Nubian Princess and Ancient Egyptian Queen – Amenirdis I

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Harwa – Chief Steward of God’s Wife Amenardis I – XXV Dynasty – TT37

Harwa – Chief Steward of God’s Wife Amenardis I – XXV Dynasty – TT37

Harwa – Chief Steward of Gods Wife Amenardis I – XXV Dynasty of Ancient Egypt

Harwa, “Grand Steward of the Divine Votaress”, High Priest and “Doorkeeper in the Temple of Amun”

Harwa: “Great of the Greats”.

Born in to a family of Theban Priests, Harwa held high office in Thebes (modern-day Luxor) with great responsibility to Amun and God’s Wife of Amun, the Divine Votaress, Amenirdis I. He was son of the “Lady of the House”, Nestaureret (or Estaweret), and of a Priest attached to the temple of Amun in Karnak, Padimut (or Pedemut) son of Ankhefenamon.

 

His tomb is located in el-Assasif, part of the Theban Necropolis, near to Deir el-Bahri and is known as TT37 (Theban Tomb 37) which has been under archaeological examination for some years and currently not accessible to the public.

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Blog: http://Queen.Amenardis.net/

 

http://amunirdis.blogspot.com/2009/02/harwa-chief-steward-of-gods-wife.html
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http://pavementsofsilver.wordpress.com/2008/07/13/the-tomb-of-harwa/
“On Friday I attended an EES lecture by Dr Francesco Tiradritti of the Italian Archaeological Mission to the Theban Tombs, held at the The Society of Antiquaries of London. It was a fascinating lecture, and I must admit that up until then I had known very little about the Late Period tombs in this area, so the talk was a true eye opener for me.
The renaissance, or Archaic Revival, of the Late Period has long held a fascination for me, and it’s normally something I think of as having been “kicked off” – as it were – by the Pharaohs of the 26th Dynasty. But these classical Saite signatures, such as the passion for (exquisitely executed!) scenes in the Old Kingdom traditions, and even the inclusion of parts of the Pyramid Texts, can be seen in Harwa’s tomb (TT37, El Assasif) at the height of the 25th Dynasty.
Harwa was the Great Steward of the Adoratrice of Amun, during the reign of Taharqa, and possibly acted as a vassal ruler of the south under him, since the Pharaohs of the 25th Dynasty remained in Nubia and only held power through the Priesthood of Amun, hence Harwa’s great importance. The scale of his tomb would indeed suggest this, for although it’s layout is entirely different, in it’s ambitious design, and in the quality of carving, it is certainly the equal of some royal tombs.
Sadly, time has been unkind to Harwa’s eternal home. Only fragments of the decoration survive, having been re-used for subsequent burials during the Late period, and functioning as a chapel to Osiris in Ptolemaic times. Dr Tiradritti also presented some of the tombs later history that had been unearthed during excavations, including an earlier Italian visit to the tomb by soldiers during the Second World War, leaving behind part of a biscuit packet for future generations.
Thankfully, the team have been able to take advantage of changes in technology over the long course of their work so far (excavation began in 1995, and there is still much work to be done) and this has allowed maps, images and also a complete catalogue of decorative fragments found to be made available on an online database. This has also allowed for digital reconstructions of numerous wall scenes to be made, allowing a much better understanding of the tombs original design.
A multi-lingual web portal has now been online for ten years, and is available at http://www.Harwa.it/ ”

http://pavementsofsilver.wordpress.com/2008/07/13/the-tomb-of-harwa/trackback/

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See also:
Harwa

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Royal Names of Hatnefrumut – Throne Name – Nomen and Modern-Day Translations – Amonirdis

Royal Names of Hatnefrumut – Throne Name – Nomen and Modern-Day Translations – Amonirdis

The ancient prenomen (throne name) and nomen (birth name, usually) of AI are clear and not open to much interpretation if read in the original hieroglyphs but our modern-day languages vary so very much that a simple – if Royal – name becomes many multiples and variations of the original.
To make matters even more confusing, Hatnefrumut’s “birth name” was different as she was a Nubian (Kushite) Princess, possibly ‘AkaluKa Princess of Nubia’ or Aqaluqa.

The prenomen of AI is Hat-nfrw-mwt (Hatnefrumut) and her nomen is Imn-iir-di-si which leads many to state that AI’s name (or ‘nomen’) is Amenardis but there are many variations to AI’s nomen – here are just a few:

Amenirdis
Amonardis
Amunirdis
Amunardis
Amonirdis
Amnirdis
Amyrtaios
Amunirdies
Amenirdas
Amonirdas
Amenardus
Amonardus

In Dutch,  AI’s name becomes Amyrtaeus – Amenirdis
In German:  Amyrtaios – Amunirdies
In French:  Amyrtée – Amonirdis
In Italian:  Amirteo – Amonirdis
In Spanish:  Amirteo – Amonirdis
In Portuguese:  Amirtaios – Amonirdies

Of course, this makes research of any kind very difficult as all names must be searched for and the search becomes quite confusing. One might think that the “English” version of Hatnefrumut’s name would be enough… but try searching the major search engines for any of the above – they all result in many pages of information regardless of the modern-day language used.

It is a confusing situation as each name has to be searched for (both offline and online) and even the most prestigious of museums occasionally use multiple names for the same Royal Queen – Hatnefrumut or Imn-iir-di-si.

I am sure that the ancient Egyptians would delight in the fact that their names will never be forgotten – nor should they be but with such a wealth of spellings and pronunciations their names are bound to live forever.
🙂

Research@Amunirdis.net
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http://amunirdis.blogspot.com/2009/02/gods-wife-royal-queen-xxv-dynasty.html

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Where is the Mummy of Ancient Egyptian Queen Amenirdis I – Kushite Princess of Nubia – XXV Dynasty

Where is the Mummy of Ancient Egyptian Queen Amenirdis I – Kushite Princess of Nubia – XXV Dynasty?

 

The belongings and funerary goods of Amenirdis I are spread around the globe both in museums and, sadly, in private collections away from public view. She was a very important woman in ancient Egypt – as were all God’s Wives of Amun and Divine Votaresses – and possessed a considerable amount of ‘personal’ and mortuary goods. In antiquity many items will have disappeared in to the mists of time and as recently as the twentieth Century, Amenirdis’ possessions found their way in to museums, private collections and the like – as one would expect.

 

 

The vast majority of sources state something akin to the following: 
“Upon her death, Amunirdis I was buried in a tomb in the grounds of Medinet Habu.”

That just doesn’t feel ‘right’ to me and there have been a number of reports of the mummy of Amenirdis I being found since 2001.

I live within a mile of that impressive chapel and in early 2003 I spoke to an eminent archaeologist and Egyptologist from the British Museum in Amenirdis’ chapel in Medinet Habu. Apparently the mummy of Amenirdis I has been found, but not in Medinet Habu and the BM archaeologist was unable to tell me where the mummy was found or where it had been moved to.

