desired of Wa en Re when coupled with Neferneferuaten. Smenkhkare, as son in law, might be desired of Akhenaten, by the start of the 21st Century, a fair degree of consensus emerged that Neferneferuaten was a female king and Smenkhkare a separate male king, particularly among specialists of the period. Almost as important, when presented with just the name Ankhkheperure, aside from the Meryre tomb depiction already mentioned there are several pieces of evidence which establish Smenkhkare as king. A calcite globular vase from the tomb of Tutankhamun bears the double cartouche of Akhenaten alongside the full double cartouche of Smenkhkare. This is the object to carry both names side by side. A single wine docket, Year 1, wine of the house of Smenkhkare, line drawings of a block depicting the nearly complete names of King Smenkhkare and Meritaten as Great Royal Wife were recorded before the block was lost
Smenkhkare
–
Line drawing from Meryre II. The lost names had been recorded previously (inset) as Smenkhkare and Meritaten.
Smenkhkare
–
The desecrated royal coffin found in Tomb KV55
Smenkhkare
–
The skull of the KV55 mummy, believed to be Smenkhkare.
Smenkhkare
–
A royal vulture pectoral which was found placed on the head of the KV55 mummy.
14.
The Younger Lady
–
The Younger Lady is the informal name given to a mummy discovered in the Egyptian Valley of the Kings, in tomb KV35 by archeologist Victor Loret in 1898. Through recent DNA tests this mummy has been identified as the mother of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun, the mummy also has been given the designation KV35YL and 61072, and currently resides in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Early speculation was that this mummy was the remains of Queen Nefertiti, which remains plausible, all were found together, lying naked side-by-side and unidentified in a small antechamber of the tomb. All three mummies had been damaged by ancient tomb robbers. There has been speculation as to the identity of the Younger Lady mummy. Upon finding the mummy, Victor Loret initially had believed it be that of a man as the mummys head had been shaved. A closer inspection later made by Dr. Grafton Elliot Smith confirmed that the mummy was that of a female, recently, autosomal and mitochondrial DNA testing have shown conclusively that the mummy is that of a female and, that she was the mother of Tutankhamun. The results also show that she was a full-sister to her husband, the mummy from KV55, and that they were both the children of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye. There is also a theory that the lady is Meritaten, daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. The theory goes that Meritaten married Smenkhare, believed to be her uncle, the theory holds weight as inbreeding makes it harder to distinguish the generations, but there is one problem with this theory. Meritaten must be a descendant of Queen Tiye, or her mother Thuya. Nefertitis lineage is nowhere specified, and if Meritaten is the younger lady and it has been suggested that, indeed, the Younger Lady is Nefertiti, as incest was not uncommon. This would mean that Akhenaten did marry his own sister and that he, furthermore, Nefertiti, who may have survived her husband, may be identical with Smenkhare and may have adopted this name if she took over the reign after Akhenatens death. All this is not proven, but should be mentioned as a plausible scenario. Grafton Elliot Smith provided a description of the mummy in his survey of the ancient royal mummies at the beginning of the twentieth century. He found the mummy to be 1.58 m in height and he also noted the major damage done by ancient tomb robbers, who smashed the anterior wall of the mummys chest, and had torn the right arm off just below the shoulder. Smith presumed that she was a member of the royal family
The Younger Lady
–
Discovery
The Younger Lady
15.
Beketaten
–
Beketaten was an Ancient Egyptian princess of the 18th dynasty. Beketaten is considered to be the youngest daughter of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and his Great Royal Wife Tiye and her name means Handmaid of Aten. Beketaten is mainly known from the tomb of Huya, the steward of Queen Tiye in Amarna, Beketaten is shown with Queen Tiye in two separate banquet scenes. Queen Tiye is shown seated opposite Pharaoh Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti, in one scene Beketaten is shown seated on a small chair next to her mother Tiye, and in the other banquet scene Beketaten is shown standing next to Tiye. On the east wall of Huyas tomb Akhenaten is shown leading his mother Tiye to a temple and they are accompanied by the Beketaten as they enter the temple. The lintel on the North Wall shows a depiction of the two royal families, on the right side Amenhotep III is shown seated opposite Queen Tiye who is accompanied by the princess Beketaten. Three female attendants are shown behind Tiye, Beketatens only known title is Kings Daughter of his Body. It is likely that she died young since she is not mentioned in the records after Queen Tiyes death. Some scholars have speculated that Nebetah, Amenhotep IIIs youngest daughter, was identical with Beketaten, however, no evidence proves that they are the same person. According to one theory Beketaten was in fact a daughter of Akhenaten and she may be identical with the princess who is shown with Kiya, whose name ends in -aten but whose full name was lost. After Kiyas demise her depictions were re-carved to show Meritaten and Ankhesenpaaten with their daughters Meritaten Tasherit and this theory is partially based on the fact that Beketaten was never named kings sister in the scenes from Amarna, but only kings bodily daughter. She never appears alongside the daughters of Nefertiti, leading to the conjecture that she must be the daughter of Akhenaten by another wife who may be Kiya, after the death of her mother, Beketaten may have been raised by her grandmother Tiye. A wine docket mentioning Beketaten dates to year 13 and it has proposed that she inherited Kiyas estates after her death. Beketaten is the character in a series of five historical novels written by Max Overton. The novels follow the life of Beketaten from early childhood through to the end of her life in the reign of Ramses the Great, the five books cover her life during the reigns of Akhenaten, Smenkhkare, Tutankhamen, Ay, and Horemheb. A sixth novel in the series is set in 1960s Egypt, Beketaten is featured as a secondary character in Mika Waltaris novel The Egyptian, going under the name Baketaton. In the novel, she is wed to Horemheb, Egypts warlord though of common blood, that has desired her since youth
Beketaten
–
Queen
Tiye 's sculptor Yuti finishes a statue of Beketaten. From the
Amarna tomb of Huya.
