Setepenre or Sotepenre ( egy, stp-n-rꜥ "chosen of Re") was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 18th Dynasty; sixth and last daughter of Pharaoh

Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dy ...

and his chief queen

Nefertiti Neferneferuaten Nefertiti () ( – c. 1330 BC) was a queen of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a radical change in national religious policy, in whic ...

., p.156

Family

Setepenre was born around the 9thTyldesley, Joyce. Nefertiti: Egypt's Sun Queen. Penguin. 1998. to 11th year of her father

in the city of Akhetaten.Aldred, Cyril, Akhenaten: King of Egypt ,Thames and Hudson, 1991 (paperback), She had five older sisters named

Meritaten Meritaten, also spelled Merytaten, Meritaton or Meryetaten ( egy, mrii.t-itn) (14th century BC), was an ancient Egyptian royal woman of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Her name means "She who is beloved of Aten"; Aten being the sun-deity whom h ...

Meketaten Meketaten ("Behold the Aten" or "Protected by Aten") was the second daughter of six born to the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti. She likely lived between Year 4 and Year 14 of Akhenaten's reign. Although little is known ...

Ankhesenpaaten Ankhesenamun (, "Her Life Is of Amun"; c. 1348 or c. 1342 – after 1322 BC) was a queen who lived during the 18th Dynasty of Egypt as the pharaoh Akhenaten's daughter and subsequently became the Great Royal Wife of pharaoh Tutankhamun. Born Ank ...

Neferneferuaten Tasherit Neferneferuaten Tasherit or Neferneferuaten the younger (14th century BCE) was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 18th Dynasty and the fourth daughter of Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti. Family Neferneferuaten was born b ...

, and

Neferneferure Neferneferure ( egy, nfr-nfr.w-rꜥ "beautiful are the beauties of Re") (14th century BCE) was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 18th Dynasty. She was the fifth of six known daughters of Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti. ...

.Dodson, Aidan and Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. 2004.

Life

One of the earliest depictions of Setepenre is in a fresco from the King’s House in Amarna. She is depicted sitting on her mother

's lap. The fresco is much damaged and only a small hand of Setepenre remains. The fresco is dated to ca. year 9 of

, and the entire family is depicted. The next time the six princesses appeared together was in Year 12, on the eighth day of the second month of winter, during the so-called “reception of foreign tributes”. This event was depicted in the Amarna tombs of

Meryre II Meryre II was an ancient Egyptian noble known as the superintendent of Queen Nefertiti, and held the title of royal scribe, steward, overseer of the two treasuries, overseer of the royal harem of Nefertiti. He had a tomb constructed at Amarna ...

and Huya. In the tomb of Meryre II, Akhenaten and Nefertiti are shown seated in a kiosk, receiving tribute from foreign lands. The daughters of the royal couple are shown standing behind their parents. Setepenre is the last daughter in the lower register. She is standing right behind her sister Neferneferure, who is holding a gazelle. Setepenre is shown reaching over to pet the gazelle.Murnane, William J., Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt, Society of Biblical Literature, 1995

Death and burial

On Wall C in Room

\alpha

of the

Royal Tomb of Akhenaten The Royal Tomb of Akhenaten, located in the Royal Wadi at Amarna, is the burial place of the Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten. Layout A flight of twenty steps, with a central inclined plane leads to the door and a long straight descending c ...

the names of five princesses are listed, that of

is plastered over and only four of the princesses are depicted. This probably means that Setepenre predeceased Neferneferure, and it is likely that Setepenre died around Year 13 or 14, before she reached her sixth birthday. Since she is not shown on Wall B in Room

\gamma

, where the royal family mourns the death of the second princess

, it is likely that she predeceased Meketaten as well, perhaps before the construction of the royal tomb was advanced enough to allow burial. She was possibly the first of the princesses to die. It is possible that her body was later moved to Room

\alpha

of the Royal Tomb.

References

{{Amarna Period Navigator Princesses of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt 14th-century BC Egyptian women Children of Akhenaten Nefertiti Royalty and nobility who died as children