Nakhtmin (also Minnakht) held the position of

generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus me ...

during the reign of

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until th ...

Tutankhamun Tutankhamun (, egy, twt-ꜥnḫ-jmn), Egyptological pronunciation Tutankhamen () (), sometimes referred to as King Tut, was an Egyptian pharaoh who was the last of his royal family to rule during the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty (ruled ...

of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. His titles during the reign of Tutankhamun included "the true servant who is beneficial to his lord, the king's

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...

," "the servant beloved of his lord," "the

Fan-bearer on the Right Side of the King The Fan-bearer on the Right Side of the King – sometimes also translated as ''Fanbearer on the King's Right Hand'' – was an ancient Egyptian courtier. The title implies a very close personal or official relationship with the pharaoh ...

," and "the servant who causes to live the name of his lord."James Roger Black "The Instruction of Amenemope: A critical edition and commentary, prolegomenon and prologue" University of Wisconsin–Madison 2006 These titles were found on five

ushabti 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 that Nakhtmin offered as funerary presents for pharaoh Tutankhamun. He was the heir to the throne during the reign of the pharaoh Ay though he never became a pharaoh. It is assumed by scholars that he died towards the end of the reign of Ay (when he seemingly vanished from all records) and

Horemheb Horemheb, also spelled Horemhab or Haremhab ( egy, ḥr-m-ḥb, meaning " Horus is in Jubilation") was the last pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt (1550–1295 BC). He ruled for at least 14 years between 1319 BC and 1292 BC. ...

, the designated heir of Tutankhamun, became pharaoh instead.Wolfgang Helck "Urkunden der 18. Dynastie: Texte der Hefte" Berlin: Akademie-Verlag 1984

Crown Prince

The identity of Nakhtmin's father is not known with certainty. Some scholars suggest that he may have been the son of pharaoh Ay, his mother being known from a statue to be the 'Adoratrix of

Min Min or MIN may refer to: Places * Fujian, also called Mǐn, a province of China ** Min Kingdom (909–945), a state in Fujian * Min County, a county of Dingxi, Gansu province, China * Min River (Fujian) * Min River (Sichuan) * Mineola (Amtr ...

, 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 Kin ...

' Iuy. Nakhtmin appears to have been the chosen successor to Ay, but died before he could succeed. On a beautiful statue of Nakhtmin and his wife in the

Egyptian Museum The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum or the Cairo Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display a ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

, Nakhtmin was identified as the "Crown Prince" (jrj-pꜥt) and "King's Son". (zꜣ-nzw) This title could be completed as "King's Son of his own body," which would make him the son of Ay, or it could be completed as the "King's Son of Kush". There is no record of a

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 ...

by the name of Nakhtmin, and it seems that the nobleman

Paser I Paser I was the Viceroy of Kush during the reigns of Ay and likely Horemheb. Reisner mentions that the only datable inscriptions for Paser belong to the reign of Ay. The next known Viceroy however is Amenemopet, who is dated to the reign of Set ...

was Viceroy during that time period. This has led to the identification of Nakhtmin as Ay's son, or adopted son. The statue with the inscription has suffered extensive damage. Only two pieces remain, the head and shoulders of Nakhtmin and the upper part of the body and head of his wife. Both statues look as though the eyes, nose and mouth have been deliberately damaged. This has been interpreted as some form of persecution even after death. His

stelae A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...

—which had been set up at his (and Ay's) native city of

Akhmim Akhmim ( ar, أخميم, ; Akhmimic , ; Sahidic/Bohairic cop, ) is a city in the Sohag Governorate of Upper Egypt. Referred to by the ancient Greeks as Khemmis or Chemmis ( grc, Χέμμις) and Panopolis ( grc, Πανὸς πόλις and Π ...

—were defaced. It is assumed that his tomb, which was never discovered, has been given the same treatment as that of Ay. Another man called Nakhtmin was married to Mutemnub, the sister of Ay's wife

Tey Tey was the Great Royal Wife of Kheperkheprure Ay, who was the penultimate pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty. She also had been the wet nurse of Nefertiti., p.157 Her husband, Ay filled important administrative roles in the courts ...

. They had a son named Ay, who was High Priest 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 l ...

and Second Prophet of Amun. pp.144–145,154,156

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakhtmin Ancient Egyptian scribes Officials of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt Heirs to the ancient Egyptian throne Ancient Egyptian overseers of the troops Heirs apparent who never acceded