I would like to know that the mummy of this Royal Queen is intact and, hopefully, in good condition but no-one seems to have any answers regarding the whereabouts of Amenirdis I’s remains. Why is that?

 

If a museum has the remains kept in a safe environment then I would be very happy to know that. If a private collection has obtained the mummy I would hope that an expert has been consulted to aid in preservation.

As much as I would like to pay my respects to Amenirdis I, I don’t think that is likely but just to know that all is, hopefully, well would be wonderful for me personally as I have an incredible interest, as must be obvious from the AI web site and this blog.

 

The ‘inner chapel’ or ‘burial chamber’ – supposedly where Amenirdis was interred – a few metres from the glorious black libation table in Medinet Habu had, until 2001, a dirt floor and a rope loosely tied across. The guards/guides would remove the rope from time-to-time and I have previously sat on the dirt floor contemplating the whereabouts of Amenirdis I’s remains and whether I was in fact sat on top of them!

 

The chapel of the Divine Adoratrice Amenirdis I has changed – the floor is now made of paving slabs, with a concrete-like mix holding them together. Replacing the rope is a basic wooden frame which is occasionally removed by the guards or guides. The change in the floor took place in 2001, I seem to remember. I do not understand why the floor was replaced – not least because public admittance should not be permitted there.

 

Was the floor of the ‘burial chamber’ excavated since the 1990s? What was found? I would dearly love to know.

 

The rest of this small – but incredibly impressive chapel – is in need of further restoration and preservation and it has received considerable attention (to my knowledge) since the late 1990s – the roof is now held in place with metal girders and efforts are obviously being made to keep the chapel standing, thankfully. That again leaves me with a question – why replace the floor where the public are not really permitted? The floor around the outer chapel walls is very uneven and hasn’t even been cleaned, let alone replaced – sand is building up against the edges of the wall reliefs in some places and yet the ‘inner chapel’ or ‘burial chamber’ is as new as it could be. Strange.

 

I have plagued archaeologists and Egyptologists regarding the whereabouts of the remains of Amenirdis and I really would like to know that her remains are in good hands and ‘safe’. I don’t want – or need – to know who has ownership or possession but I would be very grateful to anyone who can tell me if the mummy is intact and in safe hands please.

 

Please feel free to e-mail me with any information and if it must remain confidential then so be it.

 

My e-mail address is:   Research@Amunirdis.net

 

Thank you.

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http://www.Amenirdis.net/
http://www.Amenardis.net/

The Hand of God – Gods Wives of Amun – Ancient Egypt – Karnak Temple Complex

The “Hand of God” – “God’s Wives of Amun” – Ancient Egypt – Karnak Temple Complex

“I had recently become very interested in the religious role of ‘God’s Wife of Amun’ so I set off for the northern part of Karnak to investigate their shrines. At least this was away from the more crowded areas of the temples, which became more deserted as I walked past the open air museum on the path towards the Temple of Ptah. There are several chapels of the Gods’ Wives on the left hand side of the path, in various states of ruin, but some still had some interesting reliefs.

During the Late Period the wives of kings are rarely represented, but in Thebes, the female office of the ‘God’s Wife of Amun’, or ‘Divine Adoratrice’ is often seen as supremely important, a figure holding a position of power and wealth even greater than that of the High Priest. The title of ‘God’s Wife’ can be traced right back to the Middle Kingdom, but the office became more prominent at the beginning of the New Kingdom, with Ahmose-Nefertari, wife of Ahmose I, whose donation stele found at Karnak, tells us much about her role. At that time the title was usually given to the wife of the reigning king, her names were written in a cartouche and she was often succeeded by her daughter. Many royal ladies of the New Kingdom were associated with this office, at least nominally, including Queens Hatshepsut, Tiye and Nefertari.

Duties of the God’s Wife were essentially religious, associated with musical ceremonies and titles such as ‘Chantress of the Abode of Amun’, and often with fertility connotations. Her function was to play the part of the consort of the god Amun in religious ceremonies, stressing the belief that kings were conceived from the union between Amun and the Great Royal Wife. The title ‘The Hand of the God’ was also sometimes used when referring to her relationship to Atum in a creation myth – Atum’s hand being regarded as female. The regalia changed through Dynasties XVIII to XX, but usually included the vulture headdress with uraeus and often the shwty plumes, or falcon tail feathers worn by Amun and Min, or sometimes the sundisc and Hathor horns on a modius, a sort of circular crown. In the later new Kingdom a pleated robe with a red sash replaced the earlier slim sheath dress. Her insignia included the sistrum, menat, a variety of musical instruments and the flagellum.

From Dynasty XXI onwards it was always the king’s unmarried daughter or sister who was given the title of ‘God’s Wife’ and the role became increasingly important. Maatkare, daughter of Pinudjem I is depicted as God’s Wife in the Temple of Khonsu at the southern side of Karnak. Her titles were ‘Divine Adoratrice, sole wife of the god’. Henuttawy, daughter of Pinudjem II is also depicted here. It was from this time on that the God’s Wives adopted a coronation name as well as a birth name. During the reigns of the Libyan kings, their sons were given the office of High Priest of Amun and their daughters the title of ‘God’s Wife of Amun’. Some of the daughters of Libyan Chiefs and Egyptian elite were called ‘Chantress of the Inner Abode of Amun’ and presided over a college of priestesses, which seems to have been a kind of upper class convent.

At Karnak, several chapels were dedicated to Osiris and to Amun who was, by the Late Period, associated with him. They were mostly built during the period when Nubian kings ruled at Thebes and were dedicated by the reigning ‘God’s Wives’. The first shrine I came to on the northern path, the chapel of Osiris Neb-ankh (Lord of Life) dating to the Dynasty XXV reign of the Nubian King Shabaka, is in a fairly ruinous condition. Although there is now little remaining of the pylon entrance, courtyard and two inner chambers, the cartouches of Shabaka and the God’s Wife Amenirdis (I) can still be seen on the entrance.

The second structure here is better preserved with some good reliefs. This is the (earlier) chapel of Ankhnesneferibre who was a daughter of King Psamtik II of the Saite Dynasty XXVI and sister of King Wahibre (Apries). We know from surviving texts that this lady arrived in Thebes at only seven months old (in 595 BC) and was eventually installed as ‘High Priest’ of Amun. The next structure is her later chapel which is larger still and originally had a four-columned hall and a sanctuary at the rear. Parts of the gates survive and reliefs of Ankhnesneferibre before various deities can be clearly seen, including cartouches of Kings Ahmose II and Psamtik III. In one of the reliefs she is followed by her chief steward and fan-bearer who is named here as Sheshonq. There are also some lovely depictions of a lion-headed cobra and a strange underworld deity with two duck’s heads.

