START PROOFING

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PLATE I.<= /span>

QUEEN HATSHEPSUT.

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The Queens of Egypt

JANET R. BU= TTLES

WITH A PREF= ACE BY PROFESSOR G. MASPERO

ILLUSTRATED.

NEW YORK

D. APPLETON= AND COMPANY

1908

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AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

IN the following preface, Professor Maspero has so clearly pointed out the difficulties which present themselves to the compiler of a history of this kind, that further word of explanation seems almost superfluous.

No claim for original res= earch work of any sort is made for this sketch of the Queens of Egypt. The writer= 's attempt has been rather to collect, in convenient form, as much as was poss= ible of the widely scattered evidence on the subject. So many of the royal women= who shared the throne of the Pharaohs have left no traces on the land of their inheritance, that this attempt to tell their story results at best in only a brief outline of the prominent figures, the many gaps which occur in the lo= ng line of heiresses being but imperfectly filled here and there by isolated n= ames unaccompanied by signs which indicate family or period. In the cases of man= y of the best known queens, Egyptologists often disagree in their explanation of evidence, and widely opposed theories result. In this volume the effort has been to choose a middle course between any two great extremes, and generall= y to give the views of more than one authority on disputed points.

In the Valley of the Nile= , every year brings forth fresh discoveries, anyone of which may throw new light on some of the many mysteries by which we are confronted in the study of the Ancient Egyptian Sovereigns; and

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

it may well be found easi= er to write their histories in more detail a few years hence than it is at presen= t

I am under deep obligatio= ns to Professor Maspero for his preface to this volume, and for his kindness in having read= the proofs.

My thanks are also due to= Dr. Wiedemann, and to M. Legrain, for notes; to Mr. Percy E. Newberry, for havi= ng read the first part of the book in manuscript, and for placing at my dispos= al many of his own notes; to Mr. T. M. Davis, for permission to use the Plates Nos. I and VI, from his publication on the tomb of Hâtshopsîtû; and to Émile Brugsch Pasha, for court= eous assistance in the Cairo Museum, for the use of books, and for his fine photographs, from which, with the exception of Plates I, IV, V, and VI, all= the illustrations in this volume are taken. JANET R. BUTTLES.

Florence, February, 1908.

PREFACE. BY PROFESSOR G. MASPERO.<= o:p>

How does it happen that a= mong the literary travellers each year who frequent the Valley of the Nile, no one until to-day has taken enough interest in the Queens of Egypt to undertake the writing of their history? The subject, however, ought to have been attractive, as well for its novelty as (or its abundance of material. = The Egyptian woman enjoyed far greater personal independence than was usually accorded to the women of the East. She had a large share not only in, the government of the family, but also in religious ceremonies, and even in the affairs of the exterior world. The records of the monuments show her to have been as actively concerned in the affairs of her day, war alone excepted, as her father, her husband or her son. The queens, indeed, enjoyed less freedom than did their female subjects, the dignity of their state preventing them = from mingling easily in general life; yet freedom, though less claimed, was still theirs by right, and could be indulged in according to the individuality of character or through the trend of circumstances. Owing to her relationship = to Mr. Theodore Davis, Miss Buttles has been enabled to trace at her leisure t= he footsteps of Egyptian Queens in the land in which they lived their lives and which preserves· for us their bodies. She has entered many

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

of their Royal tombs, and= whether measuring the last earthly couch or Hâtshopsîtû, or handl= ing the jewels and funeral furniture of Thïy, she felt drawn into something like personal relations with her subject. Other queens seen by her through = the glass cases of our Museum, and then but dimly recognised, unveiled their fa= ces to her as she sought in books and amidst the dust of ruins for the story of their lives, while she endeavoured to replace them in their old environment= and to connect their withered profiles with the slim silhouettes instinct with youth and grace, which they have left upon the walls of ancient Theban temp= les.

Her task has not been lig= ht. Many of the documents relating to the queens are not yet published, and others a= re preserved in works which are well-nigh inaccessible to one who is not a professional Egyptologist Therefore, she has needed much patient perseveran= ce in collecting her material, much discriminating prudence in the use of what= she found. Our science advances only at the cost of errors which follow and des= troy one another for a long time before vanishing at last before the exact truth. Sometimes a queen whom we ranked at first in a later dynasty, is now consid= ered a member of an earlier; a queen we deemed the mother of some Sovereign, is = now known to have been that Sovereign's wife. For over half a century Hâtshopsîtû has wrongly borne the name of Hatasu, a name still used by those who prefer its sound. For the construction of such a history, a mere series of extracts from the works of well-known authorities would not suffice. It was necessary to follow the variations and developmen= t of their ideas until their latest expression could be gained; these results th= en had to be submitted to the criticism of other authorities who had touched on the

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

same points, while refere= nce was made wherever possible to the original evidence. This is what Miss Buttles = has done to the best of her ability; errors are consequently rare in her book, errors resulting from superficial study or neglect of modern evidence. When= she is mistaken, she can generally quote the precedent of some savant who was h= er authority, and whose error has not yet been corrected.

It is, then, an authentic= series of the Queens of Egypt which she has established, although it cannot yet be affirmed that the series is complete. Many a wearer of the uraeus and double diadem is missing from the ranks, perhaps will never answer to the roll-call. If the Heracleopolitan and Xoïtan Phara= ohs still evade research, small must be our chances of discovering the wives who shared their thrones. Nine out of ten of those spared by oblivion are little more than names, although some seem to stand out more vividly among the sha= dows; yet they remain but phantoms, while only a phase or two of their past lives= is offered to our view. Mutemuau reveals herself for the first time on the nig= ht of her supernatural marriage, and remains visible till the birth of her son Amenôthes III.; her maternal task accomplished, she fades again into = the darkness and never reappears. Ah= hotpu I., daughter, wife, ancestress of kings, owes the greater part of her present fame to the jewels placed upon = her mummy by relatives desirous that she should be as richly adorned in the next world as in this. A stela of Abydos transp= orts us to the palace of Nofritari and records for us in detail a conver= sation with her husband Ahmosis, yet when associated with the cult received by her= s on Amenôthes in the necropolis of Thebes, the queen is almost effaced in the goddess. And to make mention of Hâtshopsîtû herself, of whom we possess

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the most detailed account= s, we are given minute particulars as to her birth and education, her coronation = and her buildings, her expedition to the Ladders of Incense; yet how little do = we know of her marriage, or of her relations with her nephew Thoutmôsis III.?

Miss Buttles has given us= a faithful register of all that we have been permitted to learn upon her subj= ect - names, titles, here and there an isolated episode, occasionally an extend= ed biographical account. The gaps result from the lack of documentary evidence= on the persons studied; no one could do more or better with such fragmentary material.

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CONTENTS.

CHAPTER. &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; PAGE.

AUTHOR'S PREFACE &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; iii

PREFACE BY PROFESSOR G. M= ASPERO &= nbsp; v

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; x

I. QUEENS OF DYNASTIES I-III = &nb= sp; 1

II. QUEENS OF DYNASTIES IV-XI = &nb= sp; 12

III. QUEENS OF THE XIITH DYNASTY &nbs= p; = 27

IV. DYNASTIES XIII-XVI &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; 36

V. QUEENS OF THE XVIITH DYNASTY 4= 4

VI. QUEENS OF THE XVIIITH DYNASTY TO HATSHEPSUT 54

VII. THE DAUGHTER OF THOTMES I. &= nbsp; 79

VIII. QUEEN HATSHEPSUT TO= QUEEN THÏY 9= 6

IX. QUEEN THÏY &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; 106

X. FOREIGN WIVES OF AMENHETEP III. AND OTHER QUEENS OF XVIIITH DYNASTY 125

XI. QUEENS OF THE XIXTH DYNASTY 14= 4

XII. QUEENS OF THE XXTH DYNASTY 164=

XIII. QUEENS OF THE XXIST DYNASTY 170

XIV. XXIIND AND XXIIIRD D= YNASTIES 191

XV. QUEENS OF THE ETHIOPIAN DYNASTY = 202

XVI. XXVITH DYNASTY &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; 215

UNPLACED QUEENS &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; 230

KING LIST = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 231

QUEEN LIST &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; 235

LIST OF REFERENCE ABBREVI= ATIONS 238

INDEX = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = 241

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.<= /span>

PLATE

I. Frontispiece. Queen Hatshepsut. From Temple of Deir el Bahari. Reproduced from T. M. Davis's Tomb = of Hâtshopsîtû.

II. Princess Nefert. (To face page 13.) Limestone statue= in Cairo Museum. Photographed by Brugsch.

III. Queen Aah-hetep I. (To face page 47.) Coffin lid in Cairo Museum. Photo. Brug= sch.

IV. An XVIIIth dynasty Pr= incess. (To face page 56.) Limestone st= atue. Florence Arch. Museum. Photo. Brogi.

V. Queen Aahmes Nefertari= . (To face page 59.) Wooden statuette. Louvre Eg. Museum. Photo. Sauvanaud.

VI. Queen Aahmes. (To face page 75.) Temple Deir el B= ahari. Reproduced from T. M. Davis's Tomb = of Hâtshopsîtû.

VII. Queen Tiaa. (To face page 100.) Statue Cairo Museum. Photo. Brug= sch.

VIII. Queen Tiaa and Thot= mes IV. (To face page 101.) Statue Cairo Museum. Photo. Brug= sch.

IX. Queen Thïy. (To face page 106.) Alabaster Canop= ic jar lid. Cairo Museum. Photo. Brugsch.

X. Queen Thïy. (To face page 120.) Small head from Sinai. Cairo Museum. Photo. Brugsch.

XI. Queen Nefertiti and h= er children. (To face page 131.) F= rom Lepsius Denkmähler. Photo. Brugsch.

XII. Queen Mut-nezemet. (= ?) (To face page 142.) Colossal head. = Cairo Museum. Photo. Brugsch.

XIII. Queen Nefertari-meri-en-mut. (To face= page 147.) From colossus of Ramses II., Temple of Luxor. Photo. Br= ugsch.

XIV. Queen Nefertari-meri= -en-mut. (To face page 150.) Abu Simbel. From Lepsius Denkmähler. Photo. Brugsch.

XV. Princess Bant-antha. = (To face page 152.) From colossus of Ramses II. at Memphis. Photo. Brugsch.

XVI. Queen Maat-neferu-Ra= . (To face page 154.) Abu Simbel. From Lepsius Denkmähler. Photo. Brugsch.

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

PLATE

XVII. "The White Queen." (To face page 156.) Painted limestone bust. C= airo Museum. Photo. Brug= sch.

XVIII. Queen Makeri. (To face page 178.) Coffin lid in <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Cairo Museum. Photo. Brugsch.

XIX. Queen Astemkheb I. (To face page 181.) Coffin lid in Cairo Museum. Photo. Brug= sch.

XX. Queen Amenertas. (To face page 206.) Alabaster statu= e in Cairo Museum. Photo. Brugsch.

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.<= /p>

CHAPTER I.

QUE= ENS OF DYNASTIES I-III.

THE history of Ancient Eg= ypt is full of surprises for the modern investigator. Its extraordinary culture, t= he high standard of its arts, the breadth of its philosophies, perfection of i= ts mechanical skill and brilliancy of its conquests, make up the most remarkab= le and fascinating story in the annals of nations.

Every year the explorer b= rings to light new evidence of that mysterious world which had its being six thousand years ago in the land of the Nile; flour= ished for forty centuries and then died, before the dawn of Western civilization.=

These records glow with w= arm human life, are vigorous and keen, naively fresh and simple, like the enthusiasms of youth. Thousands of years have passed since these imprints o= f a nation were stamped on papyrus, graven on jewels, cut in stone, fixed in towering pyramid and pylon, hewn on the face of mountains, and thrust into = the heart of the earth. No people have so impressed themselves on the land of t= heir habitation. The whole country is an open book, in which all who will may re= ad the story of the first sons of Egypt.

Perhaps the most remarkab= le feature of this Ancient Empire is the very unusual position held in it by the Egypt= ian woman, a position unique and unparalleled in the

1 B

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

history of womankind. Her importance in the State seems to have been recognized as supreme, and many writers on Egyptology hold that woman was the sole heiress; the man inherit= ing both property and position only through the rights of his wife or mother. T= his supremacy of the woman made her the legal head of the house, gave her the precedence over all the men of her family, and even carried her to the sovereignty of the State, placing the crown upon her head, and endowing her with the natural rights of government. Professor Petrie says: "It is v= ery doubtful if a king could reign, except as the husband of the heiress of the kingdom, the right to which descended in the female line, like other property."

Doubtless the law of the = land gave theoretically the chief supremacy to women, but it is not possible to = read the long lists of kings' names - lists which often cover several generation= s in time, and yet contain no reference whatever to either queen or heiress - without suspecting that the woman's right to govern was practically a dead letter. The man, perhaps, owed his inheritance to her; nevertheless, his records, with few exceptions, represent himself as the sole executive power, standing quite alone before his people and his gods, pre-eminently the Chie= f.

It is clear, then, that t= he woman usually relegated her sovereign rights to her husband, who assumed the government in her stead, and performed all acts of the kingly office in his= own name.

From very ancient times t= he possession of the realm appears to have been claimed as a divine inheritanc= e.

Each Egyptian province ha= d its own god, whose importance waxed or waned according to the fortunes of the province itself. Thus, the great sun-god of Heliopoli= s, Ra, was forced to give place to Amen, tutelary god of Thebes, when the supremacy of Egypt passed to the Theban princes. In later times, Amen absorbed the name and attributes of the Heliopolitan deity, and became

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

Amen-Ra, King of the Gods= ," "Lord of the thrones of the World."

From this sun-god, under = his varying forms, the kings of Egypt, beginning with the IVth dynasty, claimed= a literal descent; and soon added to their other titles that of "Son of Ra"

By the XVIIIth dynasty, t= his belief in the "divine right of kings" had taken so firm a hold on= the Egyptian imagination as to become the fundamental idea on which the success= ion was based; the holders of the crown claiming descent from a royal line which had as its progenitor Amen-Ra himself.

Sometimes a direct heir o= f this god-like line was wanting, in which case the father-god did not disdain to purify the "Solar race" on earth, by becoming incarnated in mortal form and creating a new heir to the crown. If a foreigner or person not of = the royal house gained possession of the throne, it was probably necessary for = him to marry a princess of the "Solar blood," in order to secure the div= ine right to his children.

Under these circumstances= a royal daughter of Ra, whose birthright entitled her to the sovereignty of Egypt, = was the most desirable spouse for the king. Marriages with other princely houses we= re, nevertheless, frequently contracted by the Pharaohs. In such cases, if the king's own descent was entirely pure, the marriage of his son with a "Solar" princess would re-establish the succession on its old bas= is.

In the XVIIIth dynasty, a= nd possibly earlier, the idea of preserving the purity of the "Solar race" seems to have become of supreme importance. Intermarriages with other houses introduced an alien strain into the divine one, and the simple= st way to keep the line pure was for the children of Ra to marry one another. Marriages between brothers and sisters, therefore, became the lawful and established custom.

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$$$ If the sovereigns wer= e of equal rank, that is, when both were the children of a full brother and sister, it= is possible that the man's rights were superior to those of the woman; in other cases he assumed the government by virtue of his wife's right. The sovereig= n's eldest son was often associated with him in the government, and married to = the next heiress while very young.

Belief in the divine desc= ent seems never to have lost its hold on the Egyptian mind. In later times, when the "Solar line" became hopelessly involved by the rapidly changi= ng dynasties of foreign kings and conquerors, a convenient arrangement was mad= e by which a king could take an "official wife" from among the princes= ses belonging to the so-called "Harem of Amen," and by this nominal connection make good his claims through the supposed rights of the wife.

The records of woman's ru= le in Egypt b= egin very early. It is said that her right to be an independent reigning soverei= gn was legalized by Ba-en-neter, 1 a king of the IInd dynasty of Egyptian monarchs, dating about 4000 B.C. Ba-en-neter had, perhaps, no son to succeed him, and so framed the law which secured the active government to his daughters. No record remains, however,= of the independent reign of a woman until a thousand years after its legalizat= ion.

The proofs of the importa= nce and regal condition of these queens of old are found throughout Egypt on temple walls and sculptured tombs; on burial stelae and papyrus records; in the magnificence of their sarcophagi, coffins and jewels; and in the stately worship which followed them into the tomb and placed their spirits by the s= ide of the gods in reverence and devotion.

Throughout the vast recor= ds of Egypt's= past, there sounds a never-ending echo of high titles recalling a line of princes= ses who were: "Royal Heiress," "Royal Spouse,"

1 Manetho - Cory's Fragments, p. = 98.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

"Divine Mother," "Lady of the North and South," "Great Mistress of the two Lands," "Ruler of all Women," "The Consort of the gods,= " "The Great Consort of the King." The obscuring mists of time have blotted out the greater number of these queenly personalities, and for the first thousand years of Egyptian history it is only here and there that a solitary name breaks for an instant through the darkness of the ages, and recalls some long-forgotten queen.

The first one of these fa= int shadows to appear heralding the ghostly line is found on the very border-la= nd of history, that dim period of the past which connects fabled ages with the actual Ist dynasty of Egyptian kings, at a date some time before 4000 B.C. = 1

NEITH-HETEP, "Prince= ss of the Saïte Kingdom."

This queen appears to hav= e been the mother of Mena, first historic king of = Egypt.

For many years the name o= f Mena was the first in the annals of Egyptian history. The unknown period which preceded him was speculative and mysterious, filled by Herodotus and Manetho with fabulous dynasties of gods and demigods, or Horshemsu. The recent excavations of MM. de Morgan, Amélineau, Petrie and others have, however, widely extended the horizon of Egyptian history. The period thus brought to light is now known as "predynastic," and it may be tha= t in the kings belonging to this time, we have the actual representatives of the=

1 The reasons for the impossibility o= f a fixed system of dating for early Egyptian history are clearly stated by BUDGE: Hist. Egypt, vol. I, pp. 146-16= 1.

For h= istories of the Predynastic Period, the position of Women, etc., see MASPERO, Dawn of Civilization, pp. 3-344 ; PETRIE, Hist. Egypt, vol. I, 1-15; BRUGSCH, Egypt under the Pharaohs, 1-18; BUDGE, = Hist. Egypt, vol. I ; PETRIE, Nagada and Ballas; WIEDEMANN, de M= ORGAN, JÉQUIER, FOUQUET, Les Origin= es de l'Egypte, "Tombeau Royale = de Nagada"; DE MORGAN, Ethnog= raphie Préhistorique; AMÉLINEAU, Les Nouvelles Fouilles d'Abydos.

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mysterious Horshemsu, or followers of the god Horus, mentioned by Manetho.

Last of the predynastic m= onarchs was Narmar, a king of Upper Egypt, who w= as probably the father of Mena. Neith-Hetep was a daughter of the king of Lower Egypt. Her title defines her as a princess of the Saïte Kingdom, the chief deity of which = was the goddess Neith. She had also the title of the "Consort," and w= as presumably the wife of Narmar. By this alliance the red and white crowns of= the two countries were joined, and Mena, the son of Narmar and Neith-Hetep, inherited the double diadem which gave to his sovereignty the whole united kingdom. 1

In a large tomb of twenty= -one chambers found at Negada, by M. de Morgan, were several small bits of ivory which had been the labels attached to necklaces of the Queen Neith-Hetep. The necklac= es had disappeared, but the ivory slips remained to tell of the number of ston= es composing the ornaments and to place their ownership.

One of the sealings also = found in this tomb may admit of the reading "Ba-Neith-Hetep," that is, "The spirit of the Neith-Hetep." 2 The tomb was at first supposed to belong to a king whose name was read Aha; later, Herr Borchardt showed that Aha was not another king, but the "Horus-name" of Mena.

Mr. Petrie argues that th= e burial place of Mena was in the royal cemetery of Abydos, and that= the great tomb at Negada in which Neith-Hetep's necklace labels were found was = that of the Queen. 3

It must have been during = the age in which Neith-Hetep lived that the Egyptian Empire was founded. The energi= es of her husband and son were concerned with those mighty enterprises which, according to Manetho and Herodotus, deflected the course of the Nile, reared great

1 NEWBERRY and GARSTANG, Hist. Egypt, 33, 34.

2 See de MORGAN, Recherches, II, fig. 559.

3 PETRIE, Royal Tombs, vol. II, 4= .

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Memphis on its banks, and established a religion. All the records of this age show evidence of a high state of civilization. The king "taught his people the adoration of the gods and the manners of divine worship; how to adorn their beds and tables with rich cloths and coverings, and was the first that brought in a delicate and sumptuous way of living.'' 1 <= /p>

A time which left such le= gends as these to succeeding generations must have been one of luxury and splendour;= and it is reasonable to suppose that this long-forgotten queen in an almost mythical past held her court in the same regal state as that recorded of the later queen-consorts and mothers of the Pharaohs. Neith-Hetep does not appe= ar to be the only queen of that far-away Ist dynasty who has left a trace upon= the annals of the period. It is possible that she had a contemporary in SHESH, = whose exact chronological position = is doubtful. This queen is known only as the mother of a king Teta, possibly t= he same Teta who was son and successor of Mena. Manetho states that Teta was a physician and wrote certain essays on medicine; and Queen Shesh seems to owe the immortalizing of her name to nothing more important than the receipt fo= r a pomatum to make the hair grow. The Ebers Medical Papyrus states that such a pomatum was made for the mother of King Teta, presumably under the directio= n of her physician son. The ingredients of this lotion of six thousand years ago were, "the claw of a dog and the hoof of an ass, with some dates, boil= ed together in oil." 2

If Teta was actually the = son of Mena, then it is possible that his mother Shesh was the queen-consort of th= at king; but until some further evidence regarding her state is forthcoming fr= om out the vast slowly-opening store-house

1 DIODORUS, I, 45, Booth's translatio= n.

2 JOACHIM, Das aelteste Buch über Heilkunde, 106.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

of Egyptian records, this possible queen must remain only Teta's mother Shesh, of the pomatum receipt= . 1

The minds of the early wr= iters on Egyptian history seem to have had few impressions of this reign except such= as were connected with medicine and its practice. Curious indeed were the physiological beliefs of the time.

Treating of this subject,= the Ebers Papyrus explains that, "the head contains twenty-two vessels, wh= ich draw the spirits into it and send them thence to all parts of the body ..... there are two for the right ear, by which enter the breaths of life; and two for the left ear which in like manner admit the breaths of death.'' 2

All physical ills were ca= used by the malign influence of evil spirits; they could be driven out by spells or remedies known to the physician, who then restored the patient to health by= the use of various mixtures. Some of the formulae set forth by these early physicians never passed entirely away. In The Dawn of Civilization, M. Maspero says of this: 3

"The use of more tha= n one of these remedies became world-wide; the Greeks borrowed them from the Egyptia= ns; we have piously accepted them from the Greeks; and our contemporaries still swallow with resignation many of the abominable mixtures invented on the ba= nks of the Nile long before the building of = the pyramids."

The next evidence found o= f a queen in chronological order is rather a gruesome one. This is nothing more than the dismembered arm of a mummy, which was discovered in the tomb of Ki= ng Zer, probably the same as Teta, Mena's son. The arm had on it four beautiful bracelets composed of turquoise, and small gold plaques

1 By some writers she is called the C= onsort of Teta.

2 EBERS, Papyrus; Berlin Medical Papyrus, MASPERO, B= RUGSCH, CHABAS.

3 p.220.

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surmounted by hawks, fine= ly-cut amethysts and gold flowers, tinted stones and a sort of glass paste, all of very delicate workmanship. It is curious that this fragment with its jewels should have escaped destruction when the mummy to which it belonged was tor= n to pieces. It is supposed that at the time of the original robbery, this arm w= ith its bracelets was hastily torn from the body and thrust aside into the sand= for concealment until it could be safely removed; for some reason the robbers n= ever succeeded in finding it again, and so it lay for ages hidden in Zer's tomb. When Mr. Petrie, excavating in the ancient cemetery of Omm el = Gaab, chanced upon the tomb and opened it, he found in one corner this fragment of some unknown princess, still wearing the jewels in which she had been burie= d. The beauty of these ornaments prove the skill of the jeweller's art at that period when the king had first taught his people to live in a "delicate and sumptuous" manner. The queen to whom the ornaments belonged has le= ft no name nor record of any kind; long ago the mummy crumbled to dust, but th= is one nameless withered arm, covered with its bracelets, 1 still remains to suggest some queen of King Zer, second monar= ch of the Ist dynasty.

One more name occurs at t= his time: MERNEIT, a princess of Saïs, who seems to have been the wife of = Den, fourth king of the Ist dynasty. A fine diorite stela in Cairo, and several other monuments are inscribed with her name. Her tomb existed in the royal cemetery at Abydos, near the = great one in which her husband, King Den, was buried; but nothing circumstantial = is known regarding her life.

IInd Dynasty.

Thinite. Before 4000 B.C.=

It is in the records of t= his period that we first hear of a Queen concerned with the actual government of Egypt.

1 Now in the <= st1:PlaceName w:st=3D"on">Cairo Museum, Jewel Room, Case IV, B.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

This was NE-MAAT-HAP, 1 who was probably a Memphite pri= ncess; she is called "the mother of the royal children," and "She w= hose orders are always obeyed," a title which points to her importance prob= ably as a "Royal Heiress." It is possible that Ne-Maat-Hap was descend= ed from Ba-en-neter, and that, after profiting by his decree which legalized t= he active sovereignty of women, she bequeathed the throne to her two sons, Khasekhemui and Neterkhet. The elder of these was but three years of age when he succee= ded. His mother was Queen-Regent during his minority, and exercised a supreme po= wer; as evident from official sealings in the name of the queen, which survive. = It is not certain who her husband was, but he may have been one of the kings of the IInd dynasty, Perabsen. This seems not unlikely from the fact that in t= he tomb of Neterkhet, the younger son of Ne-Maat-Hap, only two royal names occ= ur, those of the queen-mother and Perabsen. 2

A royal tomb was made for= the Queen, and after her death the services attending it were long maintained by special endowment. Ne-Maat-Hap is perhaps to be regarded as the ancestress = of a new line of kings, and her memory was honoured by her descendants until the IVth dynasty.

She is probably the same queen-mother Ne-Maat-Hap who is mentioned in the tomb of Methen, a noble hi= gh in authority and in the favour of Sneferu. As a reward for valuable service= s he was given "two hundred portions of cultivated land, with numerous slav= es, both male and female, and an income of one hundred loaves daily," which was charged to the funeral endowment of Queen Ne-Maat-Hap. 3

A further mention of her = is made on a scarab, which records the name of "The Mother of Royal Children, Ne-Maat-Hap." 4

1 LEPSIUS, Denkmähler, ii, 1= 6, 17; BRUGSCH and BOURIANT, Livre des Roi= s.

2 N. and G., Hist. E., 47-49.

3 LEPSIUS, Denkmähler; MASPE= RO, D. Civ., p. 294.

4 NEWBERRY, Scarabs, pl. IV, 15. =

10

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ If there were other princesses of this period who reigned under the law of Ba-en-neter, they ha= ve apparently left no records which survive, as the next queen of whom anything definite is known appears two dynasties later, or after a period of some hundreds of years.

11

CHAPTER II.<= /p>
QUE= ENS OF DYNASTIES IV-XI.

IVth Dynasty.

Memphite. B= efore 3500 B.C.

MERTITEFS, whose name sig= nified "beloved of her father," was the wife of Sneferu, founder of the = IVth dynasty.

The historical evidences regarding Mertitefs are found on her statue preserved in the Leyden Museum, and in a commemorative tablet which was discovered at Ghizeh. These records= are of historical value as aids in determining the order in which the three gre= at kings of the IVth dynasty ascended the throne, as they show her association with all three kings, Sneferu, Khufu, and Khafra.

In early life she was the= Queen of Sneferu, and after his death she seems to have become the wife of his successor Khufu; outliving him in turn, she is later mentioned as the Ama khit, or vassal of Khafra. 1 From these evidences it appears= that Mertitefs held regal honours not only from the founder of this famous dynas= ty, but also from the first two of those kings who built the great pyramids. Th= e Leyden statue of Mertitefs is of a peculiar type, broad-faced, big-eyed, with a wide mouth and strangely heavy features. It is evident that the style of art of this period is not to blame for the coarse representations of the Queen's face: it was IVth dynasty art which produced= the famous statues of the Ra-hetep group, and the enthroned Khafra of the Cairo Museum; works of supreme beauty, vitality and power. Artists of consummate skill existed when

1 MASPERO, Dawn Civ., 272, n. 4 ; E. de ROUGÉ, Recherches.

12

PLATE II

PRINCESS NEFERT.

&= nbsp;

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

Mertitefs' likeness was m= ade. One would imagine that the best of these would have been employed for the representation of the "Great Favourite" of three successive Phara= ohs. The statue, therefore, is puzzling, and hardly to be explained, except by M= r. Petrie's assumption that Mertitefs belonged to an inferior race. 1

The sculptures of the IVth dynasty suggest that two or more widely differing races then inhabited the valley of the Nile.

The contrasts and differe= nces in representations of the human form and face are too great to be attributable only to the mannerisms of different artists, which would naturally produce = both good and bad work side by side in the same dynasty.

It is therefore possible = that Mertitefs, in spite of her high honours and queenly titles, was not of that royal race which exalted her to her three-fold position.

Her lords built the great= pyramids which rear their masses above the plains of Ghizeh, to be a never-ending wo= nder in the eyes of men. Somewhere near them, Mertitefs, who had found such favo= ur in the esteem of three kings, was probably buried in one of the many mastaba tombs, the ruins of which now crowd the vast necropolis surrounding the pyramids.

NEFERT, a princess, proba= bly connected with the house of Sneferu, was the original of the famous statue = in the Cairo= Museum, where she sits side by sid= e with her husband, General Ra-hetep. The figure is of painted limestone, and is executed with great power and simplicity. The attitude of the princess is o= ne of repose, and the personality is majestic. 2

These statues were found = in a tomb near the Medûm pyramid, the burial places of Sneferu and his fam= ily.

MERI-SE-ANKH is mentioned= on several fragments of stone found in the Necropolis of Memphis, and is gener= ally

1 P.'s H.E., vol. I, 35.

2 Room F, No. 163, Cairo M.

13

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

considered to have been t= he Queen of Khafra, third king of the IVth dynasty.

It is certain that she ha= d a son, Prince Neb-em-akhet, in whose tomb at Ghizeh she is called a "Royal Wife." There is, however, at Medûm, a temple graffito of the XVI= IIth dynasty, which names her as a wife of Sneferu. Mr. Petrie thinks that she m= ay, like Mertitefs, have passed from the harem of Sneferu to that of Khufu. 1 On the other hand, M. Maspero, following the views of Lepsius and Mariette, believes her to have been the daughter of Khufu, and the sister and wife of Khafra. 2

Her fragmentary records s= how that she was a devout worshipper of the gods, who in turn were pleased to honour their royal servant Meri-se-ankh is the last queen known from such monument= s of this dynasty as have come to light. The period is remarkable for the extraordinary beauty and power of its sculpture, the marvellous skill of its buildings, and the ease with which its architects handled great masses of material. No other age has left such immortal monuments as those of its gre= at pyramids, reared by the three successive kings: Khufu, Khafra, and Men-kau-= Ra. Of this third monarch little is known historically, although he became in e= arly times the hero of many tales. One of these is particularly interesting as touching a certain nameless princess, described only as the daughter of Men-kau-Ra. Herodotus, hearing the story, sets it down as historical. 3

"Mycerinus (Men-kau-= Ra), governing the common weal with great clemency, and seeking by virtue to adv= ance his fame, was suddenly daunted by a great misfortune, the death of his only daughter; having no more children but her, which was the first and greatest heart-break that befell him in his kingdom. For which cause, being

1 P.'s H.E., vol. I, 35, 36.

2 M.'s D.C., 270, n. 5.

3 HERODOTUS: B. R.'s translation,= 105, ff. The spelling is modernized.

14

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

stricken with sorrow above measure, and desirous to solemnize her funeral by the most royal and prince= ly kind of burial that could be devised, he caused an ox to be made of wood, inward= ly vaulted and hollow within; which, being laid over and garnished most curiou= sly with gilt, he enclosed therein the wan and forlorn corpse of his best-belov= ed daughter."

"This royal tomb was= not interred and buried in the ground, but remained unto our age in the city Saïs in open view, standing in a certain parlour of the king's palace; adorned and set forth for the same purpose with most beautiful and costly furniture. The custom is ever-more in the day-time to cast into the belly of the ox, sweet and precious odours of all sorts that may be gotten, and in t= he night to kindle a lamp which burneth by the tomb till the next day.... The = ox wherein the young princess lay was sumptuously clad, and arranged all the b= ody with a gorgeous mantle of Phoenicia, his head and neck being laid over with braces and plates of gold of a marvellous thickness. Between his horns was set a globe or circle of gold, glistening as the sun. Neither is the ox standing and borne up upon his fee= t, but kneeleth as it were upon his knees; equal in bigness to a heifer."=

"The manner is once = a year to bring this image out of the parlour wherein it is kept, having first of = all well beaten and cudgelled a certain image of one of their saints, whom in t= his case we think it not lawful to us to name. The talk goeth that the lady besought the king, her father, that being dead, she might once a year behold the sun; whereof sprang the custom and manner aforesaid."

15

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

Vth Dynasty.

Elephantine= . Before 3000 B.C.

In the remains of this dy= nasty we meet with the names of only two queens, the first of whom was

NEFER-HETEP-ES, a "R= oyal Mother" in the time of King Sahura. With the opening of the dynasty the crown had passed to a new royal family, and the chiefs of the princely hous= e of Elephantine had assumed the government Nefer-hetep-es may, then, have been a princess of one of the old Memphite lines, by marriage with whom the new Pharaoh made good his claims to the throne. The queen's name is preserved on a limestone slab from the tomb of = one Persen, who recorded certain benefits received from the queen-mother. 1

KAKA-HEKENU is mentioned = on a vase found at Sakkara in the famous tomb= of Ti, a noble of the Vth dynasty. 2<= /b> There is no evidence identifying her with any king, except the slight clue which may be afforded by the history of the owner of the tomb.

Ti was keeper of the pyra= mids of the Kings Nefer-ar-ka-ra and of Ne-user-ra. His tomb furnishings, among whi= ch the vase naming the queen was found, would naturally be connected with the = king whom he had served; it is therefore likely that one of Ti's masters, Nefer-ar-ka-ra, or Ne-user-ra, was either the husband or the son of Ka-ka-he-kenu.

VIth Dynasty.

Elephantine= . Before 3000 B.C.

MERI-RA-ANKHNES, "Ro= yal Wife," and "Royal Mother," was the queen of Pepi I., thi= rd king of the VIth

1 MARIETTE, Mastabas, 300. <= /o:p>

2 P.'s H.E., vol. I, 74.

16

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

dynasty. Her genealogy is= given on a tablet, found at Abydos, and stands as follows: 1

A second tablet gives her= name as Pepi-ankhnes. 2 The Queen's mo= ther Nebt seems to have been a royal princess whose rights Meri-ra-ankhnes inherited. Her eldest son, Mer-en-ra, ascended the throne and died young; h= is mummy, with its boyish side lock of hair, is still in existence and may be = seen in the Cairo Museum. 3 He was succeeded by his brother Pepi II., who is said to have mounted the throne of the Pharaohs at the age of six years. Shortly after h= is accession, a commemorative stela was carved on the rocks of the Wady Maghara quarries in the Sinai Peninsula. On this tablet the Queen-mother Meri-ra-ankhnes appears with a prominence and use of royal titles, which make it apparent that she filled the office of regent f= or her son during his minority. 4=

Brugsch takes a different= view of the position occupied by this queen, 5 whom he thinks was not of the blood royal. Her name as it appears on one ta= blet reads Pepi-ankhnes, characters which so closely resemble those of her husba= nd as to suggest that after her marriage with Pepi he conferred the name, toge= ther with the queenly titles, upon his wife of low origin. Her tomb was found in= the Necropolis of Abydos, 6 althou= gh those of the three Pharaohs, Pep= i I., Pepi II. and Mer-en-ra, her h= usband and two sons, are among the ruined pyramids of Sakka= ra. The Queen's tomb had been sumptuously furnished with sarcophagus,

1 MARIETTE, Abydos, 523 ; E. de ROUGÉ, R.M., 129-184.
2 M.'s D.C., 422.

3 Cairo M., Room C1, 106.

4 LEPSIUS, Denkmähler, ii, 1= 16, a.

5 Egypt under the Pharaohs, 48.

6 B's. E.P., 48.

17 C

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

offering tables and doors= , made of the rose granite of Aswan, to procure w= hich one of the King's officers had been sent up the Nile= . He has left an account of this royal commission in his tomb inscriptions at= Abydos.

Meri-ra-ankhnes was not t= he only queen of Pepi I. The earliest use of the honourable title "Great Spous= e of the King,'' 1 is found with AM= TES, , of whom sinister mention is made in the contemporary records of Uni, an off= icer high in the favour of King Pepi. Uni's memorial in his tomb at Abydos begins in a style highly self-laudatory, with reference to the heavy responsibilities placed upon hi= m by the monarch, and the great rewards that had followed the successful accomplishment of his duties. Uni then declares that he alone was entrusted= by the King with the trial of Queen Amtes, the chief royal wife. Having carried out the enquiry, he, with the help of one other judge, wrote the report of = his investigations and his conduct of the whole affair, which was greatly to the King's satisfaction.

We have no hint of the na= ture of the crime with which the Queen was charged, nor the outcome of her trial. Q= ueen Amtes appears in history only as a royal wife, on trial at the King's charg= e. However satisfactory to Pepi, as Uni asserts, the results may have been, it= is by no means clear how they affected the royal lady herself. Uni, who was her accuser, her defender and her judge, has kept the secret of a dark page in = King Pepi's life. No hint is given of the accused Queen's fate: whether it was o= ne of banishment or death, or whether she was acquitted and reinstated in the King's favour.

To Uni it was a matter of= great pride that he had been entrusted with so delicate and serious a matter as t= he trial of the King's "Great Spouse," and he sums up his records concerning it with the words: "My duties were to super-

1 M.'s D.C.

18

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

intend the royal gardens,= and never before me had a man in my position been initiated into the secrets of= the Royal Harem, but his Majesty initiated me into them because my wisdom pleas= ed his Majesty more than that of any other of his lieges.'' 1

The circumstance of this elevation of a superintendent of gardens to be the judge of a queen, is as surprising to modern readers as it seems to have been to Uni himself.

Late in the VIth dynasty = appears an uncertain figure with the title, "Ruler of Both Lands."

MEN-KA-RA N= ETAQERTI or NITOCRIS.

This is the first woman r= ecorded by Egyptian tradition as an independent sovereign. Around her name legend h= as woven so many tales, and has so hopelessly confounded her identity with tha= t of other individuals both of earlier and later periods, that it is difficult to get at any historical truth concerning her. It has been supposed from the testimony of the King's list on the temple walls of <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Abydos, and of the Turin Papyrus, that = at the close of the VIth dynasty there was a monarch with the names Men-ka-ra Netaqerti. Manetho's list also ends the dynasty with this queen, and adds: = 2 "She was the noblest and m= ost beautiful woman of her time, fair in colour, and the builder of the third pyramid." The legendary history of the "ruddy queen" is deta= iled by Herodotus, elaborated by the Greeks, confused with the records of earlier monarchs, and enlivened by the questionable adventures of later personages, until any story which may have belonged to an actual individual of this per= iod is quite lost in the mazes of fiction.

According to Herodotus, N= itocris was the wife of her brother Metesouphis II, who ascended the throne, but wa= s

1 Insc. Uni, II., 11-13. ERMAN in= Zeitschrift, 1882, 10, 12.

2 UNGER'S Edition, 102.

19 C2

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

shortly after murdered, a= nd Nitocris became the sole ruler. After this the one motive of her life was r= evenge, and the tale makes her resort to strangely involved and elaborate means to accomplish it.

She caused to be built a = great subterranean hall, which could be flooded by the waters of the Nile conveyed through a secret channel. This comple= ted, she gave a banquet, and summoned her guests, among whom were the murderers = of her brother. While the unsuspecting company was feasting, the queen opened = the hidden water channel, and the river rushing down upon the guests, drowned t= hem in the midst of their festivities. Having accomplished this wholesale reven= ge, Nitocris feared the anger of her people, and, preferring to take her own li= fe rather than to be murdered in turn, she "threw herself into a great chamber filled with ashes" and was smothered.

Manetho states that durin= g her twelve years' reign she completed the third pyramid, added to it a red gran= ite casing, and made a second tomb chamber in the heart of the pyramid, directly over the secret one in which lay the body of King Men-kau-Ra. In this added= chamber Nitocris is said to have been buried in a magnificent blue basalt sarcophag= us. Modem investigation has proved that this pyramid has at some remote time be= en enlarged; that it had two tomb chambers, and once contained a splendid sarcophagus of blue basalt, fragments of which were found in the centre chamber. From these facts certain authorities, among whom are Perring, E. de Rougé, Bunsen, and Lepsius, held that Queen Nitocris actually did enlarge the pyramid, and was buried in the blue basalt sarcophagus. Petrie thinks that the only origin for this tale of the usurpation of Men-kau-Ra's pyramid by Men-ka-Ra Netaqerti, is in a confusion arising from the similari= ty of the two names. Nitocris is described by ancient writers as having a "red and white complexion," and is called the "rosy cheeked." In later times she was known

20

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

to the Greeks by the name= of Rhodopis, literally, the "red faced."

There was, however, a real Rhodopis, an Ionian woman of infamous celebrity living in the time of the XXVIth dynasty, who had been the favourite of Psammeticus or of Amasis. Man= y of the tales told of this woman became transferred to the legendary Nitocris, until the evil character of Rhodopis became that of the Egyptian queen, with apparently no better foundation than the chance expression "red faced" occurring in early descriptions of the Queen.

By this transition, Nitocris-Rhodopis becomes the heroine of a Cinderella-like tale, which rela= tes that one day while she was bathing in the river an eagle descended, and, snatching her sandal, flew away with it to Memphis. There the King was holding his= court in the open air, when the eagle, passing overhead, dropped the sandal into = the King's lap. The monarch picked it up, and so fell in love with the delicacy= of its shape, that he sent forth into all the kingdom to search for its owner.= At last the messengers arrived at the city of Naucratis, and there found the beautiful woman to whom the sandal belonged. She was taken to the King, who married h= er, and when she died he caused her to be buried in a great pyramid, i.e., that of Men-kau-Ra.

Herodotus, Diodorus, and = Strabo all note that the Greeks believed this third pyramid to have been "the work of the courtesan Rhodopis."

Still another tale was fo= unded on the belief that all the tombs and pyramids of Egypt were haunted by the gho= sts of those buried in them; probably a survival of the ancient. Egyptian belief t= hat the "ka" or "double" of every man revisited his mummied body in the tomb. According to this legend, the uneasy spirit of Queen Rhod= opis haunted the place where her body lay. She appeared always as a nude woman of wondrous beauty wandering about the pyramid, where she was seen by many peo= ple. It was an unusually

21

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

bold spirit, and instead = of coming at night only, like other ghosts, was to be seen in the blazing ligh= t of noon or at sunset. She was bent on destruction, and the unlucky person who = saw her fatal smile and approached her was bereft of his senses, and thereafter wandered mad in the desert.

Whether there ever was a beautiful queen of E= gypt called Nitocris, whose romantic career and tragic fate gave some foundation= to these accounts, has been a debated question. Certain Egyptologists have even held that the name Men-ka-Ra Netaqerti was not that of a queen at all, but = of a man who was the last king of the dynasty. No contemporary records of the re= ign have been found, and the only real evidence of this ruler occurs in the men= tion of the name Men-ka-Ra Netaqerti in the Abydos table of kings, sculptured some seventeen hundred years after Nitocris is supposed to have reigned, and in the lists of Manetho, composed more than eleven hundred years later. It is reasonable to suppose, however, that both= of these lists were founded on earlier records which must have existed in the = days of the Egyptian historian as well as at the time of Set= i I., under whom the Abydos tablet was sculptured. At present there is no conclusive evidence to prove the existence or non-existence of Queen Nitocris. 1

Fragmentary evidences of = yet other queens remain who probably lived during this period. Mutilated inscriptions, in which only one syllable can still be read, such as "Per-," "Ankh," etc., testify to other princesses among= the vast number of those royal women of Egypt who, whether they played important parts or not in the history of their times, have disappeared from human knowledge, leaving no trace.

A singular absence of mon= uments of any sort marks the whole of that period which covers the VIIth, VIIIth, IXth, and Xth dynasties. It would seem to have been a

1 The subject is fully treated by HALL, H= ellenistic Journal, xxiv, 208.

22

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

time of weak rulers and ineffectual reigns, which in few instances had the vigour to leave an impre= ss on tomb, temple, pyramid, or sculptured stone. Great changes took place in = the empire during those unknown years, for whereas the powerful monarchs of the early kingdom had governed the realm from Mena's royal city of Memphis, and reared their monuments in its vicinity, yet when Egypt begins to emerge from the darkness of that unrecorded time, the scene has entirely changed; Memph= is has been abandoned, and the feudal lords of Thebes have assumed the crown. = From this time on, through the most stirring scenes of its history, Thebes was the capital of the kingdom, = and Theban its greatest Pharaohs. More than once the prestige of the lordly city was threatened, but as often it emerged triumphant from temporary eclipse. =

The origin of Thebes is lost in antiquity. Diodorus c= alled it the most ancient city in Egypt; other accounts credit Mena himself with its foundation, or make it a colony from Memphis. The mountains here sweep back from the river, and enclose a wide and fertile plain. Thebes lay on both banks of the Nile, and in the records of the time was designated= as "The City of the South." Its god was Amen, and with the rise of t= he Theban princes to power, their god also increased in importance, until, from being a minor deity, Amen-Ra became the chief god of Egypt.

Monarchs vied with one an= other in adding to the splendour of their capital: temples and palaces arose on both sides of the river; obelisks, colossal statues, gardens and long sphinx-bordered avenues, made beautiful the city of <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Amen. To its sovereigns, Thebes was "the horizon on earth -= the eye of the Universal Lord - his heart's throne." 1

The country was divided i= nto nomes or provinces, each one of which was ruled by a prince who held his fi= ef tributary to the Pharaoh, and was bound to aid his sovereign in war. These princes, like the great feudal barons of later

1 Karnak, Obelisk of Hatshepsut.

23

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

times, occasionally becam= e so powerful as to make and unmake kings, and to wage successful war against the monarch, even to the extent of the usurpation of the double crown by one of their own number. It was thus that some Theban prince at a time anterior to= the XIth dynasty, fought his way to the title of "King of the North and So= uth." This prince was the probable ancestor of the Mentuheteps, a family of kings whose names are prominent at the beginning of the new dynasty.

XIth Dynasty.

Theban. Abo= ut 3000 B.C.

Confused and uncertain as= are the records of this time, there still occur among them the names of several que= ens, some of whom are connected with the known Pharaohs of the age, while others= are unplaced. The first of these is

AAM, 1 mother of the king Mentu-hetep II. The history of this monarc= h is chiefly derived from inscriptions on the rocks of the Wady Hammamet quarrie= s, whither the King sent servants to cut the stone for his sarcophagus. In one= of these inscriptions the "Royal Mother Aam" is mentioned. The titles with which her name is accompanied suggest that she, like Meri-Ra-ankhnes of the VIth dynasty, may have been queen-regent during the early youth of her = son; also that Men-tu-hetep obtained the crown through her rights.

AAH, 2 in company with Mentu-hetep III., holds lonely state among the rocks of a valley about four miles from Silsileh in = Upper Egypt. This tablet is commemorative of the most important king= of the Mentu-hetep line, and represents him as a colossal figure receiving tribute. Behind him stands a queen holding in one hand a staff, and in the =

1 LEPSIUS, D., ii, 149, f. P.'s H.E., vol. I, 132.

2 EISENLOHR, P.S.B.A., 1881, 100;= P.'s H.E., vol. I, 138; P., S., 489.

24

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

other a lotus blossom, em= blem of royalty. Her legend runs: "The Royal Mother, his beloved Aah," wh= ich suggests that she may have been a descendant of queens and a royal heiress.= She was probably the King's mother, as his queen was AASHAIT, "The Royal W= ife - his beloved."

Recent excavations in the= Theban hills have brought to light the most ancient temple of Thebes, that of Mentuhetep III. 1 It l= ies near Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahari, and was perhaps the model on wh= ich that famous building was planned. In the temple of Mentu-het= ep, a curious and unique cemetery was found. The burial vaults surrounded the central platform of the building, and were excavated in the rock from twelv= e to fifteen feet below the pavement. These tombs had been constructed for sever= al women, all of whom bore the titles, "The Royal Favourite, the only one, the Priestess of Hathor."

Several of the sarcophagi= were intact and beautifully sculptured. The names of these princesses, found on various fragments of their tombs, were Henhenet, Kauit, Sadhe, Kemsit, Nefershushusa, etc., all of whom were priestesses and at the same time atta= ched to the king's harem. Finely sculptured slabs show various attendants making offerings to the souls of these princesses.

The Priestess Sadhe in on= e scene receives a bowl presented to her with the words - "Beer for thy Ghost." In each tomb was placed the skeleton of a cow, the animal sacr= ed to the goddess Hathor, whose shrine the royal favourites had served. Other fragments from this temple represent King Mentu-hetep accompanied by his qu= een, Aashait, whom, from her portrait, the excavators judged to have been a Nubi= an.

The tombs of other queens= of this age are perhaps to be found in the neighbourhood of Mentu-hetep's temple, a= s, for instance, that of a queen,

1 MM. NAVILLE and HALL.

25

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

NEFERU, whose burial plac= e is beneath the lower terrace of the neighbouring temple of Hatshepsu= t. With this queen may be identified the pedestal of a wooden statuette in the collection of M. Dattari, at C= airo. 1 The pedestal has an inscript= ion in which Neferu is described as a "Divine Wife," the earliest instan= ce yet known of the use of this title.

TUMEM, 2 is the name of a queen also connected by some writers with Mentuhetep III., although by others she is called an unclassed queen. Her t= omb was found near that of Queen Neferu. 3 To this group of unknown royal princesses, the wives and mothers of the Mentu-hetep line, must be assigned the following names:

SHERTSAT, known from an inscription of her son, Prince Heru-nefer, who calls himself the "son = of King Mentu-hetep, and the Great Royal Wife Shertsat." 4

SENT, whose name and titl= es of "Heiress, Royal Wife and Royal Mother," exist at Khataaneh in the Delta. 5

MENTU-HETEP, a queen know= n only from her coffin inscription and a toilet box. She was "The Great Royal Wife Mentu-hetep, begotten of the vizier, the keeper of the palace, Send-hena-ef, and born of the heiress Sebek-hetep." 6

The evidence regarding the Mentu-hetep kings, shows that they do not all belong to the same dynasty, b= ut were scattered; the first three having lived in the XIth, while others of t= he name have been assigned to some period after the XIIth.

1 Pub. by P. E. NEWBERRY in P.S.B.A., 1901.

2 Mission<= /st1:place> Arch. Franc., i, 134. =

3 MASPKRO, S.N., 240, n. 3.

4 P.S.B.A., xiv, 41. <= /span>

5 MEYER, Geschichte, ix.

6 P.S.B.A., xiv, 41; Z.A., xxx, 46; xxxi, 23.

26

CHAPTER III.=

QUE= ENS OF = THE XIITH DYNASTY.

Theban. Abo= ut 2700 (?) B.C.

THE monarchy founded by M= ena, and developed by the Pharaohs of the IVth dynasty, lived thereafter through a t= housand years of history with varying fortunes, which slowly tended more and more towards ruin, until, with the Xth dynasty, the ancient empire passed away in confusion.

It sprang to renewed life= in the XIth, which opened that period now known as the "Middle Empire," = and the name of Amen-em-hat= I., of the XIIth dynasty, ushered in a gr= eat Egyptian renaissance. The large number of monuments of this time, and the magnificence of its art, prove the astonishing quickening into renewed life which animated the pulse of the empire, and found expression in every line = into which man's activity can be directed.

The monarchs of this dyna= sty, the great Amenemhats and Usertsens, came of a splendid race, if they resembled those faces which now gaze from the monuments of their time. One is strange= ly impressed by the vigorous personality of these statues, which seem to set at defiance the three thousand years that have elapsed since the empire, built= by the kings whom they represent, crumbled into dust.

The first princess to app= ear in the history of the new era is a wife or daughter of Amenemhat II., third ki= ng of the

27

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

dynasty: NEB-KAU-RA, &quo= t;Royal Daughter, joined to the Beautiful White Crown."

The name and titles occur= on a cylinder-seal of blue glazed steatite, and appear to prove her the heiress of Upper Egypt. 1 Amenemhat was succeeded by Usertsen II., whose queen was NEFERT, , a name signifying the good, or beautiful. A fine portrait statue of this qu= een, in black granite, was found at Tanis among the temple ruins. The work has both distinction and charm, in spite of its mutilated state. The inlaid eyes and eyebrows are gone, the nose is bro= ken, and the arms are almost entirely lacking. The large wig is parted in the mi= ddle, and hangs in two heavy tresses over the shoulders. On the breast, which is = but slightly indicated, is an engraved pectoral containing the name of Usertsen= II. The queen is seated on a throne bearing the titles, "The Hereditary Princess, the greatly praised, the Great Favourite, the beloved Consort of = the King, the Ruler of all women, the King's Daughter of his body, Nefert."= ;

A second portrait statue = of Queen Nefert was found at Tanis; both of these memorials are now in the = Cairo Museum. 2 The name of her father is not g= iven, but as she was the "King's Daughter" she may have been the heires= s of Amenemhat II.

Among her titles Queen Ne= fert is not styled "Royal Mother"; it is therefore doubtful if she was the mother of those princesses who were probably daughters of Usertsen II., and whose names are recorded as Atmu-nefereu, Sat-hathor, and Sent-es-senb, or = of his son, Usertsen III.