Beketaten
–
Amenhotep III,
Tiye and Beketaten.
Beketaten
–
Pharaohs
16.
Egyptian language
–
The language spoken in ancient Egypt was a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. The earliest known complete sentence in the Egyptian language has been dated to about 2690 BCE, making it one of the oldest recorded languages known. Egyptian was spoken until the seventeenth century in the form of Coptic. The national language of modern Egypt is Egyptian Arabic, which gradually replaced Coptic as the language of life in the centuries after the Muslim conquest of Egypt. Coptic is still used as the language of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. It has several hundred fluent speakers today, the Egyptian language belongs to the Afroasiatic language family. Of the other Afroasiatic branches, Egyptian shows its greatest affinities with Semitic, in Egyptian, the Proto-Afroasiatic voiced consonants */d z ð/ developed into pharyngeal ⟨ꜥ⟩ /ʕ/, e. g. Eg. Afroasiatic */l/ merged with Egyptian ⟨n⟩, ⟨r⟩, ⟨ꜣ⟩, and ⟨j⟩ in the dialect on which the language was based. Original */k g ḳ/ palatalize to ⟨ṯ j ḏ⟩ in some environments and are preserved as ⟨k g q⟩ in others, Egyptian has many biradical and perhaps monoradical roots, in contrast to the Semitic preference for triradical roots. Egyptian probably is more archaic in this regard, whereas Semitic likely underwent later regularizations converting roots into the triradical pattern, scholars group the Egyptian language into six major chronological divisions, Archaic Egyptian language Old Egyptian language Middle Egyptian language, characterizing Middle Kingdom. Demotic Coptic The earliest Egyptian glyphs date back to around 3300 BC and these early texts are generally lumped together under the general term Archaic Egyptian. They record names, titles and labels, but a few of them show morphological and syntactic features familiar from later, more complete, Old Egyptian is dated from the oldest known complete sentence, found in the tomb of Seth-Peribsen and dated to around 2690 BCE. It reads, dmḏ. n. f t3wj n z3. f nswt-bjt pr-jb. snj He has united the Two Lands for his son, extensive texts appear from about 2600 BCE. Demotic first appears about 650 BCE and survived as a written language until the fifth century CE and it probably survived in the Egyptian countryside as a spoken language for several centuries after that. Bohairic Coptic is still used by the Coptic Churches, Old, Middle, and Late Egyptian were all written using hieroglyphs and hieratic. Demotic was written using a script derived from hieratic, its appearance is similar to modern Arabic script and is also written from right to left. Coptic is written using the Coptic alphabet, a form of the Greek alphabet with a number of symbols borrowed from Demotic for sounds that did not occur in ancient Greek. Arabic became the language of Egypts political administration soon after the early Muslim conquests in the seventh century, today, Coptic survives as the sacred language of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and the Coptic Catholic Church
Egyptian language
–
Seal impression from the tomb of
Seth-Peribsen, containing the oldest known complete sentence in Egyptian
Egyptian language
–
Ebers Papyrus detailing treatment of
asthma
Egyptian language
–
3rd-century Coptic inscription
17.