Next to Ankhnesneferibre’s chapel is another tiny shrine, also a chapel of Osiris Neb-ankh. This is like a little dolls-house, dedicated by the God’s Wife Shepenwepet (II), a daughter of King Taharqa of Dynasty XXV. Said to be perhaps the smallest religious monument in Egypt with a doorway only a little over a metre high leading to a tiny inner chamber, it is difficult to imagine any ceremony taking place here. There are some superb deeply-carved reliefs inside this little shrine with cartouches of Shepenwepet (II) and her sister the ‘God’s Wife’ Amenirdis, (II) as well as a cartouche inscribed for Osiris Neb-ankh.

Bypassing the Temple of Ptah I walked over to the next Osiris structure, an enigmatic little chapel, now just a small single chamber, dedicated by Amenirdis to Osiris De-ese-hebsed, also dating from Dynasty XXV. There were two God’s Wives named Amenirdis, the first a daughter of King Kashta and the second, who constructed this monument, was daughter of the Nubian King Taharqa. I had already seen the chapels at Medinet Habu belonging to this royal lady. Moving on I passed the scant remains of a Ptolemaic Temple of Osiris, no more than a lintel and two door-jambs.

Against the eastern enclosure wall is the largest remaining and one of the earliest chapels dedicated by the God’s Wives at Karnak. This is the Temple of Osiris Heka-djet (’Osiris, Ruler of Eternity’) which was built by the Libyan king Osorkon III and his son, the High Priest of Amun, Takelot III of Dynasty XXIII. This structure has high walls and I had to find a guard to let me inside through the locked door. Though there was once an entrance gate and a courtyard, these are now gone and I went straight into the first of three small rooms, the two innermost rooms being the earliest part of the temple. High on one wall there is a lovely relief of Shepenwepet (I) presenting an image of Ma’at to Amun and receiving a menat necklace from the goddess Isis, while her successor, Amenirdis (I), receives an ankh from Amun and Mut. There are some very unusual reliefs in this temple, including the only known depiction of a God’s Wife, Shepenwepet, wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, complete with royal uraeus, normally a strict prerogative of the pharaoh. Another beautiful and unique dual-scene shows the two rulers, Osorkon and his co-regent Takelot, back to back under two ished-trees, while the gods write the kings’ names on the leaves. There is also an unusual series of seven false doors each one carved inside the other. I loved this little temple, it was just a pity that the combination of shadows and shallow reliefs did not offer a good opportunity for photography.”

http://egyptsites.wordpress.com/2008/04/29/the-hand-of-god/

Reproduced courtesy of  http://www.EgyptSites.co.uk/ with thanks.

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Chapels of the Gods Wives at Medinet Habu by www.EgyptSites.co.uk

Chapels of the God’s Wives – Medinet Habu – Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III, West Bank, Luxor

“It now seems to be a forgone conclusion that when we’re on the West Bank, we will end up at Medinet Habu and today was no exception. I wanted a last look at the temple and went to take more photographs in the shrines of the God’s Wives of Amun, the Divine Adoratirix that have become a study theme for me on this visit.

There are four chapels at Medinet Habu dedicated to the God’s Wives. The earliest belongs to Shepenwepet I who was appointed by her father Osorkon III during the last years of Theban independence before full Nubian control. Little is left of her chapel, but the burial shaft still gives access to vaulted chambers below – not open to the public however. The next shrine is that of Amenirdis I, the successor to Shepenwepet and daughter of Nubian King Kashta. This is the best-preserved chapel and has many interesting reliefs, though it is very dark inside. A forecourt fronts Amenirdis’s chapel, the four columns now reduced to stumps, but there is still a black granite offering table in situ. Inside the shrine, a free-standing sanctuary surrounded by a corridor whose walls are adorned with excerpts from the Pyramid Texts and reliefs of Amenirdis I and her successor Shepenwepet II (who built this shrine for her aunt), before various deities. The walls are now blackened but little square openings in the roof send atmospheric shafts of light down onto the scenes. The workmanship is really beautiful here.

In due time Shepenwepet II adopted Amenirdis II, a daughter of King Taharqa, as her successor, but her rule was ill-fated as by then the Nubian Dynasty XXV came to an end with the Assyrian invasions of Thebes. The Theban priesthood was forced to accept an heiress from the Saite dynasty of the Delta and it was Psamtik’s daughter Nitocris who became the next God’s Wife of Amun, after being adopted by both Shepenwepet II & Amenridis II. It was Nitocris who completed the chapel for Shepenwepet II after her death, adding to the burial chambers to provide for herself and her birth mother Mehytenweskhet. The fourth chapel is now gone, but is thought to have belonged to Ankhnesneferibre, a daughter of King Psamtik II, who was the last holder of the office of Divine Adoratrice at Thebes and who also took the title of High Priest of Amun. Her beautiful sarcophagus, found in a shaft at Deir el-Medina after being re-used during Roman times, is now in the British Museum.

Over the doorways to these chapels is a kind of threat, written as an ‘Appeal to the Living’, which consists of words to be uttered by people passing by. The text more or less states that anyone not participating in the mortuary cult by repeating the prayers will be cursed by the ‘Mistress of the West’ who will cause sickness to their families. I always bear this in mind, saying a little prayer of my own for the souls of the powerful ladies once buried here.”

http://egyptsites.wordpress.com:80/2008/05/27/chapels-of-the-gods-wives/

Reproduced courtesy of  http://www.EgyptSites.co.uk/ with thanks.

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An appeal for information on Ancient Egyptian Noble Peshuper – Scribe of The Divine Adoratrice Amunirdis

An appeal for information on Ancient Egyptian Noble Peshuper – Scribe of The Divine Adoratrice Amunirdis.

Peshuper held the title of “Scribe of The Divine Adoratrice Amenirdis I” and a wonderful quartzite statue exists in the British Museum, which can be seen here:
http://www.Amenirdis.net/peshuper_scribe_of_the_divine_adoratrice_amenirdis.html  

However, I can find no information regarding this noble.

As is explained on http://www.Amenardis.net/ I am trying to locate information on Amenirdis I (Amenardis I, Amunirdis I or Amunardis I), and her Officials – including Harwa (TT37) and Akhamenerau (TT404) but I am desperately trying to find the tomb and information on Peshuper to add to the page crated for him on http://www.Amenirdis.net/

If anyone has information that could be added to the web site, please e-mail me? Research@Amunirdis.net
Thank you for any information, sources or corrections.

I should also take this opportunity to explain that the following three domain names are all ‘pointed’ at the same web site:
http://Amenardis.net/
http://Amenirdis.net/
http://Amunirdis.net/  
This is because of the different spelling of this Kushite Queen’s name.

