Maatkare ''(Mutemhat)'' was an ancient Egyptian high priestess, a

God's Wife of Amun God's Wife of Amun (Egyptian: ''ḥm.t nṯr n ỉmn'') was the highest-ranking priestess of the Amun cult, an important religious institution in ancient Egypt. The cult was centered in Thebes in Upper Egypt during the Twenty-fifth and Twenty ...

during the

21st Dynasty The Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXI, alternatively 21st Dynasty or Dynasty 21) is usually classified as the first Dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian Third Intermediate Period, lasting from 1077 BC to 943 BC. History After the r ...

., p.206

History

She was the daughter of High Priest of Amun

Pinedjem I Pinedjem I was the High Priest of Amun at Thebes in Ancient Egypt from 1070 to 1032 BC and the ''de facto'' ruler of the south of the country from 1054 BC. He was the son of the High Priest Piankh. However, many Egyptologists today believe that t ...

, who was the ''de facto'' ruler of Southern Egypt from 1070 BCE onwards, then proclaimed himself pharaoh in 1054 BCE. Her mother was

Duathathor-Henuttawy Duathathor-Henuttawy, Henuttawy or Henttawy ''("Adorer of Hathor; Mistress of the Two Lands")'' was an ancient Egyptian princess and later queen. Family Henuttawy is likely to have been the daughter of Ramesses XI, last king of the Twentieth dy ...

, a daughter of

Ramesses XI Menmaatre Ramesses XI (also written Ramses and Rameses) reigned from 1107 BC to 1078 BC or 1077 BC and was the tenth and final pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt and as such, was the last king of the New Kingdom period. He ruled Egypt for ...

, last ruler of the

20th dynasty The Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XX, alternatively 20th Dynasty or Dynasty 20) is the third and last dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian New Kingdom period, lasting from 1189 BC to 1077 BC. The 19th and 20th Dynasties furthermore toget ...

. Maatkare received the title of 'Divine Adoratrice': God's Wife of Amun during her father's reign; she was the first God's Wife to take on a ''praenomen'' which used to be the prerogative of pharaohs. Her siblings held important positions too: a brother of hers became pharaoh, a sister became queen, and three brothers held the title High Priest of Amun in succession. She was followed as God's Wife by her niece Henuttawy D, daughter of her brother, High Priest

Menkheperre Menkheperre, son of Pharaoh Pinedjem I by wife Duathathor-Henuttawy (daughter of Ramesses XI by wife Tentamon), was the High Priest of Amun at Thebes in ancient Egypt from 1045 BC to 992 BC and ''de facto'' ruler of the south of the country. ...

. Several of her depictions are known: she was depicted as a young girl in the

Luxor temple The Luxor Temple ( ar, معبد الأقصر) is a large Ancient Egyptian temple complex located on the east bank of the Nile River in the city today known as Luxor (ancient Thebes) and was constructed approximately 1400 BCE. In the Egyptian lang ...

, along with her sisters Henuttawy B and

Mutnedjmet Mutnedjmet, also spelled Mutnedjemet, Mutnodjmet, Mutnodjemet ( egy, mw.t-nḏm.t) was an ancient Egyptian queen, the Great Royal Wife of Horemheb, the last ruler of the 18th Dynasty. The name, Mutnedjmet, translates as: ''The sweet Mut.'' Ti ...

, also, as high priestess on the facade of the Temple of Khonsu at

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (, which was originally derived from ar, خورنق ''Khurnaq'' "fortified village"), comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construct ...

, and on a statue which is now in Marseille. Her original burial place is unknown; her mummy was found in the

DB320 The Royal Cache, technically known as TT320 (previously referred to as DB320), is an Ancient Egyptian tomb located next to Deir el-Bahri, in the Theban Necropolis, opposite the modern city of Luxor. It contains an extraordinary collection of mum ...

cache along with her coffins,

shawabti The ushabti (also called shabti or shawabti, with a number of variant spellings) was a funerary figurine used in ancient Egyptian funerary practices. The Egyptological term is derived from , which replaced earlier , perhaps the nisba of "' ...

s and other mummies from her immediate family. A small mummy, originally thought to be a child of hers was later revealed to be that of a pet monkey. (God's Wives were supposed to be celibate.)

References

{{authority control God's Wives of Amun Ancient Egyptian mummies People of the Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt 11th-century BC Egyptian women 11th-century BC clergy