Yuya
–
Yuya was a powerful Egyptian courtier during the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. He was married to Tjuyu, an Egyptian noblewoman associated with the royal family and their daughter, Tiye, became the Great Royal Wife of Amenhotep III. They also may have been the parents of Ay, an Egyptian courtier active during the reign of pharaoh Akhenaten, there is no conclusive evidence, however, regarding the kinship of Yuya and Ay, although certainly, both men came from the town of Akhmim. Yuya and Tjuyu also are known to have had a son named Anen, who carried the titles Chancellor of Lower Egypt, Second Prophet of Amun, sm-priest of Heliopolis, and Divine Father. The tomb of Yuya and Tjuyu was, until the discovery of Tutankhamuns, although the burial site was robbed in antiquity, many objects not considered worth plundering by the robbers remained. Both the mummies were largely intact and were in a state of preservation. Their faces in particular were relatively undistorted by the process of mummification, Yuya came from the Upper Egyptian town of Akhmim, where he probably owned an estate and was a wealthy member of the towns local nobility. The study of his mummy showed that Yuya had been a man of taller than average stature, taking into account his unusual name and features, some Egyptologists believe that Yuya was of foreign origin, although this is far from certain. The name Yuya may be spelled in a number of different ways as Gaston Maspero noted in Theodore Daviss 1907 book—The Tomb of Iouiya and these include iAy, ywiA, yw A, ywiw and, in orthography—normally a sign of something foreign—yiA. The Biographical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt suggests that foreign origin and it also discusses the possibility that Yuya was the brother of queen Mutemwiya, who was the mother of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and may have had Mitannian royal origins. However, this hypothesis can not be substantiated, since nothing is known of Mutemwiyas background, if he was not a foreigner, however, then Yuya would have been the native Egyptian whose daughter was married to Amenhotep III. Yuya is believed to have died around 1374 BC in his mid 50s, in his native town of Akhmin, Yuya was a prophet of Min, the chief god of the area, and served as this deitys Superintendent of Cattle. Yuya and his wife were buried in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes, where their private KV46 tomb was discovered in 1905 by James Quibell, who was working on behalf of Theodore M. Davis. Although the tomb had been penetrated by tomb-robbers, perhaps they were disturbed as Quibell found most of the funerary goods and the two mummies virtually intact. The goods buried with Yuya and Tjuyu constituted probably the finest ensemble of high-class New Kingdom furniture and this theory has not been accepted in mainstream Egyptology and as well contradicts the account regarding Josephs burial location in Joshua. Donald B. Redford wrote a review of Stranger in the Valley of the Kings for Biblical Archaeology Review. Similarly, Deborah Sweeney has expressed great doubt toward the proposed identification, Sweeney states that the title Gods father of the Lord of the Two Lands is an extension of the title Gods Father, which is not exclusive to Yuya. Discussion and images of the mummies of Yuya and Tjuyu, the Treasures of Yuya and Tuyu Who Was Joseph
Yuya
–
Gilded mummy mask of Yuya, father of Great Royal Wife, Tiye, now in the collection of
Cairo Museum
Yuya
–
An elaborate box from Yuya and Tjuyu's tomb bearing Amenhotep III's cartouche.
Yuya
–
Mummies of Yuya (left) and Tjuyu (right), who were found in the same tomb
18.
Tjuyu
–
Tjuyu was an Egyptian noblewoman, and the mother of queen Tiye, wife of Yuya. 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 religious cults, her titles included Singer of Hathor. She also held the offices of Superintendent of the Harem of the god Min of Akhmin. She married Yuya, a powerful Ancient Egyptian courtier of the eighteenth dynasty and she is believed to have died in around 1375BC in her early to mid 50s. Yuya and Tjuyu had a daughter named Tiye, who became the consort, 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. Together with her husband, Tjuyu was buried in the Valley of the Kings, in KV46 and it was the best-preserved tomb discovered before that of Tutankhamun, Tjuyus great-grandson. The tomb was discovered by a team of workmen that were led by American millionaire Theodore M. Davis, KV46 - Theban Mapping Project The Theban Royal Mummy Project - View 18th Dynasty Mummies from the Theban Royal Necropolis
Tjuyu
–
Gilded cartonnage mask of Thuya in the
Cairo Museum
Tjuyu
–
The mummy of her husband, Yuya (left), and to the right, Tjuyu
Tjuyu
–
Statue of Tjuyu, now in the
Louvre
Tjuyu
–
Inner coffin of Tjuyu
19.
Ancient Egyptian religion
–
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. It centered on the Egyptians interaction with many deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, rituals such as prayers and offerings were efforts to provide for the gods and gain their favor. Formal religious practice centered on the pharaoh, the king of Egypt and he acted as the intermediary between his people and the gods and was obligated to sustain the gods through rituals and offerings so that they could maintain order in the universe. The state dedicated enormous resources to Egyptian rituals and to the construction of the temples, individuals could interact with the gods for their own purposes, appealing for their help through prayer or compelling them to act through magic. These practices were distinct from, but closely linked with, the formal rituals, the popular religious tradition grew more prominent in the course of Egyptian history as the status of the Pharaoh declined. Another important aspect was the belief in the afterlife and funerary practices, the Egyptians made great efforts to ensure the survival of their souls after death, providing tombs, grave goods, and offerings to preserve the bodies and spirits of the deceased. The religion had its roots in Egypts prehistory and lasted for more than 3,000 years, the details of religious belief changed over time as the importance of particular gods rose and declined, and their intricate relationships shifted. At various times, certain gods became preeminent over the others, including the sun god Ra, the creator god Amun, for a brief period, in the theology promulgated by the Pharaoh Akhenaten, a single god, the Aten, replaced the traditional pantheon. Ancient Egyptian religion and mythology left behind many writings and monuments, along with significant influences on ancient, the beliefs and rituals now referred to as ancient Egyptian religion were integral within every aspect of Egyptian culture. Their language possessed no single term corresponding to the modern European concept of religion, the characteristics of the gods who populated the divine realm were inextricably linked to the Egyptians understanding of the properties of the world in which they lived. The Egyptians believed that the phenomena of nature were divine forces in and these deified forces included the elements, animal characteristics, or abstract forces. The Egyptians believed in a pantheon of gods, which were involved in all aspects of nature and their religious practices were efforts to sustain and placate these phenomena and turn them to human advantage. This polytheistic system was complex, as some deities were believed to exist in many different manifestations. Conversely, many forces, such as the sun, were associated with multiple deities. The diverse pantheon ranged from gods with vital roles in the universe to minor deities or demons with very limited or localized functions. It could include gods adopted from foreign cultures, and sometimes humans, deceased Pharaohs were believed to be divine, and occasionally, distinguished commoners such as Imhotep also became deified. The depictions of the gods in art were not meant as representations of how the gods might appear if they were visible. Instead, these depictions gave recognizable forms to the deities by using symbolic imagery to indicate each gods role in nature
Ancient Egyptian religion
–
The gods Osiris, Anubis, and Horus, in order from left to right
Ancient Egyptian religion
–
Amun-Ra kamutef, wearing the plumed headdress of Amun and the sun disk representing Ra
Ancient Egyptian religion
–
The air god Shu, assisted by other gods, holds up Nut, the sky, as Geb, the earth, lies beneath.
