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God's Wife of Amun ( Egyptian: ''ḥm.t nṯr n ỉmn'') was the highest-ranking
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
ess of the
Amun Amun was a major ancient Egyptian deity who appears as a member of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. Amun was attested from the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amunet. His oracle in Siwa Oasis, located in Western Egypt near the Libyan Desert, r ...
cult, an important religious institution in ancient Egypt. The cult was centered in Thebes in
Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ', shortened to , , locally: ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the Nile River valley south of the delta and the 30th parallel North. It thus consists of the entire Nile River valley from Cairo south to Lake N ...
during the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth dynasties (circa 740–525 BC). The office had political importance as well as religious, since the two were closely related in
ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...
. Although the title is first attested in the Middle Kingdom, its full political potential was not realized until the advent of the
Eighteenth Dynasty The Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XVIII, alternatively 18th Dynasty or Dynasty 18) is classified as the first dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. The Eighteenth Dynasty ...
.


History of the office

nTr-N41:X1
The shorter version of the title, God's Wife, is in use by the time of the Twelfth Dynasty, when the title is attested for the non-royal women Iy-meret-nebes and Neferu.Mariam F. Ayad (2009), ''God’s Wife, God’s Servant''. As early as the
First Intermediate Period The First Intermediate Period, described as a 'dark period' in ancient Egyptian history, spanned approximately 125 years, c. 2181–2055 BC, after the end of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom. It comprises the seventh Dynasty, Seventh (altho ...
, there is mention of a "Wife of the God" in reference to the god Min. The full title of God's Wife of Amun is only used during and after the Eighteenth Dynasty.


