Hetepheres II was a Queen of Ancient Egypt during the 4th Dynasty.

Biography

Birth and family

Queen Hetepheres II may have been one of the longest-lived members of the royal family of the

Fourth Dynasty of Egypt The Fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty IV) is characterized as a "golden age" of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Dynasty IV lasted from to 2494 BC. It was a time of peace and prosperity as well as one during which trade with other ...

, which lasted from ca. 2723 to 2563 BC. She was a daughter of

Khufu Khufu or Cheops was an ancient Egyptian monarch who was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty, in the first half of the Old Kingdom period ( 26th century BC). Khufu succeeded his father Sneferu as king. He is generally accepted as having co ...

and was either born during the reign of her grandfather

Sneferu Sneferu ( snfr-wj "He has perfected me", from ''Ḥr-nb-mꜣꜥt-snfr-wj'' "Horus, Lord of Maat, has perfected me", also read Snefru or Snofru), well known under his Hellenized name Soris ( grc-koi, Σῶρις by Manetho), was the founding phar ...

or during the early years of her father's reign. She was named after her grandmother, Hetepheres I and she had an aunt named Hetepheres A. A fragmentary titulature found in the tomb of

Meritites I Meritites I was an ancient Egyptian queen of the 4th Dynasty. Her name means "Beloved of her Father". Several of her titles are known from a stela found at Giza. She was buried in the middle Queen’s Pyramid in Giza (''Pyramid G 1b''). Meritite ...

may indicate that she was the mother of Hetepheres II. ;Titles of Hetepheres II *Daughter of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt Khufu (''zat-nesut-biti-Khufu,'' '' zꜣt nswt bjtj ḫw.f-wj'') *King’s beloved daughter of his body (''zat-nesut-khetef-meretef, zꜣt nswt ẖt .f

mrt MRT may refer to: Transport Rapid Transit Systems * Mass Rapid Transit (disambiguation) * MRT (Singapore) or Mass Rapid Transit, Singapore * MRT (Bangkok) or Metropolitan Rapid Transit, Thailand * Manila Metro Rail Transit System, Philippine ...

.f'') *King’s Daughter (''zat-nesut, zꜣt nswt'') *King’s wife (''hemet-nesut, ḥmt nswt'') *King’s wife, his beloved (''hemet-nesut-meretef, ḥmt nswt

.f'') *Beholder of

Horus Horus or Heru, Hor, Har in Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as god of kingship and the sky. He was worshipped from at least the late prehistoric Egypt until the P ...

and

Seth Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. A ...