For a wealth of information on Harwa, “Great of the Greats”; “Grand Steward of the Divine Votaress”; High Priest and “Doorkeeper in the Temple of Amun”, take a look at the official excavation site here:
http://www.Harwa.it/

 

The www.Amunirdis.net
web site is still being designed and the current site should be regarded as
a ‘temporary’ site.

 

Here are some links to Amunirdis I’s Officials:

Harwa

Akhamenerau

Peshuper

The Divine Adoratrices By Patricia Blosser www.KingTutOne.com

The Divine Adoratrices

By Patricia Blosser

In 656 BC, or regnal year 9, first month of Akhet, day 28, of the Sais King Psamtek I, his young daughter Nitocris, is recorded as leaving his private apartments in Sais. Dressed in the finest of linen garments and adorned with new turquoise she is headed for her own destiny. Her father had arranged for her to marry no other than Amun, the great god of Thebes(1). She left her father’s city in a great fleet sailing up the Nile to Thebes. It isn’t known how old she was at the time of her marriage, but she lived another 70 years (2) in Thebes as the Divine Adoratrice, the god Amun’s wife. She would s 

The office of the Divine Adoratrice, the God’s Wife had evolved greatly. Since the day Ahmose, first Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty had first made his wife Ahmose-Nefertari the god’s wife of Amun at Karnak(3). At this remote time Ahmose-Nefertari, the god’s wife, wasn’t the Divine Adoratrice. It would be several centuries yet, before the God’s wife took the office of the “adoratrice of the god”(4) and combined it with her royal office. Until that time this secondary office for women in the Temple of Amun at Karnak, was held by well-born noble women. The God’s Wife position was a priestly office at first held by non-royal ladies of the Middle Kingdom(5). From Ahmose-Nefertari on it would be an office held only by women of the royal house. Ahmose endowed the position with lands and entitlements, making it a wealthy position as well as a religious office. During Ahmose-Nefertari’s occupation of the office, its title the God’s Wife appears to be the title she preferred over the usual titles. She was entitled to use such as King’s wife, King’s principle wife, or even King’s mother. From Karnak Deir el Bahri, Abydos, and Serabit el Khadim in Sinai there are a number of ritual offerings dedicated by Ahmose-Nefertari. While other Queens and Kings dedicated similar objects, chronologically and numerically Ahmose-Nefertari heads the list and perhaps sets the trend. She opened quarries along with her husband and was asked for her approval on some of his building projects(6). Such participation of a queen is unique in the records.

Queen Hatshepsut, was the third holder of this important religious office, again the god’s wife was the title she too, preferred over other titles she was able to use. It is believed by modern scholars that it was her position as ‘God’s Wife’ that enable her to take up the titles and offices of King during her step-son’s minority(7). After she did become, Pharaoh she passed her role as god’s wife to her daughter Neferura(8). In the modern belief, that Neferura as the god’s wife assumed the role in temple rites that traditionally fell to a senior ranking royal woman. Roles she most likely fulfilled during her mother’s Kingship. Neferura’s preference of her title ‘the god’s wife’ is the third such preference of that title, by a royal woman over the more traditional titles such as the King’s daughter, or even King’s wife. It is as the God’s Wife that we find her, following her dressed as King mother, into the temple of Amun at Karnak. Whereas she is dressed in a simple sheath dress, sometimes tied at the waist unlike most such dresses, with a short wig and a thin fillet knotted at the back of the head the loose ends hanging down(9).

The office and title of God’s Wife, while not disappearing began a period of eclipse under the succeeding rule of Thutmose III, his son Amenhotep II, and grandson Thutmose IV. Under these three rulers there were four more god’s wives of Amun at Thebes. Aset, the mother of Thutmose III, and Meritamun his daughter held it. During the reign of Amenhotep II his mother Meritra, is given the title. While Tiaa, the mother of Thutmose IV is the last named god’s wife. In the reign of Amenhotep III, there is at one point a god’s wife but she is unnamed and after her the office disappears until the 19th dynasty(10). While the title disappears in the reign of Amenhotep III and his immediate successors, it would be incorrect to assume, that the power and statue of the King’s principle wife suffered any lost. In fact, with the advent of Amenhotep III’s queen, Tiye we see the power of the Queen rise to an equality that would have been familiar to Queen Ahmose-Nefertari back at the start of the dynasty. This was true as well with Akhenaten’s queen, Nefertiti. It is only after the death of Tutankhamun that we see the role of queens again fading into the background. Until Ramesses II once again, brings his principle wife Nefertari with a cult along side his at Abu Simbel(11). By this time, the title god’s wife is again being given to queens’ married to Kings, but it does not return to a position of power until much later.

In the mid-20th dynasty while Egypt began it’s post empire decay, as the power of the Chief Priest of Amun grew thorough out the nation. Ramess VI made his daughter Isis, the god’s wife of Amun at Thebes but this attempt of royal control was not successful(12). The country continued to decline, grave robbery of the Valley of the Kings and even the Queens grew at an alarming speed. The beginning of the 21st dynasty was beset with reburials of the ancient Kings and Queens. Into this came the Chief Priest of Amun at Thebes Pinudjem I, married to a daughter of Ramess XI. In the sixteenth year of Smendes, Pinudjem I(13) adopted royal titles and wrote his name in a cartouche and passed his office of Chief Priest of Amun to a son. He named his virgin daughter Maatkare, to the post of god’s wife of Amun at Thebes. Maatkare, combined the roles of God’s Wife and chief of the priestesses of Amun, in one title: the Divine Adoratrice from this time on the position was held by virginal daughters of the royal house who selected their successor by adoption(14). At one point, the burial remains of this Divine Adoratrice was thought to provide proof that the office wasn’t virginal in reality, because found with her remains was another smaller bundle of remains thought to be her child. However, as examination proved it was actually a monkey’s remains not a child. This finding restored both the honor of the Divine Adoratrice Maatkare, and the office she held(15).

Her successor isn’t known and might have been a member of the 22nd dynasty Libyan royal house. The next known Divine Adoratrice was Karomama, the granddaughter of Osorkon I(16). Her successor apparently was taken from the 23rd dynasty, another Libyan royal house and was Shepenwepet I, sister of Takelot III, the children of Osorkon III. Together this sister and brother shared the privileges of rule over Thebes. She appears to have taken over the position of chief priest that her brother had given up to ascend to the throne. While along with her brother and their father, she appears on the temple walls of Osiris heka-djet (‘lord of eternity’) at Karnak(17). It wasn’t long after her brother’s death, and the short succession of his heir. That Pianky the Kushite King began his conquest of Egypt from the southern boarders of Egypt. Shepenwepet I would adopt this foreign King’s sister as her heir and with that adoption. Pianky’s control over Upper Egypt was cemented as he continued his conquest of Middle and Lower Egypt(18.

