Messuy (Messuwy) was

Viceroy of Kush The former Kingdom of Kerma in Nubia, was a province of ancient Egypt from the 16th century BCE to eleventh century BCE. During this period, the polity was ruled by a viceroy who reported directly to the Egyptian Pharaoh. It is believed that the ...

, Governor of the South Lands, Scribe of the Tables of the Two Lands during the reign of

Merneptah Merneptah or Merenptah (reigned July or August 1213 BC – May 2, 1203 BC) was the fourth pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. He ruled Egypt for almost ten years, from late July or early August 1213 BC until his death on May 2, 1 ...

and perhaps

Seti II Seti II (or Sethos II) was the fifth pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt and reigned from 1203 BC to 1197 BC. His throne name, Userkheperure Setepenre, means "Powerful are the manifestations of Re, the chosen one of Re." H ...

and

Amenmesse Amenmesse (also Amenmesses or Amenmose) was the fifth pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty in Ancient Egypt, possibly the son of Merneptah and Queen Takhat. Others consider him to be one of the innumerable sons of Rames ...

. Frank J. Yurco, ''Was Amenmesse the Viceroy of Kush, Messuwy?'', Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 34 (1997), pp. 49-56, Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40000798, Accessed: 22-04-2017

Viceroy of Kush

Messuy was appointed Viceroy of Kush in year 5 of

and followed

Khaemtir Khaemtir (also written as Khaemtjitry) was a Viceroy of Kush and Vizier of Ancient Egypt. He served during the reign of Amenmesse and Seti II Seti II (or Sethos II) was the fifth pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt and reigned from &nb ...

in office. Messuy added many inscription to temples and sites in Nubia, including

Amada The Temple of Amada, the oldest Egyptian temple in Nubia, was first constructed by Pharaoh Thutmose III of the 18th dynasty and dedicated to Amun and Re-Horakhty. His son and successor, Amenhotep II continued the decoration program for this stru ...

, Aksha, Amara,

Temple of Beit el-Wali The Temple of Beit el-Wali is a rock-cut ancient Egyptian temple in Nubia which was built by Pharaoh Ramesses II and dedicated to the deities of Amun-Re, Re-Horakhti, Khnum and Anuket.Arnold & Strudwick (2003), p.29 It was the first in a series o ...

Wadi es-Sebua The temples of Wadi es-Sebua ( ar, وادى السبوع , translate=Valley of the Lions, so-called because of the sphinx-lined approach to the temple forecourts), is a pair of New Kingdom Egyptian temples, including one speos temple constructed ...

, and

Bigeh Bigeh ( ar, بجح; Ancient Egyptian ''znmwt'') is an island and archaeological site situated along the Nile River in historic Nubia and within the Aswan Governorate of southern Egypt. The island has been situated in the reservoir of the Old As ...

Island. Messuy may have also been the commander of the army that defeated the Nubian rebellion during Merenptah’s reign as mentioned in the Nubian stelae of the king. This could explain why he held the military title “Overseer of the Army of the Viceroy”.

Identification of Messuy with Pharaoh Amenmesse

Rolf Krauss was the first to suggest that Messuy was to be identified with

. Kraus conjectured that Messuy had taken power in Southern Egypt after a short reign of Seti-Merneptah, the son and heir of Merneptah. One argument in favor of Viceroy Messuy taking on a royal role is an addition of a

Uraeus The Uraeus (), or Ouraeus (Ancient Greek: , ; Egyptian: ', "rearing cobra"), ''(plural: Uraei)'' is the stylized, upright form of an Egyptian cobra, used as a symbol of sovereignty, royalty, deity and divine authority in ancient Egypt. Sym ...

to the brow of Messuy's depictions in the Temple of

. Dodson for instance is a proponent of this theory, but it has not been generally accepted. Others such as Yurco suggest there is no uraeus, but merely weathering of the stone that gives a false impression of one.

Death and Burial

Messuy may have been buried at

Aniba ''Aniba'' is an American neotropical flowering plant genus in the family Lauraceae. They are present in low and mountain cloud forest in Caribbean islands, Central America, and northern to central South America. Description They are shrubs o ...

. This tomb was excavated and published by

Georg Steindorff Georg Steindorff (November 12, 1861, Dessau – August 28, 1951, North Hollywood, California) was a German Egyptologist. Life Georg Steindorff was a graduate of the Egyptology seminars of the University of Göttingen. He earned a doctorate in ...

.Georg Steindorff, Aniba, 3 vols. Mission Archeologique de Nubie 1929-1934 (Gluckstadt: J. J. Augustin, 1935-37), vol. 1, p. 79, tomb S90, p. 198, tomb S90, vol. 2, p. 58, SA36, plate 34, no. 6 door post with text of Messuwy. (reference via Yurco's article)

References

{{reflist Viceroys of Kush Officials of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt