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| [[Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt|26th dynasty]]
| [[Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt|26th dynasty]]
| [[Mehtienweskhet]]
| [[Mehtienweskhet]]
| [[Psammtik I]]
| [[Psamtik I]]
| Mother of [[Necho II]]
| Mother of [[Necho II]]
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Revision as of 04:47, 3 October 2008

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Nefertari, the Great Royal Wife of Ramasses II, from the temple he built to her at Abu Simbel.
Bust of Nefertiti, Great Royal Wife of Akhenaten. Altes Museum, Berlin.

Great Royal Wife or Chief King's Wife (Ancient egyptian: ḥmt nswt wrt) is the term used to refer to the chief wife of an Egyptian pharaoh on the day of his coronation. The first holder of its title was perhaps Nubkhaes of the Second Intermediate Period. Meretseger, the chief wife of Senusret III, who was also the first queen consort to write her name in a cartouche [1] is only attested in the New Kingdom.[2]

The Great Royal Wife was an official state consort and would often be a sister or even daughter of the king, to keep the royal bloodline pure. While most Egyptians were monogamous, the pharaoh would have had other, lesser wives (and concubines) in addition to the Great Royal Wife. This would allow the pharaoh to enter into diplomatic marriages with the daughters of allies, as was the custom of kings.

The order of succession in Ancient Egypt passed through the royal women. Marriage to a queen of the royal lineage was necessary, even if the pharaoh came from outside of the lineage as happened occasionally. Secondary unions to other women in the royal family assured that there would be heirs from the lineage and women who could become the royal wives. This is the reason for all of the intermarriages. The royal women also played a pivotal role in the religion of ancient Egypt. The Great Royal Wife officiated at the rites in the temples, as priestess, in a culture where religion was inexorably interwoven with the roles of the rulers. [3]

The mother of the heir to the throne was not always the Great Royal Wife, but once a pharaoh was crowned, it was not unknown to grant his mother the title of Great Royal Wife, along with other titles, even if she was not entitled to it during her husband's lifetime (an example is Mutemwia, the mother of Amenhotep III),[4] and sometimes the title was given posthumously to a king's mother (such as Iset, the mother of Thutmose III).[5]

The greatest summit of power reached by any Great Royal Wife was by Hatshepsut, who after the death of her husband, Thutmose II became regent during the minority of her stepson, Thutmose III, eventually assuming the title of pharaoh herself and ruling in her own right as a true queen regnant. Though other queens had ruled Egypt, Hatshepsut was the first woman to actually take the title of pharaoh.

During the Amarna period, the pharaoh Akhenaten elevated his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti to a position very near his own, so that she could be said to be a co-regent with him, and shared much more prominently in religious rituals than any other Great Royal Wife before or since.

Although Ramasses II did not grant his Great Royal Wife Nefertari any extraordinary powers, he had great love for her and built for her her own temple at Abu Simbel, an act of devotion unheard of in the history of ancient Egypt.

The pharaoh's secondary wives are often not mentioned in monumental inscriptions; an exception is Kiya, a secondary wife of Akhenaten, who granted her the unique title of Greatly Beloved Wife.[6]

Great Royal Wives

Middle Kingdom

Dynasty Name Husband Comments
12th dynasty Meretseger Senusret III Apparently the first holder of the title; though not definitively attested to in comtemporary sources

Second Intermediate Period

Dynasty Name Husband Comments
13th dynasty Nubhotepti Hor
13th dynasty Nubkhaes Sobekhotep V, Sobekhotep VI or Wahibre Ibiau
13th dynasty Inni Merneferre Ai
16th dynasty Mentuhotep Djehuti
16th dynasty Sitmut Mentuhotep VI (?)
17th dynasty Nubkhaes Sobekemsaf I
17th dynasty Nubemhat Sobekemsaf II
17th dynasty Tetisheri Tao I the Elder Mother of Tao II the Brave
17th dynasty Ahhotep I Tao II the Brave Mother of Ahmose I and Ahmose-Nefertari

