Tuya (also called Tuy or Muat-Tuya) was the wife 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 the ...

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 ...

of the

Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt The Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XIX), also known as the Ramessid dynasty, is classified as the second Dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian New Kingdom period, lasting from 1292 BC to 1189 BC. The 19th Dynasty and the 20th Dynasty fur ...

and mother of Tia,

Ramesses II Ramesses II ( egy, 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 often regarded as ...

, and perhaps

Henutmire Henutmire was an ancient Egyptian princess and queen. She was one of the eight Great Royal Wives of Pharaoh Ramesses II of the 19th Dynasty of Egypt. Life She is supposedly the third and youngest child of Seti I and Tuya, and the young ...

. She was the daughter of Raia, who was a military officer based on his title of Lieutenant of the chariotry.Tyldesley, p.116 Tuya's daughter Tia was married to a high-ranking civil servant who was also called Tia. As the mother of Ramesses II, she enjoyed a privileged existence of a respected king's mother and was allowed the opportunity to correspond with the Hittite royal court after the Year 21 peace treaty between Egypt and Hatti put in place by Ramesses II.

Monuments and inscriptions

* Statue, Vatican Museum no. 28 with figure of

.Tyldesley, p.122 The inscription identifies Queen Tuya as: ''Mother of the King of South and North Egypt, Queen Mother of the King of South and North Egypt (even of) the Horus-Falcon, Strong Bull, Lord of Both Lands, Usermaatre Setepenre, Lord of Crowns,

, given life like Re; The God's Wife and Great Royal Wife, Lady of Both Lands, Tuya, may she live.''Kitchen, K.A., Ramesside Inscriptions, Translated & Annotated, Translations, Volume II, Blackwell Publishers, 1996 * At the

Ramesseum The Ramesseum is the memorial temple (or mortuary temple) of Pharaoh Ramesses II ("Ramesses the Great", also spelled "Ramses" and "Rameses"). It is located in the Theban Necropolis in Upper Egypt, on the west of the River Nile, across from the ...

, fragments of North Side-Chapel of Queen Mother Tuya were found.

had this chapel dedicated to his mother. A scene in this chapel records the name of Tuya's father and mother. * The

contains scenes of the Divine Birth of the Pharaoh. * A statue and base block, found in

Tanis Tanis ( grc, Τάνις or Τανέως ) or San al-Hagar ( ar, صان الحجر, Ṣān al-Ḥaǧar; egy, ḏꜥn.t ; ; cop, ϫⲁⲛⲓ or or ) is the Greek name for ancient Egyptian ''ḏꜥn.t'', an important archaeological site in the ...

but originally from Piramesse. Her titles are given as Hereditary Princess, Chief of the Harem, greatly favoured, God's Wife and Queen Mother, Great Royal Wife, etc. * In Abydos Tuya's name appears on fragments of a limestone statue and in texts in

's temple. * In the

Tuya's name appears on fragments of a colossus and in scenes on the main (central) doorway into the great hypostyle hall. * A statue inscribed with the name and titles of Tuya was found at Medinet Habu, but likely originated from the

. * Queen Tuya appears on two of the collosi flanking the entrance to the temple at

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 ...

. * A sandstone lintel from Deir el-Medina records the names of

and Tuya. * A jamb now in Vienna (Inv. 5091) shows

followed by Tuya, making an offering to Osiris. * A carved alabaster canopic jar stopper in the form of her head, today resides in the collection of the Luxor Museum. * ̈Stela found at Kafr el-Gebel (3 km south of Giza), showing her together with the overseer of the treasury Tia and his wife Tia (a daughter of Tuya).Tamás A Bácsː ''Ahmose at Rosetau: A curious Early Ramesside Attestation, Cultus deorum. Studia religionum ad historiam''. in: ''In memoriam István Tóth''. Vol. 1, 2008, pp 111-122, Editors: Á. Szabó; P. Vargyas

Death and burial

Tuya likely died soon after Year 22 of Ramesses' reign and was buried in an impressive tomb in the Valley of the Queens (

QV80 QV80 is the tomb of (Mut-)Tuya, the Great Royal Wife of Seti I, and the mother of Ramses II, in Egypt's Valley of the Queens. Lepsius merely makes mention of this tomb. In his list this is tomb number 7. The tomb is listed as unnumbered in Port ...

). In her tomb, Tuya "was stripped of the first part of her name to become plain Tuya for eternity; the loss of the prefix

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 ...

- suggests that her death had ended in an almost divine earthly status."

In popular culture

Queen Tuya has been first portrayed by actress Irene Martin in

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...

's ''

The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments ( Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...

'', as one of

Bithiah The Pharaoh's daughter ( he, בַּת־פַּרְעֹה, lit=daughter of Pharaoh) in the story of the finding of Moses in the biblical Book of Exodus is an important, albeit minor, figure in Abrahamic religions. Though some variations of her stor ...

's maidservants famous for quoting "Bithiah could charm tears from a crocodile". She also appears in ''

The Prince of Egypt ''The Prince of Egypt'' is a 1998 American animated musical drama film produced by DreamWorks Animation and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The first feature film from DreamWorks to be traditionally animated, it is an adaptation of the Bo ...

'' as the adoptive mother of Moses, voiced by Helen Mirren. She is portrayed by

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gramm ...

in the 2014 Ridley Scott film '' Exodus: Gods and Kings''; In 2015, the Brazilian television series, ''

Os Dez Mandamentos ''Os Dez Mandamentos'' (English: ''Moses and the Ten Commandments'') is a Brazilian primetime biblical telenovela produced and broadcast by RecordTV. It premiered on Monday, March 23, 2015, replacing '' Vitória'' at 8:30 p.m. (BRT/ AMT). '' ...

'' , the Queen Tuya is played by actress Angelina Muniz.

References

Bibliography

* Grajetzki, Wolfram (2005) Ancient Egyptian Queens – a hieroglyphic dictionary {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuya Queens consort of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt Seti I 13th-century BC Egyptian women Pharaoh's daughter (Exodus)