NEFERT-HENT was a queen of Usertsen II. or III. She was interred, with other members of the family, in= a tomb where her name is inscribed on a sandstone sarcophagus. There she figu= res as Queen-Consort, but not as Royal

1 Timmins Col. Pub. by NEWBERRY, P.S.B.A., 1905. =

2 Nos. 200 and 201, Room H.

28

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

Mother. The young queen h= ad died at the age of twenty-four or twenty-five, as indicated by her mummy. 1

MERSEKER is another princ= ess in some way connected with Usertsen III. On a rock inscription at Semneh 2 there is a representation of Th= otmes III. adoring the deified king, Usertsen, and a "Great Royal Wife"= who is there named Merseker; no trace of her is found in contemporary records. = The burial places of the Amenemhats and Usertsens were in the plains of Dashur = and the Fayûm. Amid the ruins which cover the now desert tracks, the pyra= mids of at least two of these Pharaohs and the tombs of their families have been identified. The North brick pyramid of Dashur seems to have been the tomb of Usertsen III. It is of a singular and original construction, unlike other pyramids. Upon its northern face, and opposite the north-east and north-west corners, there are wells descending to a long subterranean gallery. This passage, which connects the two shafts, has several openings into chambers, containing sarcophagi. When M. de Morgan entered the vault in 1894, the cof= fins were still occupied by their royal tenants, the princesses of the families = of Usertsen and of Amenemhat III.

The names were of the Que= en Nefert-hent and of the king's sisters and wives, Sat-hathor, Sent-es-senb, Ment, and Merit. In one of the passages a number of splendid ornaments were found. The wooden coffins had mouldered, the mummies crumbled when touched,= the jewels only remained. One of the princesses had worn a coronet of gold leav= es and forget-me-nots, set with precious stones. There were also many other articles in gold and enamel, including necklaces, daggers, pendants, corone= ts, charms, and bracelets, all of exquisite workmanship. These jewels, which had formed the burial outfit of the XIIth dynasty princesses, were rescued from= the dust of mortality in which they lay, and are now in the Cairo Museum, forming a

1 DE MORGAN, Fouilles à Dahcho= ur.

2 LEPSIUS, D., iii, 55a.

29

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

collection of unsurpassed= beauty. 1 The pieces are too delicate = ever to have been in actual use, and are supposed to have been constructed solely f= or burial ornaments. Possibly the frail crowns, necklaces, and bracelets were = made in imitation of jewels worn by the princesses in life.

Much of this jewellery be= longed to the princess Sat-hathor. One piece bears the name of Usertsen II., and another that of Usertsen III., thus indicating the princess' place in the r= oyal family. One of her ornaments, a pectoral or breast-plate of gold richly inl= aid with carnelian and blue paste, is designed like the one engraved on the bre= ast of Queen Nefert's great statute.

Near the burial place of = these princesses, M. de Morgan found the tombs of King Hor, and of the Queen NUBHETEP-TAKRUDIT, "Royal Daughter; Great Royal Wife who is united to = the Beautiful White Crown."

The coffin represents her= as wearing the uraeus and vulture crown, the insignia of Egyptian queens. She = was probably the daughter of Amenemhat III., and the wife of King Hor, who is s= aid to have been Amenemhat's heir and co-regent. Hor must have died young, as he did not succeed to an independent reign. When the queen's tomb was opened, = 2 it was found to be undisturbed,= its contents still remaining as they had been placed more than 4,000 years befo= re. The sarcophagus held a gilded wooden coffin, in which lay the mummy of the queen, a woman of about forty-five. The jewels of the dead princess were beautifully wrought in gold and sparkled with Egyptian emeralds, carnelian = and lapis-lazuli. There were diadems, necklaces, bracelets, sceptres, daggers a= nd amulets, besides various articles for the toilet. In a case of alabaster va= ses, each vase was marked with the name of the perfume which had filled it. The outfit contained also a mirror of blue enamelled

1 Cairo M., Jewel Room. The jewellery is fully described, and illustrated by de MORGAN, in Fouilles à Dahchour.

2 de MORGAN, Fouilles à Dahcho= ur.

30

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

silver, vases, and plates= of pottery, offerings of birds and of beef, and four canopic jars with lids ma= de in the likeness of human heads. Two or three scarabs are known with the name a= nd titles of Nub-hetep-takrudit. 1

These XIIth dynasty princ= esses, buried in so regal a state, had passed their lives also under conditions of luxury and splendour, a fleeting glimpse of which is given in a contemporary record regarding the building of one of the royal palaces. This was describ= ed as a gold-adorned edifice, in which the shining blue ceilings were of lapis-lazuli, and the doors were of copper. 2 It is perhaps to the same royal families that two or three ot= her princesses belong, who are known to us at present only by name.

ANKET-NEFERT-UBEN, and NUB-EM-ANT, were two royal heiresses, each having the title, "The Hereditary Chieftainess." Both princesses are known from scarabs which= are engraved with their names and titles. 3

PTAH-NEFERU. This princes= s is connected with the greatest king of the dynasty, Amenemhat III. She has been called by one authority, "The Favourite Consort of the King" 4; and by others is said to have = been his daughter. 5 Whatever relationship existed between them, it is certain that she was buried by his side, in the great pyramid of Hawara in the Fayûm Oasis. The pyramid = was opened by Petrie, and found to be one of the most singular constructions in= Egypt. = The explorer describes it as entered from the south side, and says he 6 "descended a long staircase which ended in a dumb chamber. The roof of this, if slid aside, showed anot= her passage filled with blocks; this was a mere blind to direct attention from = the real passage which stood ostentatiously open.

1 NEWBERRY, Scarabs, pl. xii, 26;= xliv, 13.

2 Hieratic Papyrus.

3 N., Sc., pl. ix. 35, 39; in P. Col. and v. B. Coll= .

4 M.'s D.C., 520.

5 P.'s H.E., vol. I, 195.

6 P.'s H.E., vol. I, 185-6. =

31

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

"A plunderer had, ho= wever, fruitlessly mined his way through all these blocks. On going down the real passage, another dumb chamber was reached; another sliding trap-door was passed; another passage led to a third chamber, a third trap-door was passe= d; and now a passage led along, past one side of the real sepulchre; and to am= use explorers, two false wells open in the passage floor, and the wrong side of= the passage is filled with masonry blocks, fitted in. Yet by some means the plunderer found a cross trench in the passage floor which led to the chambe= r. Here another device was met. The chamber had no door, but was entered solel= y by one of the immense roof blocks, weighing forty-five tons, being left raised, and afterwards dropped into place on closing the pyramid."

Such was the complicated arrangement by which Amenemhat sought to secure to himself and his princess= a safe resting place for ever. But the winding passages which led nowhere; the dumb chambers with nothing in them; the false doors; the ponderous stone tr= aps, sliding roofs, pitfalls and snares, were all of no avail; for ancient plunderers had torn the secret out of the heart of the pyramid, and the mod= ern explorer found only charred bits of diorite and lapis-lazuli, to testify to= the original magnificence of the tomb furnishing.

The pyramid is not more remarkable than the sepulchral chamber in its midst. This is hewn out of a single block of yellow quartzite, beautifully cut and polished. Within it is the stone sarcophagus of the king, and by its side a second coffin made of blocks of stone built in between the wall and the sarcophagus. It must have been in this that the body of Ptah-neferu reposed. Remains of an alabaster altar, and of a dish in the form of a duck, 1 were found in one of the passages; they bore the name of Ptah-neferu, and formed part of the tomb

1 Cairo M., ROOM H, 197; PETRIE, Kahun, V.

32

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

furniture of this queen or princess. Other records of her exist in a magical wand, 1 and on a headless sphinx of black granite, 2 both of which are inscribed with her name.

The burial chamber of the= royal pair was found partly filled with water. This may have been due to natural infiltration, or was perhaps introduced by some hidden channel as an additi= onal safeguard. Graeco-Roman explorers frequently found water in the recesses of pyramids, and thought it had been brought in by artificial means.

Perhaps Ptah-neferu was t= he princess referred to in a tale of this time, repeated by Diodorus. In his mention of the famous Lak= e Moeris, said to hav= e been one of the achievements of Amenemhat III., Diodorus says:

"The revenue arising= from the fish taken in this lake he (the king) gave to his wife to· buy h= er dresses, which amounted to a talent of silver every day. For there were in = it two-and-twenty sorts of fish, and so vast a number were taken that those who were employed continually to salt them up (though they were multitudes of people) could hardly perform it." 3

The brilliant period know= n as the XIIth dynasty apparently ends with a queen's reign,

SEBEK-NEFER= U-RA.

"The Horus beloved o= f Ra; The Living beloved of Sebek; The Royal Daughter; The Lady of the Two Lands;= The Established One who rises as the Golden Horus; The King of the North and South."

1 Pub. by DARESSY, Textes et Dessins Magiques, 49

2 Mr. NEWBERRY saw this sphinx in the shop of a Luxor dealer, and published it in P.S.B.A., 1903.

3 DIODORUS SICULUS, i, 4.

33 D

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ This queen was the da= ughter of Amenemhat III., and the sister of Amenemhat IV. She is by some authoriti= es said to have been also the wife of the latter, and after his death to have reigned alone for three years, ten months, and eighteen days. 1 The records of her reign, altho= ugh slight, associate Sebek-neferu-Ra with the great building enterprises of her father at Hawara, where many fragments bearing her name have been found.

As Royal Heiress, she had, perhaps, some share in the kingdom during Amenemhat's life, or possibly it = was she alone who had the energy to carry on the Hawara buildings after his dea= th. It is certain that no record remains connecting her brother Amenemhat IV. w= ith the great reign of his father. On the contrary, the name of the princess, Sebek-neferu-Ra, is the only other one found in the temple ruins of Amenemh= at III. She probably added to that temple which lies south of the pyramid, adjoining it. Petrie has found in the ruins of this site proof of the former existence of an immense building, 1,000 by 800 feet in extent, "an area great enough to contain all the temples of Karnak and of Luxor." 2

The remains indicate a gr= eat central passage with two crossways, from which numerous halls and courts opened. All of the stone which formed the huge structure has disappeared, a= nd the site has been complicated by a village of brick houses built in Roman times, over the temple area. In these scattered and extensive ruins, we doubtless have the remains of the famous "Labyrinth," which so astonished the ancients as to be called by them one of the seven wonders of= the world. Herodotus, in his description of it, says: "The Labyrinth surpa= sses even the pyramids, for it has twelve courts enclosed with walls with doors = opposite each other ... It contains two kinds of rooms, some under ground and some a= bove

1 LEPSIUS, Auswahl, pl. 5, col. 7, 1, 2; M.'s D.C., 527.

2 P.'s H.E., vol. I, 188.

34

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

ground over them, to the = number of three thousand, fifteen hundred of each. The rooms above ground I myself went through, and saw and relate from personal inspection. But the undergro= und rooms I know only from report, for the Egyptians who have charge of the building would on no account show me them, saying that these were the sepulchres of the kings who originally built this Labyrinth, and of the sac= red crocodiles." 1

Wonderful tales of the ma= rvels of this place are related by other writers, who agree that the number of rooms= , passages, and courts was so great, that once in them no stranger could find his way o= ut of them without a guide. 2 The= re is nothing to show what part of the building was due to Sebek-neferu-Ra. Besid= es the frequent recurrences of her name in the Hawara ruins, 3 it again appears on a fine cylinder-seal 4 of a light-green glaze, in which the characters are filled in with dark-green paste. This seal supplies all of the queen's titles as given above. A rock sphinx at Khataaneh may possibly be ascribed to her. Her name connects her with the god Sebek, who was the chief deity worshipped in the Fayûm. Some significance may exist in the similarity of the names Sebek-neferu-Ra and of the Sebek-hetep family of the next dynasty. The Quee= n, however, is nowhere mentioned as Royal Mother, and there is nothing to prove her possible connection with the succeeding age of Sebek-heteps.

1 HERODOTUS, ii, 148.

2 STRABO, xvii, 37.

3 L., D., ii, 140. P., H., xxvii, 12; P., K., xi.

4 B.M., No. 16,581, pub. by BIRCH in 1872. PETRIE, 1895.

35 D2

CHAPTER IV.<= /p>
DYNASTIES XIII-XVI.

XIIIth Dynasty.

Theban. Bef= ore 2000 B.C.

NEAR the middle of the ob= scure period now known as the XIIIth dynasty, the monuments commemorate the names= of two women belonging to the family of Sebek-hetep II., twentieth king of his line. AUHET-ABU was his mother. She was not a king's wife, as her husband w= as "the divine father (or priest) Mentu-hetep." She is therefore cal= led only "The Royal Mother" of Sebek-hetep.

NENNA, or ANNA, 1 was Sebek-hetep's queen, and ap= pears as "Great Royal Wife joined to the Beautiful White Crown," and mo= ther of two daughters called Auget-tatta and Auhet-abu. A stela in the Louvre, 2 a tablet at Vienna, 3 and some scarabs, 4 are the so= urces from which the existence of these princesses of Sebek-hetep's family is established.

KEMA and SENB-SEN are rec= orded only as "The Royal Mother and Royal Wife," respectively, of a King Neferhetep, whose father is named as "the divine father Haankh-f."= ; 5 One of the Sebek-heteps had als= o a Royal Mother Kema, and it is therefore supposed that these two kings were brothers, joint heirs of the Queen Kema, and that they perhaps reigned as co-regents. Such records as

1 BUDGE, H.E., vol. ii, 95. =

2 PRISSE, Monuments, viii. <= /o:p>

3 Cairo M., Louvre; M. Coll.; P., H.Sc., 2= 90-92.

4 L., D., ii, 151; P., H.Sc., 293-298. =

36

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

exist regarding this fami= ly are found at Karnak, and on the water-worn rocks of the first cataract at Aswan and Sehel. T= he queen of Sebek-hetep III. appears as ZA - N on the fragment of an ebony box now in the Cairo Museum, 1 and on a piece of a blue-gla= zed vase in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. 2 The inscription on this vase records a princess, "Nebt-ant - born of the Royal Wife Za - n, possess= ing the quality of worth."

HA-ANKH-S is the name of = a queen of whom no contemporary record is known. She is mentioned in an inscription= of her great granddaughter Per-nub, whose father was son of "the royal courtier Amena, son of Queen Ha-ankh-s." This stela, 3 found at Koptos, apparently dates from the reign of Sebek-het= ep IV., and as it puts the queen back two or three generations earlier, she may have had some connection with that royal house to which Queen Kema also belonged.

NUB-EM-HAT is mentioned i= n the same inscription as the Great Royal Wife, probably the queen of Sebek-hetep= IV. Her titles imply full royal inheritance, but nothing further is known of her beyond the fact that she was the mother of "The King's Daughter Sebek-em-heb," also recorded in Per-nub's stela.

NUB-KHA-ES.=

"The Great Heiress; = The Greatly Favoured; The Ruler of all Women; The Great Royal Wife united to the Crown."

The princess who bore the= se titles was the queen of Sebek-em-sauf, a king dating from the end of the XI= IIth dynasty. A stela in the Louvre gives her name and titles,

1 NEWBERRY, P.S.B.A., 1903. =

2 Ibid., 1905. =

3 P.'s H.E., vol. I, 218.

37

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

besides an interesting ge= nealogy of the family connection of the king and queen.

From this table it appear= s that Nub-kha-es had eleven brothers and sisters; that she married one of her brothers, and was herself the mother of three children. The Queen's father, Sebekdudu, was the chief of the judges; and the first of his four wives Duat-nefert, who was her mother, probably inherited royal rights and transmitted them to her daughter. The titles of Nub-kha-es show her to have been one of the great heiress princesses of whom mention is so often found = in Egypt. =

She was buried with great splendour of sepulchral honours, by the side of her husband in a royal tomb= at Thebes. It was si= tuated in the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings, and is spoken of as a pyramid tomb= . The burial place was securely sealed, and the entrance carefully hidden, that t= he royal occupants might sleep undisturbed for all time. After some generations had passed away, and in the XXth dynasty, thieves hunted out the secret bur= ial place; tunnelled a way through the protecting rock; stole all the gold and treasure; tore open the mummies, and, having bereft them of their jewels, wantonly set fire to their bodies, which were entirely destroyed.

News of this, and of many= other tomb robberies which had been going on for years, was brought to the knowle= dge of Ramses IX., who ordered an investigation to be made, in order to determi= ne the damage that had been wrought upon the royal dead. This enquiry was carr= ied out by a

1 P., R., ii, 5.

38

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

special commission which = examined the Pharaohs' tombs, and made an official report of all that had been broug= ht to light, detailing the exact condition in which each tomb had been found. = By a rare good fortune, these official reports still exist in two of the most interesting documents of antiquity, the Abbot 1 and Amherst Papyri. = 2 The first of these recounts the robbery of the tomb of King Sebek-em-sauf a= nd Queen Nub-kha-es. The Abbot Papyrus says: "It was found that the thiev= es had violated the tomb by undermining the chamber of the ground-level of the Pyramid, from the great exterior chamber of the sepulchre of the overseer of the granaries, Neb-Amen, of the King Men-kheper-Ra. The place of sepulture = of the king was found to be void of its occupants, so was the place of sepultu= re of the principal royal spouse, Nub-kha-es, his royal wife; the thieves had = laid hands on them."

Luckily for the modern re= ader's interest, the Amherst Papyrus here takes up the tale of this same investigation. Eight thieves were accused of the robbery, and being "examined with blows of sticks," one of them made a confession regarding the queen's tomb.

"It was surrounded,&= quot; he says, "by masonry, closed up with stones, protected by rubble, covered with slabs, but we penetrated them notwithstanding, and covered over with 'khesh-khesh' and demolished it with work, and we found it (i.e., the queen's mummy) resting likewise. We opened their coffins and their wrappings which were on them an= d we found this noble mummy of this king. It was found; there were two swords, a= nd things many of amulets and necklaces of gold on his neck, his head was cove= red with gold upon it. The noble mummy of this king was adorned with gold throughout. Its wrappings were graven with gold and silver within and witho= ut, and

1 B.M.; BIRCH, Papyri, vol. ii, 1= -8; CHABAS, Mel., ii (3rd series). MASPERO, Une Enquête, etc., 1871; R.P., xii, 106. =

2 NEWBERRY, Am. P., 24.

39

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

covered with every precio= us stone. We tore off the gold that we found on the noble mummy of this god, together with his amulets and necklaces, which were on his neck, and the wrappings on which they rested. We found the royal wife likewise. We tore o= ff all that which we found from it, likewise, and we set fire to their wrappin= gs. We took their furniture which we found with them, gold and silver and copper vases, and we divided, and we made this gold which we found upon these two = gods on their noble mummies, and the amulets and the necklaces and the wrappings into eight parts." 1

One could wish that the confessing thief had stated some reason for having "burnt the noble mummies" after robbing them. Their destruction was an act of sacrilege that ill-accorded with the highly reverential language of the confession. <= /p>

If the usual habit was to= bury the early dynasty kings in the gorgeous state described by the Abbot Papyru= s; if their mummies were "adorned with gold throughout," rolled in g= old and silver embroideries, covered with golden ornaments and jewelled "w= ith every precious stone," it is small wonder that the tombs of that age a= re always found rifled and empty.

A queen belonging to this= period is KHENSU, "The Great Royal Wife, who is united to the Beautiful White Crown." Queen Nub-kha-es was, as we have seen, the mother of a princess Khensu, who would certainly have inherited the queen's titles. It is possib= le, therefore, that this heiress daughter is the same person as the Queen Khens= u, who is mentioned on two scarabs, published by Petrie 2 and Newberry. 3 =

Lepsius records a tomb at= el Kab, 4 in which an inscription refe= rs to the princess Khensu, married to a prince Ai.

1 BUDGE, H.E., vol. iii, 128-129; NEWBERRY, Am. P., 25, 27. =

2 P., H.Sc., 143.

3 N., Sc., xiv, 19.

4 L., D. Tomb, ix; LIEBLEIN, R.C., 134-5; BRUGSCH, H., 180.

40

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

If this is the same Khens= u, her title would imply the rights to which her birth entitled her, rather than h= er state as an actual queen.

SAT-SEBEK, "The Royal Wife," is another unknown queen whose scarabs exist, 1 and who may also be assigned to this age.

The XIIIth dynasty merges gradually into a dim period which proceeds the darkest hour, except that of= its final extinction, in the history of the Egyptian Empire. There is a long li= st of kings' names of this time, suggesting a possible division of the double crown and two simultaneous reigns in Upper and Lower= Egypt. A series of weak rulers must have exhausted the land, and prepared the way = for its downfall before the foreigner. No king of all the list has left any his= tory of his time, and there is an almost total absence of monuments or records. = One or two queens appear, but only in name, as do the kings, their husbands and sons. Of these, Brugsch gives KHENSUANKT, connected with a king Ra-se-ankh,= and NEB-HETEP-TUSAR, the, wife of King Khonsu. To this time probably belongs al= so SENB-HENA-ES, "The Royal Wife who is united to the Beautiful White Crown." This queen is known from three scarabs, two of which, giving h= er the title of Royal Wife only, are in the Berlin Museum. 2 The third scarab, in the collection of Mr. T. M. Davis, supplies the rest of the title. 3 As the White Crown was the embl= em of Upper Egypt, this form probably means that the quee= n was the hereditary princess of the Southern half of the kingdom.

NEFERT, a Royal Wife, and= mother of a princess Hatshepsut, is an unplaced queen, evidence of whom has recent= ly been discovered by Mr. Newberry, who assigns her to the intermediate period between the close of the XIIth and the beginning of the XVIIIth dynasties. =

1 In DAVIS' Coll. pub. by NEWBERRY, Sc., xii,= 6. B.M., No. 32, 265.

2 Nos. 9,518 and 10,977.

3 Pub. NEWBERRY, P.S.B.A., 1902.

41

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ The mention of this q= ueen's daughter is of especial interest, as it seems to be the earliest appearance= of the name which queen Hatshepsut rendered famous in a later age.

For the time which follow= s, the records become practically a blank page, and centuries elapse before a legitimate Pharaoh again sits on the throne of his fathers. With the disappearance of the XIVth dynasty rulers, Egypt fell into the hands of = the mysterious race of "Shepherd Kings," or Hyksos, who subjected the country to five hundred years of foreign rule. Many theories have been adva= nced to explain the origin of the Hyksos. Manetho says of them: "They were a people of ignoble race who had the confidence to invade our country and eas= ily subdue it by their power without a battle. They burnt our cities and demoli= shed the temples of the gods, and inflicted every kind of barbarity upon the inhabitants ... During the whole period of their dynasty, they made war upon the Egyptians with the hope of exterminating the whole race. All this nation was styled Hyksos, that is, Shepherd Kings ... Some say they are Arabians. = This people ... retained possession of Egypt during the period of fi= ve hundred and eleven years."

Josephus saw in the Hyksos invasion the sojourn of the Children of Israel in Egypt. The majority of writer= s on the origin of these Shepherd Kings agree that they were barbaric tribes from Asia, who, first settling in small numbers in the D= elta, were afterwards joined by others of their people and became strong enough to subdue with ease an already enfeebled monarchy. The names of one or two wom= en of the houses of the Hyksos Kings survive: Tautha and Uazet appear on scarab seals as Royal Wives,

1 In the collections of the B.M.; PETRIE, U.C.; Davis, N.'s Sc., pl. xxiii, 17, xxii, 18.

For H= istory of times, see PETRIE, H.E., vol. I, 233-247; BUDGE, H.E., vol. III, 133-164.

42

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

although they can scarcel= y be considered as having had any connection with the heiress queens of Egypt.

During some part of the H= yksos dominion, a line of native rulers in Upper Egypt seems to have exercised a limited power as vassal kings under the foreign sovereigns. These princes, after centuries of oppression had elapsed, began= to rally their forces and to fight the usurpers for the re-establishment of the legitimate monarchy.

43

CHAPTER V.
QUE= ENS OF = THE XVIITH DVNASTV.

Theban. Abo= ut 1700 (?) B.C.

AT some time during this = period of strife, there lived a queen, TETI-SHERA, who must have been the wife of = one of the first kings of the dynasty. A fine statuette in the British Museum 1 portrays this princess with = the title, "Royal Mother," but she is chiefly known from the records = of a later time, when, some generations after her death, a descendant, Queen Nefertari, of the XVIIIth dynasty, rebuilt the tomb of her ancestress. Teti-shera had originally two tombs, one at Thebes in which she was buried, and a fictitious tomb at Abydos, represented by a stela only. Th= is representative tomb was supposed to give the spirit of its owner a resting-place in the most sacred of all cemeteries, for it was at Abydos that the p= rincipal tomb of Osiris was believed to exist.

This god, the synonym to = the early Egyptians of all that was good and beautiful, once dwelt on earth and= had his kingdom among men. Slain through jealousy by Set, his brother, the body= was buried by his wife Isis, part of it being interred at Abydos. After a time Osiris rose from t= he dead, and, ascending to the heavens, there established his kingdom, and received into it the souls who had honoured him on earth. His followers des= ired to lie after death in the vicinity of his tomb, but since it was not possib= le that all should have actual burial there, it became customary to erect at Abydos tablets or stelae to the dead, whose spirits thus obtained the

1 B.M., No. 22,558, pub. by BUDGE, H.E., vol. IV, 64.

44

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

right of repose near the = god's earthly resting-place. The usual custom was then followed, when Teti-shera = was provided with a stela tomb at = Abydos.

During the lapse of time = the tombs of this queen had fallen into a state of neglect and ruin, so that wh= en Nefertari and her husband wished to restore them, their actual sites were probably lost. Being forced to select a new site, they chose one next to the king's own burial place at The= bes.

A pleasant human touch is= given to the story of this restoration by the Abydos stela. There it is recorded that Aahmes and his queen Nefertari were seated together one day in the palace, consulting as to what especial thing they c= ould do to honour their ancestors. The memory of Teti-shera suddenly presenting itself to Aahmes, he discovered that her tombs had been neglected and forgotten. He straightway gave orders that two new ones should be erected to replace the old. All this was done, the stela declares, out of the king's l= ove for his wife and his wish to honour her ancestress. The tablet was therefore placed at Abydos, and a brick pyramid with= its chapel was built at Thebes, to the memory of Teti-shera. This is a unique tomb record, since the queen = to whom they were reared had in the end no fewer than four tombs, the original two, and the two new ones which replaced them. 1

SEBEK-EM-SA-ES, a queen b= earing full royal titles, should probably be assigned to this period, although it = is impossible to state her exact place in the dynasty. She was doubtless a per= son of much importance in her day, since she appears as "Royal Daughter, R= oyal Sister, the Great Royal Wife who is joined to the Beautiful White Crown.&qu= ot;

The latter title is found= in an inscription upon the lower part of a wooden head-rest inlaid with ivory, wh= ich is now in the British Museum. 2 A stela in Cairo, found at Edfu, also mentions the queen's name and titles. 3 A g= old pendant

1 MS. Catalogue, Cairo Museum, 115.

2 No. 23,068. <= /p>
3 BOURIANT, Rec., ix, 93; M.'s R.M., 625-628. <= /p>

45

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

has the double inscriptio= n, "The good god, Lord of the Two Lands, Antef, giving life," "The Great Royal Wife who is united to the Beautiful White Crown, Sebek-em-saes." 1 = There were, however, five kings who bore the name Antef, and there is nothing to designate which one of them was the husband of Queen Sebek-em-saes.

Egyptologists have lately= seen reason for transferring several of the Antef princes from the XIth dynasty, where they were originally placed, to the XVIIth. It is doubtless one of th= ese later Antefs who was the husband of this queen. Further light is thrown on = her by a mention in a XVIIth dynasty record, when the restoration of her tomb w= as ordered by Aah-hetep I.

This stela 2 states on the part of a priest, Au-ef, son of Art-na, that he= was ordered by the queen to restore the tomb of "The Royal Daughter, Sebek-em-saes," which had fallen into ruin. On the stela the figures of the two queens are represented side by side, a fact which suggests some relationship between them. Sebek-em-saes was the older of the two queens, as the stela refers to the "restoration of her tomb, which had fallen into ruin." Queen Aah-hetep would scarcely have concerned herself about the restoration of Sebek-em-saes' tomb, nor have appeared with her on Au-ef's stela, unless the elder queen had been her ancestress.

With the XVIIth dynasty t= he power of the Hyksos kings in Egypt began to wane, and the arms of the native princes to wax stronger. One of t= hese warriors, to whose prowess the kingdom owed its final restoration, was Sequenen-Ra III., whose mummy, now in the Cairo Museum, proves that he was slain in battle. His last fight had been a furious one, = and it had apparently taken two axe blows and a dagger thrust in the head to cr= ush out his brave spirit. The records of this king bring us back again to the legitimate queens of Egypt, and open the page at the beginning of the most brilliant period in their history.

1 NEWBERRY in P.S.B.A., 1902.

2 Ibid.

46

PLATE III

QUEEN AAH-HETEP I.

&= nbsp;

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

AAH-HETEP I= .

"Divine Wife of Amen= ; Royal Mother; Great Royal Wife, joined to the Beautiful White Crown."

The title "Divine Wife," was assumed by an XIth dynasty queen, Neferu; but no other inst= ance of its use is known prior to the time of Aah-hetep, after whom it was gener= ally included in the preamble of the queens, and implied the rank of chief high-priestess of Amen.

The full sovereign rights= seem to have been conveyed to the XVIIIth dynasty, in the person of this famous que= en, whose descent may reasonably be supposed to trace from that royal heiress, = the daughter, sister and wife of kings, Sebek-em-saes. It was probably through = her that Aah-hetep was the heiress of the royal line of Hierakonpolis, the principality of those ancient Chiefs who first assumed the white crown as k= ings of Upper Egypt. The stela of Au-ef 1 proves that Queen Aah-hetep own= ed estates near Edfu, and that the tomb of her ancestress Sebek-em-saes was in that vicinity.

In reference to the trans= mission by women of the hereditary right to the Pharaoh's throne, M. Maspero says: "The question presents itself whether during those centuries of perpet= ual warfare (i.e., that of the Hyks= os occupation) there had not been a moment when all the males of the family ha= ving perished, the women alone were left to perpetuate the solar race on earth, = and to keep the succession unbroken. As soon as the veil over this period of hi= story begins to be lifted, we distinguish

1 M.'s M.R., 625-628. =

47

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

among the personages emer= ging from the obscurity as many queens as kings presiding over the destinies of = Egypt." 1

Aah-hetep was probably bo= rn during the latter troubled days of the Hyksos usurpation, when her own royal house= was at war with the foreigner, for the re-establishment of the Pharaoh's lost throne. Her early years passed within sound of the clash of arms, and the alternating hopes and fears attending the victories or defeats of her warli= ke people. Her husband was the warrior prince, Se-quenen-Ra III., 2 whom she seems to have married = when very young. Many children of this family are figured on the stelae of two Theban officials of a later time, in such connection as to lead Egyptologis= ts to think they were all children of Queen Aah-hetep and of Se-quenen-Ra.

From these lists, the que= en appears as the mother not only of the conqueror Aahmes, the two kings Kames= and Skhent-neb-Ra, and the heiress Nefertari, but of seven other sons and daughters. The names of these princes are given as Binpu, Uazmes, Rames, and Kenaru; and the princesses as Kames, Satirbau, and Takhedka.

Se-quenen-Ra, fighting fo= r the freedom of his country, was slain on some distant battlefield, and his body, rescued by faithful followers, was carried home to be laid in a Theban tomb. After her husband's death, Aah-hetep saw her son Aahmes go forth to fight t= he hereditary foe, and to wrest from its grasp the crown of her forefathers. S= he must have proudly regarded him, when, returning the victorious deliverer of= his Nation, he gave to his mother the royal state and rights of her inheritance; and after her stormy youth, assured to her a life of peace at last. She saw= three of her sons in turn wear the crown: Kames, Skent-neb-Ra, and Aahmes. She li= ved through the reign of

1 M.'s S.N., 77.

2 BOURIANT, MASPERO, PETRIE and other= s hold this view, while WIEDEMANN, and BRUGSCH think she was the wife of Kames.

48

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

her grandson Amen-hetep I., and was still alive in the time of her great-grandson Thotmes I.

Her long and checkered li= fe witnessed Egypt's great revolution and the restoration of her royal house; and peacefully clo= sed amid the glories of a kingdom won and firmly established by her husband, so= ns, grandson, and great-grandson. The evidence of the devotion paid her by her children would seem to prove her own devotion as a mother. That she in turn held the memory of her own ancestors in veneration is shown by the care with which she restored the ruined tomb of Queen Sebek-em-saes. Aah-hetep outliv= ed her husband, her three king-sons, her daughter Nefertari, her grandson Amen-hetep I.<= /st2:Sn>, and doubtless many others of her family. A stela dated in the tenth year of= Amen-hetep I.<= /st2:Sn>, proves that the queen was then exercising some of her royal prerogatives at= the age of 88 years; a calculation which, it is claimed, rests on fixed numbers= . 1 A second stela of one Iufi seem= to justify the supposition that the aged queen was still living early in the r= eign of her great-grandson Thotmes I., at which time she would have been nea= rly a hundred. In his reign, then, she must have died full of years and honours. =

Her body was carefully em= balmed, decked with the splendid jewels which the devotion of her sons had lavished, placed in a magnificent coffin, and laid away in some Theban tomb. It may h= ave been the same as that in which, many years before, her husband had been bur= ied, or in that of Kames. After the venerable queen's death, she was worshipped = in company with her daughter Nefertari, by their descendants, who seem never to have wearied in offering devotion to the great foundresses of the dynasty. =

It is to be regretted tha= t no detailed accounts remain to make more vivid the picture of this great queen. Perhaps it was many years before Aah-hetep's tomb was violated, and its pea= ce rudely broken, but the time came

1 P.'s H.E., vol. II, 3, 9-13, 33= 3.

49 E

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

when thieves forced their= way into her resting place, and dragged forth the beautiful coffin with its occupant. For some reason unknown, they did not succeed in carrying it away, but hastily thrust it under the desert sands, where it lay long forgotten. = In 1860 Mariette was searching a ruined tomb, near the entrance to the Valley = of the Tombs of the Kings, in a place now known as Drah abu l'Neggah. The nati= ve diggers found close by, hidden only a few feet under the sand, a fine inlaid coffin containing a mummy, which was covered with gold and jewels. This pro= ved to be the coffin and mummy of Queen Aah-hetep.

News of the discovery qui= ckly travelling, the Mudir of Keneh seized the coffin and gave notice of it to t= he Viceroy, Said Pasha. The prompt action of the French consul at Luxor, and of M. G= abet, inspector of excavations, who at once informed Mariette, saved the wonderful "find" to the Museum. Even so, much of the treasure was lost, for although Mariette sent an imperative order that the coffin should not be opened, his demand was disregarded. The mummy of the queen was unwrapped in= the harem of the Mudir's house, and the beautiful articles of jewellery were se= ized and dispersed. After great difficulty, Mariette succeeded in rescuing the coffin and the greater part of the jewellery; although many pieces were mis= sing and could never be traced, and the mummy itself was destroyed.

It is said that some year= s later, one of the Viceroy's wives had in her possession a gold chain, more than a metre in length, which was identical with the fine workmanship of the Aah-h= etep jewellery. Other tales are told of articles of gold being melted down by a native of Luxor. 1

After all its vicissitude= s, the coffin with its treasure at last reached the Museum, where it may be seen at the present day. 2 The coffin = is of wood painted blue, with a massive gilt cover, carved to represent the head = and face

1 Catalogue Cairo Museum, 367-8.

2 Gal. Q, Case D, No. 1251. =

50

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

of the queen, while the b= ody is covered from neck to feet by the great folded wings of Isis<= /st1:place>. Some of the ornaments were found on the mummy itself, while others were pil= ed around it in the coffin; they are all made of the purest gold of a soft yel= low tone, set with gems and inlaid with coloured paste; the designs and work be= ing of great delicacy and beauty. Partly entangled in the hair of the mummy its= elf was a very curious diadem; this was in the form of a small golden casket, flanked by two sphinxes, with a cartouche of Aames, in gold laid on blue enamel.

A thick gold bracelet was= on the arm, and fastened to the wrappings about the neck lay a beautiful golden co= llar made of twisted cord, and flowers of four out-spread petals, intersected wi= th many figures of lions, antelopes, hawks, jackals, vultures and winged serpe= nts. Two fine gold hawks' heads form the clasp. A second necklace is composed of rosettes of gold set with precious stones, while others have golden flies as pendants. One gold chain nearly a metre in length, is finished at each end = with a goose head, and supports a magnificent scarab, the finest one known; it i= s of solid gold, ornamented with a delicate blue enamel. The collection also comprises several bracelets of gold and precious stones; besides anklets and amulets, a pectoral, the handle of a fan, a mirror, two lion heads, nine sm= all hatchets of gold and silver, some large hatchets and daggers, and two small boats of gold and silver. Each little craft is supplied with twelve tiny rowers, pilot, helmsman, and chief officer, all made of silver.

Among the weapons is the ceremonial hatchet of King Aahmes, while several other articles have either= his cartouche, or that of another one of Aah-hetep's king-sons, Kames. 1 Four alabaster canopic jars wer= e also found with the coffin, 2 and a= large stela exists, which contains a list of

1 Cairo Museum, Jewel Room, Description - C.M. Catalogue, 366-385. M.'s S.N., 96-98.

2 Cairo M., Room C, Case C, 700.

51 E2

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

offerings made to Amen of= Karnak, in memory of Aahhetep. M. Maspero believes the mummy of the queen to have b= een stolen from its tomb by the same robbers who are mentioned in the Abbot Papyrus, near the end of the XXth dynasty; these would have secreted the co= ffin in the sand until such time as they should be able to move it safely. In the meantime they were arrested, tried, and probably put to death, when the sec= ret of their prize would die with them. At all events, the treasure lay securely hid in its shallow grave for centuries, and it was reserved for the founder= of the Museum, M. Mariette, to rescue and preserve all that remained of the hi= ghly revered Queen-Mother of the XVIIIth dynasty.

52

=

TABLE OF THE XVIIITH DYNASTY.=

CHAPTER VI.<= /p>
QUE= ENS OF = THE XVIIITH DYNASTY DOWN TO HATSHEPSUT.

XVIIIth Dynasty.

Theban. Abo= ut 1580 to 1320 B.C.

THIS was in many respects= the Golden Age of Egypt. Its buildings, tombs and monuments of every sort are a= mong the finest that the kingdom ever produced. Its arts, crafts, and literature= were in the zenith of their glory, and its monarchs were not only the most brill= iant personalities of its history, but have so stamped themselves and their time= s on the countless records of the period, that, even after the lapse of more than thirty centuries, they still seem to live and appear as real human beings. = The lives of many of these makers of history are so well known that it is not difficult to reconstruct with a good deal of detail a picture of XVIIIth dynasty days, with their wars and conquests, foreign relations and State policy, home lives, occupations, loves and hates.

At no period of her histo= ry was the Egyptian woman more prominent in the affairs of the realm than during t= his dynasty. The nature and variety of her titles form an important considerati= on in determining the history of the queens. An exhaustive study of these titl= es by a competent student would doubtless add much to our present knowledge of= the actual powers and status of the royal heiresses of Egypt. An hereditary queen bo= re as her natural right all of the great titles: "The Royal Daughter," "Royal Sister," "Great Royal Wife," "Lady of Both Lands," "Hereditary Princess," etc., and often added the cur= ious title, "She who

54

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

is always obeyed," a= s well as "Ruler of all Women," and "Great Royal Wife, joined to the Beautiful White Crown."

It is difficult to determ= ine which of these were purely hereditary and indicate an heiress-queen only. "Royal Daughter" and "Royal Sister" in most cases represented an heiress by birth. "Great Royal Wife" indicated not only a queen-consort, but was almost certainly also a title of inheritance,= as it is found to have been borne by children as well as by women. The same th= ing is true of the priestess title, "Divine Wife."

"She who is always o= beyed,'' 1 is a title dating from early times, and would seem to imply an authority belonging to a reigning monarch only. So also would the title "Ruler of all Women," were it not t= hat it is found in one of the Beni Hasan tombs, where Chenemhetep, Governor of = the Oryx Nome, records his wife Sat-ap, "Hereditary Princess, Ruler of all Women.'' 2

Neither did the title "Mistress of the Two Lands" belong exclusively to the queens, it = also being found in another of the Beni Hasan tombs, that of Amenemhat, a second Governor of the Oryx Nome, whose wife, Hetep was a "Priestess of Hathor" and" Mistress of the Two Lands." 3 It is quite possible, however, as these two governors were gr= eat feudal princes of the realm in the XIIth dynasty, that they may have married princesses of the royal line who would have had their share of a queenly inheritance. "Lady (or Mistress) of the Two Lands" was, without doubt, a title which could also be given by courtesy, as Senseneb, the low-= born mother of Thotmes I., had it. 4

"The Great Royal Wif= e, joined to the Beautiful White Crown," probably indicated an heiress of= the Southern part of the kingdom, the emblem of which was the white crown.

1 NAVILLE, Z., 142; SETHE, 36, 14= 3.

2 NEWBERRY, Tombs of Beni Hasan, 82, Tomb No. 14=

3 Ibid., 14, Tomb No. 2.

4 Temple of Deir el-Bahari.

55

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

A "Royal Mother"= ; was simply the mother of the king's children, and might be queen, or slave, as = in the case of Aset, mother of Thotmes III. Finally, nearly all the queenly ti= tles were borne by Thïy, who, not being of royal birth, had no right whatev= er to them, and certainly held them only as honours, conferred upon her by the King Amenhetep III. after her marriage.

There was a wide range of= sacerdotal titles, implying an important religious organization, in which as many offi= ces were filled by women as by men. These, with the exception of the highest, w= ere by no means the exclusive property of the crown. The cult of each deity had= its own sisterhood of priestesses, deriving incomes from the estates of the tem= ples which they served; these included not only queens and princesses, but also = the daughters of nobles and of priests. They were Priestesses of Hathor, Mut, or Khonsu, Chantresses, Great Players with the hand, and of the Sistrum; Great Chantress "on the day of the diurnal birth, in the women's house," etc.

There were several degree= s of these religious orders: the coffin of a priest's daughter of the XXIst dyna= sty is inscribed in the name of "Katsashni, Superior of the 3rd rank of the Recluse= s of Amen." It is said that all ladies of the court were "Chantresses = of Amen," a title also held by children.

Of royal rank were the Di= vine Wives of Amen and Mothers of the god Khonsu, while the most exalted of all,= and the last one of the great titles to make its appearance, was connected with= the office of "Neter tuat,&quo= t; or "Divine Worshipper," which carried with it the practically independent crown of Thebes. We possess little information at present on the subject of the real nature = of these mysterious religious associations, with their many offices, the funct= ions of which for the most part are unknown.

The actual state in which= these ancient princesses lived was one of extraordinary luxury, as evidenced by t= he vast number of their personal belongings which have come down

56

PLATE IV

AN XVIII DYNASTY PRINCESS.

&= nbsp;

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

to us. Their palaces were= adorned with gold and painted with elaborate designs; their beds were long, gracefu= l couches of braided palm-fibre and inlaid wood; their chairs, decorated with electru= m, were low and deep-seated, 1 or plated with hammered gold, and shaped in curiously Empire-like forms. 2 A golden chair of the Queen Sat= -amen was found with a cushion of pink linen, stuffed with pigeons' feathers. A chariot of rose-tinted leather overlaid with gold; stands and work-boxes of gold and sky-blue enamel; vases, jars, and pots, of bronze, alabaster, gold, and blue or green glaze; articles of various sorts for toilet use, kohl tub= es, mirrors and combs, pots for holding cosmetics and perfumes; lily-like cups = of turquoise-blue faïence; scarab-seals, amulets, and rings, splendid jewellery of gold and precious stones; all of these, and many more of a like nature, have come to the light of day from the tombs of a long-buried world= .

The early Egyptians had a= great love of flowers, and used them on all occasions. Flowers crowned their head= s at festivals; lotus buds decked the princesses; queens carried bunches of lotu= s in ceremonials; the temples were wreathed with blossoms, which also lay thick among the offerings of the altar; guests at the feast were presented with garlands; the wine cups and dishes were adorned with flowers; and the dead = were laid away covered with wreaths, many of which were destined to retain their beauty and form for thousands of years.

The art of ancient Egypt u= sually demanded a portrayal of the human form in its natural lines, untrammelled by draperies; hence we have the queens generally represented nude, or with only slightly indicated garments, especially in sculpture. Many pictures and oth= er indications remain, however, which show the manner of dressing to have chan= ged

1 Chair of Queen Hatshepsut, in B.M.<= /i>

2 See furniture found in tomb of Iuaa= and Thuaa, Cairo Museum, Room T.

57

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

considerably from time to= time. The queen seems always to have worn a large wig, in early times simply arranged, or ending in a single curl lying on the breast, the forehead encircled by a jewelled band. Later, the hair was dressed in rows of small curls, and surmounted by a head-dress formed of a uraeus on the brow, with vultures' wings dependent at the sides. The gown was of white or coloured linen, 1 simple and clinging, = open at the throat and ending above the ankles; or was made of a transparent stu= ff, a full skirt falling in many fine pleats from waist to feet; the same mater= ial, crossed over the breast and confined at the waist by a girdle tied in front, the ends reaching to the embroidered hem of the skirt. Long flowing sleeves, sandals, and a broad necklace and bracelets of gold and coloured stones, completed a costume which, as seen in the pictures of Queen Nefertari, was = both graceful and elegant.

The gold, of which many b= eautiful specimens remain, was of a soft yellow tone, frequently pure and without al= loy. The so-called precious stones of the jewellery consisted for the most part = of turquoise, "Egyptian emeralds," lapis-lazuli, and red and white carnelian, while coloured glass and paste were much used for inlaid work. <= /p>

The houses had large gard= ens planted with flowers, and shaded by avenues of trees, being further ornamen= ted with ponds and small lakes, in which ducks and many kinds of fish disported themselves.

The tomb pictures show th= at the royal owners of all these great possessions once feasted and made merry with their people, presented gifts, watched their dances and games, and altogeth= er conducted themselves as a happy, joy-loving people might in any age.

At the opening of the XVI= IIth dynasty, the first queen to appear is the famous daughter of Se-quenen-Ra a= nd Aah-hetep I.

1 WILKINSON, Ancient Egyptians. <= o:p>

58

PLATE V

QUEEN AAHMES NEFERTARI.

&= nbsp;

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

AAHMES-NEFE= RTARI.

"Royal= Daughter; Royal Sister; Great Royal Wife; Royal Mother; Divine Wife of Amen; Divine Mother; Mistress of the Two Lands; Great Ruler, joined to the Beautiful Whi= te Crown."

This princess is, with one exception, the most brilliant figure in the long list of Egypt's= queens. Born royal heiress to the crown, she so filled her high position that her f= ame became even greater than that of her mother.

Divine law and human expe= diency having established the custom of marriages between brothers and sisters, 1 Nefertari became the wife of her brother Aahmes, the great Hyksos conqueror, for whom her vigorous character= and kingly spirit made her a fit mate.

Her early youth, like tha= t of her mother Aah-hetep, was passed in the stirring times of the great rebellion against the Hyksos. Aahmes was joint heir with her to the throne of their parents, and together they peacefully ruled the land for nearly twenty-five years. 2 The rock tablets of Massarah, and the caves of Turah, preserve the records of their joint reign= .

On the death of Aahmes, t= heir eldest son Amen-hetep <= st2:Sn w:st=3D"on">I. assumed the crown, and with him Nefert= ari still continued to reign. Commenting on the active part the queen seems to = have taken in affairs, M. Maspero says: "Amen-hetep I. had not attained his majority = when his

1 NEWBERRY and GARSTANG, Hist. Eg., 127, suggest the XVIIIth dynasty fo= r the origin of this practice; other writers consider it a more ancient custom.

2 M.'s S.N., 95.

59

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

father 'thus winged his w= ay to Heaven,' leaving him as heir to the throne. Nefertari assumed the authority; after having shared the honours for nearly twenty-five years with her husba= nd, she resolutely refused to resign them. She was thus the first of those quee= ns by divine right who, scorning the inaction of the harem, took on themselves= the right to fulfil the active duties of a sovereign." 1

Like her mother, Nefertar= i added to her other titles that of "Wife of Amen." This is found on a fi= ne statue of the god 2 who is att= ended by the queen, and has the inscription, "The Divine Wife who loves him, Nefertari."

The queen's eldest son wa= s Amen-hetep I.<= /st2:Sn>, and the heiress-daughter bore the name of her grandmother Aah-hetep. Besides these two, afterwards monarchs of Egypt, there were several chi= ldren who died young; these were the princes Sa-pa-ir and Sa-Amen; and the prince= sses Meryt-Amen, Sat-Amen, and Sat-kames. These children are known chiefly throu= gh their appearance with their mother on various stelae of worship. On one occasion at least, Nefertari is represented as being piously concerned in remembering her ancestors. This is the incident of the restoration of Queen Titi-shera's tomb, recorded on the Abydos stela. 3 It is probable that t= he monarchs had already honoured others of their ancestry, since on the stela = they are considering what especial one can next be remembered, and Teti-shera, l= ong forgotten, suddenly occurs to them. The king then undertakes the restoration out of love for his wife. In honouring Nerfertari's ancestress, he also honoured his own; but it is evident from his self-effacement in the record, that he considered the mention of the heiress, Nefertari, of more importance than one of himself, although both could claim an equal lineal descent.

1 M.'s S.N., 95.

2 Cairo M.

3 See page 44. =

60

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ After her son's acces= sion, Nefertari seems to have shared with him the active sovereign power until her death, which probably occurred early in Amen-hetep's reign. Two facts point= to this conclusion: first, the Egyptologists 1 who in 1885 examined the queen's mummy, stated it to be that of a middle-ag= ed woman; second, the earliest stelae recording worship of the dead queen seem= to occur in Amen-hetep's time. 2 = She certainly died many years before her mother, the aged queen Aah-hetep.

The worship of Nefertari,= which arose soon after her death, became a popular cult of a most unusual nature.= She not only ruled her people in life, but after death still so dominated their minds as to become to them a great goddess. Her devotees elevated her to the highest heavens, where, seated by Amen, Mut and Khonsu, she was adored as a divinity equal to the persons of the sacred Theban Trinity. She was more hi= ghly revered than any of those sainted Pharaohs who had been raised to the Egypt= ian Pantheon. This worship of the queen and her family was more frequent and of longer duration than that of any other monarch. To her cult was attached a special priesthood, who recited in her honour the formulae of prayers used = in addressing the gods; and a large shrine sacred to the queen was borne in procession on a bark, in the same manner that the shrines of the gods were carried.

That this worship continu= ed for some six hundred years after the queen's death, is proved by an inscription= at Karnak of the XXIst dynasty, which shows King Herhor in adoration before the gods Amen, Mut, Khonsu, and Nefertari. Inscriptions of this sort are numero= us and exist on many stelae, tombs, and temples; there are more than thirty su= ch records at Thebes, Karnak, Edfu and Abydos which can = be dated; besides many other examples that are unplaced in point of time. In a= few of these, Aahmes is included in the adoration of the queen, but more often = she

1 MASPERO and BRUGSCH.

2 P.'s H.E., vol. II, 3, 38.

61

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

appears in company with h= er sons Amen-hetep and Sa-pa-ir, or with others of her children.

The representations of Ne= fertari depict her with a black or blue skin. This puzzling detail gave rise to the theory that she was the daughter of some Southern chief of a dark-skinned r= ace, or of negro origin; and that Aahmes married her in order to secure her fath= er's aid in the Egyptian struggle against the Hyksos.

On the other hand, it was explained that as the pictures of Nefertari after death represent her as a goddess, so she has also a black or blue skin, which is an attribute of Hat= hor and Isis, goddesses of the dead. 1=

The question of her colou= r was set at rest, however, when in 1885 the mummy of the queen was unwrapped, and was found to be "the body of a middle-aged woman of average height, and belonging to the white race ... of mankind. 2 The coffin and mummy of Queen Nefertari were found in 1881 at Deir el-Bahari, in a nameless tomb of the priestly dynasties.

The history of this great "find" of royal mummies is most interesting and extraordinary. Fr= om earliest times the royal tombs had been plundered, the mummies broken up, a= nd the valuables carried away. In vain were cemetery guards and police appoint= ed to protect the graves from violation; helpless were the priests and attenda= nts of the various tomb services; in vain even the official enquiry of Ramses I= X. into the abuses, to stop the continual and widespread plunder. The most carefully hidden tomb was sure to be hunted out and violated, until it would seem that the priests were at their wits' end to find some means of preserv= ing the bodies of the august dead from destruction. In pursuance of this end, t= he royal mummies of the XVIIIth, XIXth, XXth, and XXIst dynasties, having

1 MASPERO, BRUGSCH, LAUTH.

2 M.'s Les Momies Royales de Deir el-= Bahari, 635-6; BRUGSCH, Egypt under the Pha= raohs, 362.

62

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

been shifted about from o= ne coffin and tomb to another, for the better disguise of their identity, were finally secreted in certain obscure graves of the Theban necropolis. These hiding-places were gradually forgotten, and the Pharaohs rested securely un= til our own day.

The account of their final discovery is given in the new catalogue of the Cairo Museum:

"It was in the summe= r of 1875 that a digger from Sheikh abd-el-Gurnah, belonging to the family of the Abd-er-Rassuls, discovered one of these hiding-places. The quantity of obje= cts was so great and so difficult to handle, that the two chiefs of the family, Mohammed and Ahmed Abd-er-Rassul, were only able to profit by a very small = part of the windfall, just so much as they could most easily carry out of the gr= ound and conceal in their house. In the spring of 1876 a Major Campbell showed M. Maspero the ritual of the High-Priest Pinezem, 1 in hieratic. In 1877, M. de Saulcy secured for the Louvre, the last pages of a long papyrus which had belonged to Queen Nezemt, the mother= of Herhor, and the beginning of which is in England. Mariette himself had boug= ht at Suez= two other papyri written in the name of a queen, Hent-taui. About the same time there were offered for sale, Answer= ers of King Pinezem, some good, some coarse. In short, the fact of a special discovery became so apparent, that in 1879, M. Maspero could already affirm= that a certain tablet then belonging to Rogers Bey, and since acquired by the Lo= uvre Museum, must have come from a tomb near to the then unknown group of the to= mbs of the family of Herhor; in reality it came from the hiding-place at Deir e1-Bahari, where the mummy has been found to which it belonged. One of the principal objects of the inspection to Upper Egypt which was undertaken by M. Maspero in March and April, 1881, immediately af= ter

1 The spelling of names is altered, in uniformity with the system adopted in this book.

63

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

he had been made for the = first time, Director of the Service des Antiquités, was to find the place where these royal mummies were hidden. One thing only he knew by informatio= n he had received from M. Wilbour, and that was the names of the men who had sold the objects which had been seen up to that time. They were, Abd-er-Rassul Ahmed, of Sheik Abd-el-Gurnah, and Moustapha Aga Ayad, Vice-Consul at Luxor for England and Belgium. This latter, protected by diplomatic immunity, escaped the pursuit, but Abd-el-Rassul was arrested on the 4th of April."