New Kingdom

Dynasty Name Husband Comments
18th dynasty Ahmose-Nefertari Ahmose I Mother of Amenhotep I and Ahmose-Meritamon
18th dynasty Sitkamose Ahmose I (?)
18th dynasty Ahmose-Meritamon Amenhotep I
18th dynasty Ahmose Thutmose I Mother of Hatshepsut
18th dynasty Hatshepsut Thutmose II Later pharaoh
18th dynasty Iset Thutmose II Received the title from her son Thutmose III
18th dynasty Neferure (?) Thutmose III No actual evidences for their marriage
18th dynasty Satiah Thutmose III
18th dynasty Merytre-Hatshepsut Thutmose III Mother of Amenhotep II
18th dynasty Tiaa Amenhotep II Received the title from her son Thutmose IV after her husband's death
18th dynasty Nefertari Thutmose IV
18th dynasty Iaret Thutmose IV
18th dynasty Mutemwia Thutmose IV Received the title from her son Amenhotep III after her husband's death
18th dynasty Tiye Amenhotep III Mother of Akhenaten
18th dynasty Sitamun Amenhotep III Eldest daughter of Amenhotep III and Tiye
18th dynasty Iset Amenhotep III Daughter of Amenhotep III and Tiye
18th dynasty Nebetnehat Unidentified She lived during the mid-18th dynasty
18th dynasty Nefertiti Akhenaten Daughter of Ay
18th dynasty Meritaten Smenkhkare Daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti
18th dynasty Ankhesenamen Tutankhamen Daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti
18th dynasty Tey Ay
18th dynasty Mutnedjmet Horemheb Probable daughter of Ay and Tey
19th dynasty Sitre Ramesses I Mother of Seti I
19th dynasty Tuya Seti I Mother of Ramesses II
19th dynasty Nefertari Ramesses II
19th dynasty Isetnofret Ramesses II Mother of Merenptah
19th dynasty Bintanath Ramesses II Eldest daughter of Ramesses II and Isetnofret
19th dynasty Meritamen Ramesses II Daughter of Ramesses II and Nefertari
19th dynasty Nebettawy Ramesses II Daughter of Ramesses II and Nefertari
19th dynasty Henutmire Ramesses II Sister or daughter of Ramesses II
19th dynasty Maathorneferure Ramesses II Hittite princess
19th dynasty Isetnofret Merenptah Sister or niece of her husband
19th dynasty Tawosret Seti II Later pharaoh
20th dynasty Tiye-Mereniset Setnakhte Mother of Ramesses III
20th dynasty Iset Ta-Hemdjert Ramesses III Mother of Ramesses IV and Ramesses VI
20th dynasty Henutwati Ramesses V
20th dynasty Nubkhesbed Ramesses VI Mother of Ramesses VII
20th dynasty Baketwernel Ramesses IX

Third Intermediate Period

Dynasty Name Husband Comments
21st dynasty Nedjmet Herihor Probable mother of Pinedjem I
21st dynasty Mutnedjmet Psusennes I
23rd dynasty Karomama Takelot II Mother of Osorkon III
25th dynasty Khensa Piye
25th dynasty Peksater Piye
25th dynasty Takahatamon Taharqa
25th dynasty Isetemkheb Tanutamon

Late Period

Dynasty Name Husband Comments
26th dynasty Mehtienweskhet Psamtik I Mother of Necho II
26th dynasty Takhuit Psammtik II Mother of Wahibre

References

  1. ^ Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, 2004, ISBN 0-500-05128-3, pp.25-26
  2. ^ L. Holden, in: Egypt’s Golden Age: The Art of Living in the New Kingdom, 1558-1085 B.C., Boston 1982, S. 302f.
  3. ^ Seawright, Caroline (1999–2004), "Hatshepsut, Female Pharaoh of Egypt", Tour Egypt, InterCity Oz, Inc., retrieved 2007-08-06{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  4. ^ Joann Fletcher: Egypt's Sun King – Amenhotep III (Duncan Baird Publishers, London, 2000) ISBN 1-900131-09-9, p.167
  5. ^ Dodson & Hilton, op.cit., p.138
  6. ^ Reeves, Nicholas (1990), The Complete Tutankhamun, London: Thames & Hudson Ltd, p. 24

See also

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