Ankhesenamun

See also: Family tree of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt

Ankhesenamun in hieroglyphs
Ankhesenpaaten (Ꜥnḫ s n pꜣ itn) Translation, Living for Aten
Ankhesenamun (Ꜥnḫ s n imn) Translation, Living for Amun
Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Tutankhamen Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
File:Ankhesenamun.jpg From a scene on the golden throne of king Tutankhamun depicting his queen, Ankhesenamun

Ankhesenamun (ˁnḫ-s-n-imn, "Her Life Is of Amun"; c. 1348 – after 1324 BC) was a queen of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. Born as Ankhesenpaaten, she was the third of six known daughters of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti, and became the Great Royal Wife of her (half-)brother Tutankhamun. The change in her name reflects the changes in Ancient Egyptian religion during her lifetime after her father's death. Her youth is well documented in the ancient reliefs and paintings of the reign of her parents.

She was probably born in year 4 of Akhenaten's reign and by year 12 of her father's reign she was joined by her three younger sisters. He possibly made his wife his co-regent and had his family portrayed in a realistic style in all official artwork.

Ankhesenamun was definitely married to one king - she was the Great Royal Wife of pharaoh Tutankhamun (who was also her half-brother). It is also possible that she was briefly married to Tutankhamun's successor, Ay, believed by some to be her maternal grandfather. It has also been posited that she may have been the great royal wife of her father, Akhenaten, after the possible death of her mother and co-regent of Akhenaten's immediate successor, Smenkhkare.

Recent DNA tests released in February 2010 have also speculated that one of two late 18th dynasty queens buried in KV 21 could be her mummy. Both mummies are thought to be members of the ruling house by DNA.

Early life

Ankhesenpaaten was born in a time when Egypt was in transition (c. 1348 BC). Her father had abandoned the old deities of Egypt in favor of the Aten, a minor sun-god who was the physical Sun.

She is believed to have been born in Waset (present-day Thebes), but probably grew up in her father's new capital city of Akhetaten (present-day Amarna). The three eldest daughters – Meritaten, Meketaten, and Ankhesenpaaten – became the "Senior Princesses" and participated in many functions of the government and religion. Her birthdate is not yet known for certain.

Later life

Tutankhamun receives flowers from Ankhesenpaaten as a sign of love.

She is believed to have been married first to her own father, and is thought to have been the mother of the princess Ankhesenpaaten Tasherit (possibly by her father or by Smenkhkare) when she was twelve, although the parentage is unclear.

After her father's death and a presumed short marriage to Smenkhkare, she became the wife of Tutankhamun. Following their marriage, the couple honored the deities of the restored religion by changing their names to Tutankhamen and Ankhesenamen. The couple appear to have had two stillborn daughters, although there is no evidence of their relationship to the remains found in Tutankhamun's tomb. Some time in the ninth year of his reign, at about the age of eighteen, Tutankhamen died suddenly leaving Ankhesenamen alone without an heir at about age twenty-one.

A ring discovered is thought to show that Ankhesenamen married Ay, shortly before she disappeared from history, although no monuments show her as a royal consort. On the walls of Ay's tomb it is Tey (Ay's senior wife), not Ankhesenamen, who appears as queen. She probably died during or shortly after his reign and as of yet no burial has been found for her.

DNA testing announced in February 2010 has speculated that her mummy is one of two 18th dynasty queens recovered from KV21 in the Valley of the Kings. The two fetuses found buried with Tutankhamun have been proven to be his children, and the current theory is Ankhesenamun is their mother. Not enough DNA was able to be retrieved from the mummies in KV21 to make positive identities of the queens. Enough DNA was pulled to know, that the mummy known as KV21a fits as the mother of the two foetuses in Tutankhamun's tomb. The assumption that she is Ankhesenamun fits with her being the only known wife of Tutankhamun in the historical record. There is however one problem with this identification: if KV21a is Ankhesenamun, then the KV55 mummy cannot be Akhenaten, known to be her father from historical records. The DNA retrieved of the KV21a mummy fits with her being the mother of the foetuses, but not the daughter of KV55. Therefore, a) this mummy is not Ankhesenamun, but another, unknown wife of Tutankhamun, or b) the KV55 mummy is not Akhenaten, but another brother of his, possibly the ephemeral Smenkhare. The KV21a mummy though, does have DNA consistent with the 18th dynasty royal line, therefore fits as a member of the Thutmosid ruling house.