He at first denied the ch= arges, but after some delay, and owing to discords between himself and his brother= s, he determined to reveal everything.

"He went secretly to= Keneh, and made his declaration to the Mudir, who at once referred, the matter to = the Minister of the Interior. The Minister sent the telegram to H.H. the Khedive Tewfik, who decided to send one of the employés of the Museum to Thebes. Emile Bru= gsch Pasha, then Sub-conservator of the Museum, was delegated to the work, and he set out July 1st, accompanied by Ahmed Effendi Kamal, secretary and interpr= eter at the Museum, and Tadrus Moutafian, inspector of the Pyramid district.&quo= t;

"On the 5th of July = they were conducted to the funeral vault by Mohammed Ahmed Abd-er-Rassul; never = was hiding-place better contrived. Between el-Assassif and the Valley of the Queens, the chain of hills which separates the Bab-el-Moluk from the Theban= plain, forms a series of natural amphitheatres, the best known of which had been u= p to that time the one which contains the temple of Deir el-Bahari. = In the wall of rock which separates Deir el-Bahari from the next amphitheatre, exa= ctly behind the knoll of Sheikh Abd-el-Gurnah and about sixty yards above the le= vel of the cultivated land, the old tomb-makers had dug a shaft to a depth of 1= 1 m. 50 cent. and

64

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

about 2 metres in width. = At the bottom of it, in the west wall, was the entrance to a gallery which measure= d 1 m. 46 cent in width and 1 m. 80 cent in height. After running for 7 m. 40 c= ent, it turns abruptly to the north, and it continues for about 60 metres furthe= r; it is not everywhere of the same dimensions, but in some parts it attains a width of 2 metres, in others it is not more than 1 m. 30 cent. Towards the middle, five or six roughly hewn steps indicate a considerable change of le= vel, and on the right side a sort of unfinished niche shows that at one time they had again thought of changing the direction of the gallery, which finally terminates in an oblong irregularly-shaped chamber about 8 metres long. The first thing that struck Brugsch's eyes was a yellow and white coffin with t= he name of Nebseni; it was about 60 cent. from the entrance to the gallery, a little further on was a coffin whose shape recalled the style of the XVIIth dynasty, and next came Queen Hent-taui, then Seti I. Scattered on the ground beside the coffins were boxes for the funerary statuettes, canopic jars, br= onze libation vases, and quite at the end, in the angle where the corridor turned northwards, was the funeral tent of Queen Astemkheb, all twisted together l= ike a bit of useless lumber which had been thrown carelessly aside by a priest = who was in a hurry to get away. All along the great gallery there were the same disorder and the same obstructions; the advance had to be made on all fours, without any certainty as to where hands and feet should be placed. The coff= ins and the mummies, which were rapidly scanned by the light of a candle, were found to bear historic names, Am= en-hetep I. and Thotmes II.; in the niche = near the stair, Aahmes I. and his son Si-amen, Se-quenen-Ra, Queen Aah-hetep, Aa= hmes Nefertari and others. The confusion was at its height in the chamber at the end, but it was easy to recognise there the predominance of the style of the XXth dynasty. The Arabs had unearthed

65 F

THE: QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

a tombful of Pharaohs! Th= e Museum steamboat, which had been hastily summoned, had not arrived, but Reis Moham= med, one of the pilots, a man who could be trusted, was at hand. He went down the shaft and undertook to extract the contents: Émile Brugsch, Ahmed Effendi Kamal and Tadrus Moutafian received the objects as they came up, ha= d them transported to the foot of the hill and arranged side by side, and these gentlemen never relaxed their vigilance for a moment. Forty-eight hours of = hard work just sufficed to haul up the whole, but the procession had to traverse= the plain of Thebes and cross the river to Luxor. Some of the coffins required from twelve to sixteen men to lift them; it to= ok seven or eight hours to convey them from the hills to the river bank, and o= ne can readily imagine what this meant in the heat and dust of a July day.&quo= t;

"At last, on the eve= ning of the 11th, mummies and coffins, duly wrapped in mats and sheets, were deposi= ted at Luxor. Three days after the Museum steamboat arrived, and the moment it was laden it sta= rted for Bulak with its cargo of kings! It was remarkable that between Luxor and Quft, on both sides of the Nile, the fellahin women followed it, uttering loud cries and with their hair all dishevelled, while the men fired guns as they do at funerals. The whole collection, which reached Bulak on the 20th of July, was at first laid out pell-mell, without any other classification than the size and nature of the objects. It took four years of study to ascertain what the Museum had secur= ed. The unwrapping of the bodies was begun in the month of May, 1886, and was continued till the last days of June. Most of them were measured, inspected, described minutely, and every precaution was taken to ensure their preservation." 1

1 Catalogue Cairo Museum. MASPERO, Translation by J. E. and A. A. QUIBELL, 393-396. <= /o:p>

66

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ The imposing coffin i= n which Queen Nefertari was found is described as a large Osirian figure, in appear= ance "not so much that of a coffin as of one of those enormous caryatides w= hich we sometimes find adorning the front of a temple." 1 This great figure is made of layers of cloth pasted together = and stretched over a light wooden frame; the whole is thickly coated with plast= er painted in yellow and blue. It represents the queen with crossed arms, each hand holding an ankh, the emble= m of life. The face is apparently a portrait of Nefertari, and on the head is a formal wig surmounted by the crown and two feathers of the goddess Mut. 2

The body is covered with a net-work decoration in relief; and the whole length, including the plumes, = is 10 feet 4 inches. When the huge coffin was opened, it was found to contain = two mummies, one of them encased in a second smaller coffin; this was at first supposed to be the mummy of the queen, but on examination it proved to be t= hat of Ramses III. The other mummy, which was actually Nefertari, showed signs = of decomposition, and was buried in the "Shuneh" of the old Bulak Museum; after a few months it was found to have lost the symptoms of decay, and was therefore in a fit state to take its place in the collection of royal mummi= es in the Cairo Museum. 3 No jewels were found on the queen, which is the more remarkab= le as her mother, dying several years later, was buried in a magnificent array= of golden ornaments. It may be that Nefertari was likewise honoured, but that = her jewels were stolen and the wrappings afterwards restored, as in the case of= so many other royal mummies.

The same crowded hiding-p= lace in which for so long the body of Nefertari had lain, contained the mummies of several of her children, namely, Amen-hetep I., and Queen Aah-hetep II.; the = young princesses Meryt-amen and Sat-

1 M.'s S.N., 100.

2 Cairo M., Gallery Q, I, 173.

3 Gallery Q, Case C, No. 1, 173 bis.

67 F2

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

kames; and the two infants Sa-amen and Sat-amen. The latter is a "false mummy," encased in a little white coffin made for a child of five or six years; plunderers of the ancient tombs had roughly handled the small body, apparently leaving only t= he skull intact. When this destruction was discovered a restoration was attemp= ted, the body being replaced by a roll of palm-leaf stems, with the child's skul= l at the top. 1

The case of this young pr= incess throws light on the use of the title "Great Royal Wife." On a ste= la 2 discovered at Karnak, Sat-amen appears in a family group with her mother Nefertari, and her brothers Amen-hetep and Sapair, and bears the titles, "Royal Sister, Great Royal Wife, Divine Wife." As Sat-amen died an infant, such titles could only= be hers as a birth-right, and their use proves that in certain instances this title of "Great Royal Wife" is to be interpreted as implying only= a hereditary princess, and not literally a queen-consort. It has been pointed= out by M. Maspero 3 that Sat-amen = is probably represented on the Karnak stela= as the affianced wife of her brother Amenhetep. She is also designated as "Di= vine Wife," another title of inheritance bequeathed by Queen Aah-hetep to h= er daughters and grand-daughters.

Portraits of Nefertari ex= ist at Abydos, Karnak, Thebes, Edfu, Gurneh, Deir-el-Medineh, and on several small objects now preserved in museums. We perhaps get the best idea of the queen's features from the beautiful wooden statuettes in the Turin a= nd Louvre Museums. She wears the winged head-dress of Mut, and the face and shoulders are mode= lled with great skill and distinction.

A third statuette was fou= nd by M. Legrain, in the great Karnak cachette of= 1904, when a pit near the Hypostyle Hall was opened, and gave up some eight thous= and five

1 Cairo M, Gal. Q, Case Y, No. 1,231. See Catalogue C.M., 440.

2 M.D., 89; MARIETTE, CHAMPOLLION= .

3 M.'s M.R., 538, 620-622. <= /o:p>

68

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

hundred statues, statuett= es, and other objects, many of which dated from the New Empire. 1 There is also a portrait of Nefertari on the back of a statue= of Amen or of Amen-hetep I. in the Cairo Museum. 2

ANHAPU is another princes= s who should be assigned to the time of King Aahmes. She had the title of queen, = and was buried in a tomb among the royal ones of Thebes, from which it may be supposed t= hat she was of royal descent. She was the mother of a princess Hent-ta-neh, 3 who is represented on two stela= e of Theban officials 4 as among the sisters of Amen-hetep <= st2:Sn w:st=3D"on">I., the children of Aahmes. It would ther= efore appear that Aahmes had other wives besides Nefertari, and of these Anhapu w= as one.

She had the unusual honou= r of a tomb in the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings. It must have been less known = in later times than those of the great Pharaohs of the dynasty, for it was one= of those selected by the priests as a suitable hiding-place for the royal mummies. <= st2:Sn w:st=3D"on">Seti I., Ramses I., and Ramses II., were thus removed from the= tomb of the former to that of Queen Anhapu, where they lay until it was believed they were again in danger, when they were taken to the tomb of Amen-hetep I.<= /st2:Sn> Eventually all of these mummies, including that of Anhapu herself, were securely hidden in the Deir el-Bahari tomb which gave up so many royal dead when it was opened in 1881. Memoranda of these various removals were writte= n in hieratic on the mummy wrappings.

The mummy of Queen Anhapu= was in a good state of preservation and still had about the neck a garland of flow= ers. A band of metal and precious stones had encircled the head; this had left a deep imprint in the bandages, but the jewelled ornament itself had disappea= red.

1 On exhibition in the Cairo Museum. Arch. Report, E. Ex. F., 1904-5.

2 Room C, 698. =

3 CHAMPOLLION, N. 513; L., D., ii= i, 8a; M.'s M.R., 622.

4 L., D., iii, 2d; 2a. <= /span>

60

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

The mummy is of an unusual length, 1 m. 85 cent., which of all the royal mummies is only equalled by t= hat of King Se-quenen-Ra, and exceeds by 5 centimetres the mummy of Ramses the Great.

On being unwrapped it was= found to retain evidence of what in life must have been great beauty: a low foreh= ead, straight nose, fine hair, large eyes and long curling lashes. The sound whi= te teeth indicated about forty years of age. M. Maspero says of Anhapu: "= Her type closely resembles that of the Berberines, or of the beautiful fellahin women of the Saïd." 1

The body of the queen was= not found in a coffin of her own, but in that of a certain lady Rai, according = to its inscriptions, the nurse of Queen Nefertari, The lady Rai herself had disappeared, and her coffin had in ancient times been appropriated for Anha= pu, whose own coffin had probably been destroyed in one of the many transits fr= om place to place of the royal mummies. In Rai's coffin, therefore, surrounded= by inscriptions and prayers on Rai's behalf, Anhapu now lies. The case is pain= ted green and decorated with yellow stripes. 2

For many years after the = finding of the royal mummies, all those in good condition were exposed to view in t= he Cairo Museum. In 1907 the Director thought best to shut away from sight many of the royal dead; the fine mummy of Anhapu, therefore, together with several others of = the Egyptian queens, are no longer to be seen.

TRENT-HAPI was another wi= fe of the king Aahmes. She was a "royal daughter" and possibly also a queen, as her daughter Hent-tamehu had regal titles. 3

1 MASPERO, Momies Royales de Deir el-= Bahari, 530-533.

2 Cairo M., Gallery Q, Case A, No. 1,215.=

3 M.'s M.R., 530-534; Slab in F.P. Coll.

70

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

AAH-HETEP I= I.

"Royal Daughter; Roy= al Sister; Royal Mother; Lady of both Lands; Great Royal Wife, who is united to the Cr= own; Divine Wife of Amen."

This queen was the daught= er of Aahmes and Nefertari. She, as well as her mother, must have been brought up under the influence of her grandmother, Queen Aah-hetep, for whom she was named. Like both of those famous queens, her "solar" descent was = pure and unmixed. She married her brother Amen-hetep I., and her daughter Aahmes thus = became the hereditary princess.

Her other children were t= wo sons, Amenmes and Uazmes, mentioned in the tomb of Paheri at El Kab. Traces of a second daughter, Nebta, are found on a scarab. 1 One of her sons seems to have lived long enough to be for a t= ime associated with his father in the government.

No details of the life of Aah-hetep II. are known. On several monuments 2 she is represented by her husband's side, and the full royal titles are given on her coffin. 3<= /b> This was also among those found at Deir el-Bahari, and is a colossal case l= ike that of Nefertari. 4 When open= ed it contained a mummy wrapped in a beautiful orange linen shroud. It was at fir= st thought to be that of the queen, until examination proved it the body of the Pharaoh Pinezem I.

It is difficult to accoun= t for the construction of enormous coffins like those of Nefertari and Aah-hetep = II. If the idea was to enclose in the great outer figure several other cases graduated in size, the arrangement certainly did not add to the security of= the occupant, since the body of Aah-

1 LEPSIUS, Königsbuch, 328. =

2 Pub. by WIEDEMANN, A.G., 316, 317. =

3 Cairo M., Gallery Q, Case A, 1,172.

4 Ibid., I, 173.

71

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

hetep has entirely disapp= eared. The position of her tomb is unknown. Her name is occasionally found on scar= abs.

To the family of Amen-hetep I.<= /st2:Sn>, three other queens, his sisters, should be added. The first of these is:

MERYT-AMEN, daughter of A= ahmes and of Nefertari. Her titles, 1 "Royal Daughter, Royal Sister, Great Lady of both Lands, Great Royal W= ife, Divine Wife," show her position as hereditary princess, and probably a= lso as consort of the reigning king. In the temple at Deir-e1-Medineh, and on o= ther monuments, Meryt-Amen accompanies her mother and her brother Amen-hetep I. = She was probably the spouse of this king, and from her position in the tablets = of the worship of this family, she seems to have died young. 2 It is possible that Meryt-Amen was the eldest and therefore t= he chief heiress daughter of Nefertari, and that she ranked as Amen-hetep's fi= rst queen. Officials attached to her household have left memorials of her servi= ce, 3 and her name occurs on several scarabs, 4 one of which is inscribed, "The domain of Meryt-Amen."

A mummy wrapped in a shro= ud which was stamped with the name and titles of Meryt-Amen was in the Deir el-Bahari cachette, and was supposed to be the body of that princess. When it was unwrapped, however, a nameless mummy was found, which, from its appearance,= was believed to be of the XIIth or XIIIth dynasty. 5 The older mummy had evidently been substituted for that of Qu= een Meryt-Amen, which had disappeared. Another queen of = Amen-hetep I. was SAT-KAMES, "the Royal Daughter, Royal Sister, Chief Royal Wife, Great Lady, Divine Wife.'' 6 Like

1 M.'s M.R., 539, 617.

2 M.'s M.R., 623.

3 Fragment F.P. Coll., P.'s H.E., vol.<= /i> II, 44; Cone of priest, M.A.F.,= viii, 299, 72.

4 B.M., Louvre M., F.P. Coll., W. Coll., pub. NEWBERRY, S= c. xxvi, 19, 20, 21, 22.

5 Cairo M., Room R, Case H, No. 1, 191; M= .'s M.R., 539.

6 Livres des Rois, BRUGSCH and BOURIANT; M.'s M.R., 541, 620-623.

72

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

Meryt-Amen, her appearanc= e in the family groups of Nefer-tari and her children show the princess to have been= the daughter of that queen and of King Aahmes.

Examination of the mummy = of Sat-kames proved that she was about thirty years of age at the time of her death. It is, therefore, almost certain that in her case the title of "Royal Wife" was not simply one of heredity, but signified her ac= tual position as spouse of the king. No children of these two queens are known, which possibly accounts for their apparent inferiority of rank to that of t= heir sister, Aah-hetep II. That princess figures conspicuously as Amen-hetep's queen-consort and the mother of the throne's heiress.

The mummy of Sat-kames, a= dorned with garlands, 1 was found in = the coffin of a "Chantress of Amen" of the XXth dynasty. The queen had been despoiled of her ornaments by ancient robbers, and the body had been re-wrapped in its original bandages. The jewels, which had left their impression on the skin, seem to have been very rich; they included a diadem= , a necklace of four rows of gems, and bracelets of metal and precious stones. = The thieves had detached these various articles by means of a hatchet or knife,= and had mutilated the mummy in their haste to tear from it the golden ornaments= .

The queen Sat-kames had b= een of good figure, well developed, with straight fine features, white skin, dark chestnut hair, fine and waving, small hands, with tapering fingers, of which the nails had been tinted with henna. 2 On the wrappings was written, "Year seven; month four of first season,= day eight; a place was given to the Royal Daughter, the Great Royal Wife, Aahmes Sat-kames, justified."

The mummy is enclosed in a covered coffin in the Cai= ro Museum. 3 She is named with her father Aahmes I. on a scarab in the Louvre. 4 <= /p>

1 Cairo M., Room R, Case A.

2 M.'s M.R., 540-543.<= /span>

3 Room R, Case A.

4 N., Sc. xxvi, 17.

73

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ HENT-TAMEHU is a third princess, who with her half-sisters, Meryt-Amen and Sat-kames, may have enj= oyed the rank of queen of Amen-hetep I. She was the child of Aahmes and of the "Royal Daughter, Thent-hapi." Her mummy, found with the other mem= bers of this family at Deir el-Bahari, was black and in a good state of preserva= tion, although it had been badly prepared. It was enclosed in a white coffin with= out inscription. 1 On the upper pa= rt of the shroud was written in hieratic the name and titles of the "Royal Daughter, Royal Sister, Royal Spouse, Hent-tamehu, born of the Royal Daught= er Thent-hapi."

Hent-tamehu was, therefor= e, either the wife of her brother Amen-hetep, or bore her titles as a heredita= ry princess.

TURS is the name of anoth= er one of the many queens of this family whose exact position is unknown. From her= appearance in the family groups of King Aahmes, she was doubtless one of his daughters, and a sister of Amenhetep I. She was of full royal birth, her titles being, "Royal Wife, Great Lady of both Lands." 2

SENSENEB, although the mo= ther of a king, the son and successor of Amen-hetep I., was neither a queen nor princ= ess of the royal line. She seems to have been a daughter of the people, taken into= the Pharaonic house to become the slave of Amen-hetep. 3

No son of anyone of Amen-= hetep's queens surviving to assume the crown, it remained for the son of the low-bo= rn Senseneb to ascend the throne of Egypt, after his father's dea= th. Senseneb was only raised to royal honours by her son Thotmes, who ennobled = her in his accession announcement. An ostrakon now in the Cairo Museum, after proclaiming Thotmes I. to the Prince of Elephantine, proceeds, "Then cause the oath to be tak= en in the name of

1 Cairo M., Room R, Case C, No. 1,186; M.= 's M.R., 543.

2 L., D., iii, 2, a.d.; M.'s M.R.

3 M.'s S.N., 104, 105.

74

PLATE VI.

QUEEN AAHMES.

&= nbsp;

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

my Majesty, born of the R= oyal Mother Senseneb, who is in good health." 1

After this, she may be su= pposed to have enjoyed the state and, at least formerly, the position of a queen. = On the walls of the temple at Deir el-Bahari her portrait shows a youthful wom= an with full rounded lines, and a face of great charm. Above the figure her na= me is enclosed in a royal oval, and she is given by courtesy the title, "= Lady of both Lands."

AAHMES

"Hered= itary Princess, Great Lady of both Lands, Royal Sister, Great Royal Wife, Divine Wife."

To this queen passed the = full sovereign rights inherited through both parents, Aah-hetep II. and Amen-het= ep I. Her own brothers had died young, and when the time came for choosing a husb= and to share the royal heiress's throne, the selection fell on Amen-hetep's you= ng son Thotmes, the child of Senseneb. To this prince, although his birth was = but half royal, Aahmes was united, and, chiefly through her rights, Thotmes bec= ame King of Egypt.

Although Aahmes held unqu= estioned rights of priority over her half-brother, she seems to have yielded entirel= y to him the government of her kingdom. She apparently inherited no love of power from her grandmother, Nefertari, or possibly she renounced her sovereignty though a voluntary act of affection to Thotmes, who, from whatever cause, assumed the crown as though he were its sole inheritor. Aahmes seems to have married her half-brother before

1 ERMAN, Z.A., xxix, 116, 117.

75

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

their father's death. Her= chief claim to renown is that she was the mother of the most famous of Egypt's= queens, Hatshepsut. It is to the filial devotion of this daughter that we owe the beautiful portraits of Aahmes which are carved and painted in the temple at Deir el-Bahari; one of these is accompanied by an inscription in which the = god Thoth describes the queen to Amen, and says, "Aahmes is her name, she = is more beautiful than any woman.'' 1=

More than three thousand = years have passed since the gracious image was fixed on the temple walls, and sti= ll the sweetness of her smile looks out from the crumbling stones, and gives o= ne warm human touch to the silent ruins about her.

Besides Hatshepsut, Aahme= s had one other daughter, Khebt-neferu, who died young; she is represented as a c= hild in her sister's temple. 2 Of s= mall objects naming Queen Aahmes, there remain some scarabs; 3 a curious ivory wand formed of a curved arm and hand, 4 a vase presented by her daughte= r, 5 and an alabaster statuette in t= he Cairo Museum.

MUT-NEFERT.=

"Royal= Daughter, Royal Wife, Royal Mother."

These titles are found on= a portrait statue of this queen, and on one of her son at Karnak. She was a second wife and queen of Thotmes I. and the mother of Thotmes II. = It is not so clear whose daughter she was, although she was possibly a half-siste= r of Thotmes and Aahmes, with the same father. Her mother, whose name is unknown, was

1 NAVILLE, Tomb of Hatshôpsit&u= circ;, 2.

2 L., D., iii, 8b; L., K., xxiv, 34= 2; ROSELLINI, Monumenti Storici, vol.<= /i> I, 215, 216; M.'s M.R., 633-637. <= o:p>

3 B.M.; Louvre M.

4 Turin M.

5 BREASTED, Records, 87.

76

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

probably not of the royal= house, 1 or was one of the many secondary wives of Amen-hetep I.

The portrait statue of Mut-nefert, now in the Ca= iro Museum, was found i= n the ruined chapel of Uazmes near the Ramesseum at Gurnah. 2 The figure, of painted limestone, is seated and wears a cling= ing white robe, and the conventional heavy wig. The skin is painted yellow, and the f= ace is mutilated.

The statue is not in the = best art of the period; it was erected to the memory of the queen by her son Thotmes, and bears the inscription, "The good god, Lord of Both Lands Aa-kheper= u-Ra (Thotmes II.) made by him, his monuments of his mother, Royal Wife, Royal Mother Mut-nefert makheru."= ;

With this statue were fou= nd fragments of five or six similar figures, which must have stood together. T= he fact that these were erected in the chapel of Uazmes, seems to show some particularly close connection between that prince and Mut-nefert. According= to Petrie's interpretation of this family, Uazmes must have been her half-brot= her. 3 She may even have been his w= ife, before her marriage with Thotmes.

THE THOTMES= FAMILY.

We now arrive at one of t= he disputed points in the history of the XVIIIth dynasty, namely, the relationships of the Thotmes family of kings. Countless are the records

1 M.'s S.N., 236, 237; P.'s H.E., vol. II, 71.

2 Found in 1881 by GRÉBAUT. Cairo M., Room M, No. 319. MARIETTE and BRUGSCH thought this queen a daught= er of Thotmes II.

3 P.'s H.E., vol. II, 52.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

existing on monuments, te= mple walls, tombs, commemorative stelae, statues, papyri, etc., concerning the various = acts and personages of the great ruling family of the dynasty.

From this mass of evidenc= e, various histories have been reconstructed of these kings. The most generally accepted one affirms that Thotme= s I. was the father of Thotmes II. = and of Queen Hatshepsut, whom he associated with himself in the government; that Hatshepsut then married her brother Thotmes II., with whom she reigned until his death, after which she declared co-regent with herself a young prince Thotmes, afterwards Thotmes III.

The evidence concerning t= he place of this third Thotmes in the family is contradictory. One statue calls him = the brother of Hatshepsut, while a second statue, together with a tomb inscript= ion, refer to him as the son of Thotmes II. His mother was a woman of low birth, named Aset. The simplest explanation would seem to be that this son, born o= f a slave mother, was the only surviving heir of Thotmes II.

It is certain that in the= many monuments still existing from that age, we have evidence of three different Thotmes; = and that from their midst looms the commanding figure of one woman, a dominating personality that fills the scene and reveals to modern eyes the most brilli= ant and interesting of the queens of antiquity.

78

CHAPTER VII.=

THE DAUGHTER OF THOTMES I.

HATSHEPSUT.=

"King = of the North and South, Ka-Ma-Ra, Son of the Sun, KHNUM-AMEN-HATSHEPSUT. The Horus= of Gold; Bestower of years; Goddess of risings; Conqueror of all Lands; Lady of both Lands; Vivifier of hearts; Chief Spouse of Amen; The Mighty One."=

SUCH were the stately tit= les assumed by this remarkable princess when she ascended the throne of her fathers, titles which were never before or after taken by a woman.

The Princess Hatshepsut w= as the heiress daughter of Thotmes I. and of Queen Aahmes. If she ever had brothers of her own, they had died as children, as had also her elder siste= r, Khebit-neferu. This left the young Hatshepsut sole heiress, with no one but= a half-brother to claim a share of the crown. The youthful prince, Thotmes II= ., was the son of Thotmes = I. by a mother of only half royal lineage, Mut-nefert. To this half-brother, Hatshepsut was united. The marriage of Thotmes to his strong-minded sister, who was destined to overshadow him completely in later years, occurred either just before or just

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

after the death of their = father Thotmes I. Shortly before this event, the king associated his daughter with himself in the government of the kingdom. 1

The coronation ceremonies= took place a few weeks later, and the joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thotmes II. appears to have lasted about thirteen years. 2 There is little doubt that Hatshepsut, with her stronger char= acter, had the management of the kingdom chiefly in her own hands, even during the lifetime of her husband.

No son was born of this u= nion, their family consisting of two daughters only, Neferu-Ra, and Meryt-Ra. Some thirteen years after his accession, Thotmes II. died, leaving his consort t= he great ruler of Egypt= . The claim of Thotmes III. to a share of the crown was an undeniable one, or= the queen would never have consented to associate with her reign a man who was = the son of a slave; nor would she have united to him her heiress daughter. Thot= mes was, however, proclaimed joint sovereign, and his marriage with the queen's young daughter took place.

He was probably a mere yo= uth at the time, and Hatshepsut constituted herself practically sole monarch of the kingdom, and held the reins of government, it may be presumed, until the da= y of her death.

Her own reign is entirely overlapped by those of her co-regents, Thotmes I., II., III.; and it may have be= en for this reason that the Pharaohs of the Ramesside family, two hundred years la= ter, did not regard her as a legitimate monarch. Nevertheless, her rule was so vigorous a one, that not only her husband's reign, but also the early years= of the nephew who afterwards became so great a king, are quite submerged in the brilliant reign of the queen.

Much has been said of the "usurpation" of the throne by Hatshepsut, and of the illegal treatment of her nephew;

1 Noted by de ROUGÉ, later proved by NAVILLE'S excavation of <= st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">Temple of Deir el-Bahari.

2 P.'s H.E., vol. II, 75, 79.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

these accusations hardly = seem justified, however, when the facts are recalled. Hatshepsut was by birth the rightful heiress, and, according to Egyptian law, had precedence of the male members of the family. Her abilities had been so pronounced, that her father had raised her to the throne while she was still very young. She was many y= ears older than her nephew, and exercised only her legitimate prerogatives when = she declined to lay down the sceptre in favour of a mere youth, who was, moreov= er, not of full royal birth.

Neither does it seem reas= onable to suppose that Thotmes himself could have resented her rule as bitterly as= he is said to have done; he would, of course, be aware of all these facts, and must have realised that his aunt, even if not following precedent in thus claiming sole control of the government, was at least within her own rights. Hatshepsut had indeed ascended the throne of her fathers as its unquestioned inheritor. The high lineage of "solar blood" had been bequeathed = her by her mother Queen Aahmes, who was the daughter of = Amen-hetep I. and Aah-hetep II.; and the grand-daughter of the famous Nefertari. On her mothe= r's side, therefore, there was no trace of blemish; but this was not the case w= ith Hatshepsut's father, Thotmes I., whose mother Senseneb was a woman of = humble origin, (See table, page 53.)

The high spirit of the qu= een could in no wise brook the thought of this plebeian blood, in her veins, and upon her accession to power she set herself to remedy the defect.

Entirely undaunted by the= facts of the matter, this able princess had recourse to a miracle, the details of which she proclaimed and perhaps herself believed; at all events, she recor= ded it on the walls of her great temple at Deir el-Bahari, and there is even evidence which shows that it was accepted by her people as divine truth. A recognition of her claim occurs in the inscription of a contemporary

81 G

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

official, who declares th= at "Egypt bowed its head before this blessed offspring of the god, sprung from his loins." 1

The miracle set forth by Hatshepsut concerned the god Amen, who, pondering on the mixed marriages of= his children, the Egyptian monarchs, which had lessened their royal claims, det= ermined to restore the race and purify the solar line by creating a child of his ow= n, who should be born of the queen-mother Aahmes.

The story of her miraculo= us birth and early life are related in minute detail by the sculptures of the queen's temple. Amen, becoming incarnate in the person of Hatshepsut's earthly fath= er, Thotmes I., appeared to Aahmes "in a flood of light and perfume." The royal daughter of the god was born in due time, provided by the gods with several Kas, or ghostly doubles of herself, and received the name of Hatshepsut.

She was then presented to= Amen and Horus, who baptized her, pouring water over her head and saying, "= Thou art pure as thy double." Amen then embraced his daughter and gave her = the emblems of sovereignty.

After this, the princess, accompanied by her father Thotmes, started on a journey to the various sanctuaries of the land, by which ceremony she symbolically took possession= of her kingdom. Hatshepsut's description of herself at this period is as follo= ws:

"It came to pass tha= t her Majesty was increased above all things, beautiful to look at above all thin= gs, her voice was that of a god, her frame was that of a god, she did everything like a god, her spirit was like a god. It came to pass that her Majesty was= a beautiful maiden.... Her Majesty started for the land of the North, following her fat= her, the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Aah-kheper-ka-Ra, living eternally. She went to her mother Hathor, the prin= cess of Thebes; Buto, the lady of Tep; Amen, the lord of the thrones of the two lands; Tum,=

1 Inscription of Anna.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

the lord of Heliopolis; Menthu, the lord of Thebes; Khnum, the lor= d of Elephantine; the chief of all the gods of Thebes, and to all the gods of the North and South. They were well pleased with her." 1

On this journey, the quee= n made offerings to the temples, and erected statues and altars; restoring, moreov= er, much that had fallen into ruin. Her record proceeds: "Thou restorest w= hat was decaying, thou raisest thy statues in thy temples, thou enrichest the altars of him who begot thee, thou goest on the plains, and thou explorest mountains in great number; thou strikest with thy sword ... thy tributes are men by millions, prisoners of thy sword ... thou bringest offerings to Theb= es, to the staircase of the king Amen-Ra." 2

At this point in the life= of Hatshepsut, her father Thotmes takes up the account, 3 and records her association in his government with the throne name of Ka-ma-ra. The queen's own representations of her enthronement portr= ay her as a youth standing before Thotmes, who says: "Come thou blessed o= ne, whom I take in my arms, that thou mayest see thy directions (carried out) in the palace; thy doubles (thy person) are made very precious. Thou hast rece= ived the investiture of the double crown, thou art blessed by thy magic power, t= hou art mighty by thy valour, thou art powerful in the two lands.... When thou risest in the palace, thy brow is adorned with the double crown united on t= hy head, for thou art my heir." = 4

Then to the assembled mul= titude of nobles and officers the king said: "This daughter Khnumit Amen Hâtshopsîtû, the loving one, I put her in my place ... henceforth she guides you, listen to her words and submit unanimously to he= r commands. Whoever adores her, he will live; but he who speaks evil against her Majest= y, he will die." 5

1 Temple Deir el-Bahari, NAVILLE, To= mb of Hâtshopsîtû, 4, 5.

2 Ibid.

3 Karnak, Pylon of Thotmes I. <= /span>

4 NAVILLE, Tomb of Hâtshopsîtû, 9, 10.

5 Ibid.

83 G2

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ The full names of the= young sovereign were then settled, and stood: "The Horus, mighty by his Kas,= the Lord of East and West abounding in years, the good goddess, the pious Lady,= the golden falcon divine in her risings, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Ka-ma-ra, the daughter of Ra, Khnumit Amen Hâtshopsîtû.&q= uot; 1

Her accession to the regal authority, and the relative positions on the throne of the queen and her husband Thotmes II., are commented on by an official of that period, Anna, = who says: "When his Majesty (Thotmes I.) appearing in heaven, rejoined the gods, though his son (Thotmes II.) standing in his place (inheriting his cl= aim) as king of the country, reigned on the throne of him who had given him birt= h, his sister, the divine wife Hatshepsut, acted as master of the country; the kingdom was subject to her will: Egypt bowed its head before this blessed offspring of the god, sprung from his loins." 2

In ceremonials, the queen nevertheless seems to have occupied a secondary place during her husband's life, as appears from some bas-reliefs at Karnak. 3 In these pictures, Thotmes I= I. makes offering to the gods, while Hatshepsut, clothed as a woman, stands be= hind him. In the Karnak fragments she frequently bears the title of queen, which= , as M. Naville points out, never occurs in her own temple of Deir el-Bahari. 4

Consistent with the arran= gement which secured the divine claim unblemished to Hatshepsut, she never thereaf= ter failed to express devotion to her father Amen, and to assert direct inspira= tion for the principal acts of her reign. She appears to have considered a manly dress more expressive of authority than a woman's, and caused herself to be sculptured with all the attributes of a king. She is represented in male at= tire, with a beard attached to her chin, and is referred to in inscriptions by the masculine pronoun.

1 NAVILLE, T.H., 12, 22.

2 Ibid.

3 Recently discovered by LEGRAIN.=

4 N., T.H., 15.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ The chief undertaking= of Hatshepsut's reign was the famous expedition to the foreign land of Punt, a= nd the most important work was her great temple, on the walls of which the sto= ry of the expedition is faithfully set forth. The foundation deposits of the temple are in the name of Hatshepsut; and M. Naville, who attributes the building to the queen alone, thinks it was probably begun immediately after= the death of her husband, Thotmes II.

This temple was considere= d an entirely unique and original piece of architecture, until in 1904, M. Navil= le discovered its prototype in a long-hidden temple of the king Mentuhetep III= ., some seven or eight centuries earlier. This is situated close by Hatshepsut= 's building, which probably copied the earlier one; but in spite of its lack of originality, the temple of the queen still remains one of the most beautiful and interesting monuments of ancient Egypt.

It is built at the base o= f the rugged Theban cliffs, and commands the plain in magnificent fashion; its wh= ite colonnades rising, terrace above terrace, until it is backed by the golden living rock. The ivory white walls of courts, side chambers and colonnades, have polished surfaces which give an alabaster-like effect. They are carved with a fine art, figures and hieroglyphs being filled in with rich yellow colour, the glow of which against the white gives an effect of warmth and beauty quite indescribable. The spirited art of these wall pictures, the bo= ld freedom of drawing, precision of finish and wealth of portraiture, place th= em among the most remarkable sculptures of their kind.

A great avenue, bordered = with crouching sphinxes, led up to the temple entrance, each sphinx's head being= a portrait of the queen. It is on the walls of this stately edifice that Hatshepsut has carved the chief records of her life; the supposed circumsta= nces attending her birth; her presentation to the people as royal heir; her assumption of power; and above all, the story of the great Punt expedition.=

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ The Land of Punt has by modern writers been located on the Somali coast. To the ancient Egyptians it was a mysterious country, visited in early times by their forefathers; but in the days of Hatshepsut the knowledge of its position had been lost; only a general notion remaining to the effect that "it lay = to the South, or the extreme East. From thence many of the gods had come into = Egypt, while from out of it, the sun rose anew every morning." 1 It was, moreover, a country ric= h in that aromatic gum, which, used as incense, was an offering particularly acceptable to Amen; indeed, it was by Amen's express command that his daugh= ter undertook the expedition to this unknown country.

The god, promising to lea= d the Majesty of Hatshepsut to the "Ladders of, incense," adds that, "It is a secret Land, in truth a place of delight," to which he w= ould lead them by land and by water, on mysterious shores which join the harbour= s of incense, the sacred territory of the divine land."

In obedience to Amen's co= unsel, the queen immediately fitted out five great galleys, and stocked them with various Egyptian products to be used for barter with the people of Punt. The fleet sailed forth under a royal envoy, and in time reached a marvellous country, where the desired incense trees grew in abundance; also the land w= as rich with palms, strange plants and ebony trees; and abounded with gold, iv= ory, spices, and curious beasts. The huts of the people were built on piles as a protection against wild animals, and the inhabitants were forced to climb i= nto their abodes by means of ladders. The native people were of a light-skinned race resembling the Egyptians, and they received the travellers with kindly interest.

The Prince of Punt came o= ut to meet Hatshepsut's ambassador, and a friendly exchange of compliments and

1 M.'s S.N., 246.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

merchandise took place; a= fter which the vessels were loaded with the Punt products, and departed for home= . It is supposed that about two years had elapsed since the sailing of the expedition, before the five galleys, triumphantly returning, laid their spo= ils at Hatshepsut's feet. The treasure consisted of ivory tusks, gold, ebony, cassia, myrrh, cynocephalus apes, green monkeys, greyhounds and leopards; besides skins, oxen, giraffes, slaves, plants and fruits; and most precious= of all, the incense trees, thirty-one in number, with their roots protected by balls of earth fitted into tubs. The trees were planted in the garden of the temple at Thebes, where they grew and flourished and provided abundance of fresh incense for = the service of Amen.

At Deir el-Bahari, the re= mains of several trees, palms and perseas have been found in pits dug in the rock; 1 these are situated on both side= s of the slope which gave access to the temple, and doubtless represent its gard= en. At the end of one of the avenues leading to the temple are the ruins of a building which M. Naville suggests may have been a palace of the queen. 2

An inscription of the yea= r IX of this reign, refers to the planting of the incense trees in the garden of Amen, and adds "Punt had been transported to Thebes." The great expedition had therefore taken place previous to the queen's ninth year, and was perhaps o= ne of her first achievements.

All of its history is tol= d with minute detail on the upper terrace wall, in a series of vivid pictures with explanatory text. In the last of these the queen, having received the cargo= es of the five ships, presents the whole to her father Amen; and an account of= the gifts is taken by Thoth, scribe of the gods. A mutilated record on the lower terrace represents the queen as a human-headed lion tearing her enemies; fr= om which it would appear that she had engaged in wars,

1 NAVILLE, T.H., 64, 59.

2 Ibid.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

commemorated in this scen= e. The picture has been almost entirely hammered out by some one who wished to obliterate the memorial, and its real significance is lost.

For the most part, her ye= ars seem to have passed in prosperity and peace; the sovereign was entirely occupied with the internal affairs of the kingdom, and no record remains which sugge= sts that she impoverished the treasury or sacrificed her people in the prosecut= ion of wars. If in the end the empire lost some of its Asiatic provinces by thi= s peaceful policy, the land of Egypt was certai= nly the better for it; since the long period of peace was employed in developing its resources, adding to its buildings and restoring its ruins.

The whole valley of the <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Nile bears witness to the industry of this reign. I= n the great temple of Amen at Karnak, Hatshepsut not only added sculptures to several side chambers, but chose this site for the erection of her two obelisks. The larger one of these commemorated the "Sed festival," which occurred in the sixteenth year of her reign. In plann= ing these obelisks, Hatshepsut, as usual, asserts devotion to her divine father Amen as the leading motive: "I make this known," declares the que= en, "to the generations which are to come, whose hearts will enquire after this monument which I have made for my father, and who will talk enquiringly and gaze upon it in future: I sat in the palace and thought upon him who created me, and my heart prompted me to raise to him two obelisks of electr= um, whose apices should pierce the firmaments, before the noble gate-way between the two pylons of Thotmes I.... Beware of saying, 'I know not, I know not, = why it was resolved to carve this mountain wholly of gold.' These two obelisks,= my Majesty has made them of electrum for my father Amen, that my name may rema= in and live on in this temple for ever and ever." 1

1 LEPAGE-RENOUF, R.P., XII, 133-1= 35; M.'s S.N.,244.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ The description of the obelisks as "mountains wholly of gold" is only the usual Pharaonic exaggeration always found in the laudatory accounts of their own works. The lower terrace of the queen's temple has a representation of the transport of the obelisks from Elephantine. They were placed on a barge and towed by thirty boats with crews of more than a thous= and men down the river to Thebes. Only seven months' time was required for the quarrying, inscribing, transportation, and erection of the great monoliths. The tops were gilded, = and the towering shafts of polished rose granite must have been beautiful indee= d, when, rising above the temple buildings, "their brilliancy lit up the = two lands of Egypt."

The greater of these two = obelisks is 97 1/2 feet in height, and when its metal top caught the sunlight, it wo= uld have been a glittering spot in the clear atmosphere, visible from every direction for many miles. It is still standing, the finest obelisk in Egypt, although the gilded covering of the apex has long since disappeared. 1

In all of the queen's wor= ks, she had the services of a great architect, Senmut by name, who was one of the m= ost important figures of his time. He built temples for her Majesty, and erected the obelisks at Thebes; he was the queen's royal seal-bearer and chief tutor to her children. On his stela at Aswan he stands before Hatshepsut, and is styled, "the compan= ion greatly beloved, keeper of the palace, keeper of the heart of the queen, ma= king content the Lady of both lands, making all things come to pass for the spir= its of her Majesty."

Hatshepsut's building achievements in Egyp= t were not her only enterprises. She caused the reopening of the ancient mine= s of Sinai, and obtained from thence a quantity of the green stones used in decoration and in jewellery. The officer sent to accomplish this mission al= so restored a temple of Hathor in the di= stant land.

1 The only taller obelisk in existenc= e is in Rome, before the church of S. Giov. Laterano. It was erected in Th= ebes by Thotmes III.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ The length of the que= en's reign cannot be stated exactly, nor the date of her death. Considering the force of her character and the firm hand with which she held the sceptre, i= t is only reasonable to suppose that she never relinquished it in life. 1 In the remains of her buildings= at Karnak, mention is made of the seventeenth year. Th= is was the latest date known of her reign, until Mr. Petrie found at Sinai a stela= set up at the shrine of Hathor, dated in the twentieth year of Hatshepsut and Thotmes III.

Among the last works of t= he queen was a rock shrine in Middle Egypt, an important monument now known as the "Speos Artemidos." The sanctuary was excavated from the rock, and entered by a vestibule with eight columns. It was dedicated to the lion-hea= ded goddess Pacht, and has above the entrance a long inscription, in which the queen recapitulates the chief events of her reign.

In her greatest memorial,= the Memnonium at Deir el-Bahari, she apparently wrote down the events of her li= fe as they occurred. M. Naville says, 2 "It was like an open book, in which was inscribed during the queen's lifetime all she wished to hand down to posterity." The building, or at least the decoration of it, was left unfinished at her death. All the membe= rs of the queen's family accompany her in this splendid monument, which she ra= ised to perpetuate her memory; her grandmother Senseneb, her father Thotmes I., = her husband Thotmes II., and Khebt-neferu, Neferura, and Thotmes III., her sist= er, daughter, and nephew.

The only instance in Egyp= tian annals of the personal description of a woman given by herself is in the case of Hatshepsut, who uses no measured terms: 3 "His Majesty herself put with her own hands oil of ani on all her limb= s. Her fragrance was like a divine breath, her scent reached as far as the land of Punt; her skin is made of gold, it=

1 ERMAN thought she might have been d= eposed by Thotmes III.

2 N., T.H., 57.

3 Temple Deir el-Bahari, N., T.H., 39.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

shines like the stars in = the hall of festival, in the view of the whole land.... They celebrate Kamara, in her divine doings, as she is such a great marvel. She had no equal among the go= ds who were before since the world was. She is living Ra eternally. He hath selected her for protecting Egypt and for rousing bravery among men... Horus,the avenger of her father, the first-born of his mother's husband, whom Ra has engendered to be his glorio= us seed upon earth and to give happiness to future generations, being his livi= ng image, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Kamara, the electrum (gold) of kings."

"By my life, by the = love of Ra and the favour of my father Amen, ... I bear the white crown, I am diade= med with the red crown, ... I rule over this land like the son of Isis, I am mighty like the son of Nu, ... I shall be for ever like the star which changeth not. He gave me my royal power over Egypt and the red country, al= l the foreign lands are under my feet ... all the marvels and the precious things= of this land, they are presented to my palace altogether ... (turquoise) of the land of Reshut they bring to me the choicest things from the oasis of Teste= su (Dakhel), acacia, juniper, mer-= wood ... all the good woods of the divine land ... Tribute is brought to me from= the land of the Tahennu in ivory, seven hundred tusks ... She lives, she is sta= ble, she is in good health, she is joyous as well as her double on the throne of Horus of the living like the sun, for ever and ever." 1

She reigned for at least thirty-three years, and although the date of her death is not known, her funeral ceremonies are represented on some red sandstone blocks found at Karnak. 2<= /b> The queen is there shown in the form of an Osirian statue, and her inscription reads, "Kamara joins herself to the beauties of Amen," which is t= o say that death has made her one with the god-head. A personage who is

1 From The Obelisk inscriptions at Karnak, NAVILLE, T.H., 48-51.

2 LEGRAIN, 1897, Cairo M., Gal. O, 360.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

probably Thotmes III., of= fers his devotions to the statue of the deceased sovereign. 1 She was buried, it may be presumed, with all the pomp befitti= ng so great a queen, in a rock tomb at Thebes. Until recently it was supposed that this tomb existed under the sanctuary of her temple at Deir el-Bahari, which some hidden stairway connected with the burial vault.

In the winter of 1904, ho= wever, the actual tomb was discovered and cleared by Mr. T. M. Davis, in the Valle= y of the Tombs of the Kings. It is situated far away from the temple, on the oth= er side of the mountain. Before the entrance to the tomb a foundation deposit = was found in a shallow hole cut in the rock. The deposit consisted of small alabaster vases, many red pottery vases of ten different shapes, models of tools, with traces of gold leaf upon them, other models in wood and bronze, mats, baskets, a bundle of samples of linen, and a quantity of desiccated bread. 2

The subterranean gallery = leading to the tomb was of an unprecedented length, curving under ground for a dist= ance of more than 200 metres, when it finally ended in the tomb chamber. This wa= s in a totally ruined condition owing to the bad quality of the rock in which it= had been cut. Unfortunately the burial chamber had been rifled long before this discovery, and nothing was found except a fine sarcophagus of red sandstone which had once been the resting place of the queen's body; 3 a second sarcophagus with the name of her father Thotmes I.; an empty canopic box, and some fragments of bowls and vases. These were of alabaster, blue glaze and red pottery, and were stamped with the cartouches= of the queen, of Thotmes <= st2:Sn w:st=3D"on">I. and II., and of her great-grandmother = Aahmes

1 N., T.H., 71, 72.

2 Report of HOWARD CARTER in Tomb of Hâtshopsît&ucir= c;, 104-106.

3 Cairo M., Central Atrium, 528.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

Nefertari. 1 The mummy of Hatshepsut had disappeared, and, so far as at present known, has never been found.

Mr. Davis, in his introdu= ction to "The Tomb of Hâtshopsîtû," suggests that one of= the unidentified mummies found with those of the Pharaohs in the Deir el-Bahari cachette, may be that of the queen.

There are many portraits = extant from which we may gain an idea of Hatshepsut's features (see frontispiece); they are to be seen at Deir el-Bahari and at Karnak<= /st1:place>, also in the heads of sphinxes that once lined the approach to the great tem= ple. The Berlin and Leyden Museums possess two of these heads, as well as fragments of portrait statues. Part = of a magnificent colossal statue of alabaster was found at Karnak and is now exhibited in the Cairo Museum. 2 The dress and crown had been of= gilt metal, and it is thought that this fine figure may be a portrait statue of = the queen.

Many small objects connec= ted with the memory of Hatshepsut still remain: glazed pottery bowls, bricks, scarab= s, beads and plaques, models of tools, and alabaster vases engraved with her cartouches. The inlaid throne, with the draught board and pieces, which were discovered a few years ago, and are now in the British Museum, are probably also hers. 3

Several cartouches of Tho= tmes II. and Thotmes III. appear on the walls of Deir el-Bahari. Some of these were undoubtedly placed there by the queen's own order; others have been later substitutes for her name. Wanton hands have ruthlessly cut out her cartouch= es and chiselled away the features of many of her portraits. It has been thoug= ht that this destruction was wrought by the impatient hand of her nephew, and = that Thotmes III. had reason for so hating his aunt, that he took immediate advantage of his power to deface her temple and insult the memory of its

1 CARTER, "The Antiquities," etc., in Tomb Hâtshopsîtû, 106-112.

2 LEGRAIN, 1904, Room P, No. 562.=

3 Rec., X, 126.

93

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

dead builder; but it is p= ossible that the blame rests with a later generation of rulers, who for reasons of their own, vainly sought to erase the name of Hatshepsut from the list of <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Egypt's monarchs. The judgment of recent writers on this subject is, that Thotmes I= II. was responsible for very little of the destruction of the queen's temple. M= uch of the defacement seems due to Amen-hetep IV., and to Seti I. and = Ramses II., who in repairing the devastations of the "heretic king," took that opportunity to erase the figures and cartouches of Hatshepsut, replaci= ng them with their own or with those of the Thotmes kings.

There is room for many interpretations of the story of Hatshepsut and her domestic relations, but = no proof that anyone of these readings is the literal truth. What we can at le= ast be sure of is, that the reign, having been a peaceful one, was a blessing indeed to a nation long burdened with the wars of ambitious kings.

It is evident from the fi= ne spirited sculptures and the admirably handled portraits which decorate the walls of the Deir el-Bahari temple, that art had reached a high standard; Egyptian architecture never received more noble contributions; the craft of= the marble worker was faultlessly displayed in the dressing of great masses of stone such as the obelisks of Karnak; while the trained skill that was necessary to rear these monoliths in seven months' time, is proof of the well-organized forces which the architect Senmut had at his command.

The most important testim= ony to the vigour of Hatshepsut's reign, the strength of her position and the forc= e of her character, is to be found in the history of her successor. Thotmes III.= was one of the most aggressive and brilliant monarchs who ever ascended the thr= one of Egypt; and yet their joint reign, of at least twenty years, was so domin= ated by the queen, that Thotmes does not seem to have asserted himself or to have shown any independence of action until the death of Hatshepsut left

94

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

him sole master of the th= rone. Thus his early years were completely shadowed by his aunt's strong personal= ity, and he was over thirty before he became a sovereign in anything but the nam= e.

Any attempt which may hav= e been made to dim the memory of the great queen was futile; her records have no uncertain pitch, but ring triumphantly from one end of Egypt t= o the other. Throughout the Nile Valley, from Buto in the Delta, by way of Beni Hasan, Karnak and Thebes, el Kab and Kom Ombo; to Aswan at the first catara= ct, and from the far rock cliffs of Sinai, sculptured stone and inscribed stelae record the reign of Hatshepsut, fulfilling the wish voiced on her obelisk t= hat her name may remain and live on in temple and land "for ever and ever.= '' 1

1 For histories of the reign, Temple inscriptions, etc., see NAVLLLE, Temple Deir el-Bahari; Tomb Hâtshopsîtû; MASPERO, Struggle of the Nations, 236-254; BRUGSCH, E.P., 142-151.

95

CHAPTER VIII.

QUEEN HATSHEPSUT TO QUEEN THÏ= Y.

NEFERURA, the eldest daug= hter of Hatshepsut, seems from the large number of existing records concerning her,= 1 to have been a person of more i= mportance than was at first supposed. She was certainly Hatshepsut's heiress, as appe= ars from her titles, which name her, "Royal Daughter, Royal Sister, Sovere= ign of Both Lands, Divine Wife, Princess of the North and South."

A relief at Karnak shows the princess wearing the uraeus and vulture crown of the queens, while her name is enclosed in a royal oval. She stands between the two divinities, Amen and Hathor, who embrace her as though in blessing. At Sinai a stela was found by Petrie, who states that it was dated in the eleventh year of Queen Neferura, 2 a fact which sugge= sts that she was already associated with the crown as its legal heiress, in the same way that her mother had been associated by Thotmes I.

