Mahu was an ancient Egyptian official who was in office under king

Ramses II Ramesses II ( egy, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is often regarded as t ...

. He is mainly known from his monumental tomb excavated at

Saqqara Saqqara ( ar, سقارة, ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. ...

. Mahu hold several important titles. He was ''royal scribe'', ''high steward of

Ptah Ptah ( egy, ptḥ, reconstructed ; grc, Φθά; cop, ⲡⲧⲁϩ; Phoenician: 𐤐𐤕𐤇, romanized: ptḥ) is an ancient Egyptian deity, a creator god and patron deity of craftsmen and architects. In the triad of Memphis, he is the h ...

'', ''overseer of the Granary of the Lord of truth'', ''royal messenger to the land of

Khatti Khatti is a village near Khurampur, Tehsil Phagwara, Kapurthala district, in Punjab, India. Demographics According to the 2001 Census, Khatti had a population of 917 people. Neighbouring villages include Sr Hargobindgarh, Dhadday, Chak Prem ...

'' and ''steward in the temple of Ramses II in the estate of Ptah'', ''Attendant of the Lord of the two Lands''. He was also ''overseer of the treasuries of Ptah''. Mahu hold evidently functions at the royal court, but also functions at the local Ptah temple. The title ''royal messenger to the land of Khatti'' is of special interest. The Khatti are the Hittites and there is good evidence for contacts between the Hittites and the Egyptians under Ramses II. The two main events are the

Battle of Kadesh The Battle of Kadesh or Battle of Qadesh took place between the forces of the New Kingdom of Egypt under Ramesses II and the Hittite Empire under Muwatalli II at the city of Kadesh on the Orontes River, just upstream of Lake Homs near the mod ...

and the peace treaty between the two empires in Year 21 of Ramses II. Mahu was not involved in the latter and he seems to have been in office later. The tomb of Mahu (ST218) was excavated by Sayed Tawfid. The above ground funerary chapel is about 35.8 meter long and about 7.7 meter wide. It consist of three courtyards, the second and the third one are adorned with columns. At the very back there are three cult chapels and behind them a pyramid.Gohary: ''The Twin Tomb Chapel of Nebnefer & his son Mahu at Sakkara'', pl. 3 The tomb had two owners, Nebnefer and Mahu. They both had similar titles. Nebnefer was the father of Mahu.

References

{{reflist Officials of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt