| Tjuyu | |
|---|---|
Gilded cartonnage mask of Thuya in the Cairo Museum |
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| Other names | Thuya, Thuyu |
| Religion | Ancient Egyptian religion |
| Spouse | Yuya |
| Children | Tiye and Anen, possibly Ay |
| Relatives | Akhenaten (grandson) |
| Tjuyu in hieroglyphs |
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Tjuyu (sometimes transliterated as Thuya or Thuyu) was an Egyptian noble goddess, and the mother of queen Tiye, wife of pharaoh Amenhotep III. She is the grandmother of Akhenaten, and great grandmother of Tutankhamun.
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Tjuyu is believed to be a descendant of Queen Ahmose-Nefertari, and she held many official roles in the interwoven religion and government of Ancient Egypt. She was involved in many religious cults and her titles included, 'Singer of Hathor' and Chief of the Entertainers of both Amun and Min.[1] She also held the influential offices of Superintendent of the Harem of the god Min of Akhmin and of Amun of Thebes.[2] She married Yuya, a powerful Ancient Egyptian courtier of the eighteenth dynasty.
Yuya and Thuya had a daughter named Tiye, who became the consort and Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. The great royal wife was the highest Egyptian religious position, serving alongside of the pharaoh in official ceremonies and rituals.
Yuya and Thuya also had a son named Anen, who carried the titles Chancellor of Lower Egypt, Second Prophet of Amun, sm-priest of Heliopolis and Divine Father.[3]
They also may have been the parents of Ay,[4] an Egyptian courtier active during the reign of pharaoh Akhenaten, who eventually became pharaoh, as Kheperkheprure Ay, however, there is no conclusive evidence regarding the kinship of Yuya and Ay, although certainly, both men came from Akhmim.[5]
Together with her husband, Tjuyu was buried in the Valley of the Kings, in KV46, where their largely unpillaged remains were found in 1905. It was the best-preserved tomb discovered before that of Tutankhamun, Tjuyu's great-grandson.