, (''maat-hor-setesh, mꜣꜣt ḥr- stš'') *Follower of Horus (''xt ḥr'') *Intimate of Horus (''Tist ḥr'') *Companion of Horus (''semer thor,'' '' sm r t.html"_;"title="wiktionary:-t#Egyptian.html"_;"title="nowiki/>wiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t">wiktionary:-t#Egyptian.html"_;"title="nowiki/>wiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t_ḥr'') *Consort_of_him_who_is_beloved_of_the_Two_Ladies_(''semayet-meret-nebti,_ t.html"_;"title="wiktionary:-t#Egyptian.html"_;"title="nowiki/>wiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t">wiktionary:-t#Egyptian.html"_;"title="nowiki/>wiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t_ḥr'') *Consort_of_him_who_is_beloved_of_the_Two_Ladies_(''semayet-meret-nebti,_wiktionary:s-#Egyptian">s t.html"_;"title="wiktionary:-t#Egyptian.html"_;"title="nowiki/>wiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t">wiktionary:-t#Egyptian.html"_;"title="nowiki/>wiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t_ḥr'') *Consort_of_him_who_is_beloved_of_the_Two_Ladies_(''semayet-meret-nebti,_wiktionary:s-#Egyptian">swiktionary:mꜣy#Egyptian">mꜣy t.html"_;"title="wiktionary:-t#Egyptian.html"_;"title="nowiki/>wiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t">wiktionary:-t#Egyptian.html"_;"title="nowiki/>wiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t_ḥr'') *Consort_of_him_who_is_beloved_of_the_Two_Ladies_(''semayet-meret-nebti,_wiktionary:s-#Egyptian">swiktionary:mꜣy#Egyptian">mꜣywiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t_ t.html"_;"title="wiktionary:-t#Egyptian.html"_;"title="nowiki/>wiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t">wiktionary:-t#Egyptian.html"_;"title="nowiki/>wiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t_ḥr'') *Consort_of_him_who_is_beloved_of_the_Two_Ladies_(''semayet-meret-nebti,_wiktionary:s-#Egyptian">swiktionary:mꜣy#Egyptian">mꜣywiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t_wiktionary:mrt#Etymology_2">mry_ t.html"_;"title="wiktionary:-t#Egyptian.html"_;"title="nowiki/>wiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t">wiktionary:-t#Egyptian.html"_;"title="nowiki/>wiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t_ḥr'') *Consort_of_him_who_is_beloved_of_the_Two_Ladies_(''semayet-meret-nebti,_wiktionary:s-#Egyptian">swiktionary:mꜣy#Egyptian">mꜣywiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t_wiktionary:mrt#Etymology_2">mry_wiktionary:nbtj#Proper_noun">nbtj'') *Great_favorite_('' t.html"_;"title="wiktionary:-t#Egyptian.html"_;"title="nowiki/>wiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t">wiktionary:-t#Egyptian.html"_;"title="nowiki/>wiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t_ḥr'') *Consort_of_him_who_is_beloved_of_the_Two_Ladies_(''semayet-meret-nebti,_wiktionary:s-#Egyptian">swiktionary:mꜣy#Egyptian">mꜣywiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t_wiktionary:mrt#Etymology_2">mry_wiktionary:nbtj#Proper_noun">nbtj'') *Great_favorite_(''wiktionary:wrt#Egyptian">wrt_Hts'') *Controller_of_the_butchers_of_the_acacia_house_(''kherep-seshem-shendjet,_ t.html"_;"title="wiktionary:-t#Egyptian.html"_;"title="nowiki/>wiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t">wiktionary:-t#Egyptian.html"_;"title="nowiki/>wiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t_ḥr'') *Consort_of_him_who_is_beloved_of_the_Two_Ladies_(''semayet-meret-nebti,_wiktionary:s-#Egyptian">swiktionary:mꜣy#Egyptian">mꜣywiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t_wiktionary:mrt#Etymology_2">mry_wiktionary:nbtj#Proper_noun">nbtj'') *Great_favorite_(''wiktionary:wrt#Egyptian">wrt_Hts'') *Controller_of_the_butchers_of_the_acacia_house_(''kherep-seshem-shendjet,_wiktionary:ḫrp#Egyptian">ḫrp_wiktionary:sšm#Noun_3.html" ;"title="wiktionary:ḫrp#Egyptian.html" ;"title="wiktionary:wrt#Egyptian.html" ;"title="wiktionary:nbtj#Proper_noun.html" ;"title="wiktionary:mrt#Etymology_2.html" ;"title="wiktionary:-t#Egyptian.html" ;"title="wiktionary:mꜣy#Egyptian.html" ;"title="wiktionary:s-#Egyptian.html" ;"title="wiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t.html" ;"title="wiktionary:-t#Egyptian.html" ;"title="nowiki/>wiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t">wiktionary:-t#Egyptian.html" ;"title="nowiki/>wiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t ḥr'') *Consort of him who is beloved of the Two Ladies (''semayet-meret-nebti, wiktionary:s-#Egyptian">swiktionary:mꜣy#Egyptian">mꜣywiktionary:-t#Egyptian">t wiktionary:mrt#Etymology_2">mry wiktionary:nbtj#Proper_noun">nbtj'') *Great favorite (''wiktionary:wrt#Egyptian">wrt Hts'') *Controller of the butchers of the acacia house (''kherep-seshem-shendjet, wiktionary:ḫrp#Egyptian">ḫrp wiktionary:sšm#Noun_3">sšm[tyw] wiktionary:šn#Egyptian, šnwiktionary:ḏt#Etymology_3, ḏt'') *Priestess of Thoth (''hemet-netjer-djehuti, ḥmt-nṯr wiktionary:ḏḥwtj#Egyptian, ḏḥwtj'') *Priestess of Ba-Pef, Bapefy (''hemet-netjer-bapef, ḥmt-nṯr bꜣ pf'') *Priestess of Tjasep ('' ḥmt-nṯr TA-sp'')

Marriages

During the reign of Khufu, Hetepheres II married her brother, the Crown Prince

Kawab Kawab is the name of an ancient Egyptian prince of the 4th Dynasty. He was the eldest son of King Khufu and Queen Meritites I. Kawab served as vizier and was buried in the double mastaba G 7110–7120 in the east field which is part of the Giz ...

, with whom she had at least one child, a daughter named

Meresankh III Queen Meresankh III was the daughter of Hetepheres II and Prince Kawab and a granddaughter of the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu. She was the wife of King Khafre. Hetepheres also provided her daughter with a black granite sarcophagus decorated with pal ...