Rise and fall in the Eighteenth Dynasty

At the beginning of the New Kingdom, the God's Wife of Amun royal title started to be held by royal women (usually the wife of the king, but sometimes by the mother of the king), when its extreme power and prestige was first evident. The New Kingdom began in 1550 BC with the Eighteenth Dynasty. These were the rulers who drove the
Hyksos The Hyksos (; Egyptian language, Egyptian ''wikt:ḥqꜣ, ḥqꜣ(w)-wikt:ḫꜣst, ḫꜣswt'', Egyptological pronunciation: ''heqau khasut'', "ruler(s) of foreign lands"), in modern Egyptology, are the kings of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt ( ...
out of Egypt and their native city was Thebes, which then became the leading city in Egypt. They believed that their local deity,
Amun Amun was a major ancient Egyptian deity who appears as a member of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. Amun was attested from the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amunet. His oracle in Siwa Oasis, located in Western Egypt near the Libyan Desert, r ...
, had guided them in their victory and the cult rose to national importance. Adjustments to the rituals and myths followed. The title, ''God's Wife of Amun'', "referred to the myth of the divine birth of the king, according to which his mother was impregnated by the god
Amun Amun was a major ancient Egyptian deity who appears as a member of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. Amun was attested from the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amunet. His oracle in Siwa Oasis, located in Western Egypt near the Libyan Desert, r ...
." While the office theoretically, was sacred, it was essentially wielded as a political tool by the serving Egyptian pharaoh to ensure "royal authority over the Theban region and the powerful priesthood of Amun" there. The royal lineage was traced through its women, and the rulers and the religious institutions were inexorably woven together in traditions that remained quite stable over a period of three thousand years. This title was used in preference to the title, ''
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 ...
'', which was the title of the queen who was the consort to the pharaoh and who officiated at the temple. The new title conveyed that the pharaoh would be a demigod upon birth. Previously the pharaoh was considered to become divine only at death. The first royal wife to hold this new title (not to be mistaken with the title of God's Wife) was Queen Ahmose-Nefertari, the wife of
Ahmose I Ahmose I (''Amosis'', ''Aahmes''; meaning "Iah (the Moon) is born") was a pharaoh and founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt in the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. His reign is usually d ...
, and this event is recorded in a
stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...
in the
temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
of
Amun Amun was a major ancient Egyptian deity who appears as a member of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. Amun was attested from the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amunet. His oracle in Siwa Oasis, located in Western Egypt near the Libyan Desert, r ...
at
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 the role was a priestly post of importance in the temple of
Amun Amun was a major ancient Egyptian deity who appears as a member of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. Amun was attested from the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amunet. His oracle in Siwa Oasis, located in Western Egypt near the Libyan Desert, r ...
in Thebes. She then passed it on to her daughter Ahmose-Meritamun, who in turn handed it to
Hatshepsut Hatshepsut ( ; BC) was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, Egypt, ruling first as regent, then as queen regnant from until (Low Chronology) and the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II. She was Egypt's second c ...
, who used it before she ascended the throne as pharaoh. Both Ahmose-Nefertari and Hatshepsut sometimes used the title as an alternative to that of ''"King's Principal Wife"'', which shows how important they felt the role was. Hatshepsut passed the title on to her daughter Neferure. A series of scenes in Hatshepsut's Chapelle Rouge show the ''God's Wife of Amun'' (her daughter) and a male priest undergoing a ritual or ceremony that seems to be aimed at destroying the names of enemies. Other scenes elsewhere show the ''God's Wife of Amun'' worshiping the deities, being purified in the sacred lake, and following the king into the sanctuary. These again show the importance of the role, but give very little indication of the tasks and responsibilities involved. Hatshepsut was the daughter of
Thutmose I Thutmose I (sometimes read as Thutmosis or Tuthmosis I, Thothmes in older history works in Latinized Greek; meaning "Thoth is born") was the third pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 18th Dynasty of History of Ancient Egypt, Egypt. He re ...
and, upon his death, she became the wife of the youthful Thutmose II who was her young half-brother, born to a lesser wife than her mother. She seems to have been a de facto co-regent with him, having a great deal of influence upon the affairs of state. They had only one child who survived childhood, a daughter, Neferure, to whom the title of ''God's Wife of Amun'' was passed. Upon the death of her husband Thutmose II, Hatshepsut was appointed
regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
for the very youthful Thutmose III, who was not born to her—the royal wife and queen of his father—rather, he was born of a lesser wife. He was her stepson and nephew. Shortly thereafter, Hatshepsut was named
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 ( ...
. Her daughter, Neferure, took her place in many functions that required a royal queen serving as the ''Great Royal Wife'' and, as ''God's Wife of Amun'' in the temple, while Thutmose III remained as co-regent to Hatshepsut. He became the head of the armies. Hatshepsut died after a 22-year reign and, Thutmose III became pharaoh. At the end of a thirty-year reign of his own, he entered into a co-regency with a son by a lesser wife who would become, Amenhotep II. Neferure had died without leaving another heir, but there were others in line to become pharaoh, so the co-regency assured that these royal offspring with closer ties to Hatshepsut would be removed from the line of descent, and Thutmose III's chosen heir would rule. The records of holders of the title, ''God's Wife of Amun'', after Thutmose III became pharaoh deviate from the established pattern, perhaps because of the line of royalty issue. After Neferure the list notes, Iset, the mother of Thutmose III, but it is quite certain that she never officiated, and was awarded the title after her death. Next is, Satiah, a lesser wife of Thutmose III in the early part of his reign. She is followed by Merytre-Hatshepsut, another lesser wife of Thutmose III, who became the mother of his ultimate heir. She was the daughter of the ''Divine Adoratrice of Amun'', Huy. Next on the list is, Meritamen, a daughter of Thutmose III and Merytre-Hatshepsut, thereby the sister of his ultimate heir. After all of those changes during his long reign, the office holder was the daughter of Thutmose III, returning to the traditional association. Amenhotep II seems to be the one who initiated the attempts to remove records of Hatshepsut's reign while his father was an old man and continued these efforts after he became pharaoh in his own right, claiming many of her achievements as his own, but failing to be thorough. Amenhotep II also tried to break traditions by preventing the names of his wives from being recorded and introducing women who were not from the royal lineage into the line of descent—without success—as his designated heir was overlooked. After his death, which is estimated as 1400 BC, Thutmose IV was selected from the royal lineage as the next pharaoh. The power and prestige of the role of the ''God's Wife of Amun'' was greatly diminished by Amenhotep II. He may have declined to have one, unless it remained as his sister, Meritamen. The woman listed as holding the office next is Tiaa. That is the name of a wife of his who was the mother of Thutmose IV and it is possible that she was named to this title by her son since he gave her other titles, however, the daughter of Thutmose IV also was named Tiaa. Later in that dynasty, with religious changes affecting the status of the cult, the title then fell out of favour. The pharaoh Amenhotep IV, ruling from 1353 or 1351, initially followed the religious traditions. Soon he instituted a new religion that elevated
Aten Aten, also Aton, Atonu, or Itn (, reconstructed ) was the focus of Atenism, the religious system formally established in ancient Egypt by the late Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten. Exact dating for the Eighteenth Dynasty is contested, thou ...
, not only to become the dominant cult, but as a
monotheistic Monotheism is the belief that one God is the only, or at least the dominant deity.F. L. Cross, Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. A ...
cult, suppressing the worship of others. The pharaoh changed his name to
Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Akhenaton or Echnaton ( ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning 'Effective for the Aten'), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eig ...
and moved his court to a new capital he had built, Akhetaten ''Horizon of Aten'', at the site known today as
Amarna Amarna (; ) is an extensive ancient Egyptian archaeological site containing the ruins of Akhetaten, the capital city during the late Eighteenth Dynasty. The city was established in 1346 BC, built at the direction of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, and a ...
. He and his royal wife, Nefertiti (whom he treated as a co-regent) became the intermediaries between Aten and the people. The worship of Amun was especially targeted for suppression and many of his temples were defaced and no idols were permitted. Aten became ''The Aten'', represented only as a solar disk. Religious rituals were performed in open air settings. The death of Akhenaten occurred circa 1336 BC and it was not long before the traditional religious practices began to resume. It is possible that Nefertiti ruled under another name and, perhaps, was an influence in the royal family until near the end of the rule of
Tutankhamun Tutankhamun or Tutankhamen, (; ), was an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during the late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Born Tutankhaten, he instituted the restoration of the traditional polytheistic form of an ...
(1333–1324 BC), but if she did, she did not prevent the revival. Tutankhamun began ruling as a child of nine under the name of Tutankhaten. Some think that he was the son of Akhenaten by a minor wife. During his reign his name was changed away from the deity of his father, replacing ''aten'' with ''amun''. This marks the beginning of a transition back to Thebes as the capital as well. The last ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty,
Horemheb Horemheb, also spelled Horemhab, Haremheb or Haremhab (, meaning "Horus is in Jubilation"), was the last pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 18th Dynasty of Egypt (1550–1292 BC). He ruled for at least 14 years between 1319  ...
(1320–1292 BC), restored the priesthood of Amun, but he prevented the Amun priesthood from resuming the powerful position they had held before Akhenaten dissolved the powerful cult and moved the capital away from their city. Horemheb had reformed the army and had developed a loyal chain of command within it. By appointing priests to the cult of Amun from the high ranks of his trusted army, he avoided any attempts to reestablish the powerful relationships that had provoked the drastic change made by Akhenaten.