Ancient Egyptian religion
–
Colossal statue of the Pharaoh
Ramesses II
20.
Pharaoh
–
The word pharaoh ultimately derive from the Egyptian compound pr-ˤ3 great house, written with the two biliteral hieroglyphs pr house and ˤ3 column, here meaning great or high. It was used only in larger phrases such as smr pr-ˤ3 Courtier of the High House, with specific reference to the buildings of the court or palace. From the twelfth dynasty onward, the word appears in a wish formula Great House, may it live, prosper, and be in health, but again only with reference to the royal palace and not the person. During the reign of Thutmose III in the New Kingdom, after the rule of the Hyksos during the Second Intermediate Period. During the eighteenth dynasty the title pharaoh was employed as a designation of the ruler. From the nineteenth dynasty onward pr-ˤ3 on its own was used as regularly as hm. f, the term, therefore, evolved from a word specifically referring to a building to a respectful designation for the ruler, particularly by the twenty-second dynasty and twenty-third dynasty. For instance, the first dated appearance of the pharaoh being attached to a rulers name occurs in Year 17 of Siamun on a fragment from the Karnak Priestly Annals. Here, an induction of an individual to the Amun priesthood is dated specifically to the reign of Pharaoh Siamun and this new practice was continued under his successor Psusennes II and the twenty-second dynasty kings. Shoshenq I was the successor of Siamun. Meanwhile, the old custom of referring to the sovereign simply as pr-ˤ3 continued in traditional Egyptian narratives, by this time, the Late Egyptian word is reconstructed to have been pronounced *par-ʕoʔ whence Herodotus derived the name of one of the Egyptian kings, Φερων. In the Bible, the title also occurs as פרעה, from that, Septuagint φαραώ pharaō and then Late Latin pharaō, both -n stem nouns. The Quran likewise spells it فرعون firawn with n, interestingly, the Arabic combines the original pharyngeal ayin sound from Egyptian, along with the -n ending from Greek. English at first spelt it Pharao, but the King James Bible revived Pharaoh with h from the Hebrew, meanwhile in Egypt itself, *par-ʕoʔ evolved into Sahidic Coptic ⲡⲣ̅ⲣⲟ prro and then rro. Scepters and staves were a sign of authority in ancient Egypt. One of the earliest royal scepters was discovered in the tomb of Khasekhemwy in Abydos, kings were also known to carry a staff, and Pharaoh Anedjib is shown on stone vessels carrying a so-called mks-staff. The scepter with the longest history seems to be the heqa-scepter, the earliest examples of this piece of regalia dates to pre-dynastic times. A scepter was found in a tomb at Abydos that dates to the late Naqada period, another scepter associated with the king is the was-scepter. This is a long staff mounted with an animal head, the earliest known depictions of the was-scepter date to the first dynasty
Pharaoh
–
Den
Pharaoh
–
Narmer Palette
Pharaoh
–
Nomen and prenomen of
Ramesses III
Pharaoh
–
Royal titulary
21.