In this Kushite Dynasty of the 25th, the role of the Divine Adoratrice, the maiden princess of the royal house, dedicated to Amun was equal to that of a royal governor in Thebes(19) . Considering that Pianky was busy most of the time with his conquest of Lower Egypt, and then his brother Shabak, the first Pharaoh of the 25th Dynasty consolidating his rule over the rebellious northern Egypt. It was up to their female family members to control Thebes. This, Amenirdis I(20)did, as the adopted daughter and heir of Shepenwepet I.

Amenirdis I maintained the secular power of Amun’s chief priest, even after her brother Shabak revived the position for a son of his. It had remained vacant since Takelot III had given it up to become Pharaoh(21). She under took the building of her own mortuary chapel and tomb for herself within the temple enclosure at the 18th dynastic temple at Medinet Habu(22). She ruled Thebes into the reign of Pianky’s son Sebitku, when her adopted daughter Shepenwepet II, the daughter of Pianky succeeded her.

Shepenwepet II raised, along with another of her brothers Taharqa, a chapel to Osiris, Lord of Life, and another one to Osiris, Lord of Eternity at the temple at Karnak. Her building achievements continued with other sacred edifices in the Theban region. She adopted as her successor her niece, the daughter of Taharqa, who took the name Amenirdis II. Amenirdis II often appears next to her aunt in reliefs at Thebes, like a co-regent(23).

Assurbanipal, King of Assyria in 663 B.C.E. resumed Assyria’s attacks on Egypt. He conqueror Memphis and even reached Thebes sacking it. Despite this treatment Upper Egypt refused to accept Assyrian rule and continued support for the Kushite Pharaoh Tantamani, who had fled on to Kush. This state of affairs continued, until the Sais King Psamtek I 26th dynasty, given his power by the Assyrians, threw off the Assyrian yoke once and for all pushing them out of Egypt in 655 B.C.E.(24) shortly, after reuniting Egypt. With his daughter’s adoption, by the last Kushite Divine Adoratrice Amenirdis II in Thebes. At that time the elderly Shepenwepet II was still very much alive and had approved the adoption of Nitocris, by her own adopted daughter Amenirdis II. It was the first time in the history of the Divine Adoratrice, that there were three such ladies in Thebes.

Nitocris I lived and ruled in Thebes for another 70 years after her arrival in Thebes. Her own successor Ankhnesneferibre, daughter of Psamtek II mounted the throne of the Divine Adoratrice in 586 B.C.E. Two years later, she was invested officially with the office of high priest. Ankhnesneferibre was another long-lived God’s Wife ruling until her death in 525 B.C.E. The year the Persians invaded Egypt. Her successor Nitocris II, ruled only until the Persians took control of their new land(25). The office of Divine Adoratrice was over, the glorious royal women who served Egypt would never again offer sacrifices, adoration, or reenact age-old rituals in the Temple of Amun at Karnak.

 Resources
1) Robin Gay, Women in Ancient Egypt, pg 155
2) Karol Mysliwiec, First Millennium B.C.E. The Twilight of Ancient Egypt, translated by David Lorton pg. 115
3) Robin Gay, Women in Ancient Egypt, pgs 43, 44
4) Robin Gay, Women in Ancient Egypt, pg 27
5) Robin Gay, Women in Ancient Egypt, pg 150
6) Robin Gay, Women in Ancient Egypt, pgs 43, 44
7) Robin Gay, Women in Ancient Egypt, pg 153
8 ) Robin Gay, Women in Ancient Egypt, pg 48
9) Robin Gay, Women in Ancient Egypt, pg 151
10) Robin Gay, Women in Ancient Egypt, pg 150
11) Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, pg 313
12) Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, pg 288
13) Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, pg 312
14) Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, pg 314
15) Karol Mysliwiec, First Millennium B.C.E. The Twilight of Ancient Egypt, translated by David Lorton pg 34
16) Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, pg 332
17) Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, pg 331
18) Karol Mysliwiec, First Millennium B.C.E. The Twilight of Ancient Egypt, translated by David Lorton pg 57
19) Karol Mysliwiec, First Millennium B.C.E. The Twilight of Ancient Egypt, translated by David Lorton pg 94
20) Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, pg 335
21) Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, pg 345
22) Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, pg 344
23) Karol Mysliwiec, First Millennium B.C.E. The Twilight of Ancient Egypt, translated by David Lorton pg 111
24) Karol Mysliwiec, First Millennium B.C.E. The Twilight of Ancient Egypt, translated by David Lorton pg 108, 109
25) Karol Mysliwiec, First Millennium B.C.E. The Twilight of Ancient Egypt, translated by David Lorton pg 131″

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Ancient Egyptian Resource Center.

Ancient Egypt

Amenirdis the Great – Princess of Nubia – Queen of Egypt XXV Dynasty

Amenirdis the Great – Princess of Nubia – Queen of Egypt XXV Dynasty

“The Ancient Kushite princess commonly known as Amenirdis I was the daughter of Kashta and sister of Piye and Shabaka. Kashta arranged to have her adopted by the Divine Adoratrice of Amun, Shepenupet I, at Thebes as her successor; this proves that he already controlled Upper Egypt prior to the reign of Piye, his successor. At the reign of Piye, Amenirdis was established as God’s Wife of Amun in Thebes, and this important post typifies the policy of the Napatan kings of Egypt and may anticipate the central role which royal women held in the later history of Kush.

She occupied one of the highest ranks a woman could attain in a cult of the god; that was the position known as God’s Wife. Another high temple rank for women was Divine Adoratrice, which in the 18th Dynasty was sometimes held by women of high status at court, like the mother of the queen, or by the wife of the high priest in the Amun cult at Karnak. From the reign of Osorkon III to that of Psammetik III, Thebes was ruled by a succession of five daughters of the ruling royal house who would live in Thebes and give all their attention to the god’s cult.

The first was Shepenwepet I, who was appointed Divine Wife by her father, Osorkon II, who received all the estates and property formerly possessed by the High Priest. She also officiated at the Temple of Osiris. Shepenwepet I continued in power under Osorkon’s successor, Takeloth III, though no mention of the Divine Wife appears in his records and he made no arrangements for a successor. When at the end of the Third Intermediate Period the rulers of Kush began to extend their authority into Egypt and took power away from the Libyans, Piankh invaded Thebes from Kush to become the first ruler of the 25th Dynasty.

He persuaded Shepenwepet I to adopt his sister Amenirdis, as successor. So Amenirdis carried the old title of Divine Adoratrice Apparent. Amenirdis I, sister of the general Piankh, reigned as Divine Wife under Piankh, Shabaka, and Shabitko of the 25th Dynasty. She in turne adopted Piankh’s daughter to succeed her as Shepenwepet II. Some years later Shepenwepet II adopted the daughter of Taharqa to reign as Amenirdis II.

