Thutmose (prince)
The Crown Prince Thutmose (or, more accurately, Djhutmose) was the eldest son of pharaoh Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye, who lived during the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. His premature death, led to the reign of Akhenaten as successor, his younger brother and the intrigues of the century leading up to Ramesses II, the failure of Atenism, the Amarna letters, and the changing roles of kingdom powers.
Prince Thutmose' life
Prince Thutmose served as a priest of Ptah in ancient Memphis[1]. His full royal titles are given in the sarcophagus of his pet cat: "Crown Prince, Overseer of the Priests of Upper and Lower Egypt, High Priest of Ptah in Memphis and Sm-priest (of Ptah)."[2] A small schist statuette of the prince as a miller is in the Louvre Museum "while a recumbent mummiform schist figure [of the Prince] is in Berlin."[3] Prince Thutmose is best remembered for the limestone sarcophagus of his cat, Ta-miu (she-cat), now in the Cairo Museum.[4] The schist statuette of Thutmose is inscribed on three sides with this text:
- "(right)...the king's son the sem-priest Djhutmose; (left) I am the servant of this noble god, his miller; (front) Incense for the Ennead of the western necropolis."[5]
The cat sarcophagus of Prince Thutmose, conclusively establishes that he was indeed the eldest son of Amenhotep III since it provides his then current title of 'Crown Prince.'[6] Thutmose is also attested by a total of 7 pairs of calcite and pottery vases in the Louvre.[7] Prince Thutmose disappears from the public records and appears to have died some time during the third decade, fairly late, of Amenhotep III's kingship.[8] His younger brother Amenhotep IV, better known as Akhenaten, succeeded to the throne instead.
Freud's 20th century interpretation
In his 1939 book Moses and Monotheism Sigmund Freud presented the idea that Crown Prince Thutmose's younger brother Akhenaten was associated with the Biblical character Moses. The idea was more recently (1998) reconsidered by Egyptologist Jan Assmann in Moses the Egyptian. The idea that Thutmose himself was Moses has not received the same attention, although the previous cited examples point out that the Moses' name is possibly a common element of Egyptian names (e.g. Thut-MOSE, "Son of Thoth," Ra-MOSE, "Son of Ra"). The canonical Christian Acts of the Apostles (7:22) further claims that "Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians" -- such as a Priest of Ptah or Aten.
The schist recumbent bier
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References
- ^ Aidan Dodson (1990). "Crown Prince Djhutmose and the Royal Sons of the Eighteenth Dynasty". Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. 76. p.88
- ^ Dodson, JEA 76, p.88
- ^ Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson (2004), p.157
- ^ Arielle Kozloff & Betsy Bryan, "Royal and Divine Statuary," Egypt’s Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III and his World,(Cleveland, 1992), p.425, fig.XIV.1
- ^ Dodson, JEA 76, p.87
- ^ Dodson, JEA 76, p.88
- ^ Dodson, JEA 76, p.88
- ^ Dodson & Hilton, p.157
- ^ Exhibition Item No. 15, Prince Thutmose ("Thutmose V") on a Bier, Pharaohs of the Sun, Freed, Markowitz, D'Auria, c. 1999 (also from 1999 USA exhibit tour), Exhibit catalog, p. 205; (last 7 hieroglyphs: S-M-Ibis(Thoth)-MS-S-Rudder-Plinth);( Note: the 'X' denotes, the evil, danger, or 'untimelyness' of his death).