Tutankhamun
–
Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom or sometimes the New Empire Period. He has, since his discovery, been referred to as King Tut. His original name, Tutankhaten, means Living Image of Aten, in hieroglyphs, the name Tutankhamun was typically written Amen-tut-ankh, because of a scribal custom that placed a divine name at the beginning of a phrase to show appropriate reverence. The 1922 discovery by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon of Tutankhamuns nearly intact tomb received worldwide press coverage and it sparked a renewed public interest in ancient Egypt, for which Tutankhamuns mask, now in the Egyptian Museum, remains the popular symbol. Exhibits of artifacts from his tomb have toured the world, in February 2010, the results of DNA tests confirmed that he was the son of Akhenaten. His mother was Akhenatens sister and wife, whose name is unknown, the mysterious deaths of a few of those who excavated Tutankhamuns tomb has been popularly attributed to the curse of the pharaohs. Tutankhamun was the son of Akhenaten and one of Akhenatens sisters, as a prince, he was known as Tutankhaten. He ascended to the throne in 1333 BC, at the age of nine or ten and his wet nurse was a woman called Maia, known from her tomb at Saqqara. His teacher was most likely Sennedjem, when he became king, he married his half-sister, Ankhesenpaaten, who later changed her name to Ankhesenamun. They had two daughters, both stillborn, computed tomography studies released in 2011 revealed that one daughter died at 5–6 months of pregnancy and the other at 9 months of pregnancy. No evidence was found in either mummy of congenital anomalies or an apparent cause of death, given his age, the king probably had very powerful advisers, presumably including General Horemheb and Grand Vizier Ay. Horemheb records that the king appointed him lord of the land as hereditary prince to maintain law and he also noted his ability to calm the young king when his temper flared. In his third year, under the influence of his advisors. He ended the worship of the god Aten and restored the god Amun to supremacy, the ban on the cult of Amun was lifted and traditional privileges were restored to its priesthood. The capital was moved back to Thebes and the city of Akhetaten abandoned and this is when he changed his name to Tutankhamun, Living image of Amun, reinforcing the restoration of Amun. As part of his restoration, the king initiated building projects, in particular at Karnak in Thebes, many monuments were erected, and an inscription on his tomb door declares the king had spent his life in fashioning the images of the gods. The traditional festivals were now celebrated again, including those related to the Apis Bull, Horemakhet and his restoration stela says, The temples of the gods and goddesses. Their shrines were deserted and overgrown and their sanctuaries were as non-existent and their courts were used as roads
Tutankhamun
–
Mask of
Tutankhamun's mummy, the popular icon for ancient Egypt at
The Egyptian Museum.
Tutankhamun
–
Stripped of all its jewels, the mummy of Tutankhamun remains in the
Valley of the Kings in his
KV62 chamber
Tutankhamun
–
Bust of Tutankhamun found in his tomb, 1922
Tutankhamun
–
Wooden bust of the boy king, found in his tomb
22.
Akhmin
–
Akhmim is a city in the Sohag Governorate of Upper Egypt. Referred to by the ancient Greeks as Khemmis, Chemmis and Panopolis, Akhmim was known in Ancient Egypt as Ipu, Apu or Khent-min. It was the capital of the nome of Upper Egypt. The city is a suggested hometown for Yuya, the official of Tuthmosis IV, the ithyphallic Min was worshipped here as the strong Horus. Min was especially a god of the routes on the east of Egypt. Herodotus perhaps confused Coptos with Chemmis, in the Christian Coptic era, Akhmim was known as Khmin or Shmin. Monasteries abounded in this region from an early date. Shenouda the Archimandrite was a monk at Athribis near Akhmim, some years earlier Nestorius, the exiled ex-patriarch of Constantinople, had died at an old age in the neighborhood of Akhmim. Nonnus, the Greek poet, was born at Panopolis at the end of the 4th century, the bishopric of Panopolis, a suffragan of Antinoë in Thebais Prima, is included in the Catholic Churchs list of titular sees. Among the bishops of Panopolis, Le Quien mentions Arius, friend of Saint Pachomius who had built three convents in the city, Sabinus, and Menas, in the 13th century AD, a very imposing temple still stood in Akhmim. Today, little of its past glory remains, nothing is left of the town, the temples were almost completely dismantled, and their material reused in the later Middle Ages. The extensive cemeteries of ancient Akhmim are yet to be fully explored, the destroyed corner of a Greco-Roman period temple with colossal statues of Ramesses II and Meritamen were discovered in 1981. Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert, Akhmim is the largest town on the east side of the Nile in Upper Egypt. In 1907, the population of the city was 23,795, Akhmim has several mosques and two Coptic churches. The Monastery of the Martyrs is located about 6 km northeast of the city, Akhmim maintains a weekly market, and manufactures cotton goods, notably the blue shirts and check shawls with silk fringes worn by the poorer classes of Egypt. Outside the walls are the scanty ruins of two ancient temples, on the west bank of the Nile opposite of Akhmim, there is railway communication with Cairo and Aswan. Archived from the original on 27 March 2008, more about Akmims Martyrs - Saint Takla Haymanout Church, Egypt
Akhmin
–
Akhmim أخميم
23.
Priest
–
A priest or priestess, is a person authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites, in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of and their office or position is the priesthood, a term which also may apply to such persons collectively. The necessity to read sacred texts and keep temple or church records helped foster literacy in early societies. Priests exist in many religions today, such as all or some branches of Judaism, Christianity, the question of which religions have a priest depends on how the titles of leaders are used or translated into English. In some cases, leaders are more like those that other believers will often turn to for advice on spiritual matters, for example, clergy in Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy are priests, but in Protestant Christianity they are typically minister and pastor. The terms priest and priestess are sufficiently generic that they may be used in a sense to describe the religious mediators of an unknown or otherwise unspecified religion. In many religions, being a priest or priestess is a full-time position, many Christian priests and pastors choose or are mandated to dedicate themselves to their churches and receive their living directly from their churches. In other cases it is a part-time role, for example, in the early history of Iceland the chieftains were titled goði, a word meaning priest. In some religions, being a priest or priestess is by election or human choice. In Judaism the priesthood is inherited in familial lines, in a theocracy, a society is governed by its priesthood. The word priest, is derived from Greek, via Latin presbyter. Old High German also has the disyllabic priester, priestar, apparently derived from Latin independently via Old French presbtre, the Latin presbyter ultimately represents Greek presbyteros, the regular Latin word for priest being sacerdos, corresponding to Greek hiereus. That English should have only the term priest to translate presbyter. The feminine English noun, priestess, was coined in the 17th century, in the 20th century, the word was used in controversies surrounding the ordination of women. In the case of the ordination of women in the Anglican communion, it is common to speak of priests. In historical polytheism, a priest administers the sacrifice to a deity, in the Ancient Near East, the priesthood also acted on behalf of the deities in managing their property. Priestesses in antiquity often performed sacred prostitution, and in Ancient Greece, some such as Pythia, priestess at Delphi. Sumerian and Akkadian Entu or EN were top-ranking priestesses who were distinguished with special ceremonial attire and they owned property, transacted business, and initiated the hieros gamos ceremony with priests and kings
Priest
–
A
vajracharya (thunderbolt-carrier), a
Newar Buddhist priest.