There is a fragmentary stela that refers to Taharqa having given his daughter to marry the vizier Montuemhat and that they had a son named Nasalsa. When Amenirdis I died, her niece completed a mortuary chapel at Medinet Habu for her, though nothing now remains in the burial chapel. But her grave goods can be found in museums all over the world.”

http://www.sis.gov.eg/En/Pub/magazin/winter2008/110235000000000018.htm
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Egyptian Women in Power – Shepenwepet, Amenirdis, Nitoqret, Nitocris, Ankhnesneferibre – God’s Wife of Amun

Egyptian Women in Power – Shepenwepet, Amenirdis, Nitoqret, Nitocris, Ankhnesneferibre – God’s Wife of Amun

“By the 23^rd Dynasty, Egypt was under Libyan rule. From the reign of Osorkon III to that of Psammetik III, Thebes was ruled by a succession of five daughters of the ruling royal house who would live in Thebes and give all their attention to the god’s cult. The first was Shepenwepet I, who was appointed Divine Wife by her father, Osorkon II, who received all the estates and property formerly possessed by the High Priest.

She also officiated at the Temple of Osiris. Shepenwepet I continued in power under Osorkon’s successor, Takeloth III, though no mention of the Divine Wife appears in his records and he made no arrangements for a successor.

When at the end of the Third Intermediate Period the rulers of Kush began to extend their authority into Egypt and took power away from the Libyans, Piankh invaded Thebes from Kush to become the first ruler of the 25^th Dynasty. He persuaded Shepenwepet I to adopt his sister Amenirdis, as successor. So Amenirdis carried the old title of Divine Adoratrice Apparent.

When Shepenwepet I died, she was buried along with several family members in a vault beneath the floor of her mortuary chapel at Medinet Habu.

Amenirdis I, sister of the general Piankh, reigned as Divine Wife under Piankh, Shabaka, and Shabitko of the 25^th Dynasty. She in turned adopted Piankh’s daughter to succeed her as Shepenwepet II. Some years later Shepenwepet II adopted the daughter of Taharqa to reign as Amenirdis II. There is a fragmentary stela that refers to Taharqa having given his daughter to marry the vizier Montuemhat and that they had a son named Nasalsa.

When Amenirdis I died, her niece completed a mortuary chapel at Medinet Habu for her, though nothing now remains in the burial chapel. But her grave goods can be found in museums all over the world.

When the Assyrians first invaded Egypt, they placed a puppet, Necho of Sais, on the throne in the Delta. Taharqa had fled to Kush, leaving behind his wives and children. When Taharqa died, his successor, Tantamani, had a dream promising him Egypt, and marched north, killing Necho of Sais. The Assyrians again marched on Egypt and sacked Thebes. But Shepenwepet II remained in position as Divine Wife of Amun.

From Osorkon III’s time on, the title “Divine Wife of Amun” was that of a daughter of the king who became the consecrated wife of the god, Amun. She was expected to reside in Thebes and probably responsible to make known the will of Amun through oracular means. The Divine Wife held a second title, that of “Hand of the God.”

At this time, political power was held by Montuemhet, a man holding a minor political office. He was only Fourth Prophet of Amun, but also mayor of the city and governor of Upper Egypt. Taharqa had installed Montuemhet in Thebes when he was residing at the royal palace in Tanis in the Delta. After Taharqa fled Egypt, the Assyrians confirmed Montuemhet as vassal, and he boasts of protecting the city of Thebes and conducting ceremonies of purification in the despoiled temples.

Psammetik I became the first ruler of the 26^th Dynasty, but was little more than an Assyrian vassal. Psammetik gradually formed an alliance with the rulers in Herakleopolis and was recognized as overlord. When he was recognized as ruler by Thebes, who had still considered the Kushites their king, Egypt was once again unified and could declare itself independent from Assyria. Psammetik appointed his daughter Nitoqret as Divine Wife of Amun.

Other women were still involved in serving in the temple, not just the daughter of the king. The title “singer in the temple of Amun” was held by approximately 100 women from the reigns of Takelot II to the end of the 26^th Dynasty. They were most likely retainers of the god’s wives, and some are buried not far from the tomb chapels of the 25^th and 26^th Dynasties at Medinet Habu.

Shepenwepet II meanwhile, the reigning Divine Wife, already had an adopted daughter, Amenirdis II, to succeed her. Both of them were loyal to Tantamani, the Nubian. But Nitoqret did not arrive in Thebes until some months after Tantamani was already dead.

It has been suggested that Nitoqret was adopted by Amenirdis II, who was Divine Wife Apparent at that time, and not by Shepenwepet II. But possibly, Shepenwepet II adopted Nitoqret, and Amenirdis II returned to Kush.

This adoption of Nitoqret was recorded on a great granite stela at Karnak which tells how she was escorted from the Delta to Thebes in a long procession of boats bearing much dowry. It describes how, in the spring of 655 BCE, Nitoqret and her retinue boarded ships from the Delta and sailed to Thebes.

Montuemhet accepted Nitoqret as Divine Wife, and agreed to allow the king to appoint not only her officials but also the governor and border commander of the area to the south of Thebes. In return Montuemhet was allowed to retain his position as mayor of Thebes. Probably in return for his new loyalty, Montuemhet’s tomb near Deir el-Bahri is magnificent, its large pylon dominating the plain. It has a vast underground complex and enormous sun-court adorned with statues of him.

The God’s Wife now dressed in royal insignia, including the uraeus, was accorded royal titles and even wrote her name in a royal cartouche. She owned about 2000 acres of fertile land in both the Delta and in Upper Egypt.

Rather than administering her own wealth, Nitoqret’s father Psammetik I appointed an overseer who would answer to him. But once the king died, Nitoqret appointed her own men, loyal to her. Nitoqret was given some 2000 acres of land in both Upper and Lower Egypt. Every day, Nitiqret was to receive from the fourth priest of Amun, his eldest son, his wife, and from the first and third priests of Amun, a total of 600 deben of bread, 11 hin (just under half a liter) of milk, 2 1/6 cakes, 2 2/3 bundles of herbs. Monthly she would receive 3 oxen, 5 geese, 20 heben of beer, and the yield of many fields. Various temples gave her 1500 deben of bread. She thus received 2100 deben of bread daily and over 2000 acres in eleven nomes.

Nitoqret reigned for over fifty years, not appointing a successor in all that time. During her time, the Assyrians invaded and Thebes was sacked, the temple robbed of its treasure. But when she was in her eighties, in 594 BCE, she adopted the daughter of Psammetik II, her great niece Ankhnesneferibre. This girl not only took the title of Divine Wife of Amun, she was also given the title of First Prophet or High Priest of Amun, the only woman known to hold this office. Her beautiful stone sarcophagus shows her effigy wearing a queen’s headdress and holding the flail and crook scepters of Egypt.

Eight years later, Nitoqret died. Her funerary inscription bears language very similar to that used by the kings themselves. 