. After the death of her first husband, she married another of her brothers,

Djedefre Djedefre (also known as Djedefra and Radjedef – Modern Greek: ) was an ancient Egyptian king (pharaoh) of the 4th Dynasty during the Old Kingdom. He is well known by the Hellenized form of his name Rhatoisēs (Ῥατοίσης) by Manetho. ...

who later succeeded Khufu as king of Egypt. She was widowed a second time when

died. The marriage of her daughter, Meresankh III, to her late second husband's successor Khafre made Hetepheres II the mother-in-law of the new king. She would later out-live Meresankh III. A mark of her affection for Meresankh III may be seen in the fact that Hetepheres II had her own

mastaba A mastaba (, or ), also mastabah, mastabat or pr- djt (meaning "house of stability", " house of eternity" or "eternal house" in Ancient Egyptian), is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with inwar ...

in the eastern cemetery of

Giza Giza (; sometimes spelled ''Gizah'' arz, الجيزة ' ) is the second-largest city in Egypt after Cairo and fourth-largest city in Africa after Kinshasa, Lagos and Cairo. It is the capital of Giza Governorate with a total population of 9.2 ...

converted into a tomb for her daughter's use. Hetepheres II herself was probably buried in tomb G7350 even though she possessed a joint tomb with her first husband, Kawab (G7110 and 7120 respectively). While marriage within the royal family was common, multiple marriages to this extent was not. It has been suggested her subsequent marriage to Djedefre was honorary in nature and done in order to maintain her position at court. She never produced an heir to the throne in her second marriage and was never given the title of ''King's Mother''. Hetepheres finally died early in the reign of

Shepseskaf Shepseskaf (meaning "His Ka is noble") was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt, the sixth and probably last ruler of the fourth dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. He reigned most probably for four but possibly up to seven years in the late 26th t ...

, the son and successor of

Menkaura Menkaure (also Menkaura, Egyptian transliteration ''mn-k3w-Rˁ''), was an ancient Egyptian king (pharaoh) of the fourth dynasty during the Old Kingdom, who is well known under his Hellenized names Mykerinos ( gr, Μυκερῖνος) (by Hero ...

, and had thus witnessed the reigns of at least five and perhaps six (if she was born during the reign of Sneferu) pharaohs of the fourth Dynasty.

Children

Children of Hetepheres II and Kawab

Duaenhor Duaenhor was a Prince of Egypt. He was named after god Horus. Family Duaenhor is thought by some to be a son of Crown Prince Kawab and Queen Hetepheres II. If so, he would have been a grandson of Pharaoh Khufu and Queen Meritites I.Dodson, Aidan ...

dwA n Hr (Manuel de Codage: ''dwAnHr'') – "King’s son of his body", "Companion of his father". Buried in G 7550.Porter and Moss, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings; Part III *

Kaemsekhem Kaemsekhem was an ancient Egyptian nobleman and probably the son of Crown Prince Kawab and Hetepheres II. He later served as the director of the royal palace. He was buried in mastaba G 7660 in the Giza East Field, which is part of the Giza Necr ...

kA m sxm (Manuel de Codage: ''kAmsxm'') – "King’s son", "Director of the Palace". The wife of Kaemsekhem is named Ka'aper kA a:p*r (Manuel de Codage: ''kAapr''). He may be the father of Rawer and Minkhaf. His tomb was located in Giza: G 7660. *

Mindjedef Mindjedef was a Prince of ancient Egypt, who lived during the 4th Dynasty. His name means "Enduring Like Min". Min is an Egyptian fertility god. Family Mindjedef was a son of Crown Prince Kawab and Queen Hetepheres II. He was the grandson of P ...

– "King’s son of his body", "Hereditary prince", "Treasurer of the King of Lower Egypt", etc. His wife was named Khufu-ankh. His tomb is located in Giza: G 7760. *

– Wife of Khafre.

Children of Hetepheres II and Djedefre

Neferhetepes Neferhetepes (''nefer-hetep-es''; '' nfr-ḥtp- s,'' "Her Peace/Grace Is Beautiful") was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 4th Dynasty; a daughter of Pharaoh Djedefre who ruled between his father Khufu and his brother Khafre. Her mother was Het ...

nfr Htp s (Manuel de Codage: ''nfrHtps'') – It has been suggested that this daughter named Neferhetepes was the mother of King

Userkaf Userkaf (known in Ancient Greek as , ) was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Fifth Dynasty. He reigned for seven to eight years in the early 25th century BC, during the Old Kingdom period. He probably belonged to a branch of the ...

.Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, pg 72

References

External link

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hetepheres 02 Queens consort of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt 3rd-millennium BC births 3rd-millennium BC deaths 26th-century BC women Khufu Djedefre