Khenthap (also written Khenet-Hapi) was allegedly a

queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

of Ancient Egypt. She is said to have lived during the 1st Dynasty. Her historical figure is very obscure, since there are no contemporary sources for her name. She appears only once in a much later

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

Evidence

Egyptologists and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

s are still debating as to who Khenthap was as a historical figure. The

archaeologically Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

recorded seal impressions from first dynasty tombs at Abydos never mention her. She appears only in an inscription on the Palermo stone, a stela made of black

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes o ...

that lists the kings from

Narmer Narmer ( egy, Wiktionary:nꜥr-mr, nꜥr-mr, meaning "painful catfish," "stinging catfish," "harsh catfish," or "fierce catfish;" ) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period (Egypt), Early Dynastic Period. He was the successor ...

(1st Dynasty) up to king

Neferirkare Neferirkare (sometimes referred to as Neferirkare II because of Neferirkare Kakai) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Eighth Dynasty during the early First Intermediate Period (2181–2055 BC). According to the egyptologists Kim Ryholt, J ...

(

6th Dynasty The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty VI), along with the Third, Fourth and Fifth Dynasty, constitutes the Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egypt. Pharaohs Known pharaohs of the Sixth Dynasty are listed in the table below. Manetho ac ...

). Additionally, the stone lists the mother of each king. The inscription spells out Khenthap's name, but doesn't record any of her titles (except for that of a "mother").

Biography

The inscription on the Cairo fragment describes Khenthap as the mother of king

Djer Djer (or Zer or Sekhty) is considered the third pharaoh of the First Dynasty of ancient Egypt in current Egyptology. He lived around the mid- thirty-first century BC and reigned for c. 40 years. A mummified forearm of Djer or his wife was disco ...

Joyce Tyldesley Joyce Ann Tyldesley (born 25 February 1960) is a British archaeologist and Egyptologist, academic, writer and broadcaster who specialises in the women of ancient Egypt. Life Tyldesley was born in Bolton, Lancashire and attended Bolton Scho ...

thinks Khenthap was a wife of king

Hor-Aha Hor-Aha (or Aha or Horus Aha) is considered the second pharaoh of the First Dynasty of Egypt by some Egyptologists, while others consider him the first one and corresponding to Menes. He lived around the 31st century BC and is thought to have h ...

and that her grandson was king

Djet Djet, also known as Wadj, Zet, and Uadji (in Greek possibly the pharaoh known as Uenephes or possibly Atothis), was the fourth pharaoh of the First Dynasty. Djet's Horus name means "Horus Cobra" or "Serpent of Horus". Family Djet's queen was ...

, for Djet is thought to be the son of king

(Aha's son).Joyce A. Tyldesley: ''Chronicle of the Queens of Egypt''. Thames & Hudson, London 2006, , p. 29. Silke Roth instead thinks that Khenthap was a wife of king ''Teti I'', a king mentioned in the

Saqqara Tablet The Saqqara Tablet, now in the Egyptian Museum, is an ancient stone engraving surviving from the Ramesside Period of Egypt which features a list of pharaohs. It was found in 1861 in Saqqara, in the tomb of Tjuneroy (or Tjenry), an official ("chief l ...

and in the Royal Canon of Turin. In the latter, he is described as a ruler who held the Egyptian throne for only 1 year and 45 days. Khenthap's name means "musician of (god) Hapi", which may point to a religious and cultic role for this lady during her lifetime. Her name is connected to a god and may link to the king's title "bull of his mother".Silke Roth: ''Die Königsmütter des Alten Ägypten: von der Frühzeit bis zum Ende der 12. Dynastie.'' Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2001, , p. 16–18.

References

{{Queens of Ancient Egypt 31st-century BC women Queens consort of the First Dynasty of Egypt Hor-Aha