Priest
–
Modern
Maya priest performing a healing.
Priest
–
Vestal Virgin priestess of
Ancient Rome
Priest
–
Antonia Minor as a priestess of
Ceres (36 BCE–37 CE)
24.
Thuya
–
Tjuyu was an Egyptian noblewoman, and the mother of queen Tiye, wife of Yuya. 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 religious cults, her titles included Singer of Hathor. She also held the offices of Superintendent of the Harem of the god Min of Akhmin. She married Yuya, a powerful Ancient Egyptian courtier of the eighteenth dynasty and she is believed to have died in around 1375BC in her early to mid 50s. Yuya and Tjuyu had a daughter named Tiye, who became the consort, 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. Together with her husband, Tjuyu was buried in the Valley of the Kings, in KV46 and it was the best-preserved tomb discovered before that of Tutankhamun, Tjuyus great-grandson. The tomb was discovered by a team of workmen that were led by American millionaire Theodore M. Davis, KV46 - Theban Mapping Project The Theban Royal Mummy Project - View 18th Dynasty Mummies from the Theban Royal Necropolis
Thuya
–
Gilded cartonnage mask of Thuya in the
Cairo Museum
Thuya
–
The mummy of her husband, Yuya (left), and to the right, Tjuyu
Thuya
–
Statue of Tjuyu, now in the
Louvre
Thuya
–
Inner coffin of Tjuyu
25.
Amun
–
Amun was a major Ancient Egyptian deity. He was attested since the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amaunet, with the 11th dynasty, he rose to the position of patron deity of Thebes by replacing Monthu. After the rebellion of Thebes against the Hyksos and with the rule of Ahmose I, Amun acquired national importance, expressed in his fusion with the Sun god, Ra, Amun-Ra retained chief importance in the Egyptian pantheon throughout the New Kingdom. Amun-Ra in this period held the position of transcendental, self-created creator deity par excellence, he was the champion of the poor or troubled and his position as King of Gods developed to the point of virtual monotheism where other gods became manifestations of him. With Osiris, Amun-Ra is the most widely recorded of the Egyptian gods, as the chief deity of the Egyptian Empire, Amun-Ra also came to be worshipped outside of Egypt, according to the testimony of ancient Greek historiographers in Libya and Nubia. As Zeus Ammon he came to be identified with Zeus in Greece, Amun and Amaunet are mentioned in the Old Egyptian Pyramid Texts. The name Amun meant something like the one or invisible. Amun rose to the position of tutelary deity of Thebes after the end of the First Intermediate Period, as the patron of Thebes, his spouse was Mut. In Thebes, Amun as father, Mut as mother and the Moon god Khonsu formed a family or Theban Triad. The history of Amun as the god of Thebes begins in the 20th century BC. The city of Thebes does not appear to have been of great significance before the 11th dynasty, major construction work in the Precinct of Amun-Re took place during the 18th dynasty when Thebes became the capital of the unified ancient Egypt. Construction of the Hypostyle Hall may have begun during the 18th dynasty, though most building was undertaken under Seti I. Merenptah commemorated his victories over the Sea Peoples on the walls of the Cachette Court and this Great Inscription shows the kings campaigns and eventual return with booty and prisoners. Next to this inscription is the Victory Stela, which is largely a copy of the more famous Israel Stela found in the complex of Merenptah on the west bank of the Nile in Thebes. Merenptahs son Seti II added 2 small obelisks in front of the Second Pylon, and this was constructed of sandstone, with a chapel to Amun flanked by those of Mut and Khonsu. The last major change to the Precinct of Amun-Res layout was the addition of the first pylon, the local patron deity of Thebes, Amun, therefore became nationally important. The pharaohs of that new dynasty attributed all their enterprises to Amun. The victory accomplished by pharaohs who worshipped Amun against the rulers, brought him to be seen as a champion of the less fortunate
Amun
–
Amon-Ra (l'esprit des quatre elements, lame du monde matérial),N372.2.,
Brooklyn Museum
Amun
–
Bas-relief depicting Amun as
pharaoh
Amun
–
Amun-Min as Amun-Ra ka-Mut-ef from the temple at Deir el Medina.
Amun
–
The
sarcophagus of a priestess of Amon-Ra, c. 1000 BC –
Smithsonian 's
National Museum of Natural History
26.
