Bintanath (also Bentanath) was a daughter and later

Great Royal Wife Great Royal Wife, or alternatively, Chief King's Wife () is the title that was used to refer to the Queen consort, principal wife of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, who served many official functions. Description While most ancient Egyptians were ...

of the Egyptian

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

Ramesses II, born by his second spouse

Isetnofret Isetnofret (or Isis-nofret or Isitnofret) (Ancient Egyptian: "the beautiful Isis") was one of the Great Royal Wives of Pharaoh Ramesses II and was the mother of his successor, Merneptah. She was one of the most prominent of the royal wive ...

Family

Bintanath was likely born during the reign of her grandfather Seti I. Her mother, most likely, was

, one of the two most prominent wives of

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), 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 reg ...

. Her name is Semitic, meaning ''Daughter of Anath'', referring to the Canaanite goddess Anath. She had at least three brothers,

Ramesses Ramesses or Ramses may refer to: Ancient Egypt Pharaohs of the nineteenth dynasty * Ramesses I, founder of the 19th Dynasty * Ramesses II, also called "Ramesses the Great" ** Prince Ramesses (prince), second son of Ramesses II ** Prince Rames ...

, Khaemwaset and

Merneptah Merneptah () or Merenptah (reigned July or August 1213–2 May 1203 BCE) was the fourth pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. According to contemporary historical records, he ruled Egypt for almost ten y ...

and a sister who was named

after their mother.Dodson, Aidan and Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. 2004. , p.170 Bintanath had a daughter who appears on the paintings in her tomb in the

Valley of the Queens The Valley of the Queens is a site in Egypt, in which queens, princes, princesses, and other high-ranking officials were buried from roughly 1560 BC to 1130 BC. Pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings. The Valley of the Queens was known an ...

. She is unnamed there and her father is unknown, but according to Joyce Tyldesley it is possible that her name was also Bintanath and she married the next pharaoh,

. According to Tyldesley, a statue of Merneptah in

Luxor Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt. Luxor had a population of 263,109 in 2020, with an area of approximately and is the capital of the Luxor Governorate. It is among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited c ...

mentions "the Great Royal Wife Bintanath", who is, possibly, this daughter, since it is unlikely that the older Bintanath married Merneptah when both of them were well over sixty. However, it is entirely possible that Bintanath never married Merenptah and used the "Great Royal Wife" title only because she was entitled to it due to her first marriage.

Life

Bintanath is depicted in a scene on a pylon in

dated to year 3 of

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Pharaoh, Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of th ...

. She is said to be the King's daughter of his body, and is the first in a procession of princesses. She is followed by Meritamen in this procession. Bintanath appears twice as a princess in Abu Simbel. Together with Nebettawy she flanks the southernmost colossus on the facade of the great temple. On one of the pillars inside the temple she is shown offering flowers to the goddess Anuqet.Kitchen, K.A., Ramesside Inscriptions, Translated & Annotated, Translations, Volume II, Blackwell Publishers, 1996 Bentanath became Great Royal Wife around the 25th year of her father's reign. During her time as queen she held many titles including hereditary princess, the great first one (iryt-p`t-tpit-wrt), Lady of The Two Lands (nbt-t3wy), Great King’s Wife (hmt-niswt-wrt), Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt (hnwt-Shm’w -mhw), King’s Daughter (s3t-niswt), and eventually King’s Sister (snt-niswt). As (great) royal wife Bintanath appears on several statues of

. She is depicted on a statue from the Sinai (BM 697), on two sandstone colossi found in

Tanis Tanis ( ; ; ) or San al-Hagar (; ; ; or or ; ) is the Greek name for ancient Egyptian ''ḏꜥn.t'', an important archaeological site in the northeastern Nile Delta of ancient Egypt, Egypt, and the location of a city of the same name. Tanis ...

, but probably originally from Pi-Ramesse, and on a statue from the south gate of the

Ptah Ptah ( ; , ; ; ; ) is an ancient Egyptian deity, a creator god, and a patron deity of craftsmen and architects. In the triad of Memphis, he is the husband of Sekhmet and the father of Nefertem. He was also regarded as the father of the ...

precinct in Memphis. An usurped Middle Kingdom statue from Heracleopolis depicts both Bintanath and her sister Meritamen, and a statue from Hermopolis depicts Bintanath and Henutmire (both as great royal wives). Bintanath is depicted on statues of her father at least three times in

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (), comprises a vast mix of temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I (reigned 1971–1926 BC) in the ...

and Luxor, and she appears in statues in Wadi es-Sebua. Two family stelae show Bintanath with her immediate family. The Aswan rock stela shows

and Khaemwaset before the god

Khnum Khnum, also romanised Khnemu (; , ), was one of the earliest-known Egyptian deities in Upper Egypt, originally associated with the Nile cataract. He held the responsibility of regulating the annual inundation of the river, emanating from the ca ...

, while in another register Bintanath appears with her brothers

and

. Another stela from West

Silsila ''Silsila'' () is an Arabic language, Arabic word meaning ''chain'', ''link'', ''connection'' often used in various senses of :wikt:lineage, lineage. In particular, it may be translated as "spiritual genealogy" where one Sufi Master transfe ...

depicts Bint-Anath standing behind her mother Isetnofret and her father Ramesses II as the king offers

Maat Maat or Maʽat ( Egyptian: ''mꜣꜥt'' /ˈmuʀʕat/, Coptic: ⲙⲉⲓ) comprised the ancient Egyptian concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. Maat was also the goddess who personified these concepts, and regul ...

to the gods

and

Nefertem Nefertem (; possibly "beautiful one who closes" or "one who does not close"; also spelled Nefertum or Nefer-temu) was, in Egyptian mythology, originally a lotus flower at the creation of the world, who had arisen from the primal waters.Nefertem pa ...

. Prince Khaemwaset stands in front of the king, while her brothers

and

are shown in a lower register.

Death and burial

Despite her being Ramesses' first daughter, she was actually one of the few children who outlived their long-lived father. She was depicted on a statue usurped by Merenptah. She died during the reign of her brother Merneptah and was buried in the tomb

QV71 QV71 is the tomb of Bintanath, 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 Museo Egizio, Egyptian Muse ...

in the

The tomb is described by Lepsius (number 4). The name of Bintanath is given in slightly different spellings in the tomb.Lepsius, Denkmahle
University of Halle Website
Bintanath is shown before

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

and

Nephthys Nephthys or Nebet-Het in ancient Egyptian () was a goddess in ancient Egyptian religion. A member of the Great Ennead of Heliopolis in Egyptian mythology, she was a daughter of Nut and Geb. Nephthys was typically paired with her sister Isis ...

. Both gods say: "I grant you a place of repose in the land of righteousness." Queen Bintanath is depicted with her daughter, who is not named. Bintanath's sarcophagus was later usurped by a man.

Sources

External links

Anneke Bart: Queen Bint-Anath
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bintanath Queens consort of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt 13th-century BC Egyptian women Children of Ramesses II Wives of Ramesses II Anat

Family

Life

Death and burial

See also

Sources

External links