“Year 4 of Apries, 4^th month of Shomu, day 4, the Divine Wife Nitoqret, justified, was raised up into heaven, being united with the sun’s disk, the divine flesh being merged with him who made it.“

She was buried at Medinet Habu. Though her burial chamber was pilfered, her sarcophagus sits in the Cairo Museum.

Ankhnesneferibre could not prevent King Amasis from appointing his own man as her steward. When the King of Persia conquered Egypt, she had reigned for 60 years. When the Persians conquered Egypt, the office of God’s Wife was discontinued and never again resurrected.

Sources: 

• Position of Women in the Egyptian Hierarchy by Aylward Blackman, JEA 7
• Daughters of Isis by Joyce Tyldesley
• Celibacy and Adoption Among God’s Wives of Amun and Singers in Temple of Amun by Emily Teeter
• Women in Ancient Egypt by Barbara Watterson
• Women in Ancient Egypt by Gay Robins “

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/women2.htm

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Brooklyn Museum: Dig Diary – http://digdiary.blogspot.com/

“An end and a beginning

On March 23, 2007 the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art opens at the Brooklyn Museum. To celebrate the opening and the accompanying exhibition, “Pharaohs, Queens and Goddesses”, we decided to devote the last posting of the 2007 season at the Mut Precinct to some of the female figures, mortal and divine, associated with the site.

Hatshepsut being crowned by Amun-Re and granted life and dominion by the goddess “Great in Magic”, from the reconstructed Red Chapel in the Karnak Open Air Museum. An early 18th Dynasty temple at Mut dates to the reign of this woman who ruled as king.

“God’s Wife of Amun” was an important female priestly title in Thebes. In the 1st millennium BC it was usually held by a sister or daughter of the reigning king, each God’s Wife adopting her successor. They became so powerful that they were able to have themselves represented in roles normally played by the king.

In scenes of goddesses suckling humans, the human is normally the king, with the scene representing the transfer of life and power. Yet in this scene in the Chapel of Osiris-Ruler-of-Eternity at Karnak, not only is the God’s Wife of Amun, Shepenwepet I, being suckled, she is also wearing 2 Double Crowns, something shown nowhere else in any period.

In her funerary chapel at the temple of Medinet Habu, Amunirdis makes offerings to Amun and Hathor. The presence of funerary chapels to mortals within the sacred grounds of a temple is rare until the Third Intermediate Period, a time when God’s Wives of Amun flourished.

Intangible concepts could also be represented as goddesses. In a scene commemorating an important military campaign by Sheshonq I of Dynasty 22, the goddess “Victorious Thebes”, carrying a mace, an axe and a bow, drags conquered cities (shown as bound prisoners with the city names enclosed in cartouches representing fortified walls) to be slaughtered.

Upper and Lower Egypt were represented as the goddesses Nekhbet (right) and Wadjet. Scenes of the king flanked by these protective deities are common in all periods of Egyptian history. This one comes from the Mut Precinct’s Ptolemaic Chapel D.

Keeping Mut and Sakhmet happy was a main function of the Mut priesthood. In this scene from the Mut Precinct’s main entrance the king (holding Hathor-headed sistra) and two priestesses play music to Mut and Sakhmet to amuse them and keep them contented.

Two busts of Sakhmet in the Mut Precinct. Sakhmet angered could release disease and disaster on Egypt. Contented she could control these forces, which is why she is a goddess of health and healing as well as of death and destruction.

These 3 reliefs of Mut span a period of several hundred years. On the left is a relief from Amunirdis’s funerary chapel at Medinet Habu; in the center a relief from the chapel of Osiris-Ruler-of-Eternity at Karnak; and on the right a relief in Chapel D at the Mut Precinct. In all three scenes Mut appears in her usual guise of a human wearing the Double Crown.

And finally, a stela of a king offering to Mut that we uncovered in 2006. While the stela is uninscribed, it is entirely possible that it dates to the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius, showing that Mut continued as an important goddess even after Egypt’s conquest by Rome.

Richard Fazzini
Director, Mut Expedition”

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http://digdiary.blogspot.com/2007/12/dig-diary-2008.html

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Harwa – Chief Steward of Queen Amenirdis – God’s Wife of Amun and Divine Adoratrice – XXV Dynasty

http://www.Amunirdis.net/harwa_chief_steward_xxv_dynasty_tt37.htm

Harwa was an important man in ancient Egypt. He was an important figure in the life of Amenirdis I of ancient Egypt’s XXV Dynasty. He acted as the ‘Chief Steward’, or ‘Grand Steward’ for Amenirdis I, as God’s Wife of Amun and also whilst Queen Amenirdis served as Divine Adoratrice. Additionally, he held the title (as High Priest) of “Doorkeeper in the Temple of Amun”.

Born in to a family of Theban Priests, Harwa held high office in Thebes (modern-day Luxor) with great responsibility to Amun and God’s Wife of Amun, the Divine Votaress, Amenirdis I. He was son of the “Lady of the House”, Nestaureret, and of a Priest attached to the temple of Amun in Karnak, Padimut son of Ankhefenamon.

His tomb is located in el-Assasif, part of the Theban Necropolis, near to Deir el-Bahri and is known as TT37 (Theban Tomb 37) which has been under archaeological examination for some years and currently not accessible to the public.

The tomb of Harwa (TT37) displays important features of a man holding such religious, spiritual and political power. Scenes and texts – at least those engraved in the principal axis of the monument – can be read as part of a description of the Egyptian man’s journey from his daily life to the Netherworld, passing through the ultimate experience of death and beyond. Each part of the monument concurs to document a different step of the path leading to eternal life.
The tomb (TT37) is large and in the “Osiris Hall” there is a wall relief describing the moment of the death where Harwa is shown ‘between worlds’, and separated from his physical body, with Anubis holding one hand. Harwa then exists in two dimensions – in the Land of Osiris and still in the land of the living, just. Harwa’s tomb shows the moment of death in its supreme glory and Harwa continues to be shown ‘in the middle’, almost in a freeze-frame relief with both his Ka and brain conscious. This is highly unusual in ancient Egyptian scenes.

A text well-engraved on the southern wall of the passage leading to the First Pillared Hall enumerates his good deeds having recourse to the most typical phraseology of the Egyptian “ideal biography”. It is Harwa himself who is speaking.

He tells the visitor to the tomb: “I gave bread to the hungry man, clothes to the naked man”.

This phrase is pivotal in the connection between Harwa and Queen Amenirdis I as, on the reverse (and base) of the famous alabaster statue of Amenirdis I, there is a well-carved series of hieroglyphs which say:

“I gave food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, clothes to the naked man.”

The full translation can be found here:

http://www.Amunirdis.net/amunardis_alabaster_statue_hieroglyphs_translation.htm

 

I have not seen a connection made anywhere regarding these two series of hieroglyphs – online or offline. I believe that this connection hasn’t yet been made by the scholars but the importance of the similar phrases is amazing to me.