The Hittite Letters

A document was found in the ancient Hittite capital of Hattusa which dates to the Amarna period; the so called "Deeds" of Suppiluliuma I. The king receives a letter from the Egyptian queen, while being in siege on Karkemish. The letter reads:

"My husband has died and I have no son. They say about you that you have many sons. You might give me one of your sons to become my husband. I would not wish to take one of my subjects as a husband... I am afraid."

This document is considered extraordinary, as Egyptians traditionally considered foreigners to be inferior. Understandably, Suppiluliuma I was wary and had an envoy investigate, but by so doing, he missed his chance to bring Egypt into his empire. He eventually did send one of his sons, Zannanza, but the prince died, perhaps murdered, en route.

The identity of the queen who wrote the letter is uncertain. She is called Dakhamunzu in the Hittite annuals, a possible translation of the Egyptian title Tahemetnesu (The King's Wife). Possible candidates are Nefertiti, Meritaten, and Ankhesenamen. Ankhesenamen seems more likely since there were no candidates for the throne on the death of her husband, Tutankhamen, whereas Akhenaten had at least two legitimate successors. Furthermore, the phrase regarding marriage to 'one of my subjects' (translated by some as 'servants') is most likely a reference to the Grand Vizier Ay who was pressuring the young widow to marry him and legitimise his claim to the throne of Egypt (which she eventually did). This also might explain why she describes herself as 'afraid', especially considering the popular (but not widely accepted) theory that Ay had a hand in her husband's death. Recent scientific evidence indicates that Tutankhamun died of malaria.

KV63

After excavating the tomb KV63 it is speculated that it was designed for Ankhesenamen due to its proximity to the tomb of Tutankhamun's KV62. Also found in the tomb were coffins (one with an imprint of a woman on it), women's clothing, jewellery and natron. Fragments of pottery bearing the partial name Paaten were also in the tomb. The only royal person known to bear this name was Ankhesenamen, whose name was originally Ankhesenpaaten. However there were no mummies found in KV63 so it remains just speculation.

In contemporary media

Ankhesenpaaten/Ankhesenamum appears as a fictionalized character in these works:

• in the Belgian series, Het Huis Anubis, as The Vengeful Wife of Tutankhamun.
• as the main character in Christian Jacq's novel La reine soleil, and in The Lost Queen of Egypt, by Lucile Morrison.
• in the manga series Red River by Chie Shinohara. This appearance is in relation to the Hittite Letters event.
• a character in Nefertiti by Michelle Moran, as the third of her six daughters.
• the main character in the novel Tutankhamun and the Daughter of Ra by Moyra Caldecott.
• Her name is used as the love of Imhotep, the titular mummy in the original 1932 film The Mummy, which was made after the publicity surrounding the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. She is portrayed by Zita Johann. Her role is repeated in remakes. In the 1999 film The Mummy and its sequel The Mummy Returns she is played by Patricia Velásquez. In the 1932 film, her name is spelled Ankh-es-en-amon. In the 1999 film, it is spelled Anck-su-namun.
• The novel Pillar of Fire by Judith Tarr deals in large part with the life of Ankhesenamun.
• in P.C. Doherty's Akhenaten trilogy where she is implicated in Tutankhamun's death and is to marry a Hittite Prince.
• a major character in murder mystery based on speculation about her husband's death by James Patterson and Martin Dugard.
• The romantic novel The Lost Queen of Egypt by Lucile Morrison 1937 deals with the life of Ankhesenamun up through the death of Tutankhamun. The Grand Vizier Ay is implicated murder in this story.

A major character in Tutankhamun: the Book of Shadows, by Nick Drake, 2009, Bantam Press

Further reading

• Akhenaten, King of Egypt, by Cyril Aldred, 1988, Thames & Hudson.

External sources

• Ankhesenamun (Ankhesenpaaten)