God's Wife of Amun

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The title of God's Wife of Amun first appears during Ancient Egypt's 10th and 12th Dynasties, when it was held by non-royal women serving Min, Amun and Ptah, but it was at the beginning of the New Kingdom, when the title started to be held by royal women (usually the wife of the king, but sometimes by the mother of the king), that its power and prestige was first evident. The title was used in preference to the title of King's Great Royal Wife. The first royal wife to hold this post was the wife of Ahmose I, Queen Ahmose-Nefertari, and this event is recorded in a stela in the temple of Amun at Karnak, and the role seems to have been a priestly post of importance in the temple of Amun in Thebes. She then passed it on to her daughter Meritamen, who in turn handed it to Hatshepsut, who used it before she ascended the throne. Both Nefertari and Hatshepsut sometimes used the title as an alternative to that of "King's Principal Wife," which shows how important they felt the role was. Hatshepsut passed the title on to her daughter Neferure. From this point onwards it was only held by non-royal women who married into the royal family.

A series of scenes in Hatshepsut's Chapelle Rouge show the God's Wife and a male priest undergoing a ritual or ceremony that seems to be aimed at destroying the names of enemies. Other scenes elsewhere show the God's Wife worshiping the gods, being purified in the sacred lake, and following the king into the sanctuary. These again show the importance of the role, but give very little indication of the actual tasks and responsibilities involved.

Hatshepsut seems to have used the power and influence associated with her title as a power base for her eventual rise to dual kingship alongside Thutmose III. After the reign of Hatshepsut, the power and prestige of the role was greatly diminished, and the role fell out of use until the 20th Dynasty, when Ramesses IV's daughter Aset held the role, as well as the additional title of Divine Adoratrice of Amun.

The office of the God's Wife of Amun reached the very heights of its political power during the late Third Intermediate Period of Egypt when Shepenupet I, Osorkon III's daughter was first appointed to this post at Thebes. The Nubian king Kashta, in turn, appointed his daughter Amenirdis as her successor. Later, the Saite king Psamtik I would forcibly reunite Egypt in March 656 BC under his rule and compel the then serving God's Wife of Amun, Shepenupet II, daughter of Piye, to appoint his own daughter Nitocris as her chosen successor to this position. The office continued in existence until 525 BC under Nitocris' successor Ankhenesferebre when the Persians overthrew Egypt's last Saite ruler, Psamtik III. Thereafter, the office disappears from history.

[edit] List of God's Wives

Ahhotep I : Wife of Seqenenre Tao II and mother of Ahmose. The title God’s Wife only appears on her coffin.

Ahmose Nefertari: Daughter of Seqenenre Tao II and sister-wife of Ahmose.

Sit-Kamose: probably a daughter of Kamose. May have become God's Wife only posthumously

Meryetamun: Daughter of Ahmose and sister-wife of Amenhotep I

(Ahmose-)Sitamun: daughter of Ahmose and represented as a colossal statue in front of the eight pylon at Karnak.

Hatshepsut: Daughter of Tuthmosis I and Queen Ahmose.

Neferure: Daughter of Tuthmosis II and Queen-Pharaoh Hatshepsut. Possibly wife of Tuthmosis III

Isis: Mother of Tuthmosis III. Received the title of GW after her death.

Sitiah: Wife of Tuthmosis III in the early part of his reign.

Merytre-Hatshepsut: Wife of Tuthmosis III. She was the daughter of the Divine Adoratrix Huy.

Meryetamun: Daughter of Tuthmosis III and Merytre-Hatshepsut.

Tiaa: Wife of Amenhotep II and mother of Tuthmosis IV.

Sitre: Wife of Ramesses I, mother of Seti I.

(Mut-)Tuy: Wife of Seti I and mother of Ramesses II

Nefertari-Merymut: Wife of Ramesses II. Nefertari may have been the de facto God's Wife. This theory is based on epithets in her tomb, on scarabs, on a fragment of a statue from Dendara (PM V, 115), her insignia, and the designation of the royal couple as incarnations on earth of the divine couple Amun(-Re) and Mut(-Hathor). Kichen mentions she is attested twice as God's wife in her tomb QV66.

Tawosret: Wife of Seti II, regent for Siptah.

Isis-Ta-Hemdjert: Wife of Ramesses III

(Dua)Tentopet: Wife of Ramesses IV was a Divine Adoratrix

Isis: Daughter of Ramesses VI

Tyti: Possible wife of Ramesses X.

Maatkare (prenomen Mutemhat) Daughter of Pinudjem I and Henuttawy Q.

Henuttawy: Daughter of Isetemkheb IV and Pinudjem II

Karomama Meryetmut (prenomen: Sitamen Mutemhat): Possibly a daughter of Osorkon II.

(? Tashakheper: Daughter of Osorkon II. May be the God’s Wife mentioned during the reign of Takelot III.)

Shepenwepet I (prenomen: Khnemet-ib-amun): Daughter of Osorkon III and Karoatjet. Served as God’s Wife of Amun from the beginning of her father’s reign. Adopted Amenirdis I

Amenirdis I (Prenomen: Khaneferumut): Daughter of Kashta. Served through the reigns of Shabaka and Shabataka.

Shepenwepet II (Prenomen: Henut-neferumut-iryetre): Daughter of Piye Served as God’s Wife from the reign of Taharqa until after year 9 of Psamtik I.

Amenirdis II: Daughter of Taharqa. Adopted by Shepenwepet II. May have been passed over after the death of Shepenwepet II to have the position go to Nitokris.

Nitokris I Shepenwepet III (Prenomen Nebetneferumut): Daughter of Psamtik I.

Ankhenesneferibre (Prenomen: Hekatneferumut): Daughter of Psamtik II. Adopted by Nitokris I. Became God’s Wife of Amun in year 4 of the reign of her brother Wahibre.

Nitokris II: Daughter of Ahmose II and Ankhenesneferibre’s intended successor. Probably never served due to the Persian invasion.