Nebettawy ''(nb.t-t3.wỉ;'' “Lady of the Two Lands”) was an ancient Egyptian princess and queen, the fifth daughter and one of the eight

Great Royal Wives Great Royal Wife, or alternatively, Chief King's Wife ( Ancient Egyptian: ''ḥmt nswt wrt'', cop, Ⲟⲩⲏⲣ Ⲟⲩⲣϣ), is the title that was used to refer to the principal wife of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, who served many official ...

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 the an ...

Ramesses II Ramesses II, ). (; egy, rꜥ-ms-sw, , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of the Eighteenth Dynasty, he is often regarded as the gr ...

Life

Nebettawy may have been the daughter of Ramesses' wife,

Nefertari Nefertari, also known as Nefertari Meritmut, was an Egyptian queen and the first of the Great Royal Wife, Great Royal Wives (or principal wives) of Ramesses II, Ramesses the Great.Dodson, Aidan and Hilton, Dyan. ''The Complete Royal Families o ...

,Dodson, Aidan and Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. 2004. but this is by no means certain. She is shown in the greater

Abu Simbel Abu Simbel is a historic site comprising two massive rock-cut temples in the village of Abu Simbel ( ar, أبو سمبل), Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt, near the border with Sudan. It is situated on the western bank of Lake Nasser, about sou ...

temple. On the second southern colossus in front of the temple Nebettawy is depicted in the regalia of a queen. Nebettawy shown with a cap wig, a fairly simple modius and the double plumes. Bint-Anat (also dressed as a queen) stands by the left leg of the second southern colossus, Nebettawy by the right leg, and princess Isetnofret II stands in front of the colossus. Nebettawy appears as the fifth princess in a parade of royal daughters as depicted in the great temple at Abu Simbel. She appears behind Bintanath, Bakmut, Nefertari, and Meritamen. The princesses are shown carrying a sistrum. Nebettawy is not shown on the smaller temple of Abu Simbel. Nefertari is shown with Meritamen and Henuttawy on the facade of this temple. After Bintanath and

Meritamen Meritamen (also spelled ''Meritamun, Merytamen, Merytamun, Meryt-Amen''; ancient Egyptian: ''Beloved of Amun'') was a daughter and later Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Ramesses the Great. Family Meritamen was a daughter of Ramesses and one ...

, she was the third of Ramesses' daughters to become her father's wife (possibly after the death of Meritamón). Nebettawy served as

Great Royal Wife Great Royal Wife, or alternatively, Chief King's Wife ( Ancient Egyptian: ''ḥmt nswt wrt'', cop, Ⲟⲩⲏⲣ Ⲟⲩⲣϣ), is the title that was used to refer to the principal wife of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, who served many official ...

while her father entered the diplomatic marriage with

Maathorneferure Maathorneferure was an ancient Egyptian queen, the Great Royal Wife of Ramesses II. Family Maathorneferure was a daughter of the Hittite king Hattusili III and his wife, Queen Puduhepa. She was the sister of the crown prince Nerik ...

, the daughter of the Hittite king Hattusilis III, in year 33. Nebettawy and her half-sister Bintanath fulfilled the ritual role of that of the queen of Egypt.Tyldesley, Joyce. Ramesses: Egypt's Greatest Pharaoh. Penguin. 2001. She held the titles Lady of the Two Lands ''(nb.t-t3.wỉ),''

''(ḥm.t-nsw wr.t),'' Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt ''(ḥnw.t šmˁw mḥw),'' King’s Daughter ''(s3.t-nsw),'' King’s Daughter of his body, his beloved ''(s3.t-nsw n.t ẖt=f mrỉỉ.t=f).''

Death and burial

She was buried in the tomb

QV60 QV60 is the tomb of Nebettawy, the daughter and Great Wife of Ramesses II, in Egypt's Valley of the Queens. It was mentioned by Champollion and Lepsius, and later excavated by Ernesto Schiaparelli (the director of the Egyptian Museum in Turin). Le ...

. The tomb was robbed already in antiquity and was later used as a Christian chapel. In one of the scenes in the tomb, Nebettawy wears a rather special headdress: a vulture crown with

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 ...

, topped by a modius and supporting a number of flowers. This specific headdress is only attested for Queen Nebettawy, Queen

Iset Ta-Hemdjert Iset Ta-Hemdjert or Isis Ta-Hemdjert, simply called Isis in her tomb, was an ancient Egyptian queen of the Twentieth Dynasty; the Great Royal Wife of Ramesses III and the Royal Mother of Ramesses VI., pp.186-187 She was probably of Asian ori ...

( QV51), and Queen

Tyti Tyti was an ancient Egyptian queen of the 20th Dynasty. A wife and sister of Ramesses III and possibly the mother of Ramesses IV. Place of Tyti in the 20th Dynasty It was once uncertain which pharaoh was her husband, but he can now be identifie ...

(

QV52 Tyti was an ancient Egyptian queen of the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt, 20th Dynasty. A wife and sister of Ramesses III and possibly the mother of Ramesses IV. Place of Tyti in the 20th Dynasty It was once uncertain which pharaoh was her husband, b ...

). It is not known what the precise meaning of this piece of regalia was. An earlier version of this crown was worn by Princess-Queen Sitamun, the daughter-wife of

Amenhotep III Amenhotep III ( egy, jmn-ḥtp(.w), ''Amānəḥūtpū'' , "Amun is Satisfied"; Hellenized as Amenophis III), also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or Amenhotep the Great, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. According to different ...

. Hence it could be a reference to her position as Princess-Queen.van Sicklen: A Ramesside Ostracon of Queen Isis; Journal of Near Eastern Studies 1974

Sources

External links

Queen Nebettawy
{{Queens of Ancient Egypt 13th-century BC Egyptian women Wives of Ramesses II Princesses of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt Children of Ramesses II

Life

Death and burial

See also

Sources

External links