Nebwenenef was

High Priest of Amun The High Priest of Amun or First Prophet of Amun ('' ḥm nṯr tpj n jmn'') was the highest-ranking priest in the priesthood of the ancient Egyptian god Amun. The first high priests of Amun appear in the New Kingdom of Egypt, at the beginning ...

at the beginning of the reign of

Ramesses II Ramesses II ( egy, wikt:rꜥ-ms-sw, 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 oft ...

during the 19th Dynasty. Prior to that, Nebwenenef had served as High Priest of

Anhur In early Egyptian mythology, Anhur (also spelled Onuris, Onouris, An-Her, Anhuret, Han-Her, Inhert) was a god of war who was worshipped in the Egyptian area of Abydos, and particularly in Thinis. Myths told that he had brought his wife, Mehit, w ...

and High Priest of

Hathor Hathor ( egy, ḥwt-ḥr, lit=House of Horus, grc, Ἁθώρ , cop, ϩⲁⲑⲱⲣ, Meroitic: ) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky ...

during the reign of

Seti I Menmaatre Seti I (or Sethos I in Greek) was the second pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the New Kingdom period, ruling c.1294 or 1290 BC to 1279 BC. He was the son of Ramesses I and Sitre, and the father of Ramesses II. The ...

and possibly even earlier.

Titles

In his tomb (

TT157 Nebwenenef was High Priest of Amun at the beginning of the reign of Ramesses II during the 19th Dynasty. Prior to that, Nebwenenef had served as High Priest of Anhur and High Priest of Hathor during the reign of Seti I and possibly even e ...

) a large number of titles are recorded as being held by Nebwenenef: * High Priest of

Amun Amun (; also ''Amon'', ''Ammon'', ''Amen''; egy, jmn, reconstructed as (Old Egyptian and early Middle Egyptian) → (later Middle Egyptian) → (Late Egyptian), cop, Ⲁⲙⲟⲩⲛ, Amoun) romanized: ʾmn) was a major ancient Egyptian ...

* High Priest of

* Superintendent of the double treasury of silver and gold (of Amun) * Superintendent of the granary * Chief of Works and Chief of all the craftsmen in Thebes * Superintendent of Prophets of all Gods, to his South (as far) as Heriheramun, and to his North, (as far) as Thinis * Noble * Count * God's Father * Chief of Secrets in heaven, earth and the Netherworld(?) * Dignitary for the People * Chief of Seers, pure of hands in Thebes * Superintendent of the Prophets of South and North Egypt * Chief of Secrets in Southern Heliopolis (Thebes)

Family

Nebwenenef's wife was named Takhat. She held the titles of

Chief of the Harem Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

, Sistrum Player of

Mut Mut, also known as Maut and Mout, was a mother goddess worshipped in ancient Egypt and the Kingdom of Kush in present-day North Sudan. In Meroitic, her name was pronounced mata): 𐦨𐦴. Her name means ''mother'' in the ancient Egyptian la ...

, Chief of the Harem of

and Songstress of

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...

named Basa dated to the 22nd or 23rd dynasty records a detailed genealogy claiming that Basa is a direct descendant of Nebwenenef. The text states that Nebwenenef was the son of the First Prophet of Hathor,

overseer of the cattle The Overseer of cattle ( egy, jmy-r jḥw) was an Ancient Egyptian official position, during the New Kingdom. Role The ''Onomasticon of Amenope'', which lays out the arrangement of Egypt's administration in the Ramesside period, lists the oversee ...

, overseer of the fields,

overseer of the granary Overseer may refer to: Professions *Supervisor or superintendent; one who keeps watch over and directs the work of others *Plantation overseer, often in the context of forced labor or slavery *Overseer of the poor, an official who administered rel ...

, Sematawy (I). The text goes on to list further ancestors holding the title First Prophets of Hathor: Sa-en-Hathor (II), Amenhotep, Sa-Hathor (I) and Nefer. The genealogy provides the names the long line of High Priests of Hathor referred to in the Theban Tomb.