The great official of Hatshepsut's reign, Senmut, was the guardian of Neferura, and is often represented holding the infant princess between his knees. Three such statu= es, in grey, black, and rose granite, are in the Cai= ro Museum, 3 and a similar one is in Berlin. Other instances of Neferura's appearance as Hatshepsut's heiress are found = in the queen's

1 CHAMPOLLION, M. de l'E. cxcii, = 3, cxciv, 1, 3; ROSELLINI, Mon. Stor.<= /i>, II, 8; LEPSIUS; WIEDEMANN; DARESSY; LEGRAIN; PETRIE; NEWBERRY. <= /span>

2 PETRIE, Arch. Rep., E.E.F., 190= 4-5.

3 Room M, 333, 341 bis.

96

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

temple at Deir el-Bahari,= and in inscriptions at Aswan. 1 Several scarabs and funeral = cones, stamped with her cartouche, are known, and are published by Wiedemann, Dare= ssy, Petrie and Newberry.

From the great prominence= thus given her in contemporary monuments, it seems clear that this princess from the t= ime of her birth, was looked upon as the future queen, and had she lived would certainly have succeeded to her mother's throne. Her death must have occurr= ed before she had arrived at a marriageable age; otherwise we should find Neferura, instead of her younger sister Meryt-ra, united to the heir as roy= al consort.

MERYT-RA-HATSHEPSET. This princess is but an uncertain figure in the history of the epoch. It is not precisely stated anywhere that Meryt-ra was the daughter of Hatshepsut, but= it does not follow that she was not of the queen's family on that account. Hatshepsut and Thotmes had certainly more than one daughter, and yet only o= ne is mentioned. The princess Neferura is called not only "Royal Sister," but is referred to by one of her mother's officials as "= the eldest daughter." 2 There= was necessarily then, one other daughter at least, although this second princess never appears in any of the queen's records.

The successor of Hatsheps= ut, Thotmes III., would have strengthened his claim to the crown through its heiress, according to Egyptian custom; but as Neferura is never mentioned as Thotmes' queen, it is probable that her early death prevented her marriage = to her mother's co-regent. The princess who became Thotmes' wife, was that roy= al daughter who bore the name of the great queen, and there seems to be no reasonable doubt that she was a younger sister of Neferura.

In glancing at the record= s, few and formal, which remain of Queen Meryt-ra, one is tempted to regard her as having

1 de MORGAN, M.I., I, 41; L., D., iii, 20 bis 9.

2 Aswan Stela of Pen-nekheb, NAVILLE, T.H., 19.

97 H

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

been sacrificed to the gr= eatness of her house. Her personality is quite lost in those of the three individua= ls with whom her life was passed; a younger daughter of Queen Hatshepsut, wife= of a king, and mother of a king; these are the only details concerning her whi= ch remain. 1 As she was probably Hatshepsut's only surviving daughter, she was through her mother the heires= s of the throne. She seems to have inherited nothing else from that royal parent= , or if she did, any tendency towards the exercise of her sovereign rights must = have been promptly suppressed by her husband.

It was glory enough that = she brought the crown of Egypt as a gift to Thotmes III., who has been aptly termed by Brugsch, "the Alexander the Great of Egyptian history." Through the stirring records= of his reign, there is never the slightest suggestion that the power was shared with Meryt-ra Hatshepset; the king alone is lord and arbitrator of the destinies of the land, and his queen is only "Great Royal Wife, Belove= d of Ra."

The old peaceful days wer= e over, and the land was soon plunged into the tumults and alarms of war. Thotmes always returned victorious from his campaigns, and under his ambitious reign the kingdom was increased until it became a great empire. It is then no won= der that in the highly coloured pictures of the two reigns which included all t= he young life of Meryt-ra Hatshepset, she should appear as a figure drawn in b= ut faint lines. Her name is occasionally mentioned in the sculptural records s= till surviving from her time.

At Thebes in the temple of Medinet Habu, the queen accompanies her husband, while a representation of = her in the form of a sphinx, has the name of Thotmes engraved upon it This stat= ue was found in the ruins of the temple of Isis, at Rome, and is now in the Barocco collection. In

1 L., D., iii, 38, 26b, c., 64a; LORET, Les Tombes Thoutmôsis, etc., pl. 6; M.'s S.N., 243, 290; NAVILLE, T.H., 19.

98

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

the "Chapel of the Cow," found at Deir el-Bahari and removed to the Cairo Museum, 1 Thotmes III. is represented = as performing ceremonies connected with the worship of the goddess Hathor. He = is assisted by his queen Meryt-ra, and by a "Royal Daughter, Royal Sister, Meryt-amen."

It is just possible that = Meryt-ra had some influence on the early reign of her son Amen-hetep II., who ascend= ed the throne when he was still a youth; his name is coupled with "that of the "Royal Mother Meryt-ra," on a scarab found at Abydos, and in one = or two tombs she likewise appears with her son. A scarab with the title "Great Royal Wife," and a second one of lapis-lazuli set in gold,= are engraved with the name of Meryt-ra. 2

When the tomb of Thotmes = III. was opened, it was found to contain amid the debris of its original funeral furnishings, two black uninscribed wooden coffins, each containing the mumm= y of a woman. It was thought by M. Loret, who discovered them, that they were perhaps a wife and daughter of Thotmes.

SAT-AAH, "The Great = Royal Wife," was also a queen of Thotmes III. Her name was first noticed by Mariette, on a fragment of limestone at Abydos, 3 and on a block found by Wilkins= on at Karnak; 4<= /b> but her position was only established on the opening of the tomb of Thotmes III= ., in the inscriptions of which, Sat-aah appears as the wife of that king.

A limestone table of offe= rings in the Cairo= Museum gives further information regarding her. From this monument it appears that she was the daughter of Thotmes' nurse; the inscription reads, "The Great Royal Wife, Sat-aah, justified, born of the great nurse the neter shed, Apu "justified." 5

1 Room M, 338. =

2 N., Sc., pl. xxviii, 35, 36.

3 M., A., ii, 40 c.

4 Ibid., 109 (1828). <= /span>

5 "Justified" - deceased. T= he insc. pub. by NEWBERRY, P.S.B.A= . 1903.

99 H2

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ This queen is further recorded on a bas-relief found at Karnak, where she is shown with name and titles, standing before Thotmes<= /st2:Sn> I.; 1 a scarab naming her is also known. 2 The tomb inscriptions of Thotmes, prove that Sat-aah died dur= ing the lifetime of her husband. She appears as "Great Royal Wife," w= ith the same titles as those borne by Meryt-ra. This princess was, as we have s= een, the royal heiress, who by marrying Thotmes bestowed on him her rights. It is not likely that she was passed over in favour of the daughter of the prince= 's nurse, since her position as heiress made Meryt-ra of great importance to t= he claims of the young Thotmes.

The two queens were, ther= efore, Great Royal Wives at the same time. That this title could be assumed by two contemporary queens, is proved by the instance of the princess Sat-amen, who was called "Great Royal Wife" during the life of her mother, the famous Queen Thïy.

A small temple at Thebes, north of t= he Ramesseum, was built by Thotmes III., presumably in honour of a queen whose broken statue was found on the site. Only the lower half of the figure remained, the fragment recording a "Royal Wife."

NEB-S-MA. The inscription contains the hieroglyphic sign which represents a foreigner, although the n= ame is purely Egyptian. It frequently happened that the Egyptian kings, marrying foreign women, bestowed on them Egyptian names, and this was probably the c= ase with Queen Neb-s-ma. The style of cutting recalls the XIIth dynasty work, b= ut from its position in the ruins of Thotmes' temple, the statue was supposed = to belong to some hitherto unknown queen of Thotmes III. 3

TIAA. "Royal Daughte= r, Royal Mother, Chief Royal Wife."

1 LEGRAIN, Bul. de l'Inst. Eg., 3rd s= eries, 9, pl. VII, 96.

2 F.P. Coll.
3 WEIGALL, Arch. Report, E.E.F., = 1904 5.

100

PLATE VII

QUEEN TIAA.

&= nbsp;

PLATE VIII

QUEEN TIAA AND THOTMES IV.

&= nbsp;

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ In a tomb at Thebes, = this queen is styled "Royal Wife" only, and appears in connection with Thotmes IV., from which she was thought to have been his consort. Two double statues have since been discovered of this king, seated by the side of Queen Tiaa, who in both groups is called "The principal Royal Wife whom he loves," and the "Royal Mother."

M. Maspero, in his life of Thotmes IV., has shown that Queen Tiaa is to be regarded as the daughter of Thotmes III., probably by a mother who was not royal; that she was the quee= n of Amenhetep II., and the mother of Thotmes IV. 1

Mr. Petrie notes that Tia= a could scarcely have been the "principal Royal Wife" of Thotmes IV., sin= ce another well-known queen figures in that connection, 2 and he also calls her the mother, instead of the consort, of = that king. 3

The young prince Thotmes = appears in a Theban tomb as one of a group of small figures, who are called king's sons. The names of Thotmes' companions have been carefully erased, and ther= e is nothing to show whether they were, perhaps, other sons, early deceased, of Queen Tiaa, or the children of slaves. No details of Tiaa's life are known.=

The fine statue in black = granite of this king and queen, found in 1903 by M. Legrain at Karnak, represents Tiaa as a beautiful woman, with a face rather older than that of= the young king by her side, whom she embraces. She wears the tight clinging robe and huge wig of Egyptian princesses, and' on her brow is the royal serpent.= 4 A similar group, which was disc= overed twenty years ago in the Fayûm, has since disappeared. The name and ti= tles of Tiaa occur on a fragment of a blue glazed vase now in the collection of = Lord Amherst. 5

1 In Tomb Thoutmôsis, xiv, = xv, xix.

2 Queen Mut-em-ua.

3 P., H.E., vol. II, 164, 165.

4 Cairo M., Room M, No. 322. <= /span>

5 NEWBERRY, P.S.B.A., 1902. =

101

THE QUEENS OF 'EGYPT.

MUT-EM-UA.<= /p>

"Royal= Wife; Great Royal Mother; Divine Mother; Lady of Both Lands."

This queen is generally considered to have been the wife of Thotmes IV. She was possibly his half-sister, and the daughter of Amen-hetep II. Her son was Amenhetep III.,= who has made famous the name of his mother in his temple inscriptions at Luxor, where she = is specially honoured. Although she is styled "Lady of Both Lands," = the other title of birth, "Royal Daughter," is missing, 1 but it is possibly supplied to = her in that of a queen, whose name reads Arat, on a stela at Knossos, where she accompanies Thotmes.=

Mr. Petrie notes that thi= s name is written by two signs, which may be "merely an idiogram for the 'god= dess queen,'" 2 referring prob= ably to Mut-em-ua. The queen in this instance has the titles "Royal Daughte= r, Royal Sister, Great Royal Wife." 3

Her son, Amen-hetep III.,= seems to have possessed rights through his mother, but was, perhaps, dissatisfied with his father's descent from the low-born Aset. This defect he proceeded = to rectify by the same process as that adopted by his ancestress, Queen Hatshepsut. In his temple at L= uxor, Amen-hetep records the renewed intervention of Amen, who again condescends = to purify the race, and Amen-hetep is born of a divine father, while his mothe= r is Mut-em-ua. It is significant that in these sculptures the royal descent of = the queen seems a recognized fact.

A different view has rece= ntly been taken by certain writers concerning the parentage of Amen-hetep III. T= his

1 MASPERO, Tomb Thoutmôsis IV.<= /i>, xxvi.

2 P., H.E., vol. II, 170.

3 L., D., iii, 69e.

102

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

theory makes him the son = of Amen-hetep II., or of some priest of Amen married to Mut-em-ua. M. Maspero says: "The answer to this question is given on the monuments. At Luxor, in the sce= ne of the theogamy, it is stated that the god Amen came towards the queen under t= he form of the Majesty of this husband Thoutmôsis IV."

"At el Kab, Amenothe= s III. states that he completed the little temple as a memorial of his father Thoutmôsis IV.' The terms are sufficiently explicit to expel all doub= ts; Thoutmôsis was certainly the husband of Mut-em-ua and the father of Amenothes III." 1

Several portraits of the = queen were carved in the Luxor temple, where she was shown with that half mysterious, half pathetic beauty= of expression, which is so often found in the low-relief sculptures of Egyptian women at t= his period.

Mut-em-ua is also represe= nted with Amen-hetep's famous colossi at Thebes which dominate the plain, and were known to the ancients as the statues of "Memnon." At the side of the throne, and by the feet of the seated Pharaoh, are the smaller figures of his mother and of his wife.

A fine sacred boat in gra= nite, seven feet long, still exists, with the name and titles of Queen Mut-em-ua engraved upon it. This boat may have belonged to the service of the Luxor temple, whe= re the king's mother was of supreme importance. It is now in the British Museum. 2

Several princesses of the= family of Thotmes IV. are on record. They were probably his daughters, and their n= ames read, Thaa, Takheta, Petahuha, Takhetaui, Merytptah, Sathora, Neferamen, Ua= ay, Henut-anu, and Amenemapet. Many years ago when Rhind was excavating at Thebes, he made a= curious discovery in a tomb which had been sealed under Amen-hetep III.

1 Tomb Thoutmôsis IV., xxiv= .

2 A.B., 34.

103

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ The burial place had = been rifted, and in the lower chamber were broken and nameless mummies, while in= the upper one, amongst fragments of tomb furnishings, there were a number of sm= all wooden labels containing the names of the princesses above mentioned, who a= re described as "of the house of the royal children of Menkheperu-Ra" (Thotmes IV). 1 The labels are supposed to have been used to designate the ownership of articles of tomb furniture, a matter which might very well give rise to confusion, where so = many princesses were laid in the same tomb.

The princess Takheta is t= hought by Petrie to have been the daughter of some captive woman of the Kheta trib= es. 2 All of these princesses living = in the brilliant epoch of the Thotmes, may well have had stories of their own, ful= l of interest and even bearing with importance on the history of their era; yet, with two exceptions, no word concerning them has descended to modern times, except the small labels in hieratic writing, left perhaps by chance in the Theban tomb.

The exceptions are Thaa, = whose canopic jar is in the Amherst collection, = 3 and the royal daughter Amenemap= et, a portrait of whom is graven in the tomb of a scribe, Horemheb, at Thebes. She is th= ere represented as a child, held on the knees of Horemheb, who was her tutor. 4

NEBT-U, whose name is on = one of the labels, appears to have been of more important rank than the others. Sh= e is called "king's daughter, daughter of the royal son Satum." Mentio= n is made of this queen's name by an official, Nebamen, who lived in the reigns = of two of the Thotmes, and who was, "keeper of the house of the Royal Wife Nebtu." Nothing positive of her position is known, beyond

1 A.Z., xxi, 124; B., R.P., xii.

2 P., H.E., vol. II, 144.

3 NEWBERRY, P.S.B.A., 1903. =

4 M.A.F., v, 434; N., P.S.B.A., 1903. =

104

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

the facts that she was a = king's grand-daughter and a royal wife, either as a king's consort, or as one of t= he heiress princesses. Two or three scarabs of this queen are known on which she is called, "Royal Daughter, Royal Sister." 1

1 N., Sc., xxvi, 32; F.P. Coll.

105

CHAPTER IX.<= /p>
QUEEN THÏY.=

THÏY.<= /p>

"Royal= Daughter, Royal Sister, Royal Mother, The Royal Wife, the Great Lady of the two Lands, Queen of the North and South."

THIS celebrated queen, the beloved and honoured wife of Amen-hetep III., is one of the most picturesque figures of antiquity; a figure thrown out in strong relief against the background of uncertain shadows which dims so large a part of Egyptian hist= ory. Her personality is made living and keen by reason of the unusual expression given by Amen-hetep to the affection he bore her. In addition to the usual titles of a king's consort, she is described as "Royal Daughter" = and "Royal Sister," although she was neither the daughter nor the sis= ter of a king, but the child of parents who are often named in connection with = her, and who were not of royal lineage.

The full queenly titles w= hich Thïy held in common with the great heiress princesses of Egypt, = were therefore only honorary, and bestowed on her by Amen-hetep, in apparent indifference to custom or law. What the circumstances were which induced the king to depart from the traditions of his house and choose a wife of low origin, can only be surmised, as the annals are silent concerning the love story of Amen-hetep III.

106

PLATE IX

QUEEN THÏY.

&= nbsp;

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ It is possible that no sister-princess or other heiress of the royal line was available, when the = time came for the young king's marriage. Through his mother Mut-em-ua, Amen-hete= p's claim to the crown seems to have been an unquestioned one. Such defect as he found in his father's descent, he remedied by claiming a parentage from Amen-Ra. The youthful prince was only about sixteen at the time of the deat= h of Thotmes IV., and his own accession. 1 The inscriptions of the Luxor<= /st1:place> temple which record his early years, refer only to himself and to his mothe= r, with no mention of Queen Thïy; a fact suggesting that the temple was sculptured before his marriage. The date of that event cannot be exactly placed, although in the second year of his reign he was already married to Thïy, as shown by a scarab which records a cattle hunt dated in his se= cond regnal year, and naming "The Great Royal Wife, Thïy."

From time to time Amen-he= tep issued sets of large scarabs, on which were inscribed the histories of spec= ial events in his reign. This is the only instance known in which scarabs have = been used in the place of stelae. These great scarabs are of a fine green enamel= and are very numerous; the dated ones are of the second, tenth, and eleventh ye= ars of the reign, and record cattle and lion hunts, the arrival of a foreign br= ide at the king's court, and the making of a lake for the queen. Among the unda= ted scarabs, one fixes the boundaries of the kingdom; and another, which is possibly the official announcement of Amen-hetep's marriage, reads: " = King of the North and South Neb-maat-Ra, son of the sun Amen-hetep, Prince of Thebes, Giver of Life, The Great Royal Wife Thïy, The Living One - the name of her father - Iuaa, the name of her mother Thuaa, she is the wife of= the Great King." All of the scarabs begin with the names and titles of the king and of Thïy. 2

1 P., H.E., vol. II, 177.

2 Catalogued by WIEDEMANN, A.G., 381, 6.

107

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ Few personages of Egy= ptian history have given rise to more speculation than the famous queen of Amen-h= etep III. Many scholars have attempted to account for her origin, and various theories have been set forth in the effort to explain her position. The extensive traces of Asiatic culture found in Egypt at this period have led certain writers to claim an Asiatic birth for Queen Thïy. Hincks was t= he first writer to suggest that she was a Syrian, and that the religious revolution which followed later was due to her influence; this theory was adopted by Mariette, Brugsch, and Lauth; Wiedemann and Meyer found a Libyan origin for her; while Petrie and Budge recognised in Thïy one of the Mitannian princesses of the Tel-el-Amarna tablets.

An opposite view of her nationality was taken by Maspero, Rayet, and Bouriant; who, without going so far afield as Asia, found in Egypt itself sufficient grounds for solving the problem. As early as 1877, M. Mas= pero showed his reasons for believing that Amen-hetep's queen was an Egyptian of middle rank, possibly of Heliopolitan origin. The names of her parents as g= iven on the scarabs are unaccompanied by titles of any sort, or by signs indicat= ing a foreign origin; these facts seem to preclude all possibility that she was= the daughter of royalty, either Egyptian or foreign.

The soundness of this exp= lanation of Thïy's birth was proved when the tomb of her parents, Iuaa and Thua= a, was discovered by Mr. Davis, during the winter of 1905, in the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings. The sealed tomb when opened was found to contain its en= tire treasure of original furnishing, which was of an unprecedented richness. The mummies of Iuaa and Thuaa reposed in magnificent gilded coffins lined with silver, and inlaid with lapis-lazuli, turquoise, and carnelian. The tomb furniture included funeral couches, chairs, tables, boxes, vases and jars, ushabti figures, and a chariot, all of exquisite work

108

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

manship, plated with gold= and encrusted with coloured enamels. 1=

Many of these beautiful o= bjects were engraved with the names of Amen-hetep III. and Thïy, and had evidently been placed there as offerings. The tomb itself had remained hidd= en, and had happily escaped spoliation through many centuries. It was entirely undecorated, but Queen Thïy had honoured her parents with a burial of regal magnificence, and the one tomb chamber was literally packed with the glittering gold ornamentation of the burial outfit. The sarcophagus of Iuaa gave his titles as, "Divine Father, Keeper of the cattle of Min of Anp= u, (Ekhmim) Master of the Horse, Friend of the King;" while Thuaa is show= n to have been, "Dresser to the King, Royal Mother of the chief Wife of the King, Chantress of Amen," none of these titles being royal.

The mummies are well pres= erved; the face of Iuaa is one of singular beauty and majesty, and shows him to ha= ve been a man of advanced age at the time of his death. If the type is not pur= ely Egyptian, it is possible that there was a slight mixture of foreign blood inherited from a Syrian ancestor; but by birth, Thïy's parents not only seem to have been Egyptian, but were both devoted to the service of the god= s of Egypt, Amen of Thebes and Min of Anpu; suggesting that their native place w= as Ekhmim.

This disposes of the theo= ry that Queen Thïy, inheriting from her parents the worship of the foreign god Adon, induced her son to slight the majesty of Amen and set up in his place= the Asiatic deity. The reasons which transformed Thïy's son from Amen-hetep IV. into Khuen-aten, the "heretic king," and which brought about = the great revolution of the XVIIIth dynasty, must be sought for elsewhere.

The view taken by Maspero= , in his sketch of the parents of Thïy, holds that Thuaa's position at court as "dresser to

1 Cairo M., Room T.

109

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

the king," led to the meeting of Amen-hetep with her young daughter Thïy. It has often happe= ned in Oriental countries, that a girl of the harem has so captivated the son of the house, that she has been made his lawful wife. Some such circumstance m= ay have occurred in the case of Amen-hetep and Thïy.

The girl of low birth who= became queen of Egypt must ha= ve shown early evidence of an unusually strong character, for Amenhetep in ext= reme youth married her, placed the crown on her head, and bestowed upon her all = the honours of the heiress princesses of Egypt. That the young queen w= as beautiful is evident from her portraits; that she was a woman of great abil= ity and powerful influence, is proved by her association with her husband in al= l of his ceremonial records. She apparently shared the crown with him, as though= she had been its lineal heiress. To the end of his life she held the king's devotion, and had so important a part in Egyptian affairs, that in more than one instance a foreign potentate appealed to her directly in matters affect= ing certain international relations.

On the edge of the desert= beyond the plain of Thebes, between the river and the towering cliffs of the Theban hills, are the ruins of the palace where Queen Thïy lived. The walls of the rooms in which she led her home life are partly standing; the beautiful= painted floors still exist; the hall where she with the king received their courtie= rs, has its throne daïs in perfect preservation, although it is more than three thousand years since Amenhetep reared the palace and placed his bride therein.

It must have been in its = day a splendid dwelling-place. The ruins show a building of vast proportions; a l= arge portal and vestibule lead to the audience chamber, behind which is a banque= ting hall, beautifully decorated harem apartments, and bath rooms. Then follow s= uites of smaller rooms, probably used for officials and servants; and still beyond these, kitchens and store rooms. In the latter,

110

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

various articles of provi= sions were placed in jar's and amphorae, carefully sealed and labelled. Remains of wine jars were found with sealings which gave not only the date of vintage,= but the names of the wine-maker and of his vineyard.

Brick was the material ch= iefly used in the construction of the palace, which was of one story, the roof supported by small wooden columns gilded and painted, and having capitals in the form of lily buds. Walls, floors and ceilings were painted in gaily coloured designs, and in some places still show flights of pigeons, ducks or butterflies; the floors of the apartments which were presumably the queen's= are especially beautiful, being painted to represent rippling water in which fi= sh are swimming; while amid lotus and papyrus plants are seen ducks of soft ti= nts and life-like forms.

The careful art displayed= in all scenes where any sort of life is depicted, is in curious contrast to the roughly indicated geometrical designs on walls and ceilings; where, however= , it is possible that there was not light enough to show deficiencies. This pala= ce, together with one which is almost its counterpart, that of Khuenaten at Tel el-Amarna, form the unique specimens of royal residences still existing amo= ng the ruins of the ancient kingdom. = 1

Amen-hetep III. showed fr= om his early youth a spirited independence of action, when he slighted the prejudi= ces of the royal house, and married for love a woman of the people. Doubtless m= any such alliances had been made by other kings, but the brides so introduced i= nto the royal harems had no queenly rank. Occasionally one such wife would obta= in a title through her son's accession; but to

1 The palace of Amen-hetep III. at Me= dinet Habu was discovered by M. DARESSY, and excavated by MM. TYTUS and NEWBERRY during the seasons of 1902-3. It is described in Mr. = TYTUS' report on that work; and in NEW= BERRY and GARSTANG'S History of Egypt, 156, 157.

111

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

Thïy was reserved th= e unique honour of elevation from the ranks of the people to a queen's throne. Having once made this marriage after his own inclination, Amen-hetep seems never to have wearied in acts of devotion to his wife. He gave to her the town of Zalu in Lower Egypt, and made for her pleasure a lake, on the openinf of which he issued a commemora= tive set of scarabs; these bear the following inscription: "Eleventh year on Athyr 1, under the majesty of Horus ... mighty of valour, smiter of the Asiatics, King of the South and North, the Lord maker of created things, Neb-maat-Ra, chosen of Ra, son of the sun Amen-hetep, Prince of Thebes, Giv= er of life; the Royal Wife, the mighty Lady Thïy, the living one, - the n= ame of her father, Iuaa, the name of her mother, Thuaa; his majesty ordered the making of a lake for the royal wife, the great Lady Thïy, in her city = of Zaru (or Zalu), its length 3,600 cubits, its breadth 600 cubits; in the fir= st festival in Athyr 16, sailed his majesty in the bark Aten-neferu in his sal= oon. 1

As the lake was begun the= 1st of Athyr (October), and opened by the king, whose bark sailed over it on the 1= 6th of the same month, the whole work seems to have been accomplished in fifteen d= ays. The construction of a lake over a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide in= so short a time, seems an impossible achievement. Mr. Petrie suggests that it = may have been only the simple work of flooding some already existing depression= by means of a canal, probably during the time of the autumn inundation. 2

It would seem that Amen-h= etep wished to associate Thïy with himself in every act of his reign; even = in the records of his lion and cattle hunts, her name appears with the king's, although she could scarcely have accompanied him in person on these expeditions.

The king who was thus so = charmed by a daughter of the people, was one of the most brilliant of that group of=

1 Zeitschrift. Aeg. Sprache, XV, = 87.

2 P.'s H.E., vol. II, 184. <= /o:p>

112

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

conquerors, whose exploit= s made of the kingdom of Egypt an Empire. It= was under the prowess of Amen-hetep III. that its zenith was reached, and its boundaries fixed from the extreme South of Nubia, to the distant lands of Assyria and Mesopotamia, including the entire valley of the Euphrates. 1

Throughout the land of Egypt, and extending even to the frontier and Nubian towns, the king erected monum= ents and carved on their walls the immortal story of his devotion to Queen Thïy. She appears by his side in innumerable instances, on the more important sculptural scenes and statues, and on various small objects such = as scarabs, rings and seals. She is represented in such a way that we may pres= ume her title of Queen of Egypt to have been no empty compliment, but to have implied an active part in all ceremonials, if not in the government itself.=

She is the presiding geni= us of a small but beautiful temple at Sedeinga, erected by Amen-hetep in her honour; the inscriptions record that the king "made his monuments for the great and mighty heiress, the mistress of all lands, Thïy." 2 She also accompanies her husban= d on his famous monuments, the two colossi which overlook the Theban plain.

The temple before which t= he giant statues were erected has long since disappeared, and to-day in lonely state= the great Amen-hetep, his mother Mut-em-ua, and the beloved Thïy, keep sil= ent watch over the new world which is rising from the ruins of their dead empir= e. They are but shattered figures, giving small idea of the royal forms and features which they once represented.

According to the reports = of ancient Greek travellers, one of these statues had often been heard to sing= at early dawn; this effect may have been the result of a trick, to impress the visitor; or was possibly a natural phenomenon caused by the rapid heating of currents of cold air within the

1 N. and G., H.E., 142.

2 L., D., iii, 82.

113 I

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

stone; the singing ceased= long ago when the figure from which it emanated, having been damaged by an earthquake, was built up again with rough masonry.

One of the most splendid monuments of the age was erected near the king's residence at Thebes, and has lately been recovered f= rom Medinet Habu. It is a fine colossal group in limestone, representing Amen-h= etep and Thïy, accompanied by the princess Takhait. The group had been shattered and is now only in fragments, which will, however, be restored as nearly as possible and set up in the Cairo Museum. The heads a= re fortunately intact; that of Thïy is a beautiful specimen of the best XVIIIth dynasty work. The huge vulture wings which form the head-dress are surmounted by a crown having three uraei in front. 1

Queen Thïy was the m= other of Amen-hetep's heir, Amen-hetep IV., and of the princesses Sat-amen, Takhait, Hent-ta-neb, 2 Bakt-aten 3 and possibly of a second son, Thotmes, who died young. 4 The daughters appear on various small objects, and in the sculptures of the gre= at temple at Soleb, where they are shown assisting their parents in festival scenes.

King Amen-hetep seems to = have lived a long life with the beloved Thïy, as he married her shortly aft= er his accession, and reigned for 36 years. 5 After his death, the widowed queen erected altars to the memory of her lord. One of these still exists in the distant town of Gurob; it has the inscription: "Sh= e made her monuments of her beloved brother Neb-ma-Ra." 6 She may, then, for a short space have held an independent authority in the government, or have acted as regent for her young son Amen-hetep IV.; this is suggested by a cartouche in one of the quarries of = the Tel el-Amarna hills. The quarry had apparently been worked

1 North Portico, 380 bis, 380 ter.

2 P., I., xvii, 20.

3 P., H.E., vol. II, 203-4. =

4 L., K., 385. =

5 L., D., iii, 71; P., H.E., vol. II, 186.

6 P., I., xxiv, 7.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

under her order alone, fo= r the queen's name appears unaccompanied by those of her husband or her son. 1

Thïy's influential p= osition in both reigns under which she lived must have been one of wide celebrity; = for in the famous Babylonian Tablets found in the ruins of Khuenaten's city, 2 there is a communication from Dushratta, king of M= itanni, to Thïy herself. In this letter the foreign king calls upon the queen = to remember his old friendship with her husband, and reminds her of certain transactions between himself and Amen-hetep, about which Dushratta declares that Thïy alone has any knowledge. From the same letter it also appears that Thïy had sent a messenger to Dushratta, asking that the former friendly relations between the two countries should be maintained. In other= letters, Dushratta sends his salutations to Thïy; all of which references show = her importance in the diplomatic relations of <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Egypt with foreign lands.

She was apparently a woma= n of great beauty; the portraits of her which were executed during her husband's reign, represent a face of pure Egyptian type, youthful and sweet, with a slightly projecting chin. Several such portraits of the queen are known, on= e of the best being that in the tomb of Ouserhat, at Assaif in Western Thebes. 3

When Amen-hetep died and = his son ascended the throne, the old regime continued for a time, and Amenhetep IV. dwelt in his father's palace at Thebes. Then came the great revolution, the evidences of which make

1 P., A., 4, xlii.

2 The Babylonian Tablets were discove= red some years ago in the ruins of Khuenaten's palace at Tel el-Amarna. They are written in cuneiform, and are of great value, in connection with the king's foreign relations. They had been deposited in "The place of the record= s of the palace of the King." For translations, etc., see: Records of the P= ast, xiii-xviii; and series ii, vols. I-IV; Proceedings, Society Biblical Arch.; Mission= Archeol. Franc., Cairo; BEZOLD, Oriental Diplomacy; PET= RIE, Tel el-Amarna, etc.

3 Pub. by CARTER in his Report for 1902-3.

115 I2

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

this reign the greatest a= nomaly of Egyptian history. What the sequence was in the acts of the drama, nothing explains. With almost the earliest identification of Amen-hetep IV. with his country the revolution is an accomplished fact; Amen has been dethroned and Aten has taken his place as supreme god of Egypt; the powerful hierarchy of Amen has been defied and their order degraded; royal Thebes has been abando= ned by the king and a new capital city has been built; the young monarch has ev= en repudiated his father's name, and has assumed instead, that of Khuenaten, i.e.; "Splendour of the sun's disk." The adherents of the "heretic king" follow him to the abode he has chosen, worship with him the new god, and hew their tombs in t= he adjacent hills; a great city has sprung up to be a home for Aten; while suddenly, released from the old order of rigid law, the arts make a leap forward and find an expression, wholly new to Egypt, in a decided attempt at realism.

This movement felt its way towards expression with varying results. The former conventional rapid line with which the old artists drew the human figure, gave place to more flowing ones, and full rounded forms resulted, which, if they lost something of the early force and dignity, gained much in human feeling.

Plants and foliage were d= epicted with such vigour and beauty of treatment, that as decorative art they can scarcely be surpassed. When these methods came to be applied to portraiture, the results were even more revolutionary. Queen Thïy herself is represented in a way which differs so radically from the earlier portraits,= as to seem evidence in favour of the theory of an Asiatic origin.

The head is greatly elong= ated, the mouth droops at the corners, the chin is brought prominently forward, t= he eyes and forehead have a more natural treatment, and the throat is long and slender. In every particular, except the prominence of the chin, these later portraits differ from those of Thïy's youthful days; they have a rare distinction,

116

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

and one looks in vain for= the features of Amen-hetep's queen in the flower-like face of Khuenaten's mothe= r.

The most curious form tak= en by the new art was in its representations of the king, who is made to appear a= s an absurd caricature of his mother. That he was not in fact the monstrosity represented by these sculptures is shown in several early portraits: chiefly the fine statuette in the Louvre Museum, which prove= s that he bore a close likeness to Queen Thïy. Having, then, had no physical = deformity which the realistic artists of the day felt impelled to reproduce, the exaggerated pictures of Khuenaten are most puzzling.

Various theories have bee= n set forth by Egyptologists, searching for the clue to Khuenaten's history, and = the real meaning of the extraordinary religious and political movement of which= he was the centre. Many writers are of the opinion that he was an enthusiast a= nd reformer; others claim that in the overthrow of Amen and the humiliation of= Thebes, lay a deep political scheme which originated in the brain of Khuenaten's father. If Amen-hetep was as great a statesman as he was a conqueror, he could not have failed to perceive the ominous and ever-growing storm-cloud which threatene= d on the Egyptian horizon. The crown was looked upon at that time as the actual property of Amen-Ra, and his priesthood was in consequence of a supreme importance. Through years it had been growing in arrogance and increasing in power, until there could have been no question as to what the inevitable re= sult would be, unless something could be done to hold the priests in check.

It seems more than likely= that Amen-hetep took alarm at this state of things, and cast about for some mean= s of curtailing the priestly power. Nothing could attain that end but the overth= row of the god whom they served, and the substitution of a less important deity. This was, perhaps, the policy taught by Amen-hetep to his son, who

117

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

upon his own accession ma= de the desperate attempt to free the throne from the encroaching power of Amen.

The god chosen to superce= de Amen was Aten, the old local deity of Heliopolis. It is significant that Amen-hetep had himself erected altars to Aten, at Memphis and Thebes; and that the boat in which their majesties had taken a pleasure sail in his 12th regnal year, to inspect the Queen's lake, had the name Neferu-Aten, "the beauties of Aten."

Queen Thïy may have = played an important part in the revolution; it is certain that she was in sympathy= with it, and she probably took up her residence in Khuenaten's new capital. Here= he had erected a great temple to Aten, which is described as having been about= two hundred and fifty feet square, standing in an enclosed space half a mile in length. 1 The Sculptures show = the visit of Queen Thïy to this temple, into which she is led by the king followed by his court. The explanatory inscriptions state that this is the "Introduction of the Queen-mother Thïy, to behold her sun-shadow." 2 Together t= hey praised the Aten or "sun's disk," in an incomparable hymn to natu= re: 3

"Thy appearing is beautiful in the horizon of Heaven,

The livi= ng Aten, the beginning of Life.

Thou ari= sest in the horizon of the East,

Thou fil= lest every land with thy beauty.

&nb= sp;

The catt= le all rest in their pastures,

Where gr= ow the trees and herbs;

The bird= s fly in their haunts

Their wi= ngs adoring thy Ka.

&nb= sp;

The ship= s go forth both North and South,

And ever= y way opens at thy rising;

The fish= in the river swim up to greet thee.

Thy beam= s are within the deeps of the great sea.

1 At what is now Tel el-Amarna. P= ., H.E., vol. II, 221.

2 BRUGSCH, E.P., 221. =

3 The Hymn to Aten is edited by P= rof. BREASTED and translated by Mr. GRIFFITH. Pub. by Prof. PETRIE,= H.E., 215-218. <= /p>

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

How many= are the things which thou hast made?

Thou cre= atest the land by thy will, thou alone,

With peo= ples, herds and flocks,

Everythi= ng on the face of the earth that walketh on its feet,

Everythi= ng in the air that flieth with its wings.

In the h= ills from Syria to Kush, an= d the plains of Egypt,

Thou giv= est to every one his place, thou framest their lives,

To every= one his belongings, reckoning his length of days;

Their to= ngues are diverse in their speech,

Their na= tures in the colour of their skin.

As a div= ider thou dividest the strange peoples.

&nb= sp;

Thou mak= est the seasons of the year to create all thy works:

The wint= er making them cool, the summer giving warmth.

Thou mak= est the far-off heaven, that thou mayest rise in it,

That tho= u mayest see all that thou madest when thou wast alone."

Upon one occasion the Queen-mother gave a feast, probably at her own palace in the new city, and entertained her son and h= is queen, accompanied by three of his daughters. The relief which records this= festivity is found in the Tel el-Amarna tomb of Huy, who was overseer of the house and steward for Queen Thïy.

The last contemporary mem= orial of the queen appears to be the mention of her name in a letter to Khuenaten fr= om Dushratta, who sends gifts and salutations to the Queen-mother Thïy. On this letter a note in hieratic dates its receipt early in the twelfth year = of Khuenaten's reign: as six years of this time included a co-regency with his father, the date of the letter was in the sixth independent year of Khuenat= en. Amen-hetep III. was about sixteen = 1 when he first recorded the "Royal Wife Thïy," who could scar= cely have been younger than fourteen. If this is added to the thirty-six years of her husband's reign, and the six years of her son's during which she is kno= wn to have been alive, it appears that Thïy was at least fifty-six years = of age at the time of her death.

1 P., H.E., vol. II, 56, 177.

119

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ Mr. Petrie has recent= ly found a small portrait head of the queen, which bears her cartouche on the crown;= 1 it is a marvellous bit of reali= stic sculpture, and certainly represents a woman of nearly sixty. (See Plate No.= X.)

At an unrecorded date, so= me time during the reign of her son, the queen died. Her body was wrapped in sheets= of pure gold, laid in a magnificent gold coffin, and enclosed in a great shrin= e of gilded wood.

During the season of 1906= -7, Mr. Davis, who was excavating in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes, discovered the rough unfinished= tomb which held much of the burial outfit of the queen, including the shrine, and a co= ffin enclosing a mummy. The shrine had been broken up, the cartouches of Khuenat= en, who had buried his mother, were defaced; but the body which was supposed to= be that of the queen remained untouched; and when the excavators entered the t= omb, the mummy lay in the midst of its golden wrappings.

The coffin lid was practi= cally intact, and proved to be one of the finest ever found; the ground was a net-work of solid gold, elaborately inlaid with a scale-like design in lapis-lazuli, turquoise, and red and white carnelian. The hands of gold were crossed on the breast, and a broad gold band with inlaid hieroglyphs stretc= hed to the feet. The head had been covered with a golden mask, which had fallen off. The mummy was still adorned with a beautiful gold and enamelled neckla= ce, and wore the golden vulture-crown of Egyptian queens. The wings, delicately engraved and shimmering with iridescent colour, were folded about the head = and fastened at the back.

The tomb had, unfortunate= ly, a great crack across the ceiling, from which the plaster had dropped away, allowing water to pour into the sepulchre and greatly damaging the contents; the wood had rotted, and the mummy - a long slender blackened form - crumbl= ed like ashes to the touch.

1 From Sinai. <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Cairo M., Room T. Arch. Report, 190= 4-5.

120

PLATE X

QUEEN THÏY.

&= nbsp;

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ The inscriptions were= in the name of Khuenaten, who had made the great shrine for his mother Thïy. = Many articles were found which had formed part of the tomb-furnishing; they incl= uded vases, pots, figures and models, of a light green glaze; and four alabaster canopic jars. The lids of these vases are in the form of human heads, which= are presumably portraits of the queen; they are works of the rarest beauty, and= are almost unequalled as specimens of an idealized portraiture. The heads are of ivory white alabaster, with enamelled eyes and lapis-lazuli eyebrows; and a= ll but one are in an excellent condition.

The greater part of the c= ontents of the tomb was conveyed in safety to the Museum at <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Cairo, where it was placed on exhibitio= n in the room which contains the mummies and furniture of the queen's parents. 1 The tomb itself was not far fro= m that of Iuaa and Thuaa, and was in the same style, undecorated and with but a si= ngle chamber approached by a steep flight of steps cut in the rock.

When the supposed body of= Queen Thïy was examined, a surprising discovery was made. The bones, instead= of indicating a woman of sixty, are said to be those of a young man under twenty-five years of age. As the inscriptions refer to the queen, the objec= ts found are almost certainly to be regarded as belonging to her burial. How a young man's body, wearing a queen's crown and jewels, came to be substituted for that of Thïy, is a mystery for some future discovery to solve.

The contents of the tomb = lay in great confusion, and suggested a hasty removal from some former burial plac= e. Perhaps the queen's body had been destroyed, and the priests in charge had hurriedly replaced it by the nearest mummy at hand, a thing which frequently happened when neglect on the part of tomb attendants had resulted in the lo= ss of a royal mummy. Or it is possible that in the

1 Cairo M., Room T.

121

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

contents of this tomb. th= ere are parts of two different burials, confused in the removal.

The youth of the mysterio= us mummy seems to preclude the possibility of its being Khuenaten himself, but it mi= ght be some prince of his house, or of that of Amen-hetep III.; in this case the golden vulture is probably to be regarded as the vulture of Mut, and not as= the crown of the queens of Egypt.

There are many portraits = and other memorials of Thïy extant. She is often figured by the side of Amen-hetep III.; on the colossi and temple inscriptions at Thebes, Gurob, Soleb, and Sedeinga; on statues and on the large historical scarabs; at Tel el-Amarna, alone as in = the quarry inscriptions, with Khuenaten in the temple ceremonials, and in the t= omb of Huy.

Her face is found on seve= ral "trial pieces," one of which, a lovely example of the new art portraiture, is preserved in the Flinders Petrie collection. 1 She is prominent in the Tel el-= Amarna letters; and alabaster ushabti figures bearing her name were placed in the = tomb of her husband at Thebes. A toilet box in the Turin Museum and small articles preserved in various collections contain her cartouche; many of her scarabs are known; and an enamelled vase given to her by the king is one of the finest specimens of ceramic art in the Cairo<= /st1:PlaceName> Museum. 2 In some instances she is adored= as a goddess.

The great revolutionary m= ovement, which was at its climax during Thïy's last years, gave a sudden freedo= m to thought and feeling which found a vent in every direction. A short and brilliant period of independent productiveness flashed into being; and the creations of this age prove the variety of forms Egyptian workers could pro= duce when freed from conventional limitations. The literature, the poetry of the age, the extraordinary approach to modern

1 Pub. in P.'s H.E., vol. II, 182.

2 South Hall, Case H, No. 747.

122

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

thought in its philosophy= , the monotheistic character of its religious principles, the admirable fidelity = to nature in all of its expressions, make the reign of the "heretic king" one of the most remarkable in ancient history.

In many senses the revolu= tion was the production of genius; perhaps Khuenaten himself was that genius, or it = may be that his policy of reform and freedom only removed the seal on individual silence, and opened the way for free expression to many minds of genius abo= ut him.

Of the daughters of Amen-= hetep and Thïy, the heiress was SAT-AMEN, "the Royal Daughter, the Lady= of both Lands, the Great Royal Wife, living."

A stela1 in the Cairo Museum pictures the princess as a child accompanied by her nurse. She is also reco= rded on a statue of her steward Amenhetep, son of Hapi; 2 on a disk from Tel el-Amarna; 3 and on a blue glazed ring from the ruins of her father's pala= ce at Thebes. 4 Two memorials of Sat-amen, the fragments of an ebony box, 5 a= nd a blue kohl-tube, 6 call her the daughter of Amen-hetep, and add the title of "Great Royal Wife." =

This title does not appar= ently place the princess where one might expect to find her, i.e., as the consort of her brother Amen-hetep IV., since that = king is always accompanied by his queen Nefertiti. The name of Sat-amen never appears with his, but is coupled only with that of her father. She was prob= ably one of those unmarried heiresses who bore the title of royal wife as a birthright, signifying her destiny as a king's consort; or she may have been married to an elder brother, a possible heir of Amen-hetep, who died early.= In any case, the fact that she was Great

1 MARIETTE, A., II, pl. 49.

2 Annales du Service des Antiquit&eac= ute;s, ii, 283.

3 PETRIE, Tel el-A., xiii, 6.

4 Coll., Mr. H. THOMPSON, I, fig. 1.

5 B.M., No. 5899a; Arch. Journal, vol.<= /i> VIII, 39.

6 Coll., Mr. MACGREGOR, pub. by NEWBERRY, P.S.B.A., 1902.

123

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

Royal Wife during the lif= etime of her mother, Queen Thïy, proves that the title could be held by more th= an one queen at the same time. In this instance it represented the rank of roy= al consort only for the queen, while for the princess it was the title of her position as heiress. 1

In the tomb of Iuaa and T= huaa, two fine gilded armchairs inscribed with the name of Sat-amen were found, w= hich had probably been placed there as offerings from the princess to her grandparents. 2 Her representa= tions on one of these chairs show Sat-amen as a child, presenting offerings to the goddess of the Nile. On the back, the sc= ene displays Queen Thïy, accompanied by two of her children, one nameless, while the other, Sat-amen, stands in front of the queen and is evidently the more important one of the two daughters.

From the facts that this = heiress princess is not named as the wife of the heir, and that, in the only portra= its of her which survive, she is shown as a child, it seems clear that she died young and before she could assume the crown of Great Consort, to which her birth entitled her.

Mr. Petrie thinks that the restoration of a chapel of Amen-hetep II. at Thebes was made by Amen-hetep III. to h= onour his daughter Sat-amen, as fragments of a relief in her name were found on i= ts site. 3

Takhait, another daughter= of Amen-hetep and Thïy, perhaps took Sat-amen's place as heiress at that princess's death; Takhait accompanies her parents in the colossal group from Medinet Habu, and wears the royal vulture and uraeus of the queen's crown. = 4

1 See page 68. =

2 Cairo M., Room T, Case N.

3 PETRIE, Six Temples, 6.

4 Cairo M., North Portico, 381.

124

CHAPTER X.
FOREIGN WIVES OF AMENHETEP III. AN= D OTHER QUEENS OF XVIIITH DYNASTY.

AMEN-HETEP had other wives besides his brilliant queen Thïy, having contracted several alliances = with foreign princesses. GILUGHIPA, or KIRGHIPA, was one of the chief of these. = 1 She was the daughter of Satharn= a, King of Mitanni, one of the North Syrian countries. 2 Only one mention of this princess exists in contemporary Egyp= tian records; she was the bride in whose honour Amen-hetep issued one of his set= s of commemorative scarabs. They are dated in the tenth year of his reign, and a= fter the name and titles of the King and Queen Thïy, the inscription procee= ds: "Wonders - they brought to his Majesty the daughter of Satharna, princ= e of Neharina, the lady Gilughipa, and her chief women, 317 in number."

The king of Egypt had obtained the Mitannian princess = with difficulty, for although an alliance with <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Egypt must have been very des= irable to the Syrian princes, yet Amen-hetep was obliged to ask several times for Gilughipa's hand. It was only "granted on the seventh time of asking,&= quot; according to the Babylonian letter which refers to the transaction.

Although the king had bee= n so persistent in desiring the marriage, and had thought the bride's entry into= Egypt of sufficient importance to commemorate by special scarabs, yet the lady who entered her husband's land with a retinue of 317 attendants, straightway disappears into the royal

1 A.Z., xviii, 82.

2 Babylonian Letters, IV, P.S.B.A., 120; XI, R.P., XV, 79.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

harem. She bears no queen= ly titles, and with the exception of an incidental mention in one or two of the Tel el-Amarna letters, is never again heard of.

A second king of Mitanni, Dushratta, was the brother of Gilughipa. In two of his letters on foreign affairs, written to the king of Egypt, Dushratta sends his salutations to his sister, accompanying them by present= s of jewellery and of oils. On one occasion the princess' father sent to her a statue of the goddess Ishtar, which arrived in Egypt accompanied by priests,= and after a visit of some months returned home. If Gilughipa had adopted the religion of Egypt, she still welcomed the chief deity of her native land when the image was se= nt to her by Satharna.

One of the later Babyloni= an letters refers to this sojourn of the goddess Ishtar at the Egyptian court.= 1

Gilughipa was by no means= the only foreign bride of Amen-hetep. The Tel el-Amarna letters, several of whi= ch are the official communications regarding such marriages, show that the roy= al harem must have been full of these Syrian women. The records prove that Amen-hetep married a daughter of Satharna, a daughter of Dushratta, a sister and a daughter of Kallimasin, and a sister of Buraburiash, kings of Babylonia.

Foreign marriages had lon= g been popular with the Egyptian monarchs, and the position of these princesses in= the Pharaoh's household appears to have been an honourable one, their children ranking next only after those of the solar race.

The Babylonian documents referring to these matters are full of interesting information. In one lett= er, Dushratta reminds the king that not only he, but also his grandfather before him, had each to ask seven times before receiving the Mitannian wives of th= eir choice. This seeming reluctance to bestow the Syrian ladies on the Egyptian monarchs must have been anything but sincere,

1 P.S.B.A., xv, 124. <= /span>

126

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

since the letters of the = foreign princes teem with the most evident satisfaction and pride in the alliances = with the Pharaonic house.

These matrimonial occasio= ns are made the pretext for unblushing requests for presents of gold, etc., which = are expressed in explicit terms. Dushratta was one of the most grasping, and was loud in his demands concerning the dowry of a daughter whom Amen-hetep marr= ied. In a letter written to Amen-hetep's son, Dushratta complains bitterly about certain golden statues promised him by the Egyptian king, who had, however, sent only wooden ones. Dushratta urges the son to make good his father's promise, and he also writes to Queen Thïy, begging her influence in the matter, that the gold statues may be despatched at once.

Another complaint is of t= he quality of the gold sent as a gift from Egypt. The recipient had meas= ured and found it under weight, and he more than hints at his suspicions that the gift was not gold at all. He is so incensed thereat, that he declines to se= nd the princess whose marriage is in question, and asks to have his presents returned. Another writer begs that the king will himself measure the gold t= o be sent, and look after its quality.

The letters are childish = and naïve in their repeated reminders of the number and value of the gifts sent by the writers to the King of Egypt, and loud are the reproaches when = the return presents lacked anything in quality or quantity.

Most of these princesses = over whom the Pharaohs and their Syrian allies bargained and quarrelled, are nameless ones, appearing in the Tel el-Amarna tablets only as the sister or daughter of such and such a king.

The most interesting of t= hese matrimonial transactions is the tale of a certain princess, about whom there was an extended correspondence, involving much difficulty and

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

recrimination. Kallimasin= was the king of Babylonia, whose sister, early i= n the reign of Amen-hetep III., had left her home to become one of the numerous foreign brides of that monarch. After her departure, all intercourse between herself and her father's house had ceased, nor had she been heard of since. Years passed away, and Amen-hetep became desirous of possessing Kallimasin's young daughter Sukharte, and sent the usual demand for the princess.

Kallimasin was apparently= averse to parting with his child, or perhaps was genuinely anxious as to the life = that might await her in the far-away harem of the Egyptian king. At any rate, he returned a refusal to Amen-hetep, alleging as a reason his own suspicions regarding the fate of his sister, long since disappeared into the Pharaoh's household, and complained that he did not know if she were alive or dead. A= men-hetep then demanded that a messenger be sent from Chaldea<= /st1:place> to enquire into the matter, and learn the happy conditions under which the = lady was then living. The messengers were sent as desired, but for some reason failed to identify the princess, and returned to their lord without any satisfactory news of his sister.

Kallimasin thereupon comm= unicated to Amen-hetep his belief that the messengers had been imposed on, and that = some "ordinary girl of Khanigabbi or of Gagaza or of Ugaret" had been passed off on them as the princess whom they sought, but had not been able = to distinguish. To this the Egyptian king responded with some indignation, ask= ing why his good faith should be doubted more than that of other kings to whom Kallimasin's daughters had been given, and why he did not desire to see the= se, in order to assure himself of their state. "One of the messengers whom Kallimasin had sent was but a shepherd," contemptuously wrote Amen-het= ep. "Let some official be sent who had known the princess in youth and cou= ld recognize her, and assure the king of his sister's safety."

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ Perhaps Amen-hetep ha= d seen the young Sukharte on one of his inspection tours into the Syrian provinces= , or else the fame of her charms had in some way reached him, for the heart of t= he Pharaoh was possessed by the thought of her, and he vehemently pressed his suit, promising to bestow richer gifts than had ever before been sent, and = to give to Kallimasin, moreover, an additional present on behalf of the sister= for whom his anxiety had been expressed.

No letter exists to show = whether Kallimasin sent the older official who succeeded in satisfying him, or whet= her his fraternal solicitude was set at rest by Amen-hetep's generosity in the = way of gifts. As no further reference is made to her in the correspondence, we = may take it for granted that Amen-hetep found means to quiet the brother's fear= s.

The next excuse for not s= ending Sukharte to Egypt was that she was not old enough, and, besides, Kallimasin himself wanted an Egyptian princess to wife, a request refused by Amen-hetep on the ground th= at Egyptian princesses had never been given to "a nobody." Sensitive= ness seems not to have been a quality entering into the Babylonian character, for Kallimasin did not resent this, but argued the matter, urging that as Amen-hetep was king he could do as he pleased, and no one could criticise t= he manner in which he chose to bestow the ladies of his family. However, Kallimasin was not particular, and as what he wanted was simply an Egyptian wife, he naïvely remarks that there must be in Egypt many beautiful women. L= et Amen-hetep send him one of these, and "who could say," he adds, "that she is not a princess?" The letter ends with the threat tha= t if Amen-hetep will not accommodate him in this matter, neither shall the Phara= oh have a Babylonian wife.