Revival during dynasties Twenty through Twenty-six

The title, ''God's Wife of Amun'', was revived during the Twentieth Dynasty, when
Ramesses VI Ramesses VI Nebmaatre-Meryamun (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses, also known under his princely name of Amenherkhepshef C) was the fifth ruler of the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt. He reigned for about eight years in the mid-to-late 12th centur ...
(1145–1137 BC) conferred this office as well as the additional title of '' Divine Adoratrice of Amun'' on his daughter, Iset; the king's actions inaugurated the tradition where every subsequent holder of this office had to be "a king's daughter, and was expected to remain an unmarried virgin. In order to assist nthe royal succession, she would adopt the daughter of the next king as her heiress." The office of the ''God's Wife of Amun'' reached the very heights of its political power during the late Third Intermediate Period, when Shepenupet I, Osorkon III's daughter, was first appointed to this post at Thebes. The Nubian king
Kashta Kashta was an 8th century BCE king of the Kingdom of Kush, Kushite Dynasty in ancient Nubia and the successor of Alara of Kush, Alara. His nomen ''k3š-t3'' (transcribed as Kashta, possibly pronounced /kuʔʃi-taʔ/) "of the land of Kush" is ofte ...
, in turn, appointed his daughter, Amenirdis, as her successor. The high status of this office is illustrated by the tomb of Amenirdis at Medinet Habu. Later, during the Saite Twenty-sixth Dynasty,
Psamtik I Wahibre Psamtik I (Ancient Egyptian: ) was the first pharaoh of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt, the Saite period, ruling from the city of Sais in the Nile delta between 664 and 610 BC. He was installed by Ashurbanipal of the Neo-Assyrian E ...
would forcibly reunite Egypt in March 656 BC under his rule and compel the ''God's Wife of Amun'' serving at the time, Shepenupet II, daughter of Piye, to adopt his daughter Nitocris as her chosen successor to this position. The office continued in existence until 525 BC under Nitocris' successor, Ankhnesneferibre, when the
Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larg ...
overthrew Egypt's last Saite ruler, Psamtik III (526–525 BC), and enslaved his daughter. Thereafter, the powerful office of ''God's Wife of Amun'' disappears from history.


Royal women holding the office

''Holders of the office from the tenth through the twelfth dynasties are not noted on this list because they were not women from the royal line''.


See also

* Divine Adoratrice of Amun


References


Footnotes


Sources

* *Cameron, Averil; Kuhrt, Amélie. ''Images of Women in Antiquity'', 1993, Routledge, *Kuhrt, Amelie. ''The Ancient Middle East'' – Vol. II, 1995, Routledge, London. *Robins, Gay. ''Women In Ancient Egypt'', 1993, British Museum Press, London. *Strudwick, N & H. ''Thebes In Egypt'', 1999, British Museum Press, London. *Watterson, Barbara, ''Women In Ancient Egypt'', 1994, Sutton Publishing, Stroud. *


External links


The Adoption stela of Nitocris: daughter of Psamtik I
by Anneke Bart {{Ancient Egyptian royal titulary Amun . Ancient Egyptian titles