Life

Before being appointed High Priest of Amun, Nebwenenef was High Priest of Hathor at

Dendera Dendera ( ar, دَنْدَرة ''Dandarah''; grc, Τεντυρις or Τεντυρα; Bohairic cop, ⲛⲓⲧⲉⲛⲧⲱⲣⲓ, translit=Nitentōri; Sahidic cop, ⲛⲓⲧⲛⲧⲱⲣⲉ, translit=Nitntōre), also spelled ''Denderah'', ancient ...

and High Priest of Anhur at Thinis. After his appointment as High Priest of Amun in year 1 of

, his son Sematawy became High Priest of Hathor. This post had apparently always been held by his family according to an inscription: After the announcement King

gave him two gold signet rings and an electrum

staff of office A staff of office is a staff, the carrying of which often denotes an official's position, a social rank or a degree of social prestige. Apart from the ecclesiastical and ceremonial usages mentioned below, there are less formal usages. A gold- or ...

. All at once Nebwenenef had been promoted to High priest of Amun, Superintendent of the double treasury of silver and gold (of Amun), superintendent of the granary, Chief of Works and Chief of all the craftsmen in Thebes. A royal envoy was dispatched to announce Nebwenenef's promotion throughout the land.

Tomb

Nebwenenef was buried in the Theban Tomb TT157 is located in

Dra' Abu el-Naga' The necropolis of Draʻ Abu el-Naga' ( ar, دراع ابو النجا) is located on the West Bank of the Nile at Thebes, Egypt, just by the entrance of the dry bay that leads up to Deir el-Bahari and north of the necropolis of el-Assasif. The ne ...

, part of the

Theban Necropolis The Theban Necropolis is a necropolis on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes (Luxor) in Upper Egypt. It was used for ritual burials for much of the Pharaonic period, especially during the New Kingdom. Mortuary temples * Deir el-Bahri ...

, on the west bank of the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

, opposite to

Luxor Luxor ( ar, الأقصر, al-ʾuqṣur, lit=the palaces) is a modern city in Upper (southern) Egypt which includes the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of ''Thebes''. Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open-a ...

.Porter, Bertha and Moss, Rosalind: ''Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Statues, Reliefs and Paintings Volume I: The Theban Necropolis, Part I. Private Tombs'', Griffith Institute. Oxford 1970, 266 - 268, ASIN: B002WL4ON4 Nebwenenef is shown in his tomb followed by a fan-bearer appearing before

and Queen Nefertari in a palace window. Nebwenenef is being appointed as High priest of Amun (year 1 of Rameses II). Nebwenenef's wife, named Takhat, is depicted in the tomb. She held the titles of Chief of the Harem of

, Sistrum Player of

, Chief of the Harem of

and Songstress of

the mighty. Nebwenenef had a son Sematawy (II) and a daughter named Hathor. Sematawy (II) succeeded his father as High Priest of Hathor. Hathor held the title of Chief of the Harem of Hathor, Lady of Dendera. A sister of Nebwenenef named Irytnofret is also depicted on the tomb. In the 19th century the tomb was recorded by Lepsius (LD Text iii, p 239). The tomb had been excavated since 1970 by a team from the University of Pennsylvania under the leadership of Dr. Lanny Bell. Since 2002 the Universities of Heidelberg and Leipzig have joined in the work on Nebwenenef's tomb. Nebwenenef Title

Mortuary temple

Nebwenenef was also the owner of a mortuary temple at Thebes. Nebwenenef is one of only a select group of commoners who were allowed to construct a temple there. A plan of the temple, as well as some photographs of stelae and foundation deposits, can be found on Digitalegypt (University College London). Mortuary Temple of Nebwenenef
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References

{{authority control Theban High Priests of Amun People of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt 13th-century BC clergy Ramesses II