Min (god)
–
Min is an ancient Egyptian god whose cult originated in predynastic times. He was represented in different forms, but was often represented in male human form, shown with an erect penis which he holds in his left hand. As Khem or Min, he was the god of reproduction, as Khnum, he was the creator of all things, the maker of gods and men. His cult was strongest in Coptos and Akhmim, where in his honour great festivals were held celebrating his “coming forth” with a procession and presentation of offerings. His other associations include the desert and links to the god Horus. Flinders Petrie excavated two statues of Min at Qift which are now in the Ashmolean Museum and it is thought by some that they are pre-dynastic. Although not mentioned by name a reference to he whose arm is raised in the East in the Pyramid Texts is thought to refer to Min and his importance grew in the Middle Kingdom when he became even more closely linked with Horus as the deity Min-Horus. By the New Kingdom he was fused with Amun in the deity Min-Amun-kamutef. Mins shrine was crowned with a pair of bull horns, as the central deity of fertility and possibly orgiastic rites Min became identified by the Greeks with the god Pan. He also had connections with Nubia, however, his main centres of worship were Qift and Akhmim. In Egyptian art, Min was depicted as being covered in shrouds, wearing a crown with feathers, and often holding his penis erect in his left hand and a flail in his upward facing right hand. Around his forehead, Min wears a red ribbon that trails to the ground, even some war goddesses were depicted with the body of Min, and this also led to depictions, ostensibly of Min, with the head of a lioness. In the 19th century, there was an erroneous transcription of the Egyptian for Min as ḫm. Since Khem was worshipped most significantly in Akhmim, the identity of Khem was reinforced. However, Akhmim is a corruption of ḫm-mnw, meaning Shrine of Min. In Hymn to Min it is said, Min, Lord of the Processions, God of the High Plumes, Son of Osiris and Isis, mins wives were Iabet and Repyt. The God Min to the End of the Old Kingdom, ISBN9780856686788 Media related to Min at Wikimedia Commons Site on Min, with some pictures
Min (god)
–
The dark-skinned fertility god Min, with an
erect penis and a
flail
27.
Anen
–
Anen or Aanen was an Ancient Egyptian official during the late 18th Dynasty of Egypt. He was the son of Yuya and Tjuyu and the brother of Queen Tiye, under the rule of his brother-in-law, Anen became the Chancellor of Lower Egypt, Second Prophet of Amun, and sem-priest of Heliopolis, and acquired the title Divine Father. A surviving statue of Anen is now in the Museo Egizio, a shabti of his is now in The Hague. Inscriptions on Anens own monuments do not mention that he was Amenhotep IIIs brother-in-law, however, this relationship is established by a short but clear reference to him in his mother Tjuyus coffin, which stated that her son Anen was the second prophet of Amun. Simut had been Fourth Prophet of Amun previously, Anen was buried in his tomb in the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile opposite Thebes. His son and four daughters are depicted in his tomb, but their names didnt survive
Anen
–
Statue of
Tiye 's brother
28.
Egyptology
–
A practitioner of the discipline is an Egyptologist. In Europe, particularly on the Continent, Egyptology is primarily regarded as being a philological discipline, the first explorers were the ancient Egyptians themselves. Thutmose IV restored the Sphinx and had the dream that inspired his restoration carved on the famous Dream Stele, less than two centuries later, Prince Khaemweset, fourth son of Ramesses II, is famed for identifying and restoring historic buildings, tombs and temples including the pyramid. The Ptolemies were much interested in the work of the ancient Egyptians, the Romans too carried out restoration work in this most ancient of lands. A number of their accounts have survived and offer insights as to conditions in their time periods. Abdul Latif al-Baghdadi, a teacher at Cairos Al-Azhar University in the 13th century, similarly, the 15th-century Egyptian historian al-Maqrizi wrote detailed accounts of Egyptian antiquities. In the early 17th century, John Greaves measured the pyramids, having inspected the broken Obelisk of Domitian in Rome, then destined for the Earl of Arundels collection in London. In the late 18th century, with Napoleons scholars recording of Egyptian flora, fauna and history, the British captured Egypt from the French and gained the Rosetta Stone. Modern Egyptology is generally perceived as beginning about 1822, egyptologys modern history begins with the invasion of Egypt by Napoleon Bonaparte. The subsequent publication of Description de lÉgypte between 1809 and 1829 made numerous ancient Egyptian source materials available to Europeans for the first time, jean-François Champollion, Thomas Young and Ippolito Rosellini were some of the first Egyptologists of wide acclaim. The German Karl Richard Lepsius was a participant in the investigations of Egypt, mapping, excavating. Champollion announced his general decipherment of the system of Egyptian hieroglyphics for the first time, the Stones decipherment was a very important development of Egyptology. Egyptology became more professional via work of William Matthew Flinders Petrie, Petrie introduced techniques of field preservation, recording, and excavating. Howard Carters expedition brought much acclaim to the field of Egyptology, a tradition of collecting objets-orientales Egyptologists Electronic Forum, version 64. List shows Egyptology societies and Institutes Egyptology at DMOZ Egyptology Books, the University of Memphis Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology. Hawass, Zahi, Brock, Lyla Pinch, eds, Egyptology at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century Proceedings of the Eighth International Congress of Egyptologists. Rare Books and Special Collections Digital Library Underwood & Underwood Egypt Stereoviews Collection, czech Institute of Egyptology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague
Egyptology
–
The
Great Sphinx of Giza against
Khafre's Pyramid at the
Giza pyramid complex
Egyptology
–
Hieroglyphs and depictions transcribed by
Ippolito Rosellini in 1832
Egyptology
–
A section of the
Papyrus of Ani showing
cursive hieroglyphs
29.