This seems to have produc= ed the desired result, for another letter from Kallimasin acknowledges with hearty=

129 K

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

thanks and satisfaction t= he arrival in Babylonia of the lady sent from Egypt. Apparently, somewhat l= ater, the Babylonian king announces to Amen-hetep that the princess he wished to marry is now of a suitable age, and will be sent to the Pharaoh upon his demand. Valuable gifts were exchanged, and it would seem that this episode = in the loves of Amen-hetep came to a happy termination.

An instance of the leisur= ely way in which these ancient princes dealt with one another is given at the end of this letter, where Kallimasin hopes that his messenger may soon be sent bac= k, and not detained at the Egyptian court for six years, as the last one had b= een.

These foreign alliances b= ecame so popular, and the Syrian ladies found such favour in the sight of the Pharao= hs, that when Amen-hetep's young son arrived at a marriageable age, the king ag= ain sent his envoys to Dushratta, to ask for a daughter to become the "Mistress of Egypt." This message evidently referred to a bride f= or the prince Amen-hetep, and not for the king. The great Queen Thïy was living, in the full exercise of her powers, and a second queen could scarce= ly have divided with her the royal prerogatives.

TADUKHIPA, the princess in question, is mentioned in several of the Tel el-Amarna letters. The first expressed Dushratta's entire willingness to send his daughter to Egypt a= s soon as her bridal trousseau was ready, which would be in six months' time. Meanwhile the gold sent by Amen-hetep to Dushratta had been found unsatisfactory, in consequence of which Dushratta was inclined to break off= the negotiations altogether. As usual in matters of this sort, Dushratta's thre= at had little sincerity, for a later communication announces the departure of Tadukhipa under an escort from her native land.

She arrived at the Egypti= an court, bringing gifts to the Pharaoh from her father, to which was added his blessing,

130

PLATE XI

QUEEN NEFERTITI AND HER CHILDREN.

&= nbsp;

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

with the hope that the br= ide would bring every joy to her lord, and that Ishtar and Shamash might make h= er pleasing in the king's sight.

It was about this time th= at Amen-hetep died, perhaps even before the end of Tadukhipa's journey; Amenhe= tep IV. would therefore have been the reigning king when he received the Mitann= ian bride for whom his father had sent. 1 After her marriage, Tadukhipa is several times mentioned in the letters of Dushratta, who sends her his greetings and presents. One of these letters, written to Queen Thïy, calls Tadukhipa, Thïy's daughter-in-law, w= hich makes it clear that she was the wife of Amen-hetep IV.

NEFER-NEFER= U-ATEN NEFERTITI.

"The G= reat Royal Wife, his beloved; Lady of both Lands; Princess of North and South; Great Heiress, living and flourishing for ever eternally."

The queen of Amen-hetep I= V. is the only one who ever appears with him as his wife. She is figured by his side = in all scenes, domestic and ceremonial, and was the mother of his children. Th= is makes a difficulty concerning Tadukhipa, who was sent for from Mitanni to be the "Mistress of Egypt." But Nefertiti invariably appears as the "Mistress of Egypt," and unless this was purely a conventional title which could be borne by two wives at the same time, it would seem that Nefertiti and Tadukhipa were one and the same person.

The foreign princesses so= metimes retained their own names after an Egyptian marriage, as in the case of

1 Some writers think that she married= first Amenhetep III., and later, his son.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT

Amen-hetep's wife Gilughi= pa; in other instances they took Egyptian names. 1 The Syrian Tadukhipa might, then, have become Nefertiti when raised to the = rank of Queen of Egypt.

On the other hand, Amen-h= etep IV., through his mother Thïy, was not of royal origin; and the traditi= ons of his house would have pointed to the selection of a royal bride, through = whom he might strengthen his claim to the throne. It has, therefore, been thought that Nefertiti was the daughter of some princess of the solar race, who was possibly a sister of Amen-hetep III. She appears with the full royal titles= of the great queens of the dynasty, whose descendant she may have been. Queenly titles, however, even those of "heiress," and "Lady of both Lands," are not in themselves proof of inherited rights, since they we= re borne by Queen Thïy, who was of humble origin.

Mr. Petrie explains the conflicting evidences regarding Amen-hetep's queen, by a theory which makes Tadukhipa-Nefertiti the daughter of a royal Egyptian princess, married to o= ne of the Mitannian princes. Tadukhipa would thus come into Egypt a Syrian by birth, and = yet inheritor through her mother of the solar rights. 2 If such an alliance had been made, however, it is difficult to see why Kallimasin did not quote it in answer to the refusal of his request= for an Egyptian princess, whom Amen-hetep declined to give "to a nobody.&q= uot;

Perhaps these two queens = may be best explained by supposing Nefertiti a princess of the royal house, and Tadukhipa a secondary wife, whose position was not of sufficient rank to include her in the official sculptures of Amen-hetep IV. In this case, the invitation to become the "Mistress of Egypt" could have implied nothing more than a formal compliment.

Whether Nefertiti was the= n a Syrian princess or an Egyptian, it is certain that she was the beloved and honoured queen of Amen-hetep IV. Shortly after his

1 M.'s S.N., 381.

2 P., H.E., vol. II, 183.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

accession came the great = change in the king's religion and policy which led him to abandon Thebes, to establish a new city for the enthronement of Aten, and to change his name from Amen-hetep to Khuenaten. In all of this revolutionary movement the king had the sympathet= ic support of his powerful mother Thïy and of his queen Nefertiti.

The graceful figure of his consort often appears in the worship of Aten, who descends in a shower of r= ays upon her and her children, each ray ending in a tiny hand which rests caressingly upon them. She invariably follows the king, or sits at his side= , in all ceremonial scenes; together they receive the court officials, or feast = and make merry in company with their children. The domestic life and tastes of = the king are prominently brought forward, and everything that Khuenaten did, the queen and children apparently did too. In one instance, Nefertiti is depict= ed sitting on her husband's knee, 1 a most unusual representation for Egyptian art. Sometimes the royal pair are shown with only one or two daughters, but as time goes on, the number incre= ases until there are six; to this group is added a sister of Queen Nefertiti, the princess Mutnezemet.

Khuenaten's devotion to h= is family was expressed in terms of the greatest tenderness. From the heights = of the steep cliffs beyond the capital city, the king's prayer still cries for blessings on his race: Sweet love fills my heart "for the queen, for h= er young children. Grant a great age to the queen Nefertiti, in long years may= she keep the hand of the Pharaoh. Grant a great age to the royal daughter Merit-aten, and to the royal daughter Maktaten, and to their children; may = they keep the hand of the queen their mother eternally and for ever." 2

Nefertiti in turn prays i= n her lord's behalf: "Grant to thy son who loves thee, life and truth to the lord of the

1. P., Tel el-A., i, 16; L. D., iii, 99b.

2 Rock inscription near Tel el-Amarna. Transl. BRUGSCH, E.P., 221-= 223.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

land Khuenaten, that he m= ay live united with thee in eternity. As for her his wife, the Queen Nefertiti, may= she live for ever more eternally by his side, well pleasing to thee; she admires what thou hast created day by day."

In addition to the temple of Aten and other buildings which grew up in the new city, Khuenaten erected a palace on the model of that of his father at Thebes, although = it was on a vaster scale and the decorations were in a freer and more sumptuous manner. The Cairo Museum has several = fine specimens of painted pavements taken from the ruins of this palace. 1 The blocks are decorated with foliage, birds and plants, which glow with life and bear witness to the brilliant artistic achievements of the time.

It was here, amid splendid surroundings, that Queen Nefertiti and the Queen-mother Thïy dwelt; a centre about which gathered the court life of the new capital. A gay and ha= ppy life it seems to have been, judging from the pleasant scenes of contemporary records. In all ancient art there is no sweeter picture of child life than = that left by some admirable artist of the court, which shows two of Nefertiti's little daughters caressing one another as they play by their mother's side.=

A curious and amusing ref= erence to Nefertiti occurs in one of the Tel el-Amarna tablets. A letter from Burraburiash, King of Babylon, had accompanied a present of lapis-lazuli to= the Egyptian monarch. Twenty-one pieces of the stone were intended as a gift to= the king's "Mistress of the House," i.e., the queen; the smallness of her share of the gift, Burraburiash carefully explained, was because she had shown him no sympathy upon some recent occas= ion of trouble or illness in his house.

Nefertiti had no son to s= ucceed his father. The six daughters were called respectively: Merit-aten, signify= ing "Beloved of Aten"; Makt-aten, "Virtue of Aten"; Ankh-

1 Room of the Old Fauna and Flora= .

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

es-en-aten, "Aten is= her life"; Nefer-neferu-aten, "Beauty of the beauties of Aten"; Nefer-neferu-ra, "Beauty of the beauties of Ra"; and Setep-en-ra, "Chosen of Ra."

The seventh princess, Bak= t-aten, "Servant of Aten," has been included in this family, but is proba= bly the youngest child of Queen Thïy, with whom she appears, being styled a king's daughter; while the children of Khuenaten are always called "daughters of Nefertiti." 1 One of these princesses, Makt-aten, died during her father's reign, and was buried in the king's own tomb, hewn in the cliffs which rise from the desert far behind the royal city.

Two of the daughters marr= ied the two succeeding kings of Egypt; while a third became the wife of a Babylonian prince, the son of King Burraburiash. This princess continued to live at her father's court, and a letter from the Babylonian king mentions a gift which he is sending to his son's wife. This is described as a necklace of great value; the document is unfortunately damaged, which leaves it uncertain whether the numbers "1048" refer to the weight of the necklace, 2 or to the number of stones composing it. 3

The reign of the "he= retic king" lasted for seventeen or eighteen years, which is proved by the d= ates on sealings of wine jars, found amid the mounds of the ruined city. Khuenat= en then probably died during his eighteenth regnal year, although no record of= his death has survived. His mummy was not among those of the Pharaohs of his ho= use, found at various times by modern explorers; nor up to the present has any t= race of it been discovered.

With the death of her hus= band, Queen Nefertiti also passes into silence, and there is no further mention of her, or of the time of her death; whether she lived on through the reigns of her two sons-in-law, or whether she died before the fall of Aten, there is nothing to show; and the

1 P., H.E., II, 203, 204.

2 Ibid., 269. <= /p>
3 BUDGE, H.E., IV, 197.

135

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

end of her story, like th= at of so many other royal women of Egypt, remains untold.

Queen Nefertiti's name is= found on many fragments of sculpture, as well as on vases and rings of gold and porcelain. Her portraits are numerous both on stelae and statues. Of these,= the finest one is an admirably executed fragment in the <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Amherst collection; it has been broken = away from the original statue, and consists only of a nose and mouth of great beauty. 1

With Khuenaten's death ca= me the gradual fading of his brilliant dream of a new independent dynasty, dedicat= ed to Aten. Whatever the king's peculiarities, he had a personal force strong enough to carry everything before it, to the point of a complete revolution= in the kingdom, in religion, ethics and arts. As soon as the ruling spirit of = its creator passed away, the daring creation stood for a short space, slowly tottering to a sure fall, and then collapsed as suddenly as it had come into existence.

MERIT-ATEN, the eldest da= ughter of the great Enthusiast, had married when very young, Semenkh-ka-Ra, a pers= on whose antecedents are unknown, and who probably based his claim to the thro= ne entirely on his wife's rights. He seems to have been associated for a short time with the reign of his father-in-law. Merit-aten as a child is often fo= und in the family groups of Khuenaten's time, but after her husband's accession, little is known of her. A few rings bearing her name exist; 2 an altar block was dedicated by= her, and she appears with Semenkh-ka-Ra in a tomb which was under construction during Khuenaten's lifetime.

Merit-aten held the digni= ty of Queen of Egypt for only a few years, which were passed at the palace of her father, and occupied with a last effort to keep alive the expiring flame of Aten-worship. But the struggle was too great;

1 Pub. by PETRIE, H.E., II, 182.

2 P., Tel el-A., xv, 106-7. =

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

the shoulders on which th= e burden fell were too feeble to support it; very soon the new king died, and the yo= ung queen, leaving no descendants, passed into obscurity. Her years, as compute= d by Mr. Petrie, could not have exceeded twenty-five. 1 The same fate befell her sister,

ANKH-ES-EN-ATEN, who was = also very young when she married Tut-ankh-aten.

This prince calls Amen-he= tep III. his father, which may possibly mean that he was the son of one of the many foreign wives of that king; he married Khuenaten's third daughter, and thro= ugh her rights ascended the throne. No sooner had the reign begun, than the new queen saw the final crash of Aten's kingdom, and beheld the erection of her father's devotion and hopes crumble into dust

The court returned to Thebes; Amen was = restored to his supremacy, and his priesthood regained that power which for a moment= had been held in check by the daring schemes of a monarch. The Queen's name, bestowed on her in praise of Aten, was changed to Ankhes-en-Amen, at the sa= me time that her husband dropped the Aten termination of his own name; and all traces of the great heresy soon disappeared from the land.

More records survive from= this reign than from the last, and in all of these the queen Ankhes-en-Amen appe= ars prominently by her husband's side. Rings and a few other small objects havi= ng her name are found; there is no record of any children. The Queen seems to = have been only about thirty-one 2 a= t the time of her husband's death and her own disappearance from history.

One cannot help wondering= what became of these two youthful queens, who at the time of their husband's dea= ths and their own enforced retirement were still young enough to have had long lives before them. Perhaps they sought a refuge in their father's fallen ci= ty, which had not then been entirely abandoned; and, amid the scenes of their <= /p>

1 P., H.E., II, 231. <= /span>

2 Ibid., 232. <= /p>

137

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

childhood, lived on memor= ies of the lost splendours of their house. Daughters of a king who gave to his children an extraordinary devotion; their early youth passed in a brilliant court; both for a time reigning queens; they yet lived to see the kingdom p= ass to strange hands, and all traces of their own house to vanish.

The short time of their appearance, and their early exit from the scene, make these two princesses,= the last representatives of Khuenaten's ill-fated race, rather pathetic figures= in the fading glories of the XVIIIth dynasty.

On the death of Khuenaten= 's second son-in-law, the throne was ascended by Ay, whose queen was named:

TY. It is not known by wh= at means Ay made good his claim to the crown. He is identified by Egyptologists with that Ay who was Master of the Horse during the time of Khuenaten. Among the courtiers' tombs near the new capital, At caused a burial place to be made = for himself; on the walls of this tomb he recorded his own position as that of "fan-bearer to the king, keeper of the mares, royal scribe, and divine father Ay"; while his wife Ty was "great nurse, nourisher of the goddess queen, adorer of the king." 1

The position of nurse to = the queen was perhaps a high one at court, and it may be that Ty had some connection by birth with the royal house. That the "nurse of the queen," and the "keeper of the mares," ascended the Pharaoh's throne at all, is a proof that some sort of claim existed.

After Ay became king, he = built another tomb at Thebes for himself and his queen. She is there described as "Royal Wife, Great Lady, Princess great of favours, Lady of the two Lands," titles which = one is tempted to think were at that time bestowed on every woman who occupied = the position of queen-consort, whether she was of royal birth or not.

1 L., D., iii, 105f.

138

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ The portraits of Ty, = as shown in the Theban and Tel-el-Amarna tombs, 1 and on a rock shrine at Ekhmim, 2<= /b> give anything but the impression of a royal countenance. The face is more l= ike that of a rather ill-favoured woman of humble origin. It may be presumed th= at Ty was accorded a burial place with her husband in the tomb he had made amo= ng the royal ones at Thebes. Perhaps some succeeding occupant of the throne regarded these two personage= s as intruders into the company of the Pharaohs, for their names are systematica= lly erased from the tomb sculptures. The defacement may be due, however, not to royal command, but to that wanton spirit of destruction which has done so m= uch in modern times to destroy the monuments of Egypt. Except the two instanc= es of Ty's appearance in her husband's tomb, and on the Ekhmim stela, there are no traces surviving of her, nor records of any children.

The great dynasty founded= by Aahmes the Deliverer was now rapidly nearing its end; and but one more Phar= aoh was to ascend the throne before the dawn of a new era under the Rameses. The royal line of conquerors, whose exploits made the dynasty a period of unparalleled brilliancy, was exhausted. After the death of King Ay, there w= as no one to assume the crown but Horemheb, probably the same person as the general of that name who had distinguished himself under the preceding king= s. Connected with Horemheb, either as wife or mother, is the last queen known = of the XVIIIth dynasty:

MUT-NEZEMET= .

"Royal= Wife, Lady of both Lands."

This queen is another of = the many mysterious figures who appear in Egyptian annals with no definite record by=

1 B., E., 226.

2 L., D., iii, 114d.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

which they can be placed. Horemheb has been supposed a descendant of Thotmes III.; but it is a significant fact that his records appear to base his claim not on this desc= ent, but on some tie connecting him with Mut-nezemet, whose name signifies "= ;the sweet mother."

This evidence does not de= termine the relationship, and may with equal probability make her his mother or his wife. In the sculptures of Khuenaten's time, a sister of Queen Nefertiti is sometimes included in the family group; she is called Mut-nezemet, and may = be the same as the queen of Horemheb's reign.

In such a case she would = have been of equal royal birth with Nefertiti, possibly a grand-daughter of Thot= mes IV., and it would be plain that her husband or her son would inherit her ri= ghts to the crown. Mut-nezemet has been the subject of much discussion. 1 At first she was looked upon as= an independent queen, the daughter and successor of Horemheb; later readings of the monuments concerning her afforded evidence to some writers that she was this king's mother, 2 and to o= thers that she was his wife. 3

The mysterious inscriptio= n which proves her importance to Horemheb's succession, and yet withholds her exact position, is unfortunately mutilated. It is written on a granite statue of = the king and Mut-nezemet, now in T= urin. 4 The inscription gives a rath= er puzzling account of Horemheb, which seems to imply that he claimed a divine parentage, 5 as in the cases of Hatshepsut and of Amen-hetep III. After a laudatory notice of the young pri= nce, his creation and approval by the gods, and his divine appointment to the throne, the following passage occurs:-

1 ROSELLINI; CHAMPOLLION.

2 BIRCH; MASPERO.

3 LEPSIUS; WILKINSON; BRUGSCH; WIEDEMANN.

4 L., T., 1379; R., S., xliv, 5, A.; T.S.B.A., iii, = 486.

5 M.'s S.N., 342, n. 3.

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THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ "Behold this nob= le Horus desired in his heart to establish his son upon his throne of eternity. Horus proceeded in rejoicing to Thebes, the city= of the eternal lord, with his son (i.e= ., Horemheb) in his embrace, even to Karnak, until he came into the presence of Amen, in order to give him his office as king, to make his length of days. Behold Amen appeared in his noble feast in Southern Thebes, and when he saw the majesty of this god, even Horus and his son with him in the royal entry to give him his office and his throne, then behold Amen-Ra met him in rejoicing ... he conveyed himself to this chief h= eir and prince of both lands, Horemheb; he went to the house of the king, going before him to the palace of his great and noble daughter (Mut-nezemet). She made obeisance, she embraced his beauties, she placed herself before him, a= nd all the gods rejoiced at his appearing."

This passage implies that Mut-nezemet was under the protection of Amen. As Horemheb was devoted to the restoration of this god's service, the priesthood probably favoured him as a candidate for the crown, and may have bestowed on him as wife, or even as official wife, the heiress-princess who was Amen's priestess. Or it is poss= ible that Mut-nezemet, being of royal descent, was the wife of a priest of Amen = and the mother of Horemheb; and in the scene described on the statue, she perha= ps performed some ceremony by which her sovereign rights were formerly conveye= d to her son.

If the queen is the same = as Nefertiti's sister, Mut-nezemet, a vast change had taken place since the ti= me when the little princess raised her praises to Aten in Khuenaten's devoted groups, to the day when she appears as a devotee of Amen, and the probable = wife of his high priest. Many years had passed since Amen's rival had his short-lived triumph, and Mut-nezemet, if identical with Nefertiti's sister, must have been nearly sixty at the time of Horemheb's accession. 1

1 P., H.E., II, 233.=

141

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ She is the only known= queen of this reign. Beyond the inscription of the Turin statue, no detailed evidence conc= erning Mut-nezemet is found, and her representations are few. Her figure is shown = with Horemheb on the Turin group, and on the side of the statue she is depicted as a female sphinx. Her name is on a scarab in the Berlin Museum, on a ring in the Petrie collection, and= on the figure of a frog in the Cairo Museum.

The chief interest center= ing in this queen's personality is her identification with a certain colossal head= in the Cairo= Museum. 1 This magnificent fragment of sculpture was found at Karnak, and was thought by Mariette to be a portrai= t of Queen Thïy, for some years being so labelled in the Museum. Miss Ameli= a B. Edwards made the suggestion that the head came from some great statue of Qu= een Hatshepsut. Subsequent excavations at Karnak brought to light some fragments which were believed to be pieces of the bod= y to which this head belonged; the statue is said to represent the goddess Mut. =

M. Maspero called attenti= on to its similarity to the fine work of Horemheb's time, and thought it was inte= nded for a likeness of the only queen who appears in his reign. It might still b= e a portrait of Mut-nezemet, even though under the attributes of a goddess.

This head, whether queen = or goddess, is one of the most beautiful productions of Egyptian art. It posse= sses the dignity, power and repose which are characteristic of the great works o= f the age. The modelling of the face, the low brows, the long eyes and well-formed nose, and above all the keen vitality of the mouth curved into a haunting smile, make this portrait one of the most distinguished of antiquity. The h= ead is in fine limestone, of a creamy white tint, which gives it a peculiar pur= ity and softness. A second head of the same type was found at Karnak by M. Legrain, in 1904.

1 Cairo M., ROOM M, 312.

142

PLATE XII

QUEEN MUT-NEZEMET (?)

&= nbsp;

TABLE OF TH= E XIXTH AND XXTH DYNASTIES.

&= nbsp;

CHAPTER XI.<= /p>
QUE= ENS OF = THE XIXTH DYNASTY.

Thebes, about 1328 to 1202 B.C.

IN the obscure closing of= the XVIIIth dynasty it is difficult to trace the beginning of the XIXth, or the origin of the famous Ramesside family, its sovereign house. The founder of = the dynasty, Ramses I., whatever his claim may have been, ascended the throne about 1328 B.C.

Judging from the supremac= y of the Egyptian women, and from the instances where other new dynasties were found= ed on the rights of heiresses of the preceding one, it is probable that Ramses I. claimed his crown through marriage with a descendant of one of the XVIIIth dynasty sovereigns. On the threshold of the new era appears a queen with the titles which usually represented royal inheritance:

SITRA, "the Lady of = both Lands, Royal Consort, Royal Mother, Divine Wife." 1 It is quite probable that this princess brought the sovereign rights to the XIXth dynasty, in the same way that Queen Aah-hetep I. bequeathed them to the XVIIIth. Sitra has the title of "Royal Mother" in her own tomb, but the na= me of her son is not stated. She appears, however, in a second tomb, 2 that of Seti, the son of Ramses, where she is represented as following immediately after Ramses, and must therefore have been closely related to both kings. 3

1 BRUGSCH and BOURIANT, Livre des Roi= s.

2 M., A., i, 32.

3 For various opinions of Sitra's ide= ntity, see M.'s P.S.B.A., xi, 190.=

144

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ From her presence in = Seti's tomb, she is probably to be regarded as the mother of that king, and the queen of Ramses I. It is possible that she was a grand-daughter of Khuenaten, but at present no evidence exists by which her descent may be traced. Seti is the = only son known of Ramses I., and presumably of Sitra. In the Valle= y of the Queens' Tombs at Thebes, Sitra's tomb is found; 1 her portrait 2 is traced on its wa= lls, and her only other appearance is on the monuments of her son Seti. 3

A second descendant of th= e old royal line of the XVIIIth dynasty, who was connected with the rise of the Ramesside house, was

TUAA, "Great Heiress, Great Royal Wife, Royal Mother."

Her descent, like that of= the older queen Sitra, is unknown. Both were probably members of the great Amen-hetep family, of which there must have been many collateral branches. =

Tuaa was the queen of Set= i, and the mother of his famous son, Ramses the Great. It seems that Ramses I. ha= d held high offices under Horemheb, last king of the XVIIIth dynasty, and had rece= ived from that monarch the hand of a royal princess for his son Seti. 4

If, therefore, Seti's own= birth did not entitle him to full royal claims, he at least secured unquestioned sovereign rights to his son Ramses (II.) by marriage with the "great heiress" Tuaa. She is the only queen who appears as the wife of Seti, = and is always called the "royal mother" of his son Ramses.

There are several portrai= ts of Tuaa, the best one probably being a statue which is now in the Vatican= . 5 A second statue of the queen was found at Medinet Habu; 6

1 C., N., i, 394; L., D.T., iii, 235. =

2 R., S., V, 19.

3 M., A., i, 32; M.A.F., ii, iii, 178-81.

4 M.'s S.N., 369, n. 3.

5 Mon. Inst., ii, 40; Annales, ix, 167.

6 L., D.T., iii, 148. =

145 L

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

she accompanies the colos= si at the rock temple of Abu Simbel; 1 and is portrayed on a recut statue from Tanis, which is now in the Cairo= Museum. Mr. Petrie = says of it: "An old seated figure of a XIIth dynasty princess at Tanis was reworked= , the face altered, the head-dress recut, and the thumbs narrowed, while the re-attribution of it to Tuaa was put on the side." 2

The queen's name also occ= urs at the Ramesseum, 3 at Tanis; 4 on stelae with her son Ramse= s; 5 and on a granite paint palette = in the British <= st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">Museum. 6 Queen Tuaa was the mother of at least two of Seti's children, Ramses, and a princess Hent-ma-ra, who appears with her mother on the Vatican statue.

The tomb of Seti's queen = is unknown, and her mummy was not found with those of her husband and son in t= he great cachette of Deir el-Bahari. It is a curious fact that the body of so important a person as this ancestress of the Ramessides should not have been hidden away by those care-takers who were at such pains to conceal the other members of her family. The absence of Tuaa's mummy suggests that it had alr= eady disappeared at the time when the royal dead were removed to the obscure tom= b at Gurnah.

On the death of Seti, the= crown was assumed by Ramses II., who took possession of the land with a thoroughn= ess never before displayed by any king of Egypt. There is scarcely an important site in the country which does not show the monuments of Ramses, either as an original builder, a restorer, or, as in many cases, a mere usu= rper of the works of his predecessors.

The nature of his exploit= s as they appear in contemporary records, and the importance of his many monumen= ts

1 L., D., in, 297, 55; B., E., 373.

2 P., H.E., III, 26; P., T= anis, I, 6-7, pl. ii, 11, 12; xiv, 1.=

3 Q., R., xxix.

4 Rec., ix, 18.

5 MIRAMAR= , 1152.

6 P., H.E., iii, 9. A mutilated statue of this queen is in= the portico of the Cairo Museum.

146

PLATE XIII

QUEEN NEFERTARI-MERI-EN-MUT.<= /p>

&= nbsp;

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

would seem to justify the appellation of "the Great," which history has bestowed on him. However modern writers may view the character of Ramses, his belief in hims= elf was such, that on the rock walls of his greatest temple he appears in the company of the gods as the worshipper of himself.

The annals of his family = are numerous although somewhat involved, and the story of Ramses' domestic relations whi= ch can be pieced out from the evidence, is certainly but a fragment of the personal history of that extraordinary monarch who reigned for sixty-seven years, and counted more than a hundred children in his family.

The royal records give th= e names of only three queens, but the king's harem must have contained a large numb= er of secondary wives and slaves. The names of the children composing his enor= mous family are carved on monuments at Abydos, = Thebes, Abu Simbel, and the Wady Sabua. These various lists do not agree in the numbers given, and = they vary from 119 to 162. This family is divided by the Sabua account into two groups, 111 sons and 51 daughters. 1

The first of Ramses' thre= e queens was

NEFERTARI-M= ERI-EN-MUT.

"Hered= itary Princess; Mistress of both Lands; Beloved of the King and united with the Ruler."

1 L., D., iii, 179, b-d; B., E.P., 308; M.'s S.N., 424; BUDGE, H.E., V, 69. <= /o:p>

147 L2

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ It is to Nefertari, r= ather than to her sister queens, that the king's records give the most important place. 1 She appears to have b= een his sister, 2 and heiress of t= he kingdom through their mother, Queen Tuaa. Nefertari had been married to Ram= ses while he was crown prince, both being very young; in his first regnal year,= she was already his queen, a fact proved by the tomb inscriptions of Nebunnef, a high priest of Amen at Thebes<= /st1:place>.

For the first few years of Ramses' reign, his youthful queen appears on the monuments side by side with the king, as sharer of the throne. The prominence which he thus gives her, implies either that the queen's high rank forced him to recognise her equal= ity, or else that he gave to his beautiful wife an affection which delighted in honouring her.

It is not known for how m= any years Nefertari shared the brilliant reign of her husband, nor how many of Ramses' numerous children were also hers. She was certainly the mother of h= is ninth son Seti, and a prince Anuber-rekhu, whose exact position is not indicated; neither of these sons ascended the throne, although Seti was liv= ing in the 53rd year of his father's reign. Two of Ramses' daughters may also be the children of Nefertari. This is suggested by the figures of the princess= es, Merytamen, and Hent-taui, placed one on either side of the queen at Abu Simbel. 3 This temple is the most important monument on which Nefertari is represente= d, and it is likely that she would there be accompanied by her own children. <= /p>

The princess Meryt-amen w= as a royal heiress, and in the Luxo= r list of the family her name is inserted with that of Nefertari; 4 this is possibly the same princ= ess who, as the daughter of Ramses' chief queen, would be apt to have her mothe= r's name.

1 WIEDEMANN, A.G., 463-4.

2 M.'s S.N., 386; BUDGE, H.E., V, 69.

3 B., U.E., 337.

4 P., H.E., iii, 37. <= /span>

148

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

The luxurious ease of lif= e which the court of Ramses and Nefertari enjoyed is expressed by a contemporary record; 1 the writer, Panbesa, describes the richness of the Delta, where Ramses had founded a new capital: "The people are joyful and festive; the virgins of Aa-nekhtu are well = clad every day, sweet oil on their heads with fresh curls; they stand at their doors, their hands adorned with nosegays and Bowers, to welcome the king. S= weet wines and syrups and beer abound; and sweet singers as at Memphis, amid ceaseless joys."

To the indefatigable buil= ding spirit of Ramses, and to the ambition which glorified his reign with countl= ess memorials, we owe one of the most impressive monuments of Egypt. = In Nubia, the great temple of Abu Simbe= l was hewn from a rocky cliff which rises abruptly from the river; the façade of living rock was cut into the semblance of giant forms, the four seated colossi having the features of Ramses.

To the north of this temp= le is a smaller one similar in construction. The façade is formed by the fig= ures of six colossi, two of which represent Nefertari wearing the horned disc cr= own, and holding in one hand a sistrum. 2 The temple is dedicated by the 3 "King Ramses and his Great Consort Nefertari-meri-en-mut, who have made the temple in the holy mountain" to the honour of the goddess Hathor. = The greatness of the undertaking was fully realised by the royal builder, who s= ays: "His Majesty has commanded to make a temple in the land of Khent, in an excavation in the mountain; never was such a thing done before."=

The graceful figure of Ne= fertari occurs several times in the Hathor temple, sculptured in low-relief. The ar= tist has skilfully drawn a tall slender woman of gracious presence,

1 Panbesa Pap. Anast., iii ; P., = H.E., iii, 74.
2 L., D., iii, 193.

3 B., U.E., 388.

149

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

who is described as "= ;The Lady of the North and South; The Priestess of Hathor, Mut, and Anuke."= 1

The queen is further depi= cted with Ramses at Abu Simbel in several sce= nes of the great temple, 2 on stelae = 3, and with the colossi. 4 In the <= st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">temple of Luxor, several of the king's statues are also accompanied by small well-modelled figures of Nefertari. She likewise appears on the famous Turin monument = of Ramses, which is the finest existi= ng statue of the reign. 5

Other representations of = the royal consort are found among the rock shrines of the Gebel Silsileh, 6 where she adores the gods Taurt, Tahuti, and Mut. She is mentioned in various inscriptions of private individuals. Her statue in black granite is in the V= atican collection, 7 and several small objects are known which are connected with her memory. Among these a carnel= ian statuette is in the Louvre, 8 = while an alabaster vase mounted in gold, 9 the base of a statue 10 and se= veral scarabs are in other collections.

From the monuments of the= latter part of Ramses' reign, Nefertari's name is absent. Considering the importan= ce of her position at the time when the temple of Abu Simbel and the colossi of= Luxor were carved= , her disappearance from the later monuments probably means that she died before = they were sculptured.

After her death, Queen Ne= fertari was worshipped as a divine Osirian, or a soul which had become deified, and under the attributes of Osiris, Lord of the dead, was adored as a god. 11 Her tomb was discovered by Schiaparelli in 1904 in the Valley of the Queens' Tombs at Thebes.

1 P., H.E., iii, 83. <= /span>

2 C.; N., V, 3. 4; VI, 1, 2, 4; V= II, 12; VIII, 1, 2.

3 L., D., iii, 189 b.

4 B., E., 373. =

5 L., D., iii, 297, 58.

6 L., D., iii, 175 c.

7 P., H.E., iii, 35. <= /span>

8 L.M., s, h.

9 F.P. Coll.
10 N., Y., 65.

11 L., K., xxii. LEPSIUS'= List of Osirians.

150

PLATE. XIV

QUEEN NEFERTARI-MERI-EN-MUT.<= /p>

&= nbsp;

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

It consists of several sm= all chambers decorated with paintings, in which the figure of Nefertari often occurs. The colours are as brilliantly fresh as though only a few days had passed instead of 3,200 years since they were first laid on the walls. But = the work, although very elaborate, is poor and coarse. The tomb had been rifled= and was empty.

Although little is known = of the life of this heiress of Egypt, yet she above all other queens of the land was accorded a memorial which in= its unique character has no equal - the temple of Hathor at Abu Simbel. From the rocky face of the mountain the two great stat= ues of Nefertari stand on either side of the temple entrance, and Ramses' inscription proclaims, "the Great Princess of every grace in her heart; the beloved palm; Mistress of both Lands; beloved of the King, and united w= ith the Ruler." 1

AST-NEFERT, "Great R= oyal Wife," was a second queen of Ramses II., and probably also his sister.= 2 As she was the mother of his el= dest daughter and of the second son, she was contemporary with Nefertari. The two queens must have been married to Ramses at about the same time, and the ran= k of their children show their equality of birth.

Ast-nefert occupies a less prominent place on Ramses' monuments than her sister, which is puzzling, as Ast-nefert was mother of the king's chief heiress daughter and of the son w= ho for many years occupied the position of royal heir. Possibly Nefertari was = the elder of the two sisters, or was possessed of a greater personal charm, as suggested by her portraits. Her seniority of birth, or the high place she m= ay have held in her husband's affections, would account for her more frequent appearance on his monuments.

1 B., U.E., 338.

2 M.'s S.N., 386; WIEDEMANN, A.G., 463-4; BUDGE, H.E., V, 69.

151

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ The children of Ast-n= efert were: Ramses, second son of the king; Khaemuas, 1 fourth son, and royal heir at the time of his death in the 55= th year of his father's reign; Merenptah, the thirteenth son and successor of Ramse= s; and Bant-anta, the eldest daughter.

With these children the r= oyal mother is figured on several monuments at Silsileh. 2 Although in two instances, at Aswan 3 and Silsileh, she accompanies Ramses as his queen, yet she has no place in the great works at Abu Simbel, where Nefertari alone appears with the = king. One or two small memorials of Ast-nefert are known. A group in the Louvre s= hows her with her sons, 4 and a sca= rab mentioned by Petrie gives her name. 5

BANT-ANTA; MERYT-AMEN; NEBT-TAUI.

These three princesses we= re the great heiress daughters of Ramses and his queens. Their tombs are in the Va= lley of the Queens' Tombs, where they each ha= ve the titles, "Royal Daughter, Lady of both Lands," and "Great Roy= al Wife."

From the later title it h= as been generally supposed that Ramses, in addition to his other queens, married th= ese three princesses, his own daughters. 6 As this opinion rests on the value of a title, it may be permissible to sug= gest a different interpretation of the position of these women. At least one exa= mple is known where the title "Royal Wife" could only have been used a= s an honorary one. This was the case of a daughter of King Aahmes I. of the XVIIIth dynasty, where the prin= cess Sat-amen, although an infant, was described as "Royal Wife.'' 7

1 L., D., iii, 174 e, 175 e, h, and Lists.

2 C., M., 120 a, 103, iii.

3 L., D., iii, 175 h.

4 P., L., 633.<= /p>
5 P., H.Sc., 1610.

6 E. DE ROUGÉ, Lectures; WIEDEMANN, A.G., 466; MASPERO, = S.N., 424; PETRIE, H.E., iii, 88.

7 See page 68. =

152

PLATE XV

PRINCESS BANT-ANTA.

&= nbsp;

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ Bant-anta heads the l= ist of Ramses' daughters, and was therefore the eldest. She was, moreover, the chi= ld of Queen Ast-nefert, and in consequence an heiress.

The other two, Meryt-amen= and Nebt-taui, may easily have been also the daughters of Ast-nefert or of Nefertari, their mother's name not being mentioned. These three princesses, together with a fourth, Ast-nefert, who was not improbably the child of Que= en Ast-nefer, seem to have been the only ones of Ramses' fifty-nine daughters = who bore the queenly titles "Lady of both Lands, and Great Royal Wife.&quo= t;

Supposing these four prin= cesses to have been the offspring of Ramses' two queens, they would be the only fe= male members of his enormous family who as royal heiresses would have the right = to the hereditary titles. These they may have assumed from their earliest year= s as a birthright, and as the intended spouses of their elder brothers. In this possible case, the title "Royal Wife" would not have a literal meaning, but would be a formal insignia of rank, distinguishing the daughte= rs of queens of the Pharaonic house from those who were the children of foreign wives or of slaves.

Bant-anta seems to have b= een of especial importance. She may even have been the wife of her brother Khaemua= s, for many years his father's heir. As he was the fourth son, and Bant-anta t= he eldest daughter, of 162 children, they were probably of suitable age, and it seems more than likely that the heir and chief heiress would have been unit= ed.

Bant-anta's portrait occu= rs on a statue of her father at Memphi= s, which represents her with a beautiful face of extreme youth. She is often figured in the rock sculptures of Aswan and Silsileh; 1 with her mother on= the colossi of Abu Simbel; 2 in the family lists; 3 and on statues at

1 L., D., iii, 174 e, 175 h.

2 B., U.E., 373.

3 Rec., xvi, 32; L., K., xxii.

153

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

Karnak, 1 Luxor, Sinai, and Tanis. 2 Her tomb is in the Valley of th= e Queens, and has been published by Champollion and Lepsius. 3

Meryt-amen is fourth in t= he list of daughters at Luxor, 4 and fifth at Abu Simbel; 5 she appears on statues at Abu Simbel 6 and at Tanis; 7 and a vase in the Louvre 8 and some scarabs bear her name.= A statue of the princess' tutor, represents Meryt-amen on his knees. 9 Her tomb among those of the Que= ens at Thebes,= has a hall and three chambers, the tomb shaft being at the left of the entrance. = 10 Her portrait, 11 in which she wears the vulture head-dress, has a pleasant fa= ce, curiously like that of her great-grandmother, Queen Sitra.

Nebt-taui is on the colos= si of Abu Simbel, 12 and in the Derr list of daughters. 13 Like her two sisters, she had a tomb at Thebes; 14 and with them was exalted a= fter death to the company of the blessed Osirians, who were worshipped. 15

The third known queen of = Ramses II. was a foreign princess,

MAAT-NEFERU-RA, the daugh= ter of the Prince of the Kheta. The power of these ancient enemies of Egypt a= ppears to have so nearly equalled that of the Pharaohs, that Seti and his son foun= d it more profitable to make peace with a strong foe than to continue the old wa= rs.

An alliance with the Khet= a was therefore formed, and ratified by Ramses, in his twenty-first year. The terms of peace were scrupulously observed by the two monarchs, and a few years later the Khetan chief arrived at the court of the Pharaoh on a friendly visit.

1 C., N., ii, 23.

2 P., T., i, 24.

3 L., D., iii, 172 e; L., D.T., ii, 227; C., N., i, 401-2.

4 Rec., xvi, 32.

5 L., D., iii, 186.

6 B., E., 377. =

7 P., T., i, 35.

8 P., L., 377. =

9 Cairo M., Room P, 560.

10 L., D., iii, 172 d; L., D.T., ii, 227.

11 L., D., iii, 298.

12 B., E., 373.

13 L., D., iii, 184.

14 L., D., iii, 172 f; L., D.T., ii, 228.

15 L., K., xxii.

154

PLATE XVI

QUEEN MAAT-NEFERU-RA.

&= nbsp;

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ He came in state, and= brought with him so large a retinue, that when they reached the Egyptian frontier, = the governor, fearing an enemy, refused to let the travellers enter the country until the matter had been reported to the king. Ramses at once sent his nob= les and an escort to welcome the royal visitors, and the Khetan chief, accompan= ied by his eldest daughter, and bringing valuable presents of gold, silver, and horses, made a triumphal entry into the city of Ramses, where the king was = then in residence.

The stela recording this = visit purports to be a conversation between the god Ptah and his son Ramses, to whom the d= eity says: "The people of Kheta are subjects of thy palace ... while they humbly approach thy person with their productions.... All their property is brought to thee. His eldest daughter stands forward at their head, to soften the heart of King Ramses. A great inconceivable wonder! She herself knew not the impression which her beauty made on thy heart." 1

The Khetan prince is repr= esented in his native dress, but the princess who precedes her father, wears the costume of the women of Egypt, and has on her head the vulture and uraeus crown. 2 Ramses was at that time over fifty years of age, and had, bes= ides his two sister queens, a large harem; nevertheless, he married the young foreigner whose beauty had so impressed him, and gave her the title of quee= n, 3 with a new name Maat-neferu-Ra,= i.e., "beholding the beauties= of the sun." Her own name was not stated. The stela which records the marriage of Ramses with the Khetan princess is cut on the south side of the court of the great temple at Abu Simbel.= 4

The queen Maat-neferu-Ra = appears on one of the statues of Ramses found at Tanis, 5 and on a plaque from

1 BRUGSCH, E.P., 294. =

2 L., D., iii, 196.

3 M.'s S.N., 406.

4 L., D., iii, 196 a; Rec., xviii, 164= -6.

5 MARIETTE, Rec., is, 13; ROUG&Ea= cute;, I.H.E., lxxiv, j.

155

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

Tell el-Yehudiyeh. 1 No further particulars are known regarding the young foreign queen at the court of Ramses, and her tomb has = not been found.

Ancient tradition as well= as modern investigation 3 have identified Ramses II. with the Pharaoh who oppressed the children of Israel in Egypt. It would therefore hav= e been at this time that, according to the Biblical narrative, Moses was placed in= an ark of bulrushes, and found in the Nile = by "Pharaoh's daughter." The princess who found the child in the riv= er when she went to bathe, took compassion on him and adopted him, would have = been one of the 59 daughters of Ramses. Brugsch suggests her identification with= one of the youngest of these children, called Meri, as "her name reminds u= s of the princess Merris, the daughter of Maat-neferu-Ra, the Kheta princess, wh= o, according to Jewish tradition, found Moses when she went to bathe." 3

"THE W= HITE QUEEN."

It is under this designat= ion that Mr. Petrie places the fine statue of an unrecorded queen, who is known in t= he Cairo Museum as "A Wife or Daughter of Ramses II.'"

On the plain adjoining the necropolis at Thebes, close by the Ramesseum, are the ruins of several funeral temples; in one of these, with no name by which to identify it, a beautiful bust in white limestone was found lying by itself. The mutilated inscription contained on= ly priestess' titles. The bust represents a queen wearing the crown, a curled = wig, necklace and ornaments; the wig has been painted blue, and the ornaments are yellow. In the ears are large round earrings like those worn by Ramses' que= en Nefertari and his daughter Bant-anta. The face has great charm, although th= e nose is missing; the style is realistic, and the personality of the nameless que= en is unusually winning.

1 P., H.Sc., 1603.

2 M.'s S.N., 442, ns. 2 and 3.

3 BRUGSCH, E.P., 301, 309. <= /o:p>

4 Cairo M., Room P, 313.

156

PLATE XVII

"THE WHITE QUEEN."<= /p>

&= nbsp;

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ Mr. Petrie thought th= at the site of the temple in which the statue was found, pointed to the XVIIIth dynasty for its origin; but from other indications was inclined to see in t= he "White Queen" one of the great Theban rulers of the XXVIth dynast= y. The titles engraved on the back of the figure show that the princess held h= igh offices in the service of the gods, these offices being designated by vario= us musical instruments, which show her to have been "The player of the Si= strum of Mut," etc. 1

The reign of Ramses II. c= ame to an end after having lasted for sixty-seven years, 2 the monarch then dying at the age of eighty-five. Many, of the elder royal heirs had died during their father's long life, and the crown descended to his thirteenth son, Merenptah.

This king chose for his c= onsort one of his sisters, a royal heiress,

AST-NEFERT, probably the = ninth daughter of Ramses' family. She appears on the rock tablets of the Gebel Silsileh 3 with the title, "Lady of both Lands."

As already noticed, she i= s one of the four princesses who alone of Ramses' 59 daughters is known to have had = the titles of royal inheritance. As Ast-nefert is the only queen who is named w= ith Merenptah, she was probably the mother of his two children, Seti (II.), and= a princess Arit-nefert.

After Merenptah's death, = the latter part of the XIXth dynasty was filled by the short reigns of four kin= gs, Seti II., Amenmeses, Siptah and Setnekht, the exact order of whose successi= on and relationship is not entirely clear. Owing to a confusion of recut cartouches in a usurped tomb, it has been held by some writers that Siptah = was Merenptah's immediate successor, and that Seti II. followed Siptah. The evidence seems rather to be in favour of Seti II. as the heir of Merenptah.=

1 PETRIE, Six <= st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">Temples, 22.

2 M.'s S.N., 421.

3 C., M., 114, 121.

157

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ The statue, No. 633, = in the Cairo Museum, represents Merenptah with his son Seti by his side; 1 a stela of Seti's son was usurp= ed by Siptah, 2 who, moreover, used = old wine-jars of Seti in his temple deposit. These facts seem to make reasonable the supposition that Merenptah's son and successor was Seti II., who number= ed in his family, besides Amenmeses, the other kings whose brief reigns conclu= ded the dynasty.

TA-KHAT, who was Seti's w= ife, was the mother of Amenmeses, in whose tomb she appears as, "Divine Mother,= the Great Royal Mother" 3

A red granite colossus of= Seti gives the name of his queen, accompanied by the titles, "Royal Daughte= r, Great Royal Wife, united to her Horus." 4 An ostrakon in the Louvre 5 contains a list of Ramses' daughters, one of the last names being Ta-khat; = from which evidence it has been supposed that this young daughter of Ramses marr= ied her nephew Seti II., and is the same as the queen Ta-khat, mentioned on his statue. 6

The queen's parentage, ho= wever, is not stated, and she may as well have been the child of Merenptah as of Ramses. There would seem to be good reasons for supposing her parents to ha= ve been Merenptah and Ast-nefert. Ta-khat is the only known queen of Seti II. = His daughter was probably Tausert, a great "Heiress Queen," a heritage which by law she must have had from her mother. This mother in turn must ha= ve been of full royal blood in order to transmit such rights; but neither of Ramses' sister-queens married in his youth could well have been the mother = of a 58th daughter of that king.

If, then, Ta-khat was the= child of Ramses, her mother would have been a secondary wife or slave, and would = have

1 MASPERO, Q.G., p. 163; NAVILLE, Bubastis,= 45.

2 P., S.T., 15.

3 L., D., iii, 202.

4 Cairo M= ., North Portico, 392.

5 No. 2261; Rec. xvi, 67.

6 P., H.E., iii, 120.

158

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

had no rights to bequeath= to her daughter. If, on the other hand, Ta-khat was born of Ast-nefert and Merenptah, she wo= uld be the legal heiress, and the subsequent royal claims of her daughter Tause= rt would be the natural result of her position. In the light of the only evide= nce at present available, the demands of the Egyptian rule of female succession seem to make Ast-nefert the daughter of one of Ramses' queens; Ast-nefert's daughter being Ta-khat and Ta-khat's heiress, Tausert.

The only son definitely r= ecorded as born of Ta-khat is Amenmeses, who succeeded Seti II. The queen of Amenme= ses was

BAKT-URNURO, who has left= no trace in the annals of the house, except the record of her name and positio= n in her husband's tomb. 1

The confusion in the hist= ory of the reigns of Seti's heirs seems to have been due to difficulties which aro= se regarding the succession. A family quarrel apparently resulted, which, as Petrie remarks, was almost the tale over again of the Thotmes and Hatshepsu= t. 2 That queen's counterpart in the= later feud was

SIT-RA MERY= -AMEN TAUSERT.

"Lady = of both Lands, Princess of the North and South, The Great Royal Lady."

This heiress of the kingd= om claimed the crown of the Pharaohs as her birthright. The sovereigns who succeeded

1 L., D., iii, 202 g; M.A.F., iii, pl. 56.

2 P., H.E., iii, 123.<= /span>

159

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

Seti II. were Amenmeses, = Siptah and Tausert; 1 the assumption = of royal authority by the princess, may possibly be the clue to the troubles w= hich followed, and which soon brought the country to a state bordering on anarch= y.

Like the queen Hatshepsut, Tausert seems to have been associated with her father on the throne. Upon Seti's death, his son Amenmeses apparently succeeded in thrusting the queen temporarily from the throne, and in gaining the sole power. His triumph was= but short lived; for whether Tausert's cause was too strong for his resistance,= or whether he was conveniently removed by death, it seems that after a reign of only about a year's duration, the queen's rival disappeared. 2

She then re-assumed contr= ol of the government, in connection with her younger brother Siptah, whom she probably married. She revenged herself on Amenmeses, whom she must have regarded as a usurper, by erasing the cartouches from his tomb. 3

At = Thebes, the queen began the building of= a temple, which was left unfinished, if indeed anything more than the foundat= ions were ever constructed. On the site, nine foundation deposits were found. Th= ese consisted of stone tablets having Tausert's cartouches; scarabs and pottery; glazed figures of ducks, fish, lotus-flowers, bullocks and bulls' heads, et= c.; besides rings and copper models of tools. 4

The only dated record of Tausert's reign is an ostrakon of her eighth year. 5 Her husband's last known date is in a sixth year; Tausert may, then, have reigned alone for two years after Siptah's death, or she may have reckoned her

1 The conclusions drawn by Petrie, fr= om existing evidence, make Tausert, Amenmeses and Siptah all children of Seti = II. P., H.E., iii, 120. =

2 P., H.E., iii, 126. =

3 M.A.F., iii, 81; L., D., iii, 202 e, f, g.

4 P., S.T., xvi, xvii, xix; P., H.E., vol. III, 128.

5 DARESSY, Ostraka, 25293; C., M.

160

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

own reign from the time o= f its association with that of her father. In the latter case, Tausert and Siptah would have ceased to rule at the same time.

Manetho's list names the = queen Thuoris, and attributes to her a reign of seven years, an additional proof = of the early disappearance of Seti's heiress.

In these few data are all= the elements of a stirring drama, not without a suggestion of tragedy. Within t= he short space of eight years, 1 = we find no fewer than four reigns: a dominating princess who claims the right = to active government; an elder brother who wrenches the sceptre from her grasp; his speedy exit by fair means or foul; the queen's restoration, and a joint rule with a second brother lasting only a few years, when they are both superseded by a fourth claimant.

We have in the erased car= touches of Amenmeses, Siptah, and Tausert, the evidences of hatred and revenge; and finally there is the suggestion of a violent end, in the abrupt termination= of the joint reign of Tausert and Siptah, both sovereigns being in the prime o= f life, and both leaving temples which, were only in the early stages of constructi= on.

The last act in this unkn= own drama was performed by Setnekht, or Ramses III., who usurped their tomb and erased the cartouches. The tomb of Queen Tausert 2 was not made in that valley where lay the earlier queens of h= er house, but was situated among the tombs of the kings of Egypt, = with whom she had claimed a place in life, and with whom she chose to rest after death. The tomb is known as No. 14, in the Bibân el Molûk. It originally consisted of a hall and two chambers, sculptured with representations of the queen and Siptah. A scarab exists which also unites = the names of the two sovereigns.

1 P., H.E., III, 122. =

2 L., D., iii, 201 a; L., D.T., ii, 21= 2; C., N., i, 448, 806; M.A.F., iii, 123.

161 M

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ The foundation plan of Siptah's temple, 1 shows it to= have been less than a third the size of that of his queen. It is perhaps a significant sign of the spirit of a degenerating age, that the builder of a small and unimportant temple should have provided for its foundation, eight lavish deposits, consisting of "about 150 glazed plaques and scarabs, = 230 rings, 100 gold and silver foil plaques; over 1,200 glazed models and rings; about 150 copper models of tools, besides pottery, stone mortars, etc."= ; 2

The last one of the perso= nages engaged in the family feuds of Seti II. was Setnekht, who ascended the thro= ne on the death or disappearance of Tausert and Siptah.

THYI-MERENAST was the que= en of Setnekht. Her name suggests the old royal line of the XVIIIth dynasty; but = her descent is unknown.

She was the mother of Ram= ses III., the founder of the XXth dynasty. Her relationship to these two kings = is established by the stela of a priest, Merenatef, found at Abydos. The sculpture shows this priest= in adoration before Setnekht and Thyi-merenast, with their son Ramses III., ma= king offerings. 3 In tomb No. 11 of= the Queens' Tombs, the figure of the queen-mother of Ra= mses III. appears, followed by her son. The tomb was, therefore, probably that of Thyi-merenast, although the name of the owner can no longer be deciphered f= rom the inscriptions. 4

In Ramses' laudatory memo= rial of his father Setnekht, he speaks of that king as a saviour of his country, and gives a dark summary of the state of Egypt during the troubled yea= rs when the heirs of Seti II. were struggling for the throne. "The land of Egypt was overthrown. Every man wa= s his own guide, they had no superiors. From the abundant years of the past we had come to other times.

