Ashayet or Ashait was an ancient Egyptian queen consort, a wife of Mentuhotep II in the

11th Dynasty The Eleventh Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty XI) is a well-attested group of rulers. Its earlier members before Pharaoh Mentuhotep II are grouped with the four preceding dynasties to form the First Intermediate Period, whereas the late ...

. Her tomb (DBXI.17) and small decorated chapel were found in Mentuhotep II's Deir el-Bahari temple complex.Dodson, Aidan, Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. (2004), p.87-88 The shrine and burial to Ashayet was found along with the tombs of four other women in their twenties and a young girl,

Henhenet Henhenet was an ancient Egyptian queen consort, a lower ranking wife of Pharaoh Mentuhotep II of the 11th dynasty. Her tomb (DBXI.11) and small decorated chapel were found in her husband's Deir el-Bahari temple complex,Dodson, Aidan, Hilton, Dya ...

Kawit Kawit, officially the Municipality of Kawit ( tgl, Bayan ng Kawit), is a first-class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population ...

Kemsit Kemsit was an ancient Egyptian queen consort, the wife of pharaoh Mentuhotep II of the 11th Dynasty. Her tomb (TT308) and small decorated chapel were found in her husband's Deir el-Bahari temple complex, behind the main building, along with the ...

, Sadeh and Mayet. However, it is likely that there were three other additional shrines that were destroyed in the expansions of Mentuhotep II's burial complex. The nine shrines were built in the

First Intermediate Period The First Intermediate Period, described as a 'dark period' in ancient Egyptian history, spanned approximately 125 years, c. 2181–2055 BC, after the end of the Old Kingdom. It comprises the Seventh (although this is mostly considered spurious ...

, prior to Mentuhotep II's reunification of Egypt. She and three other women of the six bore queenly titles, and most of them were Priestesses of Hathor. The location of their burial is significant to their titles as Priestesses of Hathor as the cliffs of Deir el-Bahri were sacred to Hathor from the Old Kingdom onwards. Her titles were: King's Beloved Wife ''(ḥmt-nỉswt mrỉỉ.t=f ),'' King's Sole Ornament ''(ẖkr.t-nỉswt wˁtỉ.t),''

Priestess of Hathor Priestess of Hathor or Prophetess of Hathor was the title of the Priestess of the goddess Hathor in the Temple of Dendera in Ancient Egypt. Title The title is known to be given during the Old Kingdom of Egypt, and was at that point very powerful ...

''(ḥm.t-nṯr ḥwt-ḥrw),'' Priestess of Hathor, great of '' ka''s, foremost in her places ''(ḥm.t-nṯr ḥwt-ḥrw wr.t m 3.ws ḫntỉ.t m swt=s),'' Priestess of Hathor, great of ''ka''s, foremost in her places, Lady of Dendera ''(ḥm.t-nṯr ḥwt-ḥrw nb.t ỉwn.t wr.t k3.w=s ḫntỉ.t m swt=s).'' Ashayet's stone sarcophagus (JE 47267) contained a wooden coffin (JE 47355) and a wooden statue was also located in the tomb; they are now found in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Her stone sarcophagus is particularly well known for the exterior relief and painted interior. The painted interior was copied as tempera on paper facsimiles by Charles K. Wilkinson in Gurna in 1926. The facsimiles are now found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, but were never published. In the interior decoration of two Medjay women, Federtyt and Mekhenet, are depicted and named as part of Ashayet's household. It has been posited that Ashayet herself was a Nubian elite woman living in Egypt.

Facsimiles of Aashyt's sarcophagus

File:Facsimile of the painting on the inner back side of the sarcophagus of Aashyt MET DT232303.jpg, Inner back side of the sarcophagus of Aashyt (facsimile by Charles K. Wilkinson) File:Facsimile of the painting at the head end of the sarcophagus of Aashyt MET 48.105.29 EGDP013010.jpg, Inner head end of the sarcophagus of Aashyt (facsimile by Charles K. Wilkinson) File:Facsimile of the painting on the inside of the foot end of the sarcophagus of Aashyt MET 48.105.30 EGDP013011.jpg, Inner foot end of the sarcophagus of Aashyt (facsimile by Charles K. Wilkinson) File:Facsimile of the painting on the inner front side of the sarcophagus of Aashyt MET 48.105.32 EGDP013012.jpg, Inner front side of the sarcophagus of Aashyt (facsimile by Charles K. Wilkinson)

Sources

21st-century BC Egyptian people 21st-century BC women Queens consort of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt Egyptian Museum Mentuhotep II Hathor {{AncientEgypt-bio-stub