Crown Prince Thutmose
–
Thutmose was the eldest son of pharaoh Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye, who lived during the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. Prince Thutmose served as a priest of Ptah in ancient Memphis and his full royal titles are given in the sarcophagus of his pet cat, Crown Prince, Overseer of the Priests of Upper and Lower Egypt, High Priest of Ptah in Memphis and Sm-priest. A small schist statuette of the prince as a miller is in the Louvre Museum while a recumbent mummiform schist figure is in Berlin, Prince Thutmose is best remembered for the limestone sarcophagus of his cat, Ta-miu, now in the Cairo Museum. The cat sarcophagus of Prince Thutmose conclusively establishes that he was indeed the eldest son of Amenhotep III, Thutmose is also attested by a total of 7 pairs of calcite and pottery vases in the Louvre. Prince Thutmose disappears from the records and appears to have died some time during the third decade of Amenhotep IIIs kingship. In his place, his younger brother Amenhotep IV, better known as Akhenaten, in his 1939 book Moses and Monotheism Sigmund Freud presented the idea that Crown Prince Thutmoses younger brother Akhenaten was associated with the Biblical character Moses. The idea was more recently reconsidered by Egyptologist Jan Assmann in Moses the Egyptian
Crown Prince Thutmose
–
Prince Thutmose's schist recumbent bier
Crown Prince Thutmose
–
Sarcophagus of Prince Thutmose's cat, Ta-miu
30.
Nefertiti
–
Neferneferuaten Nefertiti was an Egyptian queen and the Great Royal Wife of Akhenaten, an Egyptian Pharaoh. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a revolution, in which they worshiped one god only, Aten. Together Akhenaten and Nefertiti were responsible for the creation of a new monotheistic 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, some scholars believe that Nefertiti ruled briefly as Neferneferuaten after her husbands death and before the accession of Tutankhamun, although this identification is a matter of ongoing debate. She was made famous by her bust, now in Berlins Neues Museum, 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. Nefertiti, Egyptian Nfr. t-jy. tj, original pronunciation approximately Nafteta, Nefertitis parentage is not known with certainty, but one often cited theory is that she was the daughter of Ay, later to be pharaoh. Nefertitis Scenes in the tombs of the nobles in Amarna mention the queens sister who is named Mutbenret, another theory that gained some support identified Nefertiti with the Mitanni princess Tadukhipa. The exact dates when Nefertiti married Akhenaten and became the great royal wife of Egypt are uncertain. Their six known daughters were, Meritaten, No later than year 1, ankhesenpaaten, also known as Ankhesenamen, later queen of Tutankhamun Neferneferuaten Tasherit, Year 8, possibly later became Pharaoh Neferneferuaten. Nefertiti first appears in scenes in Thebes, in the damaged tomb of the royal butler Parennefer, the new king Amenhotep IV is accompanied by a royal woman, and this lady is thought to be an early depiction of Nefertiti. The king and queen are shown worshiping the Aten, in the tomb of the vizier Ramose, Nefertiti is shown standing behind Amenhotep IV in the Window of Appearance during the reward ceremony for the vizier. During the early years in Thebes, Akhenaten had several temples erected at Karnak, one of the structures, the Mansion of the Benben, was dedicated to Nefertiti. She is depicted with her daughter Meritaten and in some scenes the princess Meketaten participates as well, in scenes found on the talatat, Nefertiti appears almost twice as often as her husband. She is shown smiting the enemy, and captive enemies decorate her throne, in the fourth year of his reign, Amenhotep IV decided to move the capital to Akhetaten. In his fifth year, Amenhotep IV officially changed his name to Akhenaten, the name change was a sign of the ever-increasing importance of the cult of the Aten. It changed Egypts religion from a religion to a religion which may have been better described as a monolatry or henotheism. The boundary stelae of years 4 and 5 mark the boundaries of the new city, the new city contained several large open-air temples dedicated to the Aten
Nefertiti
–
The
bust of Nefertiti from the
Ägyptisches Museum Berlin collection, presently in the
Neues Museum.
Nefertiti
–
A "house altar" depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti and three of their daughters; limestone; New Kingdom,
Amarna period, 18th dynasty; c. 1350 BC - Collection: Ägyptisches Museum Berlin, Inv. 14145
Nefertiti
–
A standing/striding figure of Nefertiti made of limestone. Originally from Amarna, part of the
Ägyptisches Museum Berlin collection.
Nefertiti
–
Nefertiti worshipping the Aten. She is given the title of Mistress of the Two Lands. On display at the
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