1 The remains of the temples of Tause= rt and Siptah were excavated by PETRIE= in 1896. TIIey an described by him in Six Temples, etc. =

2 P., H.E., III, 132. =

3 M., A., ii, 52.

4 L., D., iii, 217, e, f.

162

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

"The land of Egypt was in chiefships and in princedoms; each killed the other among noble and mean." 1

From this state of lawles= sness, the kingdom was redeemed, according to Ramses, by his father Setnekht. If t= his account is true, Setnekht must have been a ruler of extraordinary ability, = to have accomplished so great a work of regeneration in his short reign, which does not seem to have lasted for much more than a year.

Queen Thyi-merenast's bri= ef appearance on the throne of Egypt has left few memorials. Besides the tomb and the Abyd= os stela before mentioned, her name and figure occur in two re-used pavement s= labs at Abydos. 2 The stela of Merenatef shows th= is queen as a graceful figure with extended arms holding two sistra which she apparently sounds before the gods.

1 Harris Papyrus, 75, trs. BIRCH.=

2 P., H.E., III, 136. =

163 M2

CHAPTER XII.=

QUEENS OF THE XXTH DYNASTY.

Thebes. From about 1200 to 1100 B.C.

THIS dynasty was founded = by Ramses III., whose brilliant reign left many memorials throughout the kingd= om. After this one vigorous monarch, the history of the dynasty is an account of the waning fortunes of the Ramesside family, which weakened and degenerated until its power fell before the priestly dynasty of <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Thebes.

AST-AMASERETH, "Roya= l Wife, Great Lady, Lady of the two Lands," was the Queen of Ramses III. She appears on a statue of the king, 1= and is probably the same as the Queen Ast, mentioned on a stela of an offic= ial, 2 Amenemapt, and in the Queens' Tombs, where No. 10 seems to have belonged = to Queen Ast, "Great Royal Mother" of Ramses VI., who was a son of Ramses III. 3 She is also ment= ioned in the Abbott Papyrus. 4 A "Royal Mother," Humazery, who

appears in a mutilated inscription of Ramses VI. at Gurnah, 5 may be a second queen of Ramses III.; as, however, Queen Ast appears from h= er tomb to have been the mother of Ramses VI., it seems probable that Humazery, Ast, and Ast-amasereth, are all one and the same person - the chief queen of Ramses III., whose Egyptian name Ast adds the Syrian one, Amasereth. Brugsch gives her father as Hebuan-rozenath, and suggests that Ramses, like many of= his predecessors, had chosen a foreign princess to share his crown. 6

1 L., D., iii, 207 g. =

2 Berlin, 3422.

3 L., D., iii, 224 a.

4 R.P., xii, 109.

5 L., D.T., ii, 101. <= /span>

6 BRUGSCH, E.P., 342. =

164

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ As the monuments of R= amses give ten sons, beside the portraits of 22 nameless princes and princesses, = it is possible that the king had more than one "Great Royal Wife," a= nd that the Ast-humazery of the records of Ramses VI., is a different person f= rom the Ast-amasereth who figures as queen-consort on the statue of the king at Cairo.

A further mention of Rams= es' queen is found in the Abbott Papyrus, where during the official inquiry und= er Ramses X. into the robberies of royal tombs, a thief confessed to having br= oken into the tomb of Queen Ast. This was afterwards proved to be a mistake, as = the queen's tomb on examination was found intact. 1

It was against one of the= sons of the queen that the famous harem conspiracy of this reign was formed. Ramses= had a secondary wife or concubine, Thi by name, who was evidently a woman of st= rong will and unprincipled determination; she had, moreover, a high ambition for= her son, who, being the child of a slave, could not hope to inherit his father's crown. She therefore plotted the murder or dethronement of Ramses and his legitimate heir. The power of Thi's influence, and perhaps also the unpopularity of the king, induced many high officials of the court, includi= ng councillors, stewards, secretaries, land surveyers, women of the royal hare= m, attendants and servants, to conspire together against the life and crown of their sovereign.

Thi hoped to stir up such= a revolt against Ramses as to overthrow his government, and to place her son,= the prince who is mentioned as Pentaurt, on the throne. The numerous officials = and members of the harem who joined the conspiracy had doubtless many acts of oppression to revenge on a king who, to judge from his sculptures and the actual features of his mummy, may well have been both a brutal and a selfish master.

1 Abbott Pap., R.P., xii, 109.

165

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ The plot of Thi and h= er son included the use of magic, whereby certain wax figures and amulets were supposed to alienate such servants of the king as remained faithful, or to cause the monarch's death by disease. The charms failing, one of the conspirators, through compunction or fear, revealed the plot to Ramses, who caused the arrest of all the accused, and appointed a court of twelve judge= s to try the prisoners and award their punishment

Three reports of this fam= ous conspiracy remain; 1 the "Judicial Papyrus" of Turin, and the papyri of Lee and Rollin. The court was charged to pursue the inqui= ry with vigour, and they therefore tried, and apparently condemned, all of the accused. The "chief culprit," Beka-kamen, house steward, was "brought up because of actual participation in the doings of the wife = Thi, and the women of the harem." Fourteen other "chief culprits," the councilors, secretaries and land surveyors "of the harem for the service of the women's house," were each "set before the elders of the judgment-seat. They judged his offence; they found him guilty, and awar= ded him his punishment."

Six women attached to the= harem were also found guilty and punished. Ten officials who were "set before the elders of the judgment-seat to be tried" were found guilty. "= They laid them down before the tribunal. They died by their own hand." The = captain of the foreign legion of the "Cushi," who had received a message regarding the revolt from his sister in the harem, was likewise tried and condemned.

In all, six women and for= ty men were found guilty of crime against the Pharaoh, and suffered the penalty for treason, some of them for only having been aware of the plot without reveal= ing it. No reference is made to punishments which may have been meted out to the women of the harem, and to the leader of the conspiracy, "the wife

1 Pub. and trans. by DÉV&E= acute;RIA, 1868; later by LEPAGE-RENOUF in R.P., 1st Series. vol. viii,

53-65.

166

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

Thi," on whom the ch= ief responsibility of the plot lay. If she endured no other penalty, she had at least the sorrow of knowing that the schemes for her son's advancement had resulted only in bringing him to trial and to death. "Pentaurt, who is also known by another name, was brought up because of his actual participat= ion with his mother Thi, made with the women of the harem, and because of the c= rime which was to have been committed against their lord; having been judged by = the councillors, they found him guilty, they laid him down where he stood. He d= ied by his own hand." This phrase, also translated "they died of themselves," 1 has been understood to mean a forced suicide, by which public execution was avoided.=

It is just possible that a ghastly memorial of this conspiracy still exists. Among the mummies of the Ramesside house, there was found one which had no inscriptions on its wrappings, and lay in a plain unmarked coffin. The mummy was examined with startling results; the body had not been prepared in the usual way before wrapping; the viscera were not removed; the hands and feet were strongly bo= und together, and a layer of natron had been laid over the skin; after which the body had been hastily wound, and the whole sewed up in a sheep-skin.

The state of the mummy, a= nd contortion of the face, suggest that the man was a criminal, who died from = the effects of a powerful poison; or who suffered the dreadful fate of having b= een "invested while still alive, with the wrappings of the dead. 2 This nameless mummy, found with= out inscription among the family of the Ramses, may have been Pentaurt, the tra= itor of the house of Ramses III., who, after suffering for his crime, was laid to rest with his fathers.

The king reigned for thir= ty-six or thirty-seven years. His great memorial is the so-called Harris Papyrus, = 3 133

1 M.'s S.N., 479.

2 MASPERO, Momies Royales de Deir el-= Bahari, 548; S.N., 480.

3 B.M., BIRCH. =

167

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

feet in length, which rec= ounts the king's achievements, and describes the state of = Egypt as one of rare prosperi= ty and peace. The papyrus gives a pleasant picture of the country at this time: "I made to be planted the entire land with trees in leaf. I let the pe= ople sit in their shade. I let the women of Egypt walk out to the place s= he wished, no vile persons molested her on her way." 1

NUBKHESDEB was the wife o= f Ramses VI. and the mother of his daughter Ast. A stela from Koptos 2 contains the figure of this pri= ncess Ast, accompanying her father, who was at the time living, and her mother Qu= een Nubkhesdeb, deceased. This princess has the title "Divine Wife of Amen, Adoress of the god." She married Amen-hetep, a high priest of Amen, and became the ancestress of the priestly house which superseded the Ramessides, and claimed the throne in the next dynasty.

NEFERT-TERA is an unplace= d queen whose name is mentioned in the tomb of an official, Pennut, at Anibe, dating from the reign of Ramses VI. 3= The inscriptions refer to estates at Ibrim, which belonged to Queen Nefert-tera, who is named only as a queen, but with nothing to designate her position in= the Ramesside family.

Another unplaced queen of= this dynasty is

THITI, "Royal Daught= er, Royal Sister, Royal Wife, Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt." These titles proclaim her one of the legitimate queens of Egypt, although her place in the list of sovereigns and queens-consort is unknown.= Her tomb is in the Valley of the Queens' Tom= bs; it is well painted and decorated, and has an antechamber and a passage leading= to a large chapel, from which open three smaller rooms. 4 The identity of Queen Thiti has been confused with that of the famous Queen Thïy, wife of Amen-hetep III., owing, doubtless, to the similarity of names.

1 R.P., viii, 49, 50. =

2 P., Ks., xix; L., D.T., iii, 101; Cairo M.

3 L., D., iii, 229.

4 B., U.E., 187.

168

TABLE OF THE XXIST DYNASTY.

169

CHAPTER XIII.

QUE= ENS OF = THE XXIST DYNASTY.

Thebes. About 1100 to 950 B.C.

ON the death of the last Ramesside prince, the sceptre fell from a feeble grasp to be taken up by th= e strong hands of Amen's priests. Through centuries, the power of this priesthood had been increasing, and when the High Priest Amen-hetep married the heiress of= the Ramessides, 1 he gained for his house actual rights to a crown, the prerogatives of which had long been usu= rped by his fathers.

With the advent of the pr= iestly dynasty, a new phase of woman's position appears, which still more accentua= tes her powers. When the priests became kings of Egypt, the office of chief attendant on the service of Amen was left vacant. The priestesses had been steadily increasing in importance for many years. As early as the XVIIth dynasty, Queen Aah-hetep held the title "Divine Wife of Amen," 2 which was assumed in turn by al= l of her daughters, many of her grand-daughters, and the great queens who follow= ed her. The priestess-queens were therefore the heiresses of the priests, when= the latter left the service of Amen, to become the Pharaohs of Egypt.

Of this change, M. Masper= o says: "The disappearance of the high priests had naturally increased the importance of the priestesses consecrated to the service of Amen. From henceforth they were the sole visible intermediaries between the god and his people, the privileged guardians of his body and double, and competent to p= erpetuate the

1 P., H.E., III, 174. =

2 M.'s M. R., 617-635; L., D., iii, 38 a, b; 26 b; 19 c.

170

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

"line of the solar k= ings. The Theban appenage constituted their dowry." 1

From this time on, the sa= cerdotal titles increase, and nearly every queen or princess adds one or more to her name, "Priestess of Amen"; "Royal Spouse of Amen"; "Prophetess of Mut"; "Prophetess of Hathor"; "Chie= f of the Chantresses of Min, of Horus, and of Isis," etc.

By the time of the XXIVth dynasty, the supreme title of neter tuat, "Divine Worshipper of Amen,'' 2 gives to its holder a practically independent crown, and the great Queens of Thebes appear; their children inherit the throne of the Thebaïd, and are the brides sought by each new king, to legitimize his line.

As the high priestess is = the sole representative of the divine rights, her power becomes so far-reaching, tha= t, still later, she is able to transmit the legitimate royal claims by a simple "official marriage," or to bequeath them to an adopted daughter. =

With the disappearance of= the Ramessides, the priestly dynasty was inaugurated by the powerful high priest Herhor. His queen was

NEZEMT.

"Great= Royal Wife, Royal Mother, "Princess of the two Lands."

Herhor was a son of the h= igh priest Amen-hetep, and probably of the princess Ast, mentioned above as the heiress of the Ramessides; he would thus have a legal claim through his mother's right to the crown which he assumed The affiliation of Nezemt is n= ot known, but as the founders of new dynasties usually strengthened their own claims and those of their children by marriage with princesses of the

1 M.'s M.R., 752; S.N.

2 Trans. by BUDGE, H.E., vi, 63, as "Morning Star of Amen."

171

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

royal line, Nezemt, who h= as the heiress titles, was probably descended from the same stock as Herhor himsel= f.

It has been found a diffi= cult matter to place this queen exactly. She was believed by Champollion, Lepsius and de Rougé to have been the wife of Herhor; later M. Naville 1 thought she was the mother rath= er than the wife of that king, and this theory was accepted by several writers= . M. Wiedemann 2 continued to hold = the original view of Nezemt's position, and M. Maspero in his "Momies Roya= les de Deir el-Bahari," adduces from the evidence, reasonable proof that t= his theory is the true one; it is also accepted by Petrie 3 and Budge 4 in t= heir histories of the reign of Herhor.

The temple of Khonsu at Karnak contains the records of this family. 5 The only queen appearing in the reign of the first priest-king is Nezemt; i= t is she who in the Karnak temple stands at t= he head of a long procession of sons and daughters, all of whom apparently bel= ong to the house of Herhor. The eldest son, Piankh, is followed by eighteen oth= er princes, and nineteen princesses. Queen Nezemt, heading the line, is called "Great Royal Wife, his beloved," and as in her funeral papyrus she appears as "Royal Mother," she is certainly to be regarded as the= queen of Herhor, and mother of his children.

It is quite possible that= the family of thirty-eight sons and daughters were all children of Herhor; and = that on the Karnak tablet the queen and her o= wn children are accompanied by those members of the royal family who were the = offspring of the king by secondary wives not mentioned.

A further proof of the re= al position of Nezemt is found on a stela at Leyden. 6 Herhor is there shown in ado= ration before Amen; he is accompanied by Nezemt, and they

1 A.Z., 1879, 29 f.

2 W., G., 530. =

3 H.E., iii, 190.

4 H.E., vi, 13.

5 L., D., iii, 247.

6 WIEDEMANN, Z., 1885, 82-4.=

172

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

worship together as equal= s before the god. The queen appears once more, in a family group, with her grandson = Pinezem I., at Luxor.

On the death of Queen Nez= emt, she was accorded a burial of great magnificence. The splendid double coffin of wood, 1 had a rich golden grou= nd, elaborately ornamented with fine stones and coloured glass paste incrusted = in the gold. In ancient times the coffin had been scraped for the gems and gol= d by thieves, who had taken care to respect the inscriptions and all representat= ions of divinity. Only fragments of the original decoration remain. This coffin = and the mummy of Queen Nezemt were found in the great cachette of Deir el-Bahar= i.

The mummy is described as= 1 m. 65 cent. in length, the wrappings bearing the titles, "Lady of both Lands, Royal Mother." Fragments of toilet articles in painted wood inlaid with ivory, and a beautiful pendant, were found in the folds of the shroud. The mummy has been enclosed in the coffin, and is now in the Cairo Museum. 2

The funeral papyrus of Qu= een Nezemt was torn into three parts, which are now in the British Museum, 3 in the Louvre, 4 and in the Murch collection. 5 In the <= st1:PlaceName w:st=3D"on">Berlin Museum, a glass bead is engraved w= ith her name. 6

THENT-AMEN. The period kn= own as the priestly dynasty (XXIst) opened with a divided kingdom; two contemporary lines ruling, the one at Tanis and the oth= er at Thebes. Both were = probably descended from the Ramesside family, whose long occupancy of the throne must have left more than one claimant to the succession among their many descendants.

At the moment when the hi= gh priest Herhor assumed the crown of Ramses XII., and founded the hierarchy a= t

1 M.'s M.R., 569.

2 Gal. Q, Case A, No. 1195. =

3 P.S.B.A., V, 79.

4 P., R., ii, 131.

5 W., G., 531. =

6 12766.

173

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

Thebes, a Tanite prince who had probably married a daughter of the last Ramses, 1 claimed his wife's right to a share of the kingdom, and established an independent government at Tani= s. According to the story of a Theban official, Unuamen, the relations between= the two ruling houses were of a friendly nature.

In the papyrus of Unuamen= , 2 the name of the Tanite prince Nesi-ba-neb-dadu, is always coupled with that of his queen Thentamen, who appears as joint ruler with her husband over the Delta. The narrative of the official recounts the wish of the priest-king Herhor, to honour the great A= men of Thebes with a boat of cedar wood for the service of the temple. The trees necessary for its construction were only to be obtained in a distant land, = and to Syria, therefore, Herhor sent his messenger to procure the wood.

It is evident that Herhor= counted on the aid of the prince of Ta= nis in this enterprise, for he sent Unuamen to him to ask for boats. The papyrus describes the reception of the writer by Nesi-ba-neb-dadu and Thentamen, to whom he presented his credentials. He was kindly received and helped on his= way by the Tanite rulers, whom he does not mention as sovereigns, but as "= the Adorers (or guardians) 3 whom = Amen hath put in the North of his land."

Unuamen then proceeded on= his journey, and in course of time had need of assistance from a foreign chief,= who hesitated to give it until Herhor's messenger declared that he had only to = send to Nesi-ba-neb-dadu and Thentamen at Tanis, and they would give him anything he wanted. This threat to apply to the Tan= ite rulers had, for some reason, the effect of forcing the chief, who gave to Unuamen 300 men and 300 oxen, to bring down the cedar trees.

1 P., H.E., iii, 221. =

2 Coll., M., GOLÉNISCHEFF. ERMANN, A.Z., 1900, I; Rec., xv, 88; xxi, 74.

3 BUDGE, H.E., vi, 4. =

174

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

These must have been proc= ured in great numbers, since their transport to the coast occupied some months' time.

In the narrative, Queen T= hentamen occupied the position of an heiress sovereign, through rights inherited per= haps from Ramses XII., the date of whose death precedes by only a few years the appearance of Thentamen as queen, at Tanis. 1

Before her reign as queen, Thentamen seems to have married in her youth a scribe called Nebseny, and to have had a daughter Hent-taui. The inscriptions of this princess call her a "king's daughter's daughter," and name her mother as Thentamen. T= he father of Hent-taui, having been only a scribe, her royal claim was entirely from her mother, who was a king's daughter, that king, again by a compariso= n of the XXIst dynasty dates, 2 app= arently being Ramses XII. Unless, then, the last Ramses, or one of his brothers, had two great heiress daughters both named Thentamen, which is unlikely, the "royal daughter" of that name, who was Hent-taui's mother, was in= all probability the same person as the Tanite queen Thentamen.

HENT-TAUI I= .

"Royal Daughter; Roy= al Wife; Great Lady of both Lands; Royal Mother of the first Prophet of Amen; Mother= of the chief Royal Spouse; Prophetess of Mut; Divine Mother of the infant Khon= su; Great One of the temple of Khonsu in Thebes; Divine Worshipper of Amen.'' 3=

The princess who is descr= ibed by these titles was the grand-daughter of a king, probably one of the Ramses, = and, as noticed above, the daughter of an heiress of that line,

1 P., H.E., iii, 204.<= /span>

2 Ibid., 140, 189, 193.

3 M.'s M.R., 576, 684, 686, 692.<= o:p>

175

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

Thentamen. Her father was Nebseny, a scribe, as defined by several inscriptions. Her titles prove that she was a royal consort, and mother of an heiress princess.

No monument precisely sta= tes whose wife she was. It is assumed by M. Maspero, in his elaborate study of = this family, in the "Momies Royales de Deir el-Bahari," that Penezem I., third of the priest-kings, was Hent-taui's husband, 1 from the fact that she always appears with him. She occupies a position of great importance in the sculptures of this reign, although where she accompanies Pinezem's other queen, Makeri, it is that princess and not Hent-taui who wears the uraeus crown, the emblem of sovereignty. From this fact, it seems that as Hent-taui's birth was not royal on her father's side, her own position was inferior to that of Queen Makeri.

Hent-taui may have been t= he first wife of Pinezem, married in his youth, which would account for her prominen= ce on his monuments. A scene sculptured on the pylon of Khonsu at Karnak, 2 shows Pinezem adoring the god, = while behind him Hent-taui sounds two sistra; she again appears with the king on a lintel at Medinet Habu; 3 and = one of the statues of Sekhet at Karnak has an inscription added by this queen. 4= She was invested with high sacerdotal offices, having been priestess of Thebes, and chief= high priestess of the cult of Mut, in whose temple she has recorded her name and titles.

Her son was the first pro= phet of Amen, probably Menkheper-ra, 5= and the inscription which describes Hent-taui as "royal mother of the chief royal wife," seems to imply that she was also the mother of his queen.= The mummy bandages of Hent-taui are inscribed with the

1 This view was first taken by DE ROUGÉ, and afterwards adopte= d by LEPSIUS.

2 L., D., iii, 250 c.

3 Rec., xix, 20.

4 L., D., iii, 249 f.

5 M.'s M.R., 692.

176

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

name of Menkheper-ra, pro= ving that she outlived her husband, and died during the pontificate of her son. =

In the hiding-place at De= ir el-Bahari, the mummy of Hent-taui was found in company with those of her husband Pinezem, her father Nebseny, and other members of her house. The queen's mummy was enclosed in two coffins, the larger one of which had once been gilded over a green ground; the gold had been scraped off, and, like t= he coffin of Queen Nezemt, only slight traces of the original decoration remai= ned. The mummy, 1 m. 55 cent in length, on being unwrapped, was found in a good state of preservation. In appearance it is the most singular of all the roy= al mummies which rest to-day in the Cairo Museum. 1 At the time of the queen's deat= h, no pains had been spared in the effort to preserve the face in as life-like an aspect as possible. To this end, all lines and depressions left in the skin= by the process of mummification were filled in with paste, after which the who= le visage was tinted with ochre to imitate living flesh; the cheeks were paint= ed; the lips reddened; and the eye-lids half closed over inserted eyes of a brilliant enamel. 2 The head r= ested in a finely crimped wig of black hair, the long tresses of which closely encircled the face. Although the jewels had disappeared, the body still retained some traces of ornamentation, in small articles of stamped leather= .

Ushabti or funeral figure= s, a box, and a copy of the Book of the Dead, were buried with her, and are now = in the Cairo= Museum. 3 Of the great number of funeral statuettes found with the royal mummies, those of Hent-taui are said to be the best, both in execution and colour. Those belonging to the later princesses of this family are very inferior, showing the rapidly degenerating art of the time.

1 Gal. Q., Case H, 1202.

2 M.'s MR., 576-7.

3 MARIETTE, P.B., iii, 12; M.'s M.R., 688; Cat. C.M., pp. 308, 435.

177 N

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

$$$ The portrait of this = queen occurs in her funeral papyrus, 1 where she is figured standing before a table of offerings; the face in the = papyrus, youthful and delicately drawn, bears no resemblance whatever to the repulsi= ve mummy which was once Hent-taui, now in the Cairo Museum.

On the evidence of the Me= dinet Habu lintel, where Pinezem seems to be shown in homage before the queen, Pe= trie takes a different view of her position, and considers her to have been the mother rather that the wife of Pinezem, and the queen of Piankh, his father= . 2 The only monument which bears o= ut this theory is the lintel above mentioned; in all other instances she appea= rs with Pinezem, and never with Piankh.

MAKERI MUT-= EM-HAT.

"Divin= e Wife, Royal Wife, Royal Daughter, Royal Mother, Great Lady of both Lands."

When the high priest Pinezem I. assumed the go= vernment at Thebes as third king of the dynasty, a descendant of the old royal line, Pasebkhanu, reigned as king at <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">Tanis. Although his power could not have extended beyond the Delta, he yet claimed as his birthright the title of ma= ster of both lands. Under these circumstances, it is not unlikely that he proved= to be a formidable rival to the claims of the priest-king Pinezem. Moreover, h= is occupancy of the Northern throne seems to have been a legitimate one, and h= is descent from the Ramses as pure as Pinezem's own.

Policy pointed the way to= a friendly alliance by marriage with the daughter of Pasebkhanu. This princes= s, Ma-ke-ri, accordingly left her father's court, and "came South," = to bestow her hand on the king of the Upper country.

Among the great ruins of = Karnak, that vast storehouse of Pharaonic records, = Mariette discovered a curious inscrip-

1 Cairo M., No. 687.
2 P., H.E., iii, 202-5.

178

PLATE XVIII

QUEEN MAKERI.

&= nbsp;

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

tion, 1 which, although much damaged, was capable of decipherment, an= d proved to be the marriage settlement of the princess Ma-ke-ri, which confers certa= in rights on her and her children. This monument leaves no doubt that Ma-ke-ri went South to her marriage, and that she was the daughter of Pesebkhanu, Ki= ng of Tanis.

Unfortunately, the name o= f the king whose bride she became is not stated; there seems, however, to be no reasonable doubt that her husband was Pinezem I. This appears to be establi= shed from the numerous sculptural scenes on the walls of Karnak, Medinet Habu, a= nd Luxor, where she accompanies Pinezem as "Royal Wife." At Luxor, this king is followed by three q= ueens, Nezemt, Hent-taui and Ma-ke-ri; presumably his grandmother, and his two wiv= es. 2

Ma-ke-ri was in her day t= he full regal heiress, descendant of a long line of monarchs, wearing the double serpent crown, and occupying the throne conjointly with the reigning prince. Her apparent claim of descent from the rulers of the South, as well as the Northern land of her birth, suggests that she was possibly a grand-daughter= of that Herhor who founded the dynasty of Priest-kings. In this way she would = have been of the same generation as P= inezem I., and his cousin.

From the absence of any e= vidence of active rule on the part of this queen, it appears that the actual exerci= se of her powers was transmitted, as usual, to the husband who shared her thro= ne. Her grandchild, Pinezem II., claims his descent from King Pasebkhanu of Tanis, thus provi= ng his own relationship to Ma-ke-ri; but through which one of the queen's children= he was descended is not clear.

The children and grandchi= ldren of Pinezem I. were the high priests Menkheper-ra and Masaherta, Pinezem II., a third Pine= zem, who died young, and possibly the princess

1 North face of Pylon VII.; M.'s = M.R., 694.

2 M.'s M.R., 690-92. <= /span>

179 N2

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

Astemkheb. 1 At least one of these was necessarily the child of Ma-ke-ri. = The queen died in giving birth to a daughter, who did not survive her, and who = was buried with her mother. The mummies were found with those of the queen's ro= yal contemporaries, Pinezem= I. and Queen Hent-taui. The mummy of Ma-k= e-ri, 1 m. 50 cent. in length, was in good condition, but had been despoiled of i= ts jewels and ornaments. It was wrapped in bandages of a fine rose-tinted clot= h, the small mummy of the child, 42 cent. long, lying against the queen's shoulder. Of the two coffins, the inner was damaged, but the outer one was = well preserved; it is a very fine one, skilfully executed, the body painted yell= ow, while the beautiful face which evidently portrays the queen's features is gilded. The case is inscribed with the name and titles of the. royal heires= s of Egypt. 2

Besides the name Ma-ke-ri= , there is a second name, Mut-em-hat, accompanied by the queenly titles. It is uncertain whether this belongs to the queen, or refers to the infant prince= ss who died with her. In the former case, it is curious that in the many other records of the queen, she should not appear with the two cartouches, but is called by the single name only of Ma-ke-ri. It seems unlikely, too, that the child would have been buried with no name at all, and we have seen other ca= ses where an infant bore the heiress titles, "Great Royal Wife," and "Lady of both Lands.'' 3 = In the absence of any positive proof to the contrary, many writers believe that it= is the little daughter of Queen Ma-ke-ri who is designated as Mut-em-hat. 4

The great funeral papyrus= which was buried with the queen represents the spirit of Ma-ke-ri presiding at her funeral feast, her mummy standing behind her. She addresses the god of the = dead in words of self-justification:

1 M.'s M.R., 537-699, 701; R., H.E., iii, 190. =

2 Cairo M., Gal. Q, Case E, 1198; M.'s M.R., 577.

3 See page 68. =

4 MASPERO, Momies Royales, etc.; WIEDEMANN; BRUGSCH.

180

PLATE XIX

QUEEN ASTEMKHEB I.

&= nbsp;

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

"I have come to thee= O my Lord Osiris; the heart just, the hands pure. I have been just in my actions= ; I have not sinned against the king; there is nothing in me of which men can accuse me. I am without fault. Join thyself to me, turn a benevolent face towards me, my Lord Osiris, Great God dwelling in the West of Abydos."= 1

Besides the mummy and cof= fins, and the Book of the Dead, now in the Cairo Museum, 148 ushabti figures, together with their box, which had formed part of the queen's fune= ral furnishing, were found at Deir el-Bahari. The other records of Ma-ke-ri are sculptured on the Pylon of Khonsu at Karnak; 2 in a court of the temple at Luxor, 3 and on the base of a statuet= te dedicated by Horhetep, the queen's steward. 4 Her portrait is published in Champollion's "Monuments,&q= uot; 5 and the coffin inscriptions = by Piehl. 6

ASTEMKHEB I= .

"Daugh= ter of the Chief Prophet of Amen; Chief of the Chantresses of Min, of Horus and of Isis in Apou; Lady of both Lands, Chief Spouse of Amen" 7

To this queen descended t= he crown of her grandfather Pinezem I. She was the daughter of Masaherta, high pries= t at Thebes;= and her grandmother was probably the queen Ma-ke-ri of the foregoing sketch. She se= ems to have enjoyed, for a time at least, some measure of independent rule. Upper Egypt was controlled by the fortress of el Hi= bbeh, which at this time was strongly

1 M.'s M.R., 593; Cairo<= /st1:City> M., Room G, 687.

2 L., D., iii, 248 g, 250 b.

3 Rec., xiv, 31, 32. <= /span>

4 Marseilles M., 232; Rec., xiii, 148.

5 280.

6 P., Ins., i, 64, 6; 75,6. =

7 M.'s M.R., 588, 703-4.

181

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

fortified. Some part of t= he work was done during the sovereignty of Astemkheb, as bricks are found among the ruins, 1 stamped with her name= and with that of her father, deceased, showing her position as his successor. <= /p>

Somewhat later she marrie= d her uncle, the high priest Menkheper-ra, and henceforth their names appear toge= ther as joint occupants of the throne. Her life was a long one, as at first she exercised the regal authority alone for an unknown period, and with her hus= band Menkheper-ra, reigned for forty-eight years. This is proved by the inscript= ions on a mummy whose bandages are dated under two kings, namely, Menkheper-ra, = year 48, and Pinezem II., year I. As Astemkheb did not, then, die until some tim= e in the reign of her son, she must have been connected with the government of <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Egypt for more than half a century.

An echo of the civil wars= which had distracted the kingdom shortly before this, remains in an address to Am= en by his high priest Menkheper-ra, who petitions the god in behalf of a polit= ical scheme which the king has in mind. This refers to the recalling of some hun= dred thousand Egyptians, who had been banished to the Great Oasis of the desert, after a previous revolt and its suppression. Several times the demand was m= ade of Amen, whose anger was supposed to be greatly incensed against the exiles, and as often as asked, the god gave assent. It may, therefore, be supposed = that the large force was summoned home again, where they were probably needed to swell the armies of the king. 2

Queen Astemkheb owned lar= ge estates, and an inscription dealing with the settlement of the property upon her descendants is engraved on the pylon of Horemheb at Karnak. 3 The queen's family was very = large; the members of it are mentioned in a long inscription, which is

1 L., D., iii, 251 h.

2 Stela at Thebes. B., R., xxii; B., H., i= i, 194.

3 M.'s M.R., 705; C., N., ii, 178; A.Z., xx, 75.

182

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

unfortunately damaged. Th= e most important of the sons were the high priest Nesibanebdadu, and Pinezem II. T= hat this king was certainly the son of Astemkheb, is proved by the funeral papy= rus of his wife, who always refers to him as "the son of Astemkheb." =

The queen was given a spl= endid burial, as shown by the remains of the tomb furnishing which still accompan= ied her body when it was discovered at Deir el-Bahari. The mummy, not unrolled, measured 1 m. 62 cent. It had been despoiled, but the two coffins, of fine workmanship, remained in good condition; they are painted yellow, and the carefully worked head is evidently a portrait. The mummy, wrapped in light rose-coloured linen, lies in its coffin. 1

The Book of the Dead for = the queen was enclosed in a hollow statuette of Osiris. Provision for her future comf= ort had been made on an extensive scale; 2 one large basket and two smaller ones of plaited palm fibre were filled with various articles of food, partly wrapped in bandages; gazelle, calves' head= s, geese, bread of Durra flour, dried figs, grapes, dates, pomegranates, and f= ruit of the dam palm, made up an elaborate menu which represented spiritual food= for the nourishment of the queen's Ka. Other offerings were contained in earthe= nware vases. The carefully embalmed body of a small gazelle, enclosed in a box of= the same form, was perhaps a pet animal of Queen Astemkheb, and had been placed= as a companion in her tomb. 3

A large wig made of hair = and wool was contained in a white basket-work box carefully fastened by two clay sea= ls, having the name of King Menkheper-ra. 4 Several other curled wigs, some of enormous size, which formed part of Astemkheb's outfit, were also found. All of the

1 Cairo M., Gal. Q, Case I, 1238; lid, Ca= seJ; M.'s M.R., 577.

2 Cairo M., Case B; M.'s Q.G., 424.

3 Cairo M., Gal. Q, Case Y, 1230; M.'s Q.G., 415.

4 Cairo M., Gal. Q, Case W, 1206.

183

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

baskets were fastened wit= h seals of the queen or her husband. Her name is engraved on four bronze libation v= ases and their stand, while the alabaster canopic jars have her sacerdotal title= s. Several figurines or ushabti were likewise dedicated to Astemkheb.

The most important object= found in connection with her burial is unique in the history of tomb furniture. T= his is the gorgeous canopy of blue decorated leather, under which the body of t= he queen rested during the funeral ceremonies. The top piece, about eight feet long and seven feet wide, is formed of three bands of leather, originally b= lue, which has faded to pearl grey. Across the central band six vultures spread their wings over a ground studded with stars. The side pieces are five feet long, and are bordered with designs in which figures of gazelles, scarabs, lotus flowers and plants are worked into a conventional ornamentation which= is strikingly bold and effective.

The top piece has the nam= e of the queen's father Masaherta, suggesting that it was part of his funeral canopy= , to which new side pieces were added at the time of his daughters death. These pieces have inscriptions in the name of Astemkheb and the cartouche of her = son Pinezem II., in whose reign she died.

It is noticeable that the= titles here given to the queen are those of her sacred offices: "Daughter of = the first "Prophet of Amen, Chief of the Chantresses of Min, of Horus, and= of Isis in Apou." The finding of this interesting= piece is described as follows: "As he was making his way into the tomb, Emile Brugsch Pasha picked up at the entrance to the long passage a parcel of lea= ther clumsily wrapped together, which seemed to have been thrown aside by some Egyptian priest who was in a hurry to get away. The central part which forms the roof represents a starry sky, over which the vultures of Nechabit extend their wings to protect the

184

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

dead. An ornamental borde= r in stamped leather links to this roof four side pieces, which were covered wit= h a draughtboard pattern of green and red squares, and hung down on every side = of the coffin, enclosing it as a tomb. The inscriptions ... invoke a happy rest for her who sleeps under the funeral daïs." 1

Unfortunately, the funera= l tent is much damaged. The fragments of the original leather, with a restoration drawing by MM. Vassalli and Emile Brugsch Pasha, are shown in the Cairo Museum. 2

HENT-TAUI (II.) was a dau= ghter of Astemkheb and Menkheper-ra. It is doubtful if she is to be classed among the Egyptian queens, for although she would have been an heiress of royal rights through her mother, yet there is no conclusive evidence that either she or = her husband and brother, Nesibanebdadu, actually occupied a throne. He was high priest of Amen, according to the inscriptions of a bronze statuette and of a pendant, and may therefore have held a place in the succession of Priest Ki= ngs of this dynasty. Numerous ushabtis of rough workmanship have been found, wh= ich have the name of the princess Hent-taui. 3

A third princess of this = line was

ASTEMKHEB (II.), a daught= er of Menkheper-ra or of Nesibanebdadu, = 4 and queen of Pinezem II. The decree of the original Astemkheb, which deals with= the settlement of that queen's property on her descendants, names as her heires= ses Hent-taui (II.) and Astemkheb (II.), presumably her daughter and grand-daughter. That this decree regarding personal property was of suffici= ent importance to be graven within the temple limits implies that not

1 M.'s Q.G., 403.

2 Gal. Q, Case K, 1194. Fine illustrations of the canopy are published in MASPERO's Momies Royales, etc., 585-87.

3 M.'s M.R., 707; P., H.E., iii, 214. =

4 M.'s M.R., 711.

18S

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

only the Queen Astemkheb,= but also the princesses to whom she bequeathed her estate, were the reigning hi= gh priestesses of the Theban cult of Amen.

There is no proof that As= temkheb II. was the wife of Pinezem II., but as she seems to have been the chief heiress princess at the time when Pinezem wore the crown, it is likely that= she was one of his queens. Her coffins, alabaster canopic jars, and bronze vase= s, were found at Deir el-Bahari. 1

NESIKHONSU.=

This princess 2 was the queen of Pinezem II., o= ne of the last of the Priest Kings. Her father was Nesibadadu of the priestly lin= e, her mother being a "Lady Tahonit-tauti," probably descended from = the same stock. It is to her mother that Nesikhonsu continually refers in her funeral papyrus, as though it were solely through that parent that she clai= med her supremacy and titles. The invariable form in which the papyrus names he= r is "this daughter of Tahonit-tauti."

In the monuments concerni= ng Nesikhonsu, we probably have records of one of the great Queens of Thebes. A stela 3 shows her before Osiri= s, and designates her by the unusual titles "Viceroy of Kush (or Ethiopia), Administrator of the Middle Country," titles which before this seem on= ly to have been assumed by men. The domain over which the queen had authority = is specified by the inscription on her mummy bandages, from which it is evident that she was the actual sovereign of a large part of the kingdom.

We have as yet no record = of buildings or of independent acts of government by Queen Nesikhonsu, but it = is not unlikely that she was engaged in works such as those

1 M.'s M.R., 578-89. <= /span>

2 M.'s M.R., 606-9, 707.

3 Bought several years ago at Luxor and published by Miss EDWARDS, Rec., iv, 81, University Coll., Lon= don.

186

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

which occupied other rule= rs of Egypt. She married her uncle, both her father and husband being sons of Queen Astemkheb I. and Menkheper-ra. The funeral papyrus 1 mentions her mother, brothers and sisters, and her four children, the princes Zaunefer and Masaherta, and the princesses Ataui and Nesitanebashru.

The queen's death took pl= ace before that of her husband, and the same officials are named as having cond= ucted the burials of both. That of Nesikhonsu was in the fifth year of some reign unspecified. A tomb inscription runs: "The year V, the 4th month of Shomou, the 21st, when was entombed the chief of the favourites, Nesikhonsu." 2 In the Deir el-Bahari tomb her mummy, two coffins, and a number of articles dedicated to her service were found.

The body of this Priestes= s Queen, who ruled Ethiopia mor= e than a thousand years B.C., is to-day exposed in the Cairo Museum. 3 When the mummy was examined = it was found to be in good condition. A singular feature of its preparation was the use of onion parings carefully cut to follow the form of the features, and placed over the eyes and mouth. One of the bandages was inscribed with the = name of Pinezem II., and a stamped leather ornament had the titles of the first Prophet of Amen, Pinezem, royal son of Pasebkhanu. 4

The coffins showed a stra= nge confusion of ownership. They had originally been made for Astemkheb II., and had afterwards, for some reason unknown, been altered for Nesikhonsu's buri= al. Such parts of the inscription as had the titles common to the two princesse= s, were left untouched, but the name of Astemkheb was covered with a coat of r= ed paint, and that of Nesikhonsu traced over it. This coating has fallen off in places, and the name of the original owner

1 Translated in M.'s M.R., 594-614. <= /p>
2 M.'s M.R., 521.

3 Gal. Q, Case Q, 1184.

4 M.'s M.R., 578.

187

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

appears. Nor was this the= only usurpation of the coffins; one of them was occupied when found by a mummy w= hich was thought to be that of Ramses XII. It has as an outer wrapping a re-used bandage of the chief wife of Amen, Nesikhonsu, in the year VI. 1

A basket found with the c= offins contained seventy vases of glass and earthenware, yellow, white and turquoi= se blue; all of which had the name of Nesikhonsu traced in black. 2 The funeral papyrus represents = the queen before Amen, to whom she justifies herself, and by whom she is deifie= d. Each paragraph begins, "Thus declares Amen-Ra, the very great god of creation." The deity says, I have observed Nesikhonsu, this daughter of Tahonit-tauti, and she has done no evil against Pinezem the son of Astemkheb."

The papyrus proceeds to e= numerate the good gifts which Amen promises to the queen, assuring her immortal life. The same blessings are likewise granted to "the brothers and sisters of Nesikhonsu," and to "Ataui, Zaunefer, Masaherta and Nesitanibashr= u, the children of Nesikhonsu." The tabulated records of the queen are as follows: -

Coffin a= nd mummy, Cairo M., Gallery Q, Case Q, 1184.

Shroud, = Cairo M. Catalogu= e, p. 422.

A second= coffin, with mummy Ramses XII., Cairo<= /st1:place> M., No. 1196.

A mummy = bandage, on mummy Ramses XII., Cairo M.

The Papy= rus, Cairo M., No. 686= .

A wooden= tablet, Cairo M= ., Gallery Q, Case X, 1225.

A stela = (Rogers), Louvre M= . 3

A stela (Edwards), University College, London. 4

1 Cairo M., 1196.

2 Cairo M., Vestibule Jewel Room, Case B;= M.'s M.R., 590.

3 Rec., II, 15.

4 Ibid., IV, 8.

188

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

Canopic = jars, Parrish Collection. 1

Seventy = vases of coloured glaze, Cairo M., Vestibule Jewel Room, Case B.

Ushabtis= and box, Cairo M., Vestibule Jewel Room, Case A.

Near the mummy of Queen N= esikhonsu is that of her daughter NESITANEBASHERU, who died about 1,000 years B.C. The name of her husband is not known, nor any details concerning her, except th= at she succeeded to her mother's office of Priestess of Amen, and had a daught= er named for her grandmother, Nesikhonsu.

The mummy and the two cof= fins of Nesitanebasheru 2 were found w= ith those of her mother in the famous Deir el-Bahari tomb. The princess' wrappi= ng were dated in the thirteenth year of the reign of Pasebkhanu II., her half-brother, and bear the stamp of Astemkheb, a high priestess.

Nesitanebasheru is one of= the very few royal women of the ancient Egyptian Empire of whose personal appearance we have a definite idea. The mummy, 1 m. 75 cent. in length, is = that of a woman between thirty-five and forty years of age at the time of death.= It still retains a quantity of wavy chestnut-brown hair, eyebrows of a lighter shade, thick eyelashes, and wide lids closing over enamelled eyes of a dark brown, which probably represent their colour in life. The nose is slightly arched, the mouth full, the teeth good, indicating the age of the princess.= The face was treated with paint and ochre in the same way as that of the Queen Hent-taui. 3

It rests on a coffin orig= inally gilded and painted, but afterwards covered with a coating of bitumen, which gives the case a black and rough appearance, and so damages the inscription that the title of Priestess of Amen, and the name of Nesitanebasheru, can o= nly be made out with difficulty.

1 Rec., IV, 80.

2 Cairo M., Gal. Q, Case D, 1199.

3 M.'s M.R., 579-81. <= /span>

189

TABLE OF THE XXIIND DYNASTY.<= /p>

190

CHAPTER XIV.=

XXIIND AND XXIIIRD DYNASTIES.=

Bubastis. About 950 B.C.

THE beginning of a new dy= nasty at the close of the 150 years' rule of the Priest-Kings, finds the government = in the hands of a man of foreign extraction, Sheshenq, whose chief claim to the crown probably rested on the strength of his sword.

It is possible that he ha= d the advantage of royal descent through one of the many ramifications of the Pharaonic families. 1 At any r= ate, he seems to have followed the time-honoured Egyptian custom, and to have ca= lled an heiress of one of the native royal lines to share his throne.

KA-RA-MAAT was the prince= ss whose rights were thus assumed by the XXIInd dynasty. She was a daughter of the Tanite king Pasebkhanu II. 2 A= tomb discovered at Gurnah by Arabs, about the middle of the last century, but at present unknown, was probably hers. From this tomb came ushabtis and canopic jars, having the heiress titles, "Divine Wife, Lord of both Lands, Lor= d of Crowns," and royal cartouches enclosing the name of Ka-ra-maat, le Div= ine Adorer of Amen, loved of Mut."

Ka-ra-maat had inherited = property in Upper Egypt which had been stolen fro= m her at some time previous to her marriage with Sheshenq. When that king chose t= he princess for his wife, he hastened to right the wrong which had been done h= er, and issued a decree restoring her

1 M.'s S.N., 769.

2 A.B., xiii, B.M.

191

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

possessions. The ordinanc= e was inscribed on one of the pylons at Karnak= , 1 and purports to be a divine com= mand. 2 "Thus spake Amen-Ra the ki= ng of the gods ... With regard to any object of any kind, which Ka-ra-maat, the d= aughter of the king of Upper Egypt, Pasebkhanu, has brought with her of the heredit= ary possessions which had descended to her in the Southern district of the coun= try, and with regard to each object of any kind whatever, which the people of the land have presented to her, which they have at any time taken from the (roy= al) lady, we hereby restore it to her.... Every king, every chief priest of Ame= n, every general, every captain and the people of every condition, whether mal= e or female, who had great designs, and they who carried out their designs later, they shall restore the property of all kinds which Ka-ra-maat ... brought w= ith her as her inherited estate in the Southern district of the country, togeth= er with all possessions of all kinds which the habitants of the country have g= iven her, and what they have at any time taken from the lady, it shall be restor= ed into her hand; we restore it into the hand of her son, and of her grand-son, and to her daughter, and to her grand-daughter, ... it shall be preserved u= ntil the latest times ..."

"Slain shall be all = people of every condition of the whole land, whether male or female, who shall cla= im any object of any kind whatsoever, which Ka-ra-maat ... brought with her as= inherited estate of the South land, and any object of any kind whatsoever, which the inhabitants of the land have given her, which they have at any time taken f= rom the lady as property ... (they who shall keep back any object thereof), one morning after the other morning, to them shall our great spirits be heavy. = We will not be any help to them, we will sink (their) noses into the earth.&qu= ot;

1 N. wall, 3rd pylon, S. of Great Temple, Karnak.

2 BRUGSCH, Egypt under Pharaohs, 373-375.

192

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ From the terms of the inscription, it seems that Ka-ra-maat had great riches, which were partly inherited from her father and partly gifts from the people; that for some reason she had probably left her Southern home, and had met with some misfo= rtune which left her unprotected, and her possessions a prey to anyone who chose = to take them. People of high and low condition were implicated in the robbery,= for the command to restore her goods is laid on every "king, every high pr= iest of Amen, every general, every captain," etc.

After the king's threats contained in the vigorous decree of Amen, the thieves probably returned to Sheshenq's queen the property of which as a friendless princess they had deprived her. The son of Ka-ra-maat was King Uasarkon I.= , and her grandson was a prince Sheshenq, who dedicated a statue to the memor= y of his grandmother, stating in the inscription her descent from the Tanite kin= g. 1

She had probably also an = elder son named Anput, who had the heir's titles of High Priest of Amen, and Commander-in-chief, but who died before his father. 2 Other records of this queen are contained on the stela of Horpasen, which refers to the wife of King Sheshenq I. as Ka-= ra-maat; 3 while a statue in the British Museum 4 names a Maat-ra-ka, in conne= ction with Uasarkon I., and as the daughter of Pasebkhanu of Tanis. It is evident that this princes= s is identical with Ka-ra-maat, the queen of Sheshenq, and that in the Hapi stat= ue she accompanies Uasarkon as his mother.

Queen Ka-ra-maat is also = to be found among the royal hosts of Karnak. T= he canopic jars from that tomb in Gurnah which was probably her burial place, = are now in

1 A. B., xiii, B.M.

2 L., D., iii, 253 b, c; 255 a, b.

3 M., S., xxxi.

4 Statue of Hapí.

193 O =

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

Berlin; 1 her ushabtis are scattered in many directions, and if they are called to an= swer the queen's summons, must do it from opposite ends of the earth.

When the Arabs broke into= her tomb half a century ago, if the body of the queen still lay there, the intruders probably destroyed it; at present no trace of it is known, and the location of the tomb has been lost.

A sister 2 of queen Ka-ra-maat is said to have been that daughter of a Pharaoh whom King Solomon married, and took "into the city of David, until he h= ad made an end of "building his own house, and the house of the Lord.'' 3 Soon after, Pasebkhanu II. conq= uered the city of Gezer, and gave it "for a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife." 4

After Ka-ra-maat, there f= ollows a group of several queens, the wives and mothers of the kings of the XXIInd dynasty; but of these royal women, no more is known than their names.

THENT-SA and TASHEDKHONSU= were wives of King Uasarkon I., and both are mentioned as the mother of his successor, Takeleth I. On the r= uins of the ancient quay at Karnak, 5 Thent-sa appears, while the Hor= pasen stela 6 is authority for the existence of Tashedkhonsu as a second queen of Uasarkon I. The assertion th= at she was the mother of his son Takeleth, is probably a mistake. 7

HENT-TAUI, one of Takelet= h's queens, is likewise no more than a name, appearing only as the mother of his son Uasarkon, another high priest of Amen. 8

MUTEMHAT KAROMAMA, "= Great Royal Wife; Princess; Great Lady; Mistress of the Country of the South.&quo= t; 9

1 L., D., 256 b, c.

2 WIEDEMANN, A.G., 541; M.'s S.N., 738, 764, 772.

3 1st Kings iii, 1.

4 1st Kings ix, 16.

5 A.Z., xxxiv, 1111. <= /span>

6 M., S., xxxi.

7 P., H.E., III, 243. =

8 L.B., D., 1010.

9 B., H.E., vi, 88.

194

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ These titles are acco= mpanied by double cartouches naming the princess as the beloved of Amen and of Mut.= She was one of the famous heiresses who were included among the Theban priestes= ses, and was the daughter of Nemart, a grandson of Sheshenq and his queen Ka-ram= aat.

Karomama married her cous= in, Takeleth I., and was the mother of his son Uasarkon II. It was formerly thought that this queen lived at a somewhat later period, but her position seems now to be established from contemporary inscriptions on the quay at Karnak. 1

Her tomb has not been dis= covered, but several records perpetuate her name; she is found in the temple of Karnak, as well as on the quay; a kneeling figure in the Berlin Museum mentions her; 2 and her ushabt= is are also known. The most beautiful existing memorial of Karomama is a fine gold-inlaid bronze statue in the Louvre, which is inscribed with her full r= egal titles, and was dedicated to her memory by one Aah-dufnekht. 3

Takeleth I. = was succeeded in office by his son Uasarkon II., the history of whose family is somewhat involved. The sovereign seems to have taken into his harem several wives. <= /p>

KA-RA-MA was the chief on= e of these, and although her affiliation is unstated, her name suggests that she= was a daughter of the same stock as Karomama. Her family consisted of four daughters, the most important of whom was her heiress Shepenapt (I.), and o= ne son Sheshenq, who afterwards became the second king of that name.

Sculptures at Bubastis 4 represent a great religious festival of Uasarkon and his queen Ka-ra-ma. In these scenes the king is several times depicted, always

1 L., D., iii, 256 a, 257 a; P., H.E., iii, 246; A.Z., xxxiv, 111.

2 L., D., iii, 256 h.

3 P., R., i, 40; M.'s P.E., 117.

4 N., F.H.; N., B., 50.

195 O2

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

accompanied by the queen,= in the performance of official ceremonies.

The temple of Osiris at Karnak has a memori= al of Ka-ra-ma, and her tomb was at = Thebes. For many years it was known to the Arabs, and must have been a rich treasure-house to them; as early as 1843, Lepsius bought ushabtis belonging= to Ka-ra-ma, at Thebes. After more than 40 years the stock was not yet exhausted, for in 1887, more figurines of the series were sold in the same place. 1

A lapis-lazuli seal in th= e form of a scarab was given by prince Sheshenq to his mother Ka-ra-ma, the inscription suggesting that it was a New Year's gift. 2 The queen's eldest daughter Shepenapt, occupied the position = of heiress-queen, probably even during her mother's lifetime. The other daught= ers, Tasha-kheper, Karamat, and ...armer, are known only from the festival scene= s at Bubastis.

MEHTIENUSEKT, a "Div= ine Wife of Amen," and a "Royal Mother," was a queen who, according to the evidence of the Horpasen stela, lived in the early days of the XXIInd dynasty. She was first attributed to this date by Lepsius, on the evidence = of some funeral figures. The stela further states that her husband was a chief Sheshenq, and that her son was prince Na-ro-math, 3 who married the daughter of Uasarkon (II.). To this record mu= st be added that of a stela at Ab= ydos, 4 which gives the same relationships, namely, Sheshenq married to Mehtienusekt, with Na-ro-math as their son.

The Abydos stela contains a long inscription relating to the "Osirian general of the Ma, Na-ro-math." The prin= ce had died young, perhaps in his father's wars, and was buried at Abydos. Subsequen= tly Sheshenq paid a visit to his son's grave, and was greatly incensed at the neglected state in which he found it. He addressed himself to Amen-Ra,

1 PETRIE, H.E., III, 251.

2 F.P. Coll.
3 Read also Nemart, Nimrod, etc. =

4 M., A., ii, 36; R.P., xii, 95; B., H., ii, 199.

196

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

saying of Na-ro-math: &qu= ot;Thou hut freed him from attaining to an infirm old age while he remained on earth. "Thou hut granted him his rest."

"Oh thou good Lord, = put to death (the captain) of the army, the ... secretary, the land surveyor, and = all ... whom (I) ... sent to this estate, and who plundered (the property) of t= he altar of the Osirian general of the Ma, Na-ro-math, the son of Mehtienusekt, who is buried in Abydos, and all the people who have robbed his holy proper= ty, his people, his herds of cattle, his gardens, his offerings, and all that w= as dedicated for his honour."