Harwa held the position of “Grand Steward” for about forty years from the time of Piankhy, serving under Nubian pharaohs Shabaqo or Shabaka (713-698 BCE) and Shebitqo (698-690 BCE), until the reign of Taharqo or Taharqa (690 – 664 BCE).

‘Coincidentally’, Amenirdis I is said to have served as God’s Wife of Amun, Divine Adoratrice (or Divine Votaress) and “God’s Hand” for approximately forty years.

[Taharqo (or Taharqa) was the uncle of Amunirdis.]

 

It is my personal belief that Amenirdis I and Harwa had a close relationship and ruled ‘together’ (under various roles) from ancient Thebes at approximately the same times in ancient Egypt.

During the 1997 archaeological campaign in Harwa’s tomb (TT37), a limestone ushabty (or shabti) was unearthed showing features which shed new light on some aspects of the role played by Harwa inside the Theban administration. It is a typically mummiform funerary statuette of the XXV Dynasty but it holds in his hands the crook and the flail, that is to say, the regalia, the characteristic emblems of the pharaonic royalty.

As far as it is known, it is the only example of non-royal ushabty displaying such a characteristic.

Furthermore, in the Chapter VI of the Book of the Dead engraved on the body, Harwa is mentioned as “Great of the Greats”.

These evidences should point out that Harwa had more power than the one deriving from his role and that he can be considered as the co-governor of the Theban region on the behalf of the Nubian King alongside the Divine Adoratrice, Amunirdis I.

Also the vastness of his tomb and the high number of his statues can support the hypothesis that Harwa was the most politically influential person of the State; stretching to the First Cataract (a graffito signed by him has been found at Nag’esh Sheikh, near Aswan).

If this assumption is confirmed by further excavations, then the positions of Montuemhat and Petamenophis will have to be reconsidered. They chose in fact to place their tombs east and west of the tomb of Harwa as if they attributed a high reverence to him and considered him a sort of ancestor. In this frame one has to ask: is it possible to speak of a “dynasty” of functionaries governing the Theban region with the consent of the Nubian kings? If this proves to be true, then, as they did not belong to the one family nor did they share the same titles and position, what was the mechanism of succession of these functionaries? No-one yet knows the answer to that question or the countless others raised by the life, works and tomb of Harwa, Grand Steward in the Precinct of Amun.

 

Many questions are raised merely because of the surviving evidence belonging to Amenirdis I and Harwa but there are some issues which are quite clear:

 

Upper Egypt was ruled well under the governance of these two mighty figures (and others) and for forty years, approximately, Upper Egypt was relatively peaceful (as opposed to the XXIII to XXIV Dynasties political and religious unrest and turmoil) whilst Pharaoh Shabaka (Amunirdis I’s brother) ruled from Memphis. Even after the death of her brother, Amunirdis I remained in control and acted, along with others, as the First Prophet of Amun, answering the State’s needs on many levels. Order was temporarily restored and both Amunirdis I and Harwa played a major role in ancient Egypt at that time.

 

If you would like to read more about Harwa, please see these web sites:

Harwa: The Man:

http://www.harwa.it/vecchisiti/sito99/harwlife.htm

Harwa’s Tomb:

http://www.harwa.it/vecchisiti/sito99/harwtomb.htm

Archaeological Seasons at TT37, Harwa’s Tomb:

http://www.harwa.it/vecchisiti/sito99/campaign.htm

The Italian Archaeological Mission in Luxor excavating TT37:

http://www.harwa.it/vecchisiti/sito99/index.htm

Harwa – The Official Egyptological Research Team’s web site

http://www.harwa.it/eng/index.htm

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Egyptian Dates in History – the Ancient Egypt Conundrum – Regnal Years, Egyptologists and Solar Eclipses

 

 

As far as Egyptologists are concerned, the dates of any ruler in ancient Egypt are fairly solid – until the next scholar tells the world otherwise.

Some dates/years can be firmly fixed to a specific (and relatively accurate) time period but there is always doubt. That is the way of history in ancient Egypt and we have to accept that some dates are not to be relied upon – they are often best viewed as a guide only, in my opinion.

 

Regnal years, in some cases, are ‘fixed’ by an event that can be proved – solar eclipses being a good example. There is always doubt about any date or year stated by scholars and Egyptologists and we must live with that fact.

 

Shabaka (Amenirdis’ brother) is a good example of this:

Shabaka’s reign was initially dated from 716 BC to 702 BCE by Kenneth Kitchen. However, new evidence indicates that Shabaka died around 707 or 706 BCE because Sargon II (722-705 BC) of Assyria states in an official inscription at Tang-i Var (in Northwest Iran) – which is datable to 706 BCE – that it was Shebitku, Shabaka’s successor, who extradited Iamanni of Ashdod to him as king of Egypt. This view has been accepted by many Egyptologists today such as Aidan Dodson, Rolf Krauss, David Aston, and Karl Jansen-Winkeln among others because there is no concrete evidence for co-regencies or internal political/regional divisions in the Nubian kingdom during the Twenty-fifth Dynasty.

 

Amenirdis ruled during the Third Intermediate Period, XXV Dynasty – 736-690 BCE though some sources state her dates as being 740-720 BCE. There is still doubt regarding the dates that Amenirdis I lived and ruled. However, there are references to Amenirdis I ruling as ‘God’s Wife of Amun’ and ‘Divine Adoratrice’ for approximately forty years. 

 

http://www.Amenardis.net/
http://www.Amenirdis.net/
http://www.Amunirdis.net/

Alabaster Statue of Queen Amenirdis I – Prenomen: Khaneferumut or Hatnefrumut

This alabaster statue of Amenirdis I (prenomen: Khaneferumut or Hatnefrumut) is probably the most famous image of this Kushite Queen – it inspired Verdi to compose Aida.

The statue is stunning when seen in real life. For many years it was on display in the Cairo Museum of Antiquities but since the ‘Black Pharaohs’ exhibition the alabaster statue has been moved for more of the public to see this magnificent depiction of an amazing Queen of ancient Egypt.

http://Queen.Amenardis.net/

http://www.Amenardis.net/
http://www.Amenirdis.net/
http://www.Amunirdis.net/

http://amunirdis.blogspot.com/2009/02/amenirdis-amunirdis-khaneferumut.html

Welcome to the www.Amenardis.net Blog about the Nubian Queen of Egypt’s XXV Dynasty known as Amenirdis I, Amenardis I, Amunirdis I or Amunardis I.

Welcome to the www.Amenardis.net Blog dedicated to research and providing information and resources about the Nubian Queen of Egypt’s XXV Dynasty known as Amenirdis I, Amenardis I, Amunirdis I or Amunardis I.

 

Please see my web site (a work in progress):

http://www.Amenardis.net/
http://www.Amenirdis.net/
http://www.Amunirdis.net/