Amen graciously assenting= to this request, the priests and attendants left in charge of the tomb, who had neglected their duty, were probably condemned to death. Sheshenq then proce= eded to restore the desecrated tomb, and to set up a "statue, in the form o= f a walking man, of ... Na-ro-math," at Abydos.

The statue was brought up= the river attended by "a large body of soldiers in many ships, no man knows their number.... It was set down in the splendid royal chamber of the holy = of holies of the right eye of the sun, to carry the offerings on the altar tab= le of Nifur.... The incense was burnt in the room of the star chamber for three days,... a memorial tablet was erected,... containing the command (of the g= reat lord) in his name. And it was laid up in the holy of holies of the gods for ever and ever."

New attendants were appoi= nted for the service of the tomb, and an endowment was made for its maintenance in t= ruly regal fashion. "(This is the catalogue) of that which was appointed for the altar of the Osirian general Na-ro-math, the son of Mehtienusekt, who is buried at Abydos. There were allotted the people ... Airomapatut ... Khu-amen ... and Bek-pta= h. (The price of) their purchase makes in silver money ... thirty-five

197

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

pounds ... an estate (of = 100 arurae) in the region of the heights to the South of Abydos, and in the reg= ion of the heights to the North of Abydos." To this endowment of lands and slaves was added a "garden situated in the district of the Northern heights of Abydos," and several servants, including six men, two boys, and four maids. The trea= sury of Osiris was charged with a large outlay of money for daily supplies of ho= ney, of balsam, and of incense," for the altars of the Osirian general Na-ro-math," and provision was made for the "workers in the spice-kitchen, and for the persons of the labours of the harvest." 1

A red granite statue in <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">Florence is said by Brugsch to be the statue of Na-r= o-math which Sheshenq set up at Abydo= s. 2

If Mehtienusekt's son mar= ried the daughter of Uasarkon II., this would place the queen, at a considerably lat= er period, as his contemporary. Her funeral figures are similar to those of his queen Ka-ra-ma, and from these circumstances Petrie 3 argues that Mehtienusekt was a wife of Uasarkon II., and that= the tombs of the two queens must have been near together, and found at the same time by the Arabs who for forty years sold their ushabtis at Thebes. 4

Mut-hez-ankhs is another = wife of Uasarkon, who is mentioned by the historian of this family, Horpasen. She h= ad a royal daughter named Thentspeh, who was a "Prophetess of Hathor,"= and "Divine Mother;" but the position of Mut-hez-anks does not seem to have been important. An Ast-em-kheb also appears as a wife of Uasarkon; although having ecclesiastical titles, she can scarcely be supposed to have inherited royal blood, nor to have held a high place in the king's harem. 5 She is

1 BRUGSCH, E.P., 370-373.

2 F.A.M., SCHIAPARELLI, Cat. 1521.

3 P., H.E., 111.

4 They are now in Berlin and in the F.P. Coll. Bought in= 1843 by LEPSIUS, and in 1887 by = PETRIE.

5 M.'s M.R., 748-9.

198

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

mentioned on the canopic = jars 1 of her daughter Tasbastperu, wh= o was also attached to the service of Amen.

SHEPENAPT I.= was the great heiress of this family. She was the daughter of Uasarkon II., and of = his queen Ka-ra-ma. When the old king Takeleth I. associated his son Uasarkon II= . on the throne, the young princess Shepenapt seems to have been officially incl= uded in the regency, 2 and appears = in the temple of Osiris at Karnak with the two kings. 3

Her position must, for so= me reason, have been an extraordinary one, since she was honoured by her father and grandfather even during the lifetime of her mother Queen Ka-ra-ma, from whom she must have inherited her crown. That the queen Ka-ra-ma was still living at this time, seems certain from the sculptures at Bubastis, where she accompanies the king Uasarkon when he officiates as sole ruler, after the death of his father Takeleth; whereas it was before Takeleth died that the official rights of t= he young princess Shepenapt were apparently recognized.

A curious feature of her = history is that, although the chief heiress, she is not mentioned as having married either one of her father's heirs. These were Sheshenq II. and Takeleth II.;= but neither appears in connection with Shepenapt. Perhaps an early death accoun= ts for her sudden disappearance.

The place in which one mi= ght have expected to find her is occupied by

NESI-NEB-ASHERU, the quee= n of Sheshenq II., Shepenapt's brother and co-heir.

The wife of Sheshenq is n= amed with their son Horsiast, on a figure of the god Bes. 4

One other queen appears a= t the close of the XXIInd dynasty,

THENT-AMEN-APT, the wife = of Sheshenq III. The base

1 L., D., iii, 255 e, h.

2 P., H.E., iii, 245. =

3 Rec., xxii, 131.

4 A., B. Cat., 33.

199

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

of a diorite statue is in= scribed by an official who was "keeper of the house of the queen,... doing the things of the great chief queen of his Majesty, Thent-amen-apt." 1

XXIIIRD DYN= ASTY.

Bubastis. About 750 B.C.

Two or three kings of a n= ew family form a short dynasty of only about thirty years' duration, which intervened between the close of the XXIInd and the Ethiopian conquest of al= l Egypt. = The kings of the XXIIIrd dynasty were from Bubastis, and have left few records. Among them only one queen appears,

TA-DU-BAST. From her name= , she may be supposed a Bubastite princess, probably the wife of Pedubast, first = king of the dynasty.

She was the royal mother = of a king Uasarkon, a relationship named on a silver-gilt aegis of the goddess B= ast, which was found at Bubastis. 2 As the mothers of the other = two kings of this name are known, Ta-du-bast's son must have been Uasarkon III.=

1 F.P. Coll.; P., H.E., iii, 256.=

2 Louvre. P., C.E., 314.

200

TABLE OF ETHIOPIAN AND XXVITH DYNASTIES.

201

CHAPTER XV.<= /p>
QUE= ENS OF = THE ETHIOPIAN DYNASTY.

From about = 748 to 664 B.C. 1

EGYPT had now arrived at a period when the united kingdom of the North a= nd South, was practically dissolved. The land was split up into many small principalities, each governed by a petty ruler. 2 "The divisions of the Delta were many. We find two kings, one at Bubastis, and the other perhaps at the Bitter Lakes; four Libyan Chi= efs who wear feathers, at Mendes, Sebennytos, Pasopd and Busiris; two of whom h= ad split off Hermopolis and Xoïs for their sons; a royal heir at Athribis; and chiefs at Leontopolis, Letopolis and Saïs; also two others without districts named. Besides all these, the latest branch of Westerners who cam= e in held all the Libyan side under a chief. Thus there were 16 rulers in the De= lta. In Upper Egypt, there was a king at Hermopolis, a heq prince at Herakleopolis, and a prince ruling from the Fayûm down to Cairo." ("Babylon.")

Under such conditions, the country would have fallen an easy prey to the first energetic prince who ha= d chosen to attack it. The danger of a foreign conquest was averted by Pankhy, an Ethiopian chief.

The kingdom of Ethiopia= is supposed to have been originally founded by one of the princes of the priestly

1 These dates reckon from the rise of= the Ethiopians, whose first generation overlapped the XXIIIrd. The Ethiopian Domination is usually known as the XXVth dynasty, the XXIVth having incl= uded a single king only.

2 PETRIE, H.E., vol. iii, 269-70.=

202

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

dynasty, a descendant of = Herhor. 1 Pankhy, coming from this stock,= would have had a more legitimate claim to the crown of Egypt than most of the petty = rulers who divided the sovereignty. He subdued the whole country without much difficulty, many of the towns welcoming him as their deliverer, while others submitted to the force of his arms.

To those chiefs who made = no opposition, Pankhy accorded easy enough terms, while to those holding out against him he said, "If a moment passeth without opening to me, behol= d ye are reckoned as conquered, and this is painful to the king. Close not the g= ates of your life.... Behold ye, there are two ways before you, choose as ye wil= l; open, and ye live; close, and ye die. His Majesty loveth that Memphis be safe and sound, and that eve= n the children weep not." 2

The Ethiopian Dominion of= Egypt, founded by Pankhy I., lasted for over eighty years. A curio= us family arrangement appears at this time. Pankhy and his successors had each= two great queens, who were apparently of equal rank and importance, one of whom lived at Napata, the capital of Ethiopia, while the other held her court a= t Thebes. Both were= royal heiresses, and exercised a regal authority as representatives of the sovere= ign power in their respective cities.

The practice of sister-ma= rriages still prevailed, and the succession continued to be strictly in the female line.

A stela, from about the y= ear 625 B.C., gives a series of eight Ethiopian queens in direct descent, called "Mistresses of Kush." 3<= /b> Each princess has the cartouche, and is called the "sister" of the king. These were the high priestess rulers of Napata<= /st1:City>; where one appears in connection with a sister queen of Thebes, she is called "Mistress of Nubia," while the Theban priestess bears the title, "Mistress of Egypt."

1 BRUGSCH, E.P., 387; MASPERO, P.E., 169.

2 Commemorative Stela of Pankhy, ende= d at Napata, now Gebel= Barkal. In Cairo Mus. Published by BRUGSCH, Hist., ii, 231; Mon. Div., 1-6; R.P., ii, 81; GRIFFITH, Egyptian Literature, 5275.

3 Mon. Div., 9; R.P., vi, 76; P., H.E.<= /i>, iii, 309.

203

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ KENENSAT, the "H= eiress, Great Favourite, Royal Wife," was the queen of = Pankhy I., f= ounder of the dynasty. She is named with him on a bronze figure of Bast, which is = in the Louvre. 1

No other records of her a= re known, but, incidentally, an episode of Pankhy's conquest of Egypt throws a side-light on = the character of his queen Kenensat. The chief who had been most stubborn in his opposition to Pankhy was Nimrod, King of Hermopolis. When forced at last to surrender, he was in great fear as to the treatment he might receive at the hands of his conqueror, and sent his wife to intercede for him.

This princess, Nes-thent-= nes, was the "daughter of a king," and she went to the Queen of Pankhy to plead for her favour towards Nimrod. The story is told in the stela of Pank= hy as follows: "Then Hermopolis surrendered and supplicated the king of L= ower Egypt, and ambassadors came out of it and presented themselves with all thi= ngs good to behold: gold, precious stones, garments of cotton, (before his Maje= sty) who had put on the serpent diadem, in order to inspire respect for his presence. But several days passed before they dared to supplicate his Uraeu= s. Then (Nimrod) sent forth his wife, the queen and daughter of a king, Nes-th= ent-nes, to supplicate the queens and the royal concubines, and the king's daughters= and sisters. And she threw herself prostrate in the women's house, before the queens, (saying) 'Pray come to me, ye queens, king's daughters, and king's sisters! appease Horus, the ruler of the palace, [Pankhy]. Exalted is his person, great his triumph. Cause his (anger to be appeased before) my (pray= er); else he will give (over to death the king my husband, but) he is brought lo= w!' When she had finished (her speech, her Majesty) was moved in her heart at t= he supplication of the queen." 2=

1 P., R.,i, 44.

2 BRUGSCH's Transl. E.P., 395.

204

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

$$$ The following portion= of the inscription is destroyed, but it appears that Pankhy's queen granted the pr= ayer of Nes-thent-nes, and interceded for Nimrod, as later on Nimrod himself app= ears before Pankhy, and for a time gains his favour.

Nimrod's wife is spoken o= f as having appealed to "the queens"; but it is evident that it was the chief queen of Pankhy who is said to have been "moved in her heart&quo= t; at Nes-thent-nes' supplication; therefore it was in all probability Kenensat who thus appears as a merciful sovereign and a sympathetic friend to the unfortunate princess.

But Nes-thent-nes' troubl= es were not over. After a partial reconciliation had taken place between the two ki= ngs, Pankhy went to Nimrod's palace, and "visited all the chambers of the k= ing, his treasury and his store rooms. And he was content." But although Ni= mrod had stored up treasure, and made splendid his dwelling, he had abused the d= umb creatures under his care; and in the whole field of Egyptian records there = is no pleasanter touch of humanity than in the words of King Pankhy, when this fact came to his knowledge. 1 "When his Majesty visited the stables and the studs of foals, he obser= ved that (they had) let them starve. He said: 'I swear, as surely as the youthf= ul Sun-god Ra loves me; as surely as I breathe in life, it is a viler thing to= my heart to let the horses starve, than all the other faults that thou has committed;'" and although the king had forgiven Nimrod's offence towar= ds himself, yet for this neglect of the horses, Pankhy pronounced heavy judgme= nt against him, and confiscated all his possessions.

A king Kashta appears abo= ut this time, probably as the son of Pankhy, and co-regent with him. He figures chiefly as the husband and father respectively of two important princesses.

1 B., E.P., 396.

205

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

$$$ SHEPENAPT II., his qu= een, was a Theban heiress whose father was Uasarkon III. 1 She was of the line of royal priestesses of Thebes, and to these rights she united = those of the Bubastite and Tanite kings, from whom she traced her descent. The Ethiopian Kashta would greatly have strengthened his position by marriage w= ith a princess of so exalted a rank as that held by Shepenapt.

She was the mother, or ad= opted mother, of that princess Amenertas who was afterwards famous as queen; and = it is possible that one of Kashta's sons, Shabaco, 3 was also the child of Shepenapt. This queen is represented in= a grey granite statue which was found at Karnak, and is now in the Cairo Museum; 4 possibly also a second statu= e in the same place, called "An Ethiopian Queen," 5 is connected with Shepenapt. A statuette in the Hermitage Museum at Petersburgh, and a stela in Turin, 6 record her name.

PEBATHMA was a second que= en of Kashta. Her only known record occurs on a lintel at <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Abydos. 7 The same monument mentions a princess Peksather as the daughter of King Kas= hta; from the connection of the two names, this princess was probably born of Pebathma.

MUT-KHA-NEF= ERU AMENERTAS.

"Royal= Daughter; Royal Sister; Royal Wife; Chief Prophetess of Amen; Queen of Thebes."

This was the most importa= nt queen of the period, and the legal heiress of the kingdom. She bore the full insi= gnia of authority, the uraeus crown, and double cartouches. In her person were united the claims of two

1 MASPERO, P.E., 211. =

2 Ibid., M.R., 753.

3 M.'s M.R., 741, 763.

4 Room X, 699. =

5 Ibid., 687. <= /p>
6 L., T., 1632.

7 Rec., xxii, 142.

206

PLATE XX

QUEEN AMENERTAS.

&= nbsp;

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

royal lines; that of her Ethiopian father Kashta, and that of her mother or adoptive mother, Shepena= pt of Thebes.

Amenertas was certainly t= he daughter of King Kashta, 1 wit= h whom she is frequently figured in inscriptions; his wife Shepenapt is not defini= tely stated to have been her mother, but as inheritance through the female line continued to be the law, it was doubtless as that queen's daughter that Amenertas held the crown. She was the reigning sovereign of the principalit= y of Thebes, a province which extended as far S= outh as Aswan, and had its Northern boundaries = at Thinis and Khemmis, the modern Abydos and Ekhmim. This important section of the kingdom was governed by the queen, with the assistance of a prime minister.

The priestess-sovereign s= eems to have been devoted to the service of Amen, and to the improvement of her beautiful city of Thebes, where she not only restored the works of her predecessors, but also dedicat= ed to the gods, chapels in her own name. She left the records of her reign ove= r a wide tract of country: Thebes, Aswan, Medinet Habu, Hamamet and Memp= his, all bear evidence of her influence. There is, in fact, every reason to supp= ose that Queen Amenertas was a vigorous ruler, administering her kingdom in pea= ce and prosperity, both as its political and its spiritual chief.

She shared the crown with= two of her brothers in succession, Shabaka and Pankhy II.; but whenever represented in their company, she appears as a person of far more importance than the co-regents with whom she was associated. All the functions pertaining to her sacerdotal office, the high priestess was competent to perform unaided, but= the military and other duties of a sovereign which a woman could not fulfil, we= re as usual relegated to the prince nearest in blood to the queen, or to a pri= me minister.

1 For relationships of this family, s= ee MASPERO, Momies Royales, etc.; ERMANN, A.Z., V, 29.=

207

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

$$$ To Shabaka, the elder= of her brothers, the princess was married when between fifteen and twenty. 1 Their names for a time are conn= ected, as was customary with a king and his consort; 2 these records are in the twelfth year of Shabaka, when from h= er titles, Amenertas appears to have been already the ruler at Thebes. After a few years Shabaka died,= and the queen then married her younger brother Pankhy II., who appears but as a shadowy figure in comparison with his sister. One daughter was born to them, and was given the name of her grandmother, Shepenapt. 3

Among the buildings at Thebes with which the name of Amenertas is connected= is the Temple of Osiris at Karnak, 4 and a chapel situ= ated to the North of the Templ= e of Ptah. 5 This temple was adorned with st= atues of the queen, one of which, a life-sized figure in alabaster, was found amid the ruins of the building. The statue is 1 m. 67 cent. in height, and was doubtless intended as a portrait of the queen. On the head is a heavy wig a= nd flat crown, with triple uraei on the brow. At the time of its discovery, th= is monument was hailed as a great work of art. The features are, however, heav= y, and the execution is not of the finest workmanship; nevertheless, the lines= are graceful, and the beautiful material employed gives to the whole figure an = air of delicate purity which makes it a pleasing portrait statue. 6

The pedestal of grey gran= ite has the following inscription: "This is an offering for the Theban Amen-Ra= of Apt, to the god Mentu-Ra, the Lord of Thebes. May he grant everything that = is good and pure, by which the

1 M.'s M.R., 751.

2 L., D., V, i, e; M., K., 45 e.

3 Rec., xxiv, 212; G., H. Coll., 220. <= /p>
4 Ibid., xxii, 126, 127; xxiv, 20= 9, 210.

5 M., K., 45, c, d.

6 Cairo M., Room X, 685.

208

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

divine (nature) lives, al= l that the heaven bestows and the earth brings forth, to the princess the most pleasant, the most gracious, the kindest and most amiable queen of Upper and Lower Egypt, the sister of the king, the ever-living daughter of the deceas= ed king, the wife of the divine one - Amenertas - may she live."

"I was the wife of t= he divine one, a benefactress to her city (Thebes), a bounteous giver for her land. I gave food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, clothes to the naked," etc. 1

From the same chapel come= s a stela of sandstone, on which Amenertas, accompanied by her daughter and one= or two other priestesses, is depicted in adoration before Amen, Mut, and Khons= u, the divine trinity of Thebes. 2 A black granite figure found= with the alabaster statue is in a mutilated condition, but also represents Amenertas; 3 a third statue in= grey granite is in the British Museum; = 4 the name of the queen is inscribed on the rocks of Aswan 5 and Hamamat, 6 a= nd other memorials of her reign exist at Medinet Habu, 7 where she made numerous restorations and additions.

Many small objects have b= een found which were once the property of Amenertas. These include bronze plaques fro= m Memphis; 8 alabaster and serpentine vases;= 9 a granite figure of Osiris; 10 an altar for offerings; 11 a glazed cylinder; 12 a bronze door pivot; 13 fragments of articles in stone= and alabaster; 14 and many scarabs= and ushabtis in brown serpentine. 15 Besides these personal mementos, there are many monu-

1 B., E.P., 420.

2 Cairo M., Room T, 644.

3 Ibid., Room X, W. wall.

4 B.M., No. 36440.

5 P., S., ix, 263.

6 L., D., V, i, e.

7 Rec., xxiii, 4; D., M.H., 29.

8 A.S., iii, 142.

9 B.M., 24709, 4701. <= /span>

10 SABATIER, Coll. <= /o:p>

11 Cairo M.

12 B.M., 29212.

13 Ibid., 36301.

14 Berl. M., 2101; A.M., 35.

15 Louvre and F.P. Coll. The remains of this queen, tabulated by PETR= IE, H.E., iii, 288. =

209 P

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

ments of various official= s who served during the reign of Queen Amenertas.

She seems to have had dom= inion over Thebes for many years, and possibly did not die until sometime during the reign of Pankhy's successor, Taharqa. This king built a temple at Karnak, and was assisted at the dedication ceremonies by a "divine wife,"= a princess-priestess. In the inscription recording this event, the name of the princess is effaced, but there are circumstances connected with it which ma= ke it possible that she is Amenertas. 1

PEKSATHER was a half-sist= er of Amenertas, the daughter of King Kashta, and a secondary queen, Pebathma. 2 This princess also became a wif= e of Pankhy II., but with the exception of her one mention at Abydos, she seems to have left no trace, unless she is the same as the queen figure= d on a stela at Bologna<= /st1:place>, who is called by M. Wiedemann, Pekersala, and by him supposed to belong to = the XXVlth dynasty. 3

The joint reign of the Th= eban queen and of Pankhy II. was succeeded by that of Taharqa, a son of Pankhy. = This relationship is shown by a stela of Psamtek I., 4 where the wife of Taharqa is said to have been also his siste= r. As this sister was the daughter of Pankhy, it follows that Taharqa was his = son, although the queen Amenertas was not Taharqa's mother. Pankhy had married a third wife, whose name, appearing in a somewhat mutilated form, is variously read as —rqa; 5 Aqel; 6 and

AKALUKA. 7 Her descent was from the priestly line, 8 and she appears in the records 9 of her son's coronation as,

1 M.'s M.R., 762.

2 Abydos Lintel, Rec., xxii, 142.

3 P.S.B.A., 1885-6.

4 A.Z., xxxv, 16; P., H.E., iii, 296. =

5 L., D., V, 7 c.

6 BRUGSCH, E.P., 324. =

7 MASPERO, P.E., 361. =

8 E. DE ROUGÉ.

9 Tanis Stela. Discovered by MARIETTE; trans. by E. DE ROUGÉ.

210

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

"divine wife of Amen= "; "royal sister"; "royal mother"; and "palm of love."

Taharqa, when a youth of = twenty, had parted from his mother at Napata, and = had gone Northward into = Egypt. After some years had passed, he made good his pretensions to the throne, and desiring to be crowned, he sent to Napata for his mother, "sweet of love," to share his triumph. She accordingly journeyed to Egypt, where she was met by her son, who proclaimed her regent of the North and of= the South, and 1 "associated = her with himself in the rejoicings at his coronation. This ceremony, celebrated= at Tanis, with the usages customary in the Delta, was r= epeated at Karnak, in accordance with the Theban ritual; and a chapel, erected shortly afterwards on the Northern quay of the great sacred lake, has preserved to us the memory of it. Akaluka, installed with the rank and prerogatives of the 'Divine Spouse of Amen,' presented her son to the deity, who bestowed upon him through his priests, dominion over = the whole world. She bent the bow, and let fly the arrows towards the four card= inal points, which she thereby symbolically delivered to him as wounded prisoner= s."

Nothing further is record= ed of Akaluka, the "palm of love," but as Taharqa brought prosperity to= the land, in his twenty years of government, and as his mother accompanies him = in various temple scenes, it may be supposed that after their long years of separation, she lived a happy life by the side of her victorious son.

Taharqa had two great que= ens, both his sisters, one of whom was the "Great Heiress" of Napata; the other, heiress of Thebes.

AMENDUKHAT, "Royal S= ister, Royal Wife, Great Heiress, Mistress of all Women,'" was doubtless by h= er position the hereditary ruler of Napata. She was probably

1 M.'s P.= E., 362.

2 L., D.<= /i>, V,S.

211 P2

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

that daughter of Pankhy, = 1 who married first, Shabaka, and afterwards, Taharqa.

It is known that Taharqa = was succeeded by a step-son, the child of his wife by a former union with Shaba= ka. The name of this prince's mother is not given, but as the statement is clea= r 2 that he was the son of Taharqa's sister, it is probable that she was Taharqa's elder sister and first queen, Amendukhat She would thus have been very young at the time of her first marriage, and after her union with Taharqa, several years the senior of her sister-queen, Shepenapt III.

Nothing is known of the l= ife of Amendukhat, but the story of Taharqa's reign suggests that his queen must h= ave passed through some trying scenes. The Egyptian king had great difficulty in holding his own against the Assyrians, who upon one occasion besieged Memphis and took = it. At its fall, Taharqa escaped to Ethiopia, leaving behind him his queen, the crown prince Ushanahoru, 3 and several younger sons.

The victorious invaders e= ntered Memphis and took = captive the queen and her family, as well as such royal children of Taharqa's predecessors as were resident at court. As Amendukhat was Taharqa's royal w= ife, and mistress of Egyp= t, she is doubtless the queen who, with her son Ushanahoru, fell into the hand= s of the Assyrians. Subsequently, Taharqa retook Memphis, although it does not appear wh= at the fate of the queen and her children had been.

Eserhaddon, however; unli= ke other Assyrian kings, usually showed mercy to his captives; it is therefore proba= ble that upon his re-entry into Me= mphis, Taharqa found his family unharmed.

Amendukhat's sister-queen Shepenapt III. links the waning Ethiopian dynasty with the rise of the Saïtic power,

1 M.'s P.E., 362, n. 1; R.P., I, 64. =

2 Stela of Ashurbanipal (668 B.C.= )

3 M.'s P.E., 373-81. <= /span>

212

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

and the sketch of Shepena= pt is therefore included in the section on the XXVIth dynasty.

The last king of the Ethi= opian dominion who has been certainly placed, was Taharqa's step-son, Tanutamen. = This prince, as has been seen, was the son of Taharqa's wife. Before his assumpt= ion of the crown, Tanutamen had had a dream foretelling his sovereignty of Egypt. = This dream he inscribed upon a stela which he set up at <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">Napata, 1 and upon which he recorded his two queens.

QELHATAT, the elder of his sisters, was high priestess of Napata; whi= le GERARHENI was the priestess of Thebes. Both queens accompany the king on his Dream Stela, Gerarheni on his right, bearing the title "Mistress of Egypt," while on his left, Qelhatat appears as "Mistress of Nubia." As these queens were the sisters = or half-sisters of Tanutamen, they must have been the daughters of Shabaka, or= of Taharqa.

No details concerning the= two princesses have come to light; Gerarheni, although "Mistress of Egypt," can scarcely have been high priestess of Thebes, since her dat= e coincides with that of Shepenapt III., who was the hereditary Theban Queen; and it is= not likely that this position could have been shared by two princesses at the s= ame time. The history of the two queens of Tanutamen was, at all events, a short one, as that king's reign lasted only a few years.

MERIT-TAFNOUIT, "Div= ine Wife, Royal Wife, Royal Daughter, Royal Sister, Neter Tuat." This princess is an unplaced queen, who proba= bly figured among the great priestess rulers of Thebes. A seal bought by M. Legrain at = Luxor contained t= his hitherto unknown cartouche, written in violet hieroglyphs on a white enamel= led ground. 2 No record of the pri= ncess has yet been found by which she can be definitely placed.

1 From Mt. Barkal. Cairo M.; R.P., iv, 81; B., E.P., 405; M.D., 7, 8.

2 LEGRAIN, A.S., V.

213

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ Before closing the hi= story of the royal women of the Ethiopian dynasty, mention should be made of a certa= in princess called Mutardus, who, although she was not a queen, has left a cha= rming image stamped on the records of this time by her father's devotion. King Menkheper-Ra, whose exact date is unknown, was probably one of the petty ki= ngs who ruled some sections of the country towards the close of the Ethiopian dominion. 1 This king had a daughter, described as a priestess of Mut and Hathor. Her father's poetical tribute to the charms of the princess is as follows:

"A = sweet of love, the prophetess of Hathor, Mutardus:

A sweet = of love, unto the king Menkheper-Ra;

A sweet = of love unto all men,

A lovely= one to all women, is this royal daughter;

A sweet = of love, the beautiful of women;

A damsel= of whom thou hast not seen the like.

Black is= her hair, more than the blackness of night,

More tha= n the fruit of the sloe;

Red is h= er cheek more than the pebble of jasper,

More tha= n the crushing of henna." 2

Anything like description= of personal beauty is so rare among the records of the daughters of Egypt t= hat this picture of Mutardus is especially attractive, although the slight stiff fig= ure of the princess which is graven on the king's stela does not at all suggest= the beauty attributed to her in the text.

The dominion of the Ethio= pian princes in Egypt came to an end about 664 B.C., with the conquest of the sovereign power by Psamtek, founder of the XXVIth dynasty, which had its rise at Saïs in = the Delta.

1 P., H.E., iii, 292. =

2 Stela in Louvre, No. 100. Pr., = M., 4; A. Z., xvii, 53.

214

CHAPTER XVI.=

XXVITH DYNASTY.<= /b>

Saïs. = About 664 to 525 B.C.

THE sovereign rights of t= he Ethiopians were carried over to the new Saïtic dynasty by the princess who bears = the cartouches,

MUT-AR-RA-H= ENT-NEFERU

SHEPENAPT (= III.).

Great Queen= of Thebes; Divine Worshipper, and Royal Daughter of the Ethiopian king, Pankhy= II. 1

Her mother, as before not= iced, was Amenertas, 2 from whom she inherited the Theban principality. The stela of Psamtek I. 3 proves that she was the half-si= ster of King Taharqa. She was a child of only seven when he ascended the throne,= and she may even have been among the royal children who with Taharqa's queen we= re made prisoners by Eserhaddon when he captured Memphis.

It was not until she was = about twenty years of age 4 that, following the custom of her time, the heiress was married to

1 G., H. Coll., 220. <= /span>

2 A.Z., xxxv, 16, 28. =

3 Ibid.

4 P., H.E., iii, table, p. 279

215

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

her brother Taharqa, some twenty-two years her senior. The joint reign of Taharqa as king of Egypt, and Shepenapt as hereditary ruler o= f Thebes, lasted abo= ut thirteen years. One child at least, a daughter called Amenertas, was born of this un= ion. The sovereigns signalized their reign by the building of a chapel at Karnak, dedicated to Osiris. 1 It lies about 200 feet to the north of the great Hypostyle Ha= ll, and consists of two small chambers, the walls of which are sculptured with = the inscriptions of Taharqa and his queen.

This period of Shepenapt'= s life was filled with dangers and alarms; menace from a brutal foreign foe; peril= s to crown, life, and liberty; hurried flights from the palace, when escape meant life or death. A second Assyrian invasion of Egypt, about 668 B.C., put the country at the mercy of a relentless enemy, and Tah= arqa again fled into Ethi= opia, where he died.

Meanwhile Shepenapt must = have escaped to a place of safety: for the Assyrian forces of Ashur-bani-pal sacked Thebes, burnt its = temples, carried away the treasures of Amen, 2 and if the high priestess had been found within its walls, her fate would doubtless have been a tragic one. Instead of which, a few years later, the = rise of the Saïtic dominion finds Shepenapt still firmly seated on her priestess throne, reigning with Psamtek in harmony and peace.

The queen's safety may ha= ve been due to the vigilance of the governor of Thebes, who was "the fourth prophet of Amen," Mentuemhat. He was the chief official of this reign, and the active administrator of such affairs of the state as could not be transacted by the priestess-ruler.

On the death of Taharqa, = the power of Shepenapt may have suffered a temporary eclipse during the short r= eign of his successor, who had two "Great Queens" of his own; the

1 A.S., iv, 181; Rec., xxiv, 209-12.

2 M.'s P.E., 385.

216

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

"Mistress of Nubia," and the "Mistress of Egypt." This was during the last troubled years of the Ethiopian dominion, and with= the dawn of a new dynasty, Shepenapt's star shone out with undiminished splendo= ur. The conqueror of the Ethiopian's throne, not only placed no restrictions on= the Theban Queen's position, but he seems to have left the government of Thebes entirely to= its hereditary sovereign.

It was at some period dur= ing this practically independent reign of Shepenapt that a fleet of nine ships from = Ethiopia came down the river and landed at= the temple quay of Karnak; they were laden with many things which were probably intended for the service of the temples, the records being placed in the temple of Mut. 1 The cargo included 1,500 turtle doves, 900 bundles of reeds, 12,000 bundles of nef plants, a= nd over 100,000 dôm palm nuts. The seventh ship was named the "Harem of Amen," which suggests that priestesses from the Southern country had b= een sent down for the service of the god; these would naturally be received by their chief, Shepenapt, to whom, indeed, the whole fleet may have been consigned.

So prominent a position d= oes the queen hold during this reign, that many writers have considered her the wif= e of Psamtek. She is not spoken of in that connection, however, and it seems probable that if he made her his queen, it was only by an official marriage= 2, such as he might have consider= ed necessary to strengthen his hold of the crown.

About this time, perhaps = under Psamtek himself, the system of family relations underwent a peculiar change, which rendered domestic affairs more complicated than ever. Two Great Queens ruled, as in the Ethiopian dynasty; the one at Napata= being the actual wife of the king, while the other appeared dwelling alone = at Thebes, as "D= ivine Spouse of Amen." The high priestess queen had no daughter to inherit h= er office and crown, but was

1 B. and G., M., 370-9, xx-xxii. =

2 M.'s P.E., 492.

217

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

forced by the king to ado= pt a daughter, the child of his Southern queen. This princess inherited the full= rights of her adopted mother, became the Queen of Thebes, and adopted in turn a daughter of the reigning king. In the case of Psamtek, at least, one may ha= zard a conjecture as to the reason for this complication of the laws of inherita= nce.

Shepenapt, with the full = rights of the Theban state, was perhaps no longer young at the accession of Psamte= k. He, with a royal wife and daughters of his own, would naturally wish to pos= sess the crown of Thebes, and no more efficacious way would present itself than to associate his daug= hter with Shepenapt, and have her recognized as that queen's legal heiress. It cannot have been difficult to legalize any extreme position in a country wh= ere it was so often the custom to ignore facts in favour of imagination. The wh= ole system of the divine rights of the Theban heiresses, or Spouses of Amen, re= sted on the fiction of the "solar blood," transmitted metaphorically through the priestesses of "Amen's harem"; 1 or, in cases such as those of Hatshepsut and Amen-hetep III.,= by a divine miracle.

Shepenapt seems to have h= ad at least one daughter of her own, born during her joint reign with Taharqa. 2 This princess, Amenertas, would= have been the real heiress of Thebe= s, but either she died early or else her rights were set aside by Psamtek in favour of his daughter Nitaqert, whom he sent down the river to Shepenapt t= o be her successor. Few facts are found in Egyptian history which illumine any p= art of the human lives led by the royal women who wore the heiress' crown. Certainly there is nothing in the case of Shepenapt to show her real feelin= g at the forced adoption of Nitaqert. If she sorrowed in secret that her daughter had been set aside, and chafed at her own helplessness to uphold that daughter's rights against the conqueror, no hint of it appears.

1 M.'s P.E., 164, 172.

2 A.Z., xxxv, 17, 28. =

218

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

$$$ The document of Psamt= ek, 1 which records the adoption of h= is daughter, contains only the official expression of Queen Shepenapt's views regarding that event, and the joy which she is said to have felt on beholdi= ng her young coadjutor for the first time, is apparently voiced by Psamtek and= not by the queen herself.

According to the present = system of calculating the approximate ages of Egyptian rulers, 2 Shepenapt was born about 700 B.C., and did not die until after 655, at which time the adoption of Nitaqert took place. During more than ha= lf her life, Shepenapt controlled Thebes, as she was only twenty when she married Taharqa and was named as high priestess. The monuments of her reign which are found at Thebes, are the chapels of Osiris, as L= ord of Eternity 3 and as Lord of Life= . 4 Other records survive in the&qu= ot; Stela of Adoption" sphinxes in the Cairo and Berlin Museums, 5 a lintel from Karnak, 6 and fragments of a statue. At M= edinet Habu her name is inscribed in a funeral chapel 7 and on an altar of black granite. 8 In the Wady Gasus is a rock inscription in which Shepenapt appears with her adopted daughter and Psamtek. Of small objects naming the queen, a bronze plaque comes from Memphis, 9 a bronze box inlaid with gold and silver is in the Louvre, as well as a pla= que and a scarab, 10 while an alab= aster box and a sandstone cartouche are in the F. Petrie collection. 11

MEHTIENUSEKHT, "The = great Royal Wife, chief one of his Majesty," 12 Psamtek I., was probably already his queen at the time of his accession.

She was the actual mother= of Nitaqert, of whom Shepenapt was the adoptive mother. Brugsch thinks that

1 Karnak Stela. Cairo M., Room T, 673; A.Z., xxxiv, 16, 24.

2 A.S., V, 88; P., H.E., iii, 279, 339.

3 A.S., iv, 181.

4 Rec., xxiv, 209-12. =

5 Berl. M., 7972.

6 Cairo M.; M.'s Q.G., 168, 177.

7 Rec., xvii, 118; xx. 74. <= /o:p>

8 Ibid., xx, 75.

9 A.S., iii, 142.

10 S., h, 456.

11 P., H.E., iii, 327.

12 Rec., xx, 83.

219

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

the king's successor, Nec= ho II., was her son. 1 She was a Heliopolitan princess, the daughter of the high priest Horsiast. A union wi= th the heiress of Heliopolis would considerably have strengthened the rising power of the Saïtic ho= use. Memorials of Mehtienusekht appear at Medinet Habu, in the same funeral chap= el which records Shepenapt. 2 She= is there named, in company with Amenertas and Shepenapt, on some re-used block= s of stone, originally belonging to the XVIIIth dynasty.

Her connection in the abo= ve inscription with the two famous Theban queens, makes it possible that she t= oo was one of the "Divine Worshippers of Amen." 3

NITAQERT MUTNEB-NEFERU.

"Divine Worshipper and Great Queen of = Thebes."

This princess, as noticed= above, was the daughter of King Psamtek," born of the Great Royal Wife Mehtienusekht," and, by adoption, Shepenapt's heiress. Nitaqert had no birthright to the priestess throne of Thebes. She was rather the heiress through her mother of rights over Heliopolis, and the Theban sovereignty = was practically a gift from her father.

Queen Shepenapt, ruling a= t Thebes when Psamtek assumed the crown of Egypt, consented to receive t= he king's daughter, and accordingly in the ninth year of his reign, Nitaqert, = then about fifteen years old, 4 was= taken

1 B., E.P., 325.

2 D., M.H., 40; Rec., xix, 21; xx, 83; L., D.T., iii, 157.

3 M.'s M.R., 751.

4 P., H.E., iii, 337. =

220

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

from her own mother and h= er home at Memphis and sent up the river to Thebes to be the companion and adopted daughter of the Theban Queen. The account of the princess' installation by the side of Shepenapt was engraved on a red grani= te stela and placed in one of the temples at Karnak. This monument was found by Legrain, who published it. 1 A résumé of the story is given in the "Passing of the Empires." 2

"A deputation of the= nobles and priests of Thebes came to escort the princess from Memphis in the month= of Tybi in the 9th year of the reign. Psammetichus formally presented her to t= hem, and the ambassadors, having listened to his address, expatiated in the customary eulogies on his splendour and generosity. 'They shall endure as l= ong as the world lasteth; all that thou ordaineth shall endure. How beautiful is that which God hath done for thee! ... Our Lord Psammetichus has made a gif= t to his father Amen; he has given him his eldest daughter, his beloved Nitaqert Shapenuapit, to be his divine spouse, that she may shake the sistrum before him.' On the 28th of Tybi, the princess left the harem, clothed in fine lin= en and adorned with ornaments of malachite, and descended to the quay, accompa= nied by an immense throng, to set out for her new home. Relays stationed along t= he river at intervals made the voyage so expeditious, that at the end of sixte= en days the princess came in sight of Thebes."

"She disembarked on = the 14th of Khoiak, amid the acclamations of the people; 'She comes, the daughter of= the King of the South, Nitaqert, to the dwelling of Amen, that he may possess h= er and unite her to himself; she comes, the daughter of the King of the North, Shapenuapit, to the temple of Karnak, that the gods may there chant her praises.' As soon as the aged Shapenuapit had seen her coadjutor, 'she loved her more than all things,

1 A.Z., xxxv, 16-19.

2 MASPERO.

221

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

and assigned her a dowry,= the same as that which she had received from her own parents. The magnates of Thebes.... and the prophets of Amen, vied with each other in their gifts of welcome; Psammetichus, on his side, had acted most generously, and the temp= les of Egypt assigned to the princess an annual income out of their revenues, or bestowed upon her grants of houses and lands, in all constituting a considerable inheritance."

It was, therefore, as an = heiress of great fortune that Nitaqert was received by Shepenapt, and installed as = the future ruler of Thebes. Other records of the position of Nitaqert in the li= ne of the Theban priestess-queens are found on a rock tablet of the Wady Gasus, where Psamtek makes offering to the gods and is accompanied by Shepenapt and his daughter Nitaqert; and on a stela from Karnak, which depicts three quee= ns in succession, Amenertas, Shepenapt and Nitaqert. 1

It is not improbable that= Queen Shepenapt still lived for a few years after Nitaqert's adoption, training w= ith care the young princess who was destined to succeed her. When she died, aft= er 654 B.C., Nitaqert assumed the pontifical authority of Thebes. She was very young when the crown of the Theban queens descended to her from her adopted mother, and for some forty-five years she ruled the Thebaïd in connect= ion with her father, who reigned as King of Egypt.

Seventeen years after the installation of Nitaqert, an official, Ibe, was appointed by the king to rebuild her palace at Thebes. Ibe's inscription regarding this commission 2 begins with a recital of the ceremonies connected with Nitaqert's adoption, and then proceeds with an account of her palace. It was built of stone, "100 cubits high and 100 cubits wide;" its ceilings were gilded and inlaid with precious stones, and it was elaborately furnished.

1 Cairo M., Room T, 644

2 On a statue bought by LEGRAIN at Luxor.

222

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

It is possible that this = was the old palace of Shepenapt, which, forming part of Nitaqert's inheritance, was remodelled and decorated for her use by the order of the king.

In 610, when Psamtek died= , his son Necho, who was Nitaqert's brother, succeeded him. The queen was not mar= ried to Necho, 1 and was at that ti= me over sixty. She appears to have held the authority at Thebes all through her brother's reign, under the same conditions as those accorded to Shepenapt by Psamtek; that is, she represented the sole government of the province, aide= d in its administration by a prime minister. The queen was apparently dedicated solely as high priestess to the service of Amen, in a spiritual sense, remaining unmarried and childless, and transmitting her rights only to an heiress by adoption.

The princess chosen by Ni= taqert to succeed her, was her grand-niece, the daughter of Psamtek II. 2 The record of Queen Nitaqert's = long reign shows that she administered her office for many years, under four different kings: her father, brother, nephew, and grand-nephew, Haa-ab-ra, = in the fourth year of whose reign she died, at the age of more than eighty yea= rs. The stela 3 of her adopted dau= ghter records the death of the queen in the "4th month of the 3rd season, da= y 4, year 4th," of Haa-ab-ra; when the Divine Worshipper Nitaqert "went forth triumphant to heaven."

She was then laid in a gr= anite sarcophagus, and interred in the land she had governed so long. More than 2= ,400 years later, the sarcophagus, despoiled of its royal occupant, found its wa= y to the great Museum of Antiquities in Cairo, where it is now preserved. 4 It is an imposing one of rose granite, the lid having a representation of the recumbent figure of the que= en.

1 P., H.E., iii, 337. =

2 ERMANN, Z., xxv, 24, 29; M.'s M.R., 758; DARESSY. Rec., xx, 84.<= o:p>

3 A.S., V. 86.<= /p>
4 Cairo M., Vestibule of the S.W. staircase, centre, 37.

223

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

$$$ The monuments of the = long reign were all found at Thebes; they include besides the stelae and the sar= cophagus already mentioned, a memorial in the funeral chapel at Medinet Habu, 1 some glazed pottery, 2 a socket dedicated to Horus by Horsiast, 3 and a black basalt statue of Osiris which bears the queen's name. 4 The figure is 1 m. 5 cent. in height and is a good representa= tive work of the Saïtic period; the product of an art rich in portraiture, = in accurate carving of hard material, and in an extraordinary wealth of beauti= ful small objects.

TAKHUAT was the "Gre= at Royal Wife, chief one of his Majesty," Psamtek II. 5 She was the mother of that princess whom the high priestess Nitaqert adopted. The position of Queen Takhuat is established by the inscription on the coffin of her daughter: the "Royal Daughter of the = Lord of both plains. Psamtek. Her mother [adoptive] was the Divine Adoress Nitaq= ert. Born of the Great Royal Wife, chief one of his Majesty Takhuat." 6 No other record of Psamtek's qu= een is known.

The last queens who appea= r in the closing period of the history of ancient Egypt are three royal heiress= es connected with the king, Aahmes II., who succeeded Haa-ab-ra on the throne, about 570 B.C.

THENT-KHETA, the first of= these, was Aahmes' queen and the mother of his eldest son Psamtek III. The king Aa= hmes does not seem to have been of royal birth; he would therefore have legalized his occupancy of the throne by connections with the royal heiresses of the Saïtic line. As Thent-kheta was "Great Royal Wife; Royal Daughter," and the mother of his heir, she was evidently the more

1 Rec., xx, 83.

2 Louvre. P., L.S., h, 456.

3 HOFFMAN. Coll., 366.

4 Cairo M., Room X, 686.

5 MASPERO and ERMANN. Other views of the position of this qu= een have been taken by LEPSIUS; E. DE ROUGÉ; HINCKS; and WIEDEMANN.
6 B., S.A., 383, 48= 8.

224

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

important one of his two = wives. and must have been either a member of the royal house of Saïs; or, as Brugsch thought, a descendant of the Ethiopian line through Queen Amenertas= . 1

The father of Thent-kheta= was Petenit, a prophet in the service of the god Ptah. The record of the queen = is on a stela set up by her son Psamtek, in the Serapeum at Memphis. 2

NEKHT-SEBASTRU was the se= cond queen of Aahmes II. Her descent is unknown, but she was the mother of two of the king's sons, one of whom, Pasenkhonsu, has left a stela in the Serapeum which calls Nekht-sebastru his mother, and the queen of Aahmes. 3 Her second son had his father's= name Aahmes, and was "chief of the archers."

The queen and this son we= re interred in the great cemetery which surrounded the pyramids; the two sarcophagi were found near the pyramid of Khufu, and are now in Petersburg.= 4

The story is told under t= his reign of a royal daughter of Egypt, deprived of her rights by Aahmes, who h= ad supplanted her father, Haa-ab-ra, on the throne. It is said that the wrongs= of this princess were the indirect cause of the conquest of Egypt by the Persi= ans. Herodotus relates the tale, and says of the princess: 5 "There was a daughter of Apries [Haa-ab-ra], the former king, very tall and beautiful, the only survivor of the family; her name was Nitetis."

The Persian king, Cambyse= s, had sent to Egypt a request for a daughter of Aahmes in marriage. As the Persians were consid= ered barbarians by the Egyptians, Aahmes hesitated to give his own daughter in a= nswer to

1 B., E.P., 325.

2 E. DE ROUGÉ, N.H., 56, 5= 7; Rec., xxi, 63. <= /p>
3 Rec., xxii, 171; B., T., 637.

4 G., H. Coll., 94, 96.

5 HERODOTUS, iii, 1.

225 Q

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

the demand, but fearing t= he wrath of the powerful Cambyses, he did not dare ignore it. Casting about in his m= ind for a way to save his daughter from a Persian harem, he bethought him of the solitary princess Nitetis, whom his own usurpation of the crown had left fatherless and helpless.

This princess, Amasis [Aa= hmes] then took, and "having adorned her with cloth of gold, sent her to Persia," as his own daughter. Nitetis, having arrived before Cambyses, took vengeance on her betrayer, by telling the Persian king of the deception Aahmes had tried to practice, saying: "I perceive, O king, that you ha= ve no suspicion of the way in which you have been deceived by Amasis; he took = me, and having dressed me as his own daughter, sent me to you. In reality I am = the daughter of Apries, who was his lord and master until the day that he revol= ted, and, in concert with the rest of the Egyptians, put his sovereign to death."

The desire of Nitetis to = avenge her own and her father's wrongs, was gratified; for Cambyses, enraged, sent= his forces against Egypt, and began the campaign which resulted in the Persian conquest of the double kingdom. A different version of this tale, according= to Herodotus, was told by the Egyptians, who asserted that Nitetis married Cyr= us, and was the mother of Cambyses, who had thus a right to the Pharaoh's throne which he conquered. 1 Herodotus himself did not believe this version, and in relating it, pointed out vario= us reasons why it was probably untrue.

The glorious history of independent Egypt was now nearing its end. The Empire was shattered; its pr= ide was humbled; its victorious armies and mighty Pharaohs were no more; foreign foes encroached with ever-growing boldness upon the land; and the kingdom h= ad entered on

1 Rec., xxi, 57; L., D., iii, 283 m; B., T., 636; p..= Ins., i, 32-3; R.P., x, 49.

226

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

that troubled period whic= h was destined to be one of the closing scenes of its life, when the throne of Thebes was ascend= ed by the last great native queen who appears in Egyptian history,

ANKHNES-NEF= ER-AB-RA.

From first to last, the l= ong line of the royal heiresses of Egypt extends over a period of nearly 4,000 years; it begins, more than 6,000 yea= rs ago, with Neith-hetep, and practically ends with the last Queen of Thebes, about 525 B.C.

Ankhnes-nefer-ab-ra was t= he daughter of the "Lord of the plains [Psamtek II.] born of the Great Ro= yal Wife, chief one of his Majesty Takhuat," and the adopted heiress of her great-aunt Nitaqert. She had probably entered the priestess service of Amen when very young, and was about· thirty-four 1 when the death of the aged Nitaqert made her queen of Thebes, with the = double cartouches Mut-mery-heq-nefertu Ankhnes-nefer-ab-ra. 2

Her accession to the thro= ne of the Thebaïd occurred on the 16th of Mesore [July] in the 4th year of t= he reign of her elder brother, Haa-ab-ra 3 (in 586). A second brother was called Psamtek, 4 and the same monument names her three sisters, Neitmartefs, Astkhebt, and ... sentinery. 5= The queen did not become the wife of her brother Haa-ab-ra, although she was in authority at Thebes through some fifteen years of his reign.

Upon his murder, and the accession of Aahmes II. as king of Egypt, the high priestess was probably f= orced to submit to the usual custom, and legitimize the usurper's position by sha= ring with him her crown. This seems not to have been done by marriage, but by an official connection,

1 P., H.E., iii, 339; A.S., V, 88.

2 A.S., V, 86, 90.

3 Ibid., 87.
4 A Naos in the Cairo M.; Rec., xvi, 46. <= /p>
5 Ibid., P.; H.E., iii, 341.

227 Q2

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

which was authority enoug= h at a time when the claims of natural rights could always be superseded at will. = It is certain that the queen is nowhere called the wife of either king under whom= she reigned, and that no records have been found of any other husband, or of children, in connection with her. She appears, at least officially, a solit= ary figure, as the last "Divine Worshipper" at the shrine of Amen.

The most important memori= al of her reign is the alabaster stela found by Legrain at Karnak in 1904. 1 It recounts the ado= ption by Nitaqert of Ankhnes-nefer-ab-ra; establishes her descent and connection,= and proves the dates of her father's death, and of her own adoption and enthronement. The queen's works at Karnak consist of two small chapels, 2 in which she is represented accompanied by her vizier, Prince Sheshenq, whose = name suggests descent from the royal line of the XXIIth dynasty.

Other memorials of this r= eign are a green basalt statuette with the queen's name and titles; 3 a stone slab; 4 a scarab; 5 the records of some officials, and the sarcophagus in which she was buried at Thebes. At some subsequent period it ha= d been usurped, and the inscriptions on it do not all refer to the queen. 6 Her tomb is at Deir el-Medineh,= and from it the sarcophagus was taken in 1833. It is now in the British Museum. 7

After Ankhnes-nefer-ab-ra= , no other hereditary princess of T= hebes is found. "The female line of the Ramessides, maintained with such care during six centuries by the high priests, by the Bubastites, by the Ethiopi= ans, by the Saïtes, expired with her." 8

1 Cairo M., Room U, 675 a; A.S., V, 84-90. =

2 L., D., iii, 273 e-h, 274 a, c.

3 Cairo M.

4 Berl. M., 2112.

5 F.P. Coll.
6 P., H.E., iii, 356. =

7 Rec., xxvi, 50; S. SHARPE, Eg. Antiq. in B.M., 104-185. =

8 M.'s M.R., 759.

228

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

$$$ One looks in vain for= any further details of the queen; she had administered the Theban state during the deca= ying age of Egypt's greatness; had held her office through war and invasion; had submitted to official marriage with the foe of her house; and during the reign of his su= ccessor, Psamtek III., she still appears in power, and probably died about 525. It is scarcely likely that she lived to be dethroned by Cambyses' conquest, as by that time she would have been ninety-five years of age. It may, therefore, = be assumed that she died in full possession of the power and titles which no daughter of hers, either real or adopted, was destined ever to inherit.

So vanishes the last Quee= n of Thebes, the last royal heiress of the Pharaohs; and with her closes the most extraordinary history of the legal status of a country's womankind that the world has ever known. 1

1 The Greek queens of the Ptolemaic p= eriod, and those queens who held royal titles in E= thiopia at a time when that line no longer ruled in Egypt, do not come within the= scope pg this volume, which deals only with the native princesses.

229

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.<= /p>

UNPLACED QUEENS.<= /p>

The names of a few queens= who have not been surely placed, remain to be noticed.

AAT-SHET is an unknown "Great Royal Wife," whose sole record is a scarab inscribed with = her name and title; it is in the collection of Mr. T. M. Davis, and is publishe= d by Mr. Percy E. Newberry. (S.B.A., 1903.)

NEBT-NEHAT is another new= queen whom Mr. Newberry puts on record. She is named as "Hereditary Princess," and "Great Royal Wife," on the fragments of an alabaster jar now in Lord Amherst's collection. (S.B.A., 1903.)

MERY-NEB-ES is a queen re= corded on a fragment of black basalt in Cairo. The style of cutting suggests the XXVIth dynasty as her date; otherwise unknown. (P.E.N. in S.B.A., 1905).

KHADEB-NEIT-AR-BET, anoth= er unknown queen, whose tomb is at Sakkara.= The lid of her sarcophagus and four canopic jars have been found, but contain no inscription by which she can be identified. On the slight evidence of a bro= ken ushabti of King Nekht-hor-heb, which was found in her tomb, she has been attributed to his reign, in the XXXth dynasty. (B., R., i, 8; M.D., 95,= cf.)

&= nbsp;

KING LIST.

Predynastic.

"THE SCORPION KING.&= quot;

Narmer.

Dynasty I.

THIS. Before 4000 B.C.

Mena.

Teta.

Ateth.

Ata.

Hesepti.

Mer-ba-pen.

Semen-ptah.

Kebhu.

Neferkara.

Zefa.

Zaza.

Dynasty II.

THIS. Before 4000 B.C.
Neterbau.

Kakau.

Ba-en-neter.

Uaznes.

Senda.

Dynasty III.

MEMPHIS. Before 3500 B.C.

Neb-ka-ra.

Zezer.

Teta.

Ahtes.

Sezes.

Heni.

Dynasty IV.

MEMPHIS. Before 3500 B.C.

Sneferu.

Khufu.

Khafra.

Menkaura.

Radad-ef.

Shepses-kaf.

Sebek-ka-ra.

Imhetep.

Dynasty V.

ELEPHANTINE. Before 3000 = B.C.

User-kaf.

Sahu-ra.

Nefer-ar-ka-ra.

Shepses-ka-ra.

Nefer-f-ra.

Ra-en-usr.

Men-kau-hor.

Dad-ka-ra.

Unas.

231

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

Dynasty VI.

ELEPHANTINE. Before 3000 = B.C.

Teta.

User-ka-ra.

Pepi I.

Mer-en-ra.

Pepi II.

Mehti-em-saf.

Neter-ka-ra.

Net-aqerti.

Dynasties VII-VIII.

MEMPHIS.

(Uncertain and involved. = Many names.)

Dynasties IX-X.

HERAKLEOPOLIS.

Khati.

Khian.

(And several names.)

Dynasty XI.

THEBES. About 3000 B.C.

Antefa.

Mentuhetep I.

Mentuhetep II.

Mentuhetep III.

Rase-ankh-ka.

Dynasty XII.

THEBES. About 2700 B.C.

Amenemhat I.

Usertsen I.

Amenemhat II.

Usertsen II.

Usertsen III.

Amenemhat III.

Amenemhat IV.

Sebek-neferura.

Dynasty XIII.

THEBES. Before 2000 B.C.

Sekhem-ka-ra.

Sebek-hetep I.

Ra-smenkh-ka.

Sebek-hetep II.

Nefer-hetep.

Seb= ek-hetep III.

Aa-ab.

Nehesi.

Sebek-em-sauf I.

Sebek-em-sauf II.

(And several other names.= )

Dynasty XIV.

XOÏS.

Sebek-em-sauf.

(And about 40 names.)

Dynasties XV-XVI.

Between 1900 and 1700 B.C= .

THE HYKSOS, OR SHEPHERD K= INGS.

Apepa I.

Apepa II.

Dudu-mes.

(And several names.)

232

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

Dynasty XVII.

THEBES. About 1700 B.C.

Antef I.

Antef II.

Ant= ef III.

Antef IV.

Antef V.

Se-qenen-ra I.

Se-qenen-ra II.

Se-= qenen-ra III.

Kames.

Se-khent-neb-ra.

Dynasty XVIII.

THEBES. About 1580 (?)

Aahmes.

Amen-hetep I.

Thotmes I.

Hatshepsut.

Thotmes II.

Tho= tmes III.

Amen-hetep II.

Thotmes IV.

Amen-hetep III.

Amen-hetep IV.

Ra-smenkh-ka.

Tut-ankh-amen.

Aŷ.

Horemheb.

Dynasty XIX.

THEBES. About 1328 to 1202.

Ramses I.

Seti I.

Ramses II.

Merenptah.

Seti II.

Amenmeses.

Siptah-Tausert.

Set-nekht.

Dynasty XX.

THEBES. About 1200 to 1100 B.C.

Ram= ses III.

Ramses IV.

Ramses V.

Ramses VI.

Ramses VII.

Ramses VIII.

Ramses IX.

Ramses X.

Ramses XI.

Ramses XII.

Dynasty XXI.

THEBES. About 1100 to 950 B.C.

Herhor.

Piankhi.

Pinezem I.

Men-kheper-ra.

Nesi-baneb-dadu.

Pinezem II.

Pasebkhanu.

(OF TANIS.)

Nesi-baneb-dadu.

Pasebkhanu I.

Amen-em-apt.

Siamen.

Pasebkhanu II.

233

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

Dynasty XXII.

BUBASTIS. About 950 B.C.

Sheshenq I.

Uasarkon I.

Takeleth I.

Uasarkon II.

Sheshenq II.

Takeleth II.

She= shenq III.

Pamay.

Sheshenq IV.

Dynasty XXIII.

BUBASTIS. About 750 B.C.

Pedubast.

Uas= arkon III.

Dynasty XXIV.

SAÏS.

Bakenrant.

Dynasty XXV.

ETHIOPIAN DOMINION.

About 748 to 664 B.C.

Pankhy I.

Kashta.

Shabaka.

Shabataka.

Pankhy II.

Men-kheper-ra.

Taharqa.

Tanutamen.

Dynasty XXVI.

SAÏS. About 664 to 5= 25 B.C.

Psamtek I.

Necho II.

Psamtek II.

Haa-ab-ra. (Apries.)

Aahme= s II. (Amasis.)

Psa= mtek III.

Dynasty XXVII.

PERSIAN. 52S to 405 B.C. =

Cambyses.

Darius I.

Xerxes I.

Artaxerxes I.

Xerxes II.

Sogdianus.

Darius II.

Artaxerxes II.

Dynasty XXVIII.

SAÏS. 405 to 400 B.C= .

Amyrtaeus.

Dynasty XXIX.

MENDES. 399 to 378 B.C. <= /p>
Neferites.

Hakar.

P-si-mut.

Dynasty XXX.

SEBENNYTOS. 378 to 342 B.= C.

Nectanebus I.

Zeher.

Nectanebus II.

Dynasty XXXI.

PERSIA. 342 to 332 B.C

Artaxerxes III.

Arses.

Dar= ius III.

234

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

Dynasty XXXII.

Conquered by Alexander th= e Great 331 B.C.

Dynasty XXXIII.

GREECE. 323 to 30 B.C.

Ptolemy I. S= oter

Ptole= my II. Philadelphus.

Ptolemy III. Euergetes.

Ptolemy IV. Philopater.
Ptolemy V. Epiphanes.

Ptolemy VI. Eupator.

Ptolemy VII. Philometer. =

Ptolemy VIII. Eupator.

Ptolemy IX. Euergetes.
Ptolemy X. Lathyrus.

Ptolemy XI. Alexander.
Ptolemy XII. Alexander. <= /p>
Ptolemy XIII. Auletes.
Ptolemy XIV.

Ptolemy XV.

Cleopatra VII.

QUEEN LIST.

Dynasty I.

Neith-hetep.

Shesh.

Mer-neit.

Dynasty II.

Ne-maat-hap.

Dynasty IV.

Mertitefs.

Meri-se-ankh.

Dynasty V.

Nefer-hetep-es.

Kaka-hekenu.

Dynasty VI.

Meri-ra-ankhnes.

Amtes.

Nitaqert.

Dynasty XI.

Aam.

Aah.

Aashait.

Neferu.

Tumem.

Shertsat.

Sent.

Mentu-hetep.

Dynasty XII.

Neb-kau-ra.

Nefert.

Nefert-hent.

Merseker.

Nub-hetep-takrudit.

Anket-nefert-uben.

Nub-em-ant.

Ptah-neferu.

Sebek-neferu-ra.

Dynasty XIII.

Auhet-abu.

Nenna, or Anna.

Kema.

Senb-sen.

235

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

Za-n.

Ha-ankh-s.

Nub-em-hat.

Nub-kha-es.

Khensu.

Sat-sebek.

Dynasty XIV.

Khensu-ankt.

Nub-hetep-tusar.

Senb-hena-es.

Nefert.

Dynasty XVII.

Teti-shera.

Sebek-em-sa-es.

Aah-hetep I.

Dynasty XVIII.

Aahmes Nefertari.

Anhapu.

Thent-hapi.

Aah-hetep II.

Meryt-amen.

Sat-kames.

Hent-tamehu.

Turs.

Senseneb.

Aahmes.

Mut-nefert.

Hatshepsut.

Neferu-ra.

Meryt-ra Hatshepset.

Sat-aah.

Neb-s-ma.

Tiaa.

Mut-em-ua.

Nebtu.

Thïy.

Sat-amen.

Gilughipa.

Tadukhipa.

Nefertiti.

Merit-aten.

Ankh-es-en-aten.

Tŷ

Mut-nezemet.

Dynasty XIX.

Sitra.

Tuaa.

Nefertari-meri-en-mut.
Ast-nefert.

Bant-anta.

Meryt-amen.

Nebt-taui.

Maat-neferu-ra.

Ast-nefert II.

Ta-khat.

Bakt-urnuro.

Tausert.

Thyi-mer-en-ast.

Dynasty XX.

Ast-amasereth.

Nub-khesdeb.

Nefert-tera.

Thiti.

Dynasty XXI.

Nezemt.

Thent-amen.

Hent-taui I.

Makeri.

236

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT. =

Astemkheb I.

Hent-taui II.

Astemkheb II.

Nesikhonsu.

Nesita-neb-asheru.

Dynasty XXII.

Ka-ra-maat.

Thent-sa.

Tashed-konsu.

Hen= t-taui III.

Mutemhat Karomama.

Ka-ra-ma.

Mehtienusekt.

Shepenapt I.

Nesi-neb-asheru.

Thent-amen-apt.

Dynasty XXIII.

Ta-du-bast.

Dynasty XXV.

ETHIOPIAN DOMINION.

Kenensat.

Shepenapt II.

Pebathma.

Amenertas.

Peksather.

Akaluka.

Amendukhat.

Qelhatat.

Gerarheni.

Merit-tafnouit.

Dynasty XXVI.

Shepenapt III.

Mehtienusekt.

Nitaqert.

Takhuat.

Thent-kheta.

Nekht-sebastru.

Ankhnes-nefer-ab-ra.

Unplaced.

Aat-shet

Nebt-nehat.

Mery-neb-es.

Khadeb-neit-ar-bet.

237

LIST OF REFERENCE ABBREVIATIONS.

A.B. =3D Arundale and Bon= omi Gallery, British Museum.

A.B. Cat. =3D Alnwick Bir= ch Catalogue.

A.M. =3D Ashmolean Museum.

Am. Coll. =3D Amherst Collection.

Am. P. =3D Amherst Papyrus.

Arch. Rep., E.E.F. =3D Archaeological Report, Egypt. Exploration Fund.

A.S. =3D Annales du Servi= ce.

A.Z. =3D Aeg. Zeitschrift= .

B.E. =3D Baedeker's Egypt.

B., E.P. =3D Brugsch, Egypt under the Pharaohs.

Berl. M. =3D Berlin Museum.

B. and G., M. =3D Benson = and Gourlay, Temple of Mut.

B., H. =3D Brugsch, Histo= ry.

B., H.E. =3D Budge, Histo= ry Egypt.

B.M. =3D British Museum.

B.,O.D. =3D Bezold, Orien= tal Diplomacy.

B., R. =3D Brugsch, Recue= il.

B., R.P. =3D Birch, Rhind= Papyri.

B., S.A. =3D Budge, Sarcoph. Ankhnesneferabra.

B.,T. =3D Brugsch, Thesau= rus.

B.U.E. =3D Baedeker's Upper Egypt.

Cai= ro M. =3D Cairo Museum.

C., M. =3D Champollion, M= onuments de l'Égypte.

C., N. =3D Champollion, N= otices.

D., M.H. =3D Daressy, Med= inet Habu.

F.A.M. =3D Florence Arch. Muse= um.

F.P. Coll. =3D Flinders P= etrie Collection.

G., H. Coll. =3D Golenisc= heff, Hermitage Collection.

I.H.E. =3D Inscriptions hiéroglyphique copiées en Égypte.

Lb., D. =3D Lieblein, Dic= tionary of Names.

L., D. =3D Lepsius, Denkmähler.

L., D.T. =3D Lepsius, Denkmähler Texte.

238

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

L., K. =3D Lepsius, Königsbuch.

L.M. =3D Louvre Museum.

L., R.C. =3D Lieblein, Re= cherches sur la Chron. Egt.

L.,T. =3D Lanzone Catalog= ue, Turin Museum.

M.,A. =3D Mariette, Catal= ogue Abydos.

M.A.F. =3D Mission Arch. = Franc., Cairo.

M. Coll. =3D Murch Collec= tion.

M.D. =3D Monuments Divers= .

Mon. Div. =3D Monuments D= ivers.

M., F.D. =3D de Morgan, F= ouilles à Dahchour.

M.H. =3D Meteria Hierogly= phica, 1828.

M.I. =3D de Morgan, Monum= ents et Inscriptions.

M., K. =3D Mariette, Karnak.

M., M. =3D Mariette, Mast= abas.

M., P.B. =3D Mariette, Pa= pyrus Boulaq.

M., S. =3D Mariette, Sera= peum.

M.'s D.C. =3D Maspero, Da= wn of Civilization.

M.'s E. =3D Maspero, Enqu= ête Judicaire.

M.'s M.R. =3D Maspero, Mo= mies Royales de Deir el-Bahari.

M.'s P.E. =3D Maspero, Pa= ssing of the Empires.

M.'s Q.G. =3D Maspero, Guide Cairo Museum, translation Quibell.

M.'s S.N. =3D Maspero, St= ruggle of the Nations.

N., B. =3D Naville, Bubastis.

N., F.H. =3D Naville, Fes= tival Hall.

N. and G., Hist. E. =3D N= ewberry and Garstang, A Short History of Anct. Egypt.

N., Sc. =3D Newberry, Sca= rabs.

N., T.H. =3D Naville, Tom= b of Hâtshopsîtû.

N., Y. =3D Naville, Tel el-Yehudiyeh.

P., A. =3D Petrie, Tel el= -Amarna.

P. and C., E. =3D Perrot = and Chipiez, Egypt.

P., H. =3D Petrie, Hawara= .

P., H.E. =3D Petrie, Hist= ory of Egypt.

P., H.Sc. =3D Petrie, His= torical Scarabs.

P., I. =3D Petrie, Illahun.

P., Ins. =3D Piehl, Inscr= iptions.

P., K. =3D Petrie, Kahun.=

P., Ks. =3D Petrie, Kopto= s.

P., L. =3D Pierret, Louvre Catalogue.

P., R. =3D Pierret, Recue= il Inscrip., Louvre.

Pr., M. =3D Prisse, Monum= ents.

P., S. =3D Petrie, Season= 1887.

239

THE QUEENS OF EGYPT.

P.S.B.A. =3D Proceedings,= Society Biblical Archaeology.

P., S.T. =3D Petrie, Six Temples.

P., T. =3D Petrie, Tanis.

Q., R. =3D Quibell, Rames= seum.

R., A. =3D Rougé, = Album Phot. Mission Egypt<= /st1:country-region>.

Rec. =3D Recueil de Trava= ux Égypte et Assyr.

R., M. =3D Rougé, = Recherches sur les Monuments, etc.

R., N.H. =3D Rougé= , Notices Textes Hieroglyph.

R.P. =3D Records of the P= ast.

R., S. or R., M.S. =3D Ro= sellini, Monumenti Storici.

Sch. Cat. =3D Schiaparelli Catalogue, Florence Arch.= Museum.

Tel el-A. Tabs. =3D Tel e= l-Amarna Tablets.

T.S.B.A. =3D Transactions= , Society Biblical Arch.

Tur= in M. =3D Turin Museum.

U.C. Coll. =3D University College<= /st1:PlaceType> Collection.

v. B. Coll. =3D von Bissi= ng Collection.

W.Coll. =3D Ward Collecti= on.

W., G. =3D Wiedemann, Aeg. Geschichte.

ZA. or Z. =3D Zeitschrift= Aeg.

240

INDEX.

Aab, Queen, 24, 25.

Aah-dufnekht, 195.

Aah-hetep. I., II., Queens, 46-48, 53, 58, 59, 61, 67, 68, 71, 72, 75-7= 7, 81, 144, 170.

Aahmes I., K= ing, 45, 48, 51, 53. 65, 69, 70-74, 152.

Aahmes II, 201, 224-27. <= /p>
Aahmes, Prince, chief of = the archers, 225.

Aahmes, Queen, 71, 75-77,= 81, 82.

Aahmes Nefertari, Queen, = 53, 59-69, 92.

Aa-Kheperu Ra (Thotmes II= .), 77, 82.

Aam, Queen, 24.

Aa-nekhtu, 149.

Aashait, Queen, 25.

Aat-shet, Queen, 230.

Abbot Papyrus. the, 39, 4= 0, 52, 164, 165.

Abd-el-gurnah, Sheikh, 64= .

Abd-er-Rassul, Mohammed, = 63.

Abd-er-Rassul, Ahmed, 63,= 64.

Ab= u Simbel, 146, 147, 149-155.

Abydos, 9, 17-19, 22, 44, 45, 60, 61, 6= 8, 99, 147, 162, 163, 181, 195-198, 206, 207, 210.

Adon, the god, 109.

Aga Agad, Moustapha, 64.<= /p>
Aha, 6.

Ai, Prince, 40.

Airomap-atut, 197.

Akaluka, Queen, 201, 210-= 212.

Amasis, 21.

Amélineau, M., 5. =

Amen, and Amen-Ra, 23, 23, 52, 56, 61, 76, 82, 84, 86-88, 91, 96, 102, 103, 107, = 109, 116, 117, 137, 141, 168, 170, 171, 174, 175, 181-186, 188, 189, 192-196, 20= 7, 208, 216-220, 228.

Amena, 37.

Amendukhat, Queen, 201, 2= 11, 212.

Amenemapet, Princess, 103= , 104.

Amenemapt, an official, 1= 64.

Amen-em-hat I., 27.

Amenemhat II., 27, 28.
Amene= mhat III., 29, 30, 32, 34.

Amenemhat IV., 34.

Amenemhat, Governor, 55. =

Amene= rtas II., and Queen, 201, 215-225.

Amen-hetep I., 49, 53, 59-61, 65-77, 81.

Amen-= hetep II., 53, 99, 101-103.

Amen-hetep III., 53, 56, = 102, 106-137, 140, 168.

Amen-hetep IV., 34, 94, 1= 09, 114-117, 123, 131-135.

Amen-hetep, high priest, = 113, 168, 170.

Amenhetep, a steward, 123= .

Amenmeses, 143, 157-161. =

Amenmeses, Prince, 53, 71= .

Amherst Collection, the, 39, 101, 104, = 136, 230.

Amherst Papyrus, the, 39

Amtes, Queen, 18. 19&midd= ot;

Anhapu, Queen, 53, 69.
Anibe, 168.

Anket-Nefert-Uben, Prince= ss, 31.

Ankh-es-en-aten, Princess= , 135.

Ankhs-es-en-aten, Queen, = 53, 137, 138.

Ankhnes-nefer-ab-ra, Quee= n, 201, 227-229.

Anna or Nenna, Queen, 36<= /p>
Anput, Prince, 193.

Antef, King, 46.

Anuber-rekhu, Prince, 143= , 148.

Anuke, 150.

Apou, see Isis.

Apr= ies, see Haa-ab-ra, 201.

Apt, 208.

Apu, see Mir.

Arat, Queen, 102

Arit-nefert, Princess, 15= 7.

241 R

INDEX.

Arm, dismembered, found i= n tomb of King Zer, 8, 9.

Art, Egyptian, see under Statues and Palaces.

Art-na. 46

Aset, 56, 77, 78, 102.

Ashes, suicide or Nitocri= s among, 20.

Ashur-bani-pal, 216.

Asiatic culture, 108.

Assaif, 115.

el-Assasif, 64

As= syria, 113, 212, 216.

Ast, Princess, 530 143, 1= 64-168.

Ast-amasereth, Queen, 143= , 164.

Astemkheb, Queen, 169, 18= 1-185.

Astemkheb I.= , Queen, 151-153.

Astem= kheb II., Queen, 65, 169, 185-187, 198.

Astemkheb, Princess, 180.=

Astemkheb, High Priestess= , 189

Astkhebt, Princess, 227. =

Ast-n= efert II., Queen, 143, 157-159.

Aswan, 18, 36, 89, 95, 97, 152, 153, 20= 7, 209.

Ataui, Princess, 187, 188= .

Aten, cult of, 116-119, 1= 33.

Athribis, 202.

Atmu-nefereu, Princess, 2= 8.

Au-ef, 46, 47.

Auget-tatta, Princess, 36= .

Auhet-Abu, Princess, 36. =

Ay, 530 138.

Ba-en-neter,4, 10, 11.
Ba-Neith-Hetep, 6.

Bab-el-Moluk, 64

Babylon, 124-130, 134, 135, 202.

Babylonian Tablets, the, = 115, 125.

Bakt-aten, Princess, 53, = 114, 135.

Bakt-ur-nuro, Queen, 143,= 159.

Banishment of Egyptians t= o the great oasis, 182.

Bant-anta, Princess, 143,= 152, 153, 154, 156.

Baptism, Practice of, 82.=

Rarocco Collection, 98. <= /p>
Bast, the Goddess, 200, 2= 04.

Bebares, 38.

Bek-ptah, 197.

Beka-kamen, the steward, = 160.

Be= ni Hasan, 55, 95.

Berberines, the, 70.

Berlin Collection, the, 41, 93, 96, 14= 2, 173, 194, 195, 219.

Bes, the god, 199.

Bibân el Moluk, 161= .

Binpa, Prince, 48.

Bitter Lakes, the, 202.

Boats, 61, 103, 112, 118,= 174, 217.

Boats, the Neferu-aten, 1= 12, 118.

Boats, the Harem of Amen,= 217.

Bologna, 210.

Book or the Dead, the, 17= 7, 181, 183.

Borchardt, Herr, 6.

Bouriant, M., 108.

British Museum, 44, 45, 93, 103, 173, 193, 209, 228.

Brugsch, Emile, M., 17, 4= 1, 64-66, 98, 108, 156, 164, 184, 185, 198, 219.

Bubastis, 191, 195, 196, 199, 200, 202.=

Budge, Mr., 108, 172.

Bulak, 66, 67.

Buraburiash, King or Babylonia, 126, 134, 135.

Busiris, 202.

Buto, 82, 95.

Cairo Museum, 9, 13, 17, 26, 28, 29, 37, 45, 46, 50, 63, 69, 73, 74, 76, 77, 93, 96, 99, = 114, 121, 122, 123, 134, 142, 146, 156, 165, 177, 178, 181, 188, 189, 202, 206, = 219, 223, 230.

Cambyses, King or Persia, 225, 226, 229.

Campbell, Major, 63.

Champollion, M., 154, 172= , 181.

Chantress, Title of, 56, = 171.

Chapel of the Cow, 99

Chenemhetep, 55.

Conspiracy of Thi, the, 1= 65-167.

Correspondence, between <= st2:Sn w:st=3D"on">Amenhetep III. and Du= shratta, 126, 127, 131.

Correspondence, between t= he King of Babylon and Khuenaten, 134, 135.

Correspondence, Tel-el-Am= arna letters, between Amen-hetep III. and Kallimasin, 128-130.

242

INDEX.

Cushi, the, 166.

Cyrus, King of Persia, 226.

Dakhel (Testesu), oasis o= f, 91.

Daressy, M., 87.

Dashur, 29

Dattari, M., collection o= f, 26.

Davis, T. M., 41, 92, 93,= 108, 120, 230.

Death Punishment, 166, 16= 7.

Deir el-Bahari, 25, 62, 63, 64, 69, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 81, 84, 87, 90, 92, 93, = 94, 97, 99, 146, 172, 173, 181, 183, 186, 187, 189.

Deir-el-Medineh, 68, 72, = 228.

Delta, the, 42, 149, 174,= 202.

Den, King, 9

Diodorus, 21, 23, 32.

Divine Worshipper, title = of, 56.

Drab Abu l'Neggah, 50.
Dream Stela of Tanutamen,= 213.

Dress, 58.

Duatnefert, 38.

Dushratta, King of Mitanni, 115, 126, 127, 130, 131.

Dynasties I, 5, 7, 9; II, 4, 9-11; IV, ,3, 12-15, 27; V, 16; VI, 16-24; VII-X, 22, 23, 27; XI, 24-27; XII, 27-35, 50, 146; XIII, 36-43; XIV, 42; XVII, 44-52, 170; XVIII, 3, 14, 145, 220; XIX, 143-163; XX, 38, 52, 143, 164-168; XXI, 56, 61, 169-189; XXII, 190-200; XXIII, 200; XXVI, 21, 15, 201, 230; XXX, 230.

Edfu, 45, 47, 61, 68.

Edwards, Miss Amelia B., = 142.

Ekhmin, 109, 139, 207.
El Kab, 71.

El= ephantine, House of, 16, 74, 83, 89.

Eserhaddon, King, 212, 21= 5.

Ethiopia, 186, 187, 200-207, = 212, 216, 217.

Eu= phrates, R., Valley of the, 113.

Fayûm, the, 29, 31,= 35, 202.

Flinders Petrie Collectio= n, the, 122, see also under Petrie.

Florence, 198.

Flowers, Love of, 57.

Food, Burial of, 183.

Foreign Marriages, 124-13= 0.

Funeral customs, 15.

Funeral Daïs of Astemkheb I., 184, 185.

Furniture of the Palaces,= 57 see Palaces, Interior of.

Gabet, M., 50.

Gagaza, 128.

Gardens, reference to, 18= , 19, 23, 58, 87, 198.

Gazelle, embalmed, 183. <= /p>
Gebel Silsileh, 150.

Genealogical Tables, 17, = 38, 53, 77, 143, 169, 190, 201.

Gerarheni, Queen, 201, 21= 3.

Gezer, 194.

Ghizeh, 12, 13, 14.

Ghost, the, of Queen Nitocris-Rhodopis, 21, 22.

Gilughhipa, or Kirghipa, = Queen, 53, 125, 126, 132.

Gurnah, 77, 146, 165, 191= , 193.

Gurneh, 68.

Gurob, 114, 122.

Haa-ab-ra, 201, 223-227. =

Haankh-f, 36.

Ha-ankh-s, Queen, 37.

Hapi, father of Amenhetep= the scribe, 123.

Harem of Amen, 4.

Harris Papyrus, the, 167,= 168.

Hathor, the goddess, 25, = 55, 56, 62, 82, 89, 90, 96, 99, 149-151, 171, 198, 214.

Hathepsut, Queen, 25, 26,= 41, 53, 76-98, 102, 140, 142, 159, 160.

Hawara, 31, 34, 35.

Hebuan-rozenath, 164.

Heliopolis, 2, 83, 108, 118, 220.

Hamamet, 207, 209.

Henhenet, Princess, 25. <= /p>
Hent-ma-ra, Princess, 146= .

Hent-ta-neb, Princess, 53= , 114.

Hent-ta-neh, Princess, 69= .

Hent-tameh, 53.

Hent-tamehu, Queen, 53, 7= 4.

Hent-taui, Princess, 148.=

Hent-taui I., Queen, 63, 65, 169, 175-180.

Hent-= taui II., 169, 185.

Hent-taui III., Queen, 190, 194

243

INDEX.

Henut-anu, Princess, 103.=

Herakleopolis, 202

Hereditary right of women= , 47, 48.

Herhor, King, 61, 63, 169= -176, 179, 203.

Hermopolis, 202, 204, 205= .

Herodotus, 5, 6, 14, 15, = 19-21, 34, 225, 226.

Heru-nefer, Prince, 26. <= /p>
Hetep, 55.

Hibbeh-el, fortress of, 1= 81, 182

Hierakonpolis, 47.

Hincks, 108.

Hor, King, 30.

Horemheb, 53, 139-143, 14= 5, 182.

Horemheb, the scribe, 104= .

Horhetep, the steward, 18= 1.

Horpasen, 193, 194, 196, = 198.

Horses of King Pankhy, 20= 5.

Horshemsu, 5, 6.

Horsiast, High Priest, 22= 0.

Horsiast, Pnnce, 190, 199= , 224.

Horus, 6, 82, 91, 141, 15= 8, 171, 181, 184, 204, 224.

Humazery, Queen, 164, 165= .

Huy, the steward, 119, 12= 2.

Hyksos, the, 42, 46, 59, = 62.

Hymn to Aten, 118, 119.

Ibe, an official, 222.
Ibrim, 168.

Intermarriages, 3, 19, 38= , 71, and many references.

Ishtar, the goddess, 126,= 131.

Is= is, 44, 51, 62, 91, 171, 181, 184.

Israel, Children of, 42, 156.=

Iuaa, 107-109, 112, 121, = 124.

Jewels on mummies, 8, 9, = 29, 30, 40, 50, 51, 58, 73, 134, 135, 156.

Josephus, 42.

"Judicial Papyrus,&q= uot; the, 166.

Ka, the, 21, 82, 180, 183= .

Kab-el, 40, 95, 103.

Kaka-hekenu, Queen, 16. <= /p>
Kallimasin, King of Babylonia, 126, 128-130, 132.

Kamal, Ahmed Effendi, 64,= 66.

Kamara, name of, 91.

Kames, King, 48-53.

Ka-ra-ma, Queen, 190-199.=

Ka-ra-maat, Queen, 190-19= 9.

Karamat, Princess, 196. <= /p>
Karnak, 22, 34, 36, 52, 61, 68, 76, 84, 88, 90-101,= 141, 142, 154, 172, 176-179, 181, 192-196, 199, 206, 208, 210, 211, 216, 217, 21= 9.

Karomama, Queen, 194, 195= .

Kashta, King, 201, 205, 2= 06, 207.

Katsashni, 56.

Kauit, Princess, 25.

Kema, Queen, 36, 37.

Kemsit, Princess, 25.

Kenaru, Prince, 48.

Keneh, 64.

Keneh, Mudir of, 50.

Kenensat, Queen, 201, 204= .

Khadeb-neit-ar-bet, Queen= , 230.

Khaemuas, Prince, 143, 15= 2, 153.

Khafra, King, 12, 14.

Khanigabbi, 128.

Khasekhemui, King, 10.
Khataaneh. 26, 35.

Khebt-neferu, Princess, 5= 3, 76, 79, 90.

Khemnis, 207.

Khensu-Ankt, Queen, 40, 4= 1.

Khent, Land or, 149.

Kheta, the, 104, 154, 155= .

Kheta. Prince of, 143.
Khnum, 83.

Khnumit Amen Hâtshopsîtu, 83.

Khonsu, King, 38, 41, 56,= 61, 172, 175, 176, 181, 208.

Khu-amen, 197.

Khua, 17.

Khuenaten-Amen-hetep IV., 109-111, 115-118, 145.

Khufu, King, 12, 14, 225.=

Kings, List of, 231.

Kirghipa, or Gilughipa, Q= ueen, 125, 126, 132.

Knossos, 102

Kom Ombo, 95.

Koptos, 37, 168.

Kush (or Ethiopia), 186, 203.

Labels, wooden, instance = of, 104.

Labyrinth, the, 34, 35. <= /p>
Ladders of Incense, the, = 86.

La= ke made for Queeu Thïy, in Zalu, 112.
Lauth, Herr, 108.

Lee, Mr., 166

244

INDEX.

Legends and Stories - Aahmes and Teti-shera, 45; Adoption of Nitaqert, 220-222; Appearance of Amen and Horus to Horemheb, 141; Akaluka and Taharqa, 211; Betrothal of Kallimasin, 129, 130; Birth of Amen-hetep III., 102: Birth of Hatshepsut, 82; The Conspiracy of Thi and Pentaurt, 165-167; The Daughter of Men-kau-Ra, 14, 15; The Daughter of Menkheper-Ra, 214; The Erection of the Temple to Aten, 118; The Expedition of Hatshepsut to the Ladders of Incense, 86, 87; The Ghost of Rhodopis, 21, 22; The Grave of Naromath, 196, 197; Horemheb and Horus, 141; The Horses of King Pankhy, 205; The Intercession of Nes-thent-nes, 204, 205; Lake Moeris and its Fish, 331; Nitetis and Cambyse= s, 225; Nitocris and the Drowning of the Banqueters, 20; Osiris, 44; The Prope= rty of Queen Karamaat, 191-193; Ptah and Ramses II., 155; The Sandal of Rhodopi= s, 21; Trial of Queen Amtes, 18; Trial of Thi and the Conspirators, 166.

Legrain, M., 68, 101, 142= , 213, 221, 228.

Leontopolis, 202.

Lepsius, M., 40, 93, 154,= 172, 196.

Letopolis, 202.

Libya, supposed nationality of Thïy, 108.

Loret, M., 99

Louvre, the, 36, 37, 38, = 63, 68, 73, 117, 150, 152, 154, 158, 173, 188, 195, 204, 219.

Luxor, 34, 50, 53, 64, 66, 102, 103, 10= 7, 148, 150, 154, 173, 179, 202, 213.

Ma, the, 196, 197.

Maat-Neferu-Ra, Queen, 14= 3, 154-157.

Makeri Mut-em-hat, Queen,= 169, 176-181.

Makt-aten, Princess, 53, = 133, 134, 135.

Male attire, instances of= queens in, 83, 84.

Manetho, 5, 6, 22, 42.
Mariette, M., 50, 52, 63,= 99, 108, 142, 178.

Masaherta, High Priest, 1= 69, 179, 181, 184.

Masaherta, son of Nesikon= sa, 187, 188.

Maspero, M., 47, 59, 63, = 68, 101, 103, 108, 109, 142, 170, 172, 176.

Massarah, 59.

Medical Papyrus, the Eber= s, 7, 8.

Medicine, Practice of, 8.=

Medinet Habu, temple of, = 98, 114, 124, 145, 176, 178, 179, 209, 219, 220, 224.

Medûm, 13, 14.

Memnon, statues of, 103, = 113, 114.

Memnonium, the, 90.

Memphis, 7, 13, 21, 22, 118, 149, 153, = 203, 207, 209, 212, 215, 221, 225.

Mena, King, 5, 6, 7, 8, 2= 3, 27.

Mendes, 202.

Men-ka-ra Netaquerti, or Nitocris, Queen, 19-22.

Men-kau-Ra, King, 14, 20,= 21.

Men-kheper-ra, King, 39, = 169, 176.

Menkheper-ra, High Priest= , 179, 182, 183, 214.

Menthu, 83.

Ment, Princess, 29.

Mentuemhat, 216.

Mentuheteps, the, 24, 36.=

Mentu= -hetep II., King, 24.

Mentu-hetep III., King, 2= 4, 25, 26, 36, 85.

Mentu-hetep, Queen, 26. <= /p>
Mentu-Ra, 208.

Mehtienusekht I., Queen, 190, 196-199.

Mehtienusekh, II., 201, 2= 19, 220.

Merenatef, priest, 162, 1= 63.

Merenptah, 143, 152, 157,= 158, 159.

Meren-ra, King, 17.

Meri, Princess, 156.

Meri-ra-ankhnes, Queen, 1= 6-18.

Meri-se-Ankh, Queen, 13, = 14.

245 R2

INDEX.

Merit, Princess, 29

Merit-aten, Queen, 53, 13= 6, 137.

Merit-aten, Princess, 133= , 134.

Merit-tafnouit, Queen, 21= 3, 214.

Memeit, Queen, 9.

Merris, Princess, 156.
Merseker, Queen, 29

Mertitefs, Queen, 12, 13.=

Meryt-amen, 53, 60, 67, 7= 2, 99, 143, 148, 153, 154.

Mery-neb-es, Queen, 230. =

Meryt-ptah, Pnncess, 103.=

Meryt-ra, Queen, 53, 77, = 80, 97-100.

Me= sopotamia, 113.

Metes= ouphis II., King, 19, 20.

Methen, 10.

Meyer, Hen., 108.

Min of Anpu, 109, 171, 18= 1, 184.

Mitanni, 108, 115, 125, 126. =

Moeris, Lake, 33.

Morgan, de, M., 5, 29, 30= .

Moses, 156.

Moutafian Tadrus, 64, 66.=

Murch Collection, 173.
Mut, the Goddess, 56, 61,= 67, 68, 122, 142, 150, 157, 171, 175, 176, 209, 217.

Mut, Sistrum of, 157.

Mutardus, Princess, 214. =

Mut-ar-ra-hent-neferu, Qu= een, 215.

Mutemhat, Karomama, Queen= , 180, 190, 194, 195.

Mutemua, Queen, 53, 102, = 103, 107.

Mut-hez-ankhs, Queen, 198= .

Mut-kha-nefera Amenertas,= Queen, 206-210.

Mutnefert, Queen, 53, 76,= 77, 79.

Mut-nefertari, Queen, 143=

Mut-nezemet, Queen, 53, 1= 33, 139-143.

Mycerinus, see Men-kau-ra, 14.

Napata, 203, 211, 213, 217.

Narmar, King, 6.

Naromath, Prince, 190, 19= 6-198.

Naucratis, 21.

Naville, M., 84, 85, 87, = 90.

Neb-Amen, a steward, 39, = 104.

Neb-em-akhet, Prince, 14.=

Neb-hetep-tusar, Queen, 4= 1.

Neb-Ka-Rau, Princess, 28.=

Neb-ma-Ra, 114.

Nebseni, 65.

Nebseny, a scribe, 169, 1= 75, 176, 177.

Neb-s-ma, Queen, 100.

Nebt, Princess, 17.

Nebta, Princess, 71.

Nebt-ant, Princess, 37. <= /p>
Nebt-nehat, Queen, 230.
Nebt-taui, Pnncess, 153, = 154.

Nebt-taui, Queen, 143.
Nebtu, Queen, 53, 104.
Nebunnef, high priest, 14= 8.

Nechabit, 184.

Necho= II., 201, 220, 223.

Nefer-ar-ka-ra, King, 16.=

Neferamen, Princess, 103.=

Nefer-hetep, King, 36.
Nefer-Hetep-es, Queen, 16= .

Nefer-neferu-aten, Prince= ss, 135.

Nefer-neferu-aten Neferti= ti, Queen, 131-136.

Nefer-neferu-ra, Princess= , 135.

Nefershushusa, Princess, = 25.

Nefert-tera, Queen, 168. =

Nefert, Princess, 13.

Nefert, Queen, 41, 42.
Nefert-Hent, Queen, 28-30= .

Nefertari, Queen, 44, 45,= 48, 49, 53, 58, 65, 70-73, 81.

Nefertari-meri-en-mut, Qu= een, 147-151.

Nefertiti, Queen, 53, 123= , 140, 141.

Neferu, Queen, 26, 47.
Neferu-Ra, Princess, 80. =

Neferuaten, 53.

Neferura, Queen, 53, 90, = 96, 97.

Negada, 6.

Neharina, see Mita= nni, 125.

Neith-Hetep, Queen, 5, 6,= 227.

Neitmartefs, Princess, 22= 7.

Nekht-hor-heb, King, 230.=

Nekht-sebastru, Queen, 20= 1, 225-227.

Ne-Maat-Hap, Queen, 10. <= /p>
Nemart, Prince, 190, 195.=

Nenna, or Anna, Queen, 36.

Nesibadadu, 169.

Nesibanebdadu, High Pries= t, 183, 185, 186.

246

INDEX.

Nesi-ba-neb-dadu, Prince,= 169, 174.

Nesikhonsu, Queen, 169, 1= 86-189.

Nesinebasheru, Queen, 190= , 199.

Nesitanebasheru, Queen, 1= 69, 187, 188, 189.

Nes-thent-nes, wife of Ni= mrod, 204, 205.

Neterket, King, 10.

Neter tuat, office of, 56.

Ne-user-ra, King, 16.

Newberry, Mr., 40, 41, 23= 0.

Nezemt, Queen, 63, 169, 1= 71, 172, 177, 179.

Nifur, 197.

Ni= le, R., 6, 20, and several references.

Nimrod, King of Hermopoli= s, 204, 205.

Nitaqert, Princess, 218, = 219.

Nitaqert Mutneb-Nefert, Q= ueen, 201, 218-224, 227.

Nitetis, Princess, 225, 2= 26.

Nitocris, Queen, 19-22. <= /p>
Nu, 91.

Nub-Em-Ant, Princess, 31.=

Nub-em-hat, Queen, 37.
Nub-hetep-takrudit, Queen= , 30.

Nubia, 113, 213.

Nub-kha-es, Queen, 37-40.=

Nubkhesdeb, Queen, 168. <= /p>

Oasis, the Great, 182.
Obelisks of Hatshepsut, 8= 8, 89.

Omm el Gaab, 9.

Onion parings in embalmin= g, 187.

Oryx Nome, 55.

Osiris, 44, 150, 154, 181= , 183, 186, 196-198, 208-210, 219, 224.

Ouserhat, Tomb of, 115. <= /p>
Ox, the wooden ox of the = tomb of Men-kau-ra's daughter, 14, 15.

Oxf= ord, Ashmolean= Museum, 37.

Pacht, the Goddess, 90. <= /p>
Paheri, tomb of, 71.

Palaces, Interior of, 31,= S7, 110, 111, 134, 222.

Panbesa, the writer, 149.=

Pankhy I., 2= 01-20S.

Pankh= y II., 201, 207, 208, 215.

Parrish Collection, the, = 189.

Pasebkhanau, King of Tanis, 178, 181. =

Pasebkhanu I., 169.

Paseb= khanu II., 189-194.

Pasenkhonsu, Prince, 225.=

Pasopd, 202.

Pebathma, Queen, 201, 206= , 210.

Pedubast, 200.

Pekersala, 210.

Peksather, Princess, 206.=

Peksather, Queen, 201, 21= 0.

Pennat, an official, 168.=

Pentaurt, Prince, 165, 16= 7.

Pepi I., Kin= g, 16-18.

Pepi II., 17-19.

Pepi-ankhnes, see Meri-ra-ankhnes, 17.

Per-nub, 37.

Perabsen, King, 10.

Persen, 16.

Persen, 225-227.

Petahuha, Princess, 103
Petenit, a prophet, 225. =

Petersburgh, 206, 225.
Petrie, Mr., reference to, 2, 5, 6, 9, 13, 31, 34, 40, 77, 90, 96, 97, 101, 102, 10= 4, 108, 112, 120, 124, 132, 136, 142, 146, 152, 156, 157, 159, 172, 198, 219. =

Piankh, Prince, 169, 172,= 178.

Piehl, Herr, 181.

Pinezem I., = 71, 169, 173, 177-179.

Pinez= em II., 169, 179, 183, 185, 186, 187, 188.

Pinezem, grandson? of Pinezem I., 179.

Pinezem High-Priest, 63. =

Poem of Menkheper-Ra, add= ressed to his daughter Mutardus, 214

Pomatum, recipe of Queen = Shesh, 7.

Prayer, records of, 133, = 134, 181, 182, 197, 208, 209.

Priest-King, see Herhor.

Priesthood, Power of the,= 117, 170, 171.

Psammeticus, 21.

Psamtek I.,2= 01, 210, 214, 215, 216-219.

Psamt= ek II., 201, 221-224, 227.

Psamtek III., 224, 229.

Ptah, the god, 155, 225. =

Ptah-Neferu, Princess, 31= -33.

247

INDEX.

Punt, the Land of, Expedi= tion of Hatshepsut to, 85, 87.

Pyramids, 13, 20, 29, 31-= 33, 38-40.

Qelhatat, Queen, 201, 213= .

Qu= eens, List of, 235.

Qu= eens, unplaced, List of, 230.

Quft, 66.

Ra, 2, 91, and see also Amen.

Ra-hetep, the General, 13= .

Ra-se-ankh, King, 41.

Rai, the Lady, 70.

Rames, Prince, 48.

Ramesseum, the, 146.

Ramses I., 6= 9, 143-145.

Ramse= s II., 69, 94, 143, 145, 146, 151-153.

Ramse= s III., 67, 143, 161-164.

Ramses VI., 143, 164-168.=

Ramses IX., 38, 62, 143. =

Ramses X., 143, 165.

Ramses XII., 143, 173, 17= 5, 188.

Ramses, second son of Ramses I., 143, 152.

Rayet, M., 108.

Reference abbreviations, = List of, 238.

Reis Mohammed, 66.

Reshut, land of, 91.

Rhind, M., 103, 104.

Rhodopis, 21.

Rhodopis-Nitocris, Queen,= 21.

Rogers, Bey, 63.

Rollin, M., 166.

Rom= e, Tem= ple of Isis, 98.

Rougé, M. de, 172.=

Sa-Amen, Prince, 60.

Sa-amen, Princess, 68.
Sacerdotal Titles, 56.
Sadhe, Princess, 25.

Sahura, King, 16.

Saïd, the, 70.

Said Pasha, So.

Sais, 5, 6, 15, 202, 214, 215, 224, 225= .

Sa= kkara, 16, 17, 230.

Sandal of Nitocns-Rhodopi= s, the, 21.

Sa-pa-ir, Prince, 60, 62,= 68.

Sat-aah, Queen, 53, 99&mi= ddot;

Sat-Amen, Queen, 53, 57, = 123-126.

Sat-Amen, Princess, 60, 6= 8, 100, 114, 152.

Sat-ap, 55.

Satharna, King of Mitanni= , 125, 126.

Sat-hathor, Princess, 28,= 29, 30.

Sathora, Princess, 103. <= /p>
Satirbau, Princess, 48. <= /p>
Sat-Kames, Queen, 72, 73.=

Sat-Kames, Princess, 58, = 60, 67, 68.

Sat-sebek, Queen, 41.

Satum, Prince, 104.

Saulcy, M. de, 63.

Scarabs, of Amenhetep III, the, 107.

Schiapparelli, 150.

Sculpture, see Statues.

Sebek, the God, 35.

Sebekdudu, 38.

Sebek-em-heb, Princess, 3= 7.

Sebek-em-sa-es, Queen, 45= , 46, 47, 49.

Sebek-em-sauf, King, 37, = 38.

Sebek-hetep I., 26.

Sebek-hetep II., 36.

Sebek-hetep III., 37.

Sebek-hetep IV., 37.

Sebek-neferu-Ra, Queen, 3= 2-35.

Sebennytos, 202.

Sed festival, the, 88.
Sedeinga, 113, 122.

Sehel, 36.

Sekhet, 176.

Semenkh-ka-ra, 53, 136. <= /p>
Semneh, 29.

Senb-sen, Queen, 36.

Send-hena-ef, vizier, 26.=

Senmut, the architect, 89= , 94, 96.

Senseneb, 53, 55, 74, 75,= 77, 81, 90.

Sent, Queen, 26.

Sent-es-senb, Queen, 28, = 29.

...sentinery, Princess, 2= 27.

Se-qu= enen-ra III., 46, 48, 53, 58, 65, 70.

Set, 44

Setep-en-ra, Princess, 53= , 135.

Seti I., 22,= 65, 69, 94, 143.

Seti<= /st2:Sn> II., 143, 154, 157, 162.

248

INDEX.

Seti, son of Ramses, 143,= 144, 145, 146, 148.

Set-nekht, 143, 157, 161-= 163.

Shabaco, Prince, 206.

Shabaka, 201, 207, 208, 2= 12, 213.

Shamash, 131.

Shapennapit, 221.

Sheikh-abd-el-Gurnah, 63,= 64.

Shepenapt, Princess, 208.=

Shepenapt I.= , Queen, 195, 196, 199.

Shepenapt II., Queen, 190= , 201, 206, 207.

Shepenapt III., Queen, 201, 212, 213, 215-= 219.

Shepherd Kings, the, 42, = 46, see Hyksos, the.

Shertsat, Queen, 26

Shesh, Queen, 7, 8.

Shesh= enq II., 199.

Sheshenq III., 190-195, 199, 200.

Sheshenq, Prince, 190, 19= 3, 196, 228.

Si-amen, Prince, 65.

Silsileh, 24, 152, 153. <= /p>
Sinai, mines of, 89

Sinai, shrine of Hathor, = 90, 95, 96, 154.

Siptah, King, 143, 157, 1= 58, 160-162.

Sitra, Queen, 143-145, 15= 4, 159-161.

Skhent-neb-ra, 48, 53.

Sneferu, King, 10, 12, 14= .

Solar race, the, 3.

Soleb, 114, 122.

Solomon, King, 194.

Somali Land, location of Land of Punt in, 86.

Speos Artemidos, the, 90<= /p>
Sphinxes, 32, 35.

Spirits, Belief in, 8, 22= , 44, 45.

Statues and busts, 12, 13, 14, 27, 28, 77, 78, 96, 98, 101, 103, 113, 114, 142, 145, 146, 149-151, 153, 155, 156, 158, 165, 176, 177, 193, 197, 198, 206, 208, 2= 09.

Strabo, 31.

Suez, 63.

Suicide; Forced, Instance= of, 166, 167.

Suicide of Nitocris, 20. =

Sukharte, Princess, 128-1= 30.

Syria, 108, 125, 126.

Ta-du-bast, Queen, 200. <= /p>
Tadukhipa, Queen, 53, 130= , 131.

Taharqa, 201, 210, 211, 2= 15, 216, 218.

Tahennu, the, 91.

Tahonit-tauti, 169, 186, = 188.

Tahuti, the god, 150.

Takhait, the Princess, 53= , 114, 124, 143, 201.

Ta-khat, Queen, 158.

Takhedka, Princess, 48. <= /p>
Takeleth I.,= 129, 194, 195, 199.

Tak= eleth II., 90, 199.

Takheta, Pnncess, 103, 10= 4.

Takhetauti, Princess, 103= .

Takhuat, Queen, 224, 227.=

Tanis, 28, 146, 154, 155, 169, 173-175, 190-195, 211.

Tanutamen, 201, 213.

Tasha-kheper, Princess, 1= 96.

Tashed Khonsu, Queen, 190= , 194.

Taurt, the god, 150.

Tausert, Queen, 143, 158,= 159.

Tautha, Queen, 42.

Tel el-Amarna, 108, 111, = 114, 115, 119, 122, 123, 126, 127, 134, 139.

Tel el-Amarna tablets, th= e, 108.

Tell el-Yehudiyeh, 156. <= /p>
Temples, Descriptions of, 25, 34, 85, 8= 8, 118, 149, 160.

Tep, 82.

Testesu (Dakhel), oasis o= f, 91.

Teta, King, 7.

Teti-shera, Queen, 44, 45= , 60.

Tewfik, Khedive, 64.

Thaa, Princess, 103, 104.=

Thebes, 2, 23, 25, 38, 44, 45, 56, 60, 61, 63, 64, 65, 69, 82, 83, 87, 89, 95, 98, = 100, 101, 103, 104, 113, 115-117, 120, 122, 134, 137-139, 141, 145-148, 154, 156, 157, 160, 169, 170, 178, 180, 181, 186, 196, 198, 203, 206-211, 216-229.
Thent-amen, Queen, 169, 1= 73-175.

Thent-amen-apt, Queen, 19= 0, 199, 200.

Thent-hapi, Queen, 53, 70= , 74.

Thent-kheta, Queen, 201, = 224, 225.

249

INDEX.

Thentsa, Queen, 190, 194.=

Thentspeh, Princess, 198.=

Thi, 165-167.

Thinis, 207.

Thiti, Queen, 168.

Thïy, Queen, 53, 56,= 100, 106-124, 130-135, 142, 168.

Thoth, the god, 76, 87. <= /p>
Thotmes I., = 49, 53, 55, 74-84, 88, 90, 92, 93, 96, 100.

Thotm= es II., 53, 65, 76-80, 84, 85, 90, 92, 93, 159.

Thotmes III., 29, 53, 56,= 77, 78, 80, 81, 92-101.

Thotmes IV., 53, 101-104,= 107, 140.

Thotmes, son of Thïy= s, 114.

Thuaa, 53, 107-109, 112, = 121, 124.

Thuoris, Queen, 161.

Thyi-merenast, Queen, 143= , 162, 163.

Ti, keeper of the pyramid= s, 16.

Tiaa, Queen, 53, 100, 101= .

Titles, curious, 1, 4, 5, 10, 18, 19, 25, 26, 28-30, 32, 37, 45-47, 54-56, 60, 68, 71-75, 79, 84, 89, 98-101, 107, 131, 132, 138, 147, 151, 153, 158, 168, 170, 171, 175, 181, 186, 187, 203, 211.

Tombs, opening of, 6, 8, = 9, 30-40, 49-52, 62-70, 73, 92, 93, 104, 108, 120, 165, 173, 194.

Tuaa, Queen, 143, 145, 14= 6, 148.

Tum, 82, 83.

Tumem, Queen, 26.

Turah, 59.

Turin Museum, the, 19, 68, 122, 140, 142, 150, 166, 206.

Turin Papyrus, the, 19

Turs, Queen, 53, 72.

Tutankh-amen, King, 53, 1= 37.

Two queens, the arrangeme= nt of dual queenship, 203.

Ty, Queen, 53, 138, 139.<= /p>

Uaay, Princess, 103.

Uasarkon I.,= 190, 193, 194.

Uasarkon II., 190, 195, 1= 98, 199.

Uasarkon III., 200, 201, 206.

Uasarkon, High Priest, 19= 4.

Uuzet, Queen, 42.

Uazmes, Chapel of, 77.
Uazmes, Prince, 48, 53, 7= 1, 77.

Ugaret, 128.

Uni, 18.

University College, = London, 188.

Unplaced Queens, list of, 230.

Unuamen, an official, 174= .

Usertsen II., 27, 28, 29.=

Usertsen III., 30.

Ushabti Figures, 177, 181= , 184, 185, 189, 196, 198, 230.

Ushanahoru, Prince, 212. =

Vassalli. M. 185.

Va= tican Collection, the, 145, 146, 150.

Vienna, 36.

Wady Gasus, 219, 222.

Wady Hammamet, 24.

Wady Maghara, 17.

Wady Sabua, 147.

Wand, magical, 33, 76.
White CroWD. the, 41.

White Queen, the, 156, 15= 7.

Wiedemann, Herr, 97, 108,= 172, 210.

Wilbour, M., 64.

Wilkinson, Mr., 99.

Woman in Egypt, Position of, 2.

Xoïs, 202.

Za-n, Queen, 37.

Zalu (or Zaru), 112.

Zaru, 112.

Zaunefer, Prince, 187, 18= 8.

Zer, King, 8, 9.

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