Tem was an

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 ...

ian queen consort of the

11th Dynasty The Eleventh Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty XI; ) is a well-attested group of rulers. Its earlier members before Pharaoh Mentuhotep II are grouped with the four preceding dynasties to form the First Intermediate Period, whereas the lat ...

, a wife of King

Mentuhotep II Mentuhotep II (, meaning "Mentu is satisfied"), also known under his Prenomen (Ancient Egypt), prenomen Nebhepetre (, meaning "The Lord of the rudder is Ra"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the sixth ruler of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt, Elev ...

and the mother of

Mentuhotep III Sankhkare Mentuhotep III (also Montuhotep III) of the Eleventh Dynasty was Pharaoh of Egypt during the Middle Kingdom. He was assigned a reign of 12 years in the Turin Canon. Mentuhotep's reign is known for his expedition to Punt and ar ...

. She was buried in Tomb DBXI.15 in

Deir el-Bahari Deir el-Bahari or Dayr al-Bahri (, , ) is a complex of mortuary temples and tombs located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Luxor, Egypt. This is a part of the Theban Necropolis. History Deir el-Bahari, located on the west ...

, in her husband's mortuary complex. Dodson, Aidan; Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. (2004), p.89 She outlived her husband and was buried during her son's reign. It is likely that she was of commoner origin, as there is no evidence in her grave that points to a royal origin. She is only named on her sarcophagus and on an offering table. Her titles are "King's beloved wife" ''(ḥmt-nỉswt mrỉỉ.t=f),'' King's Mother" ''(mwt-nỉswt),'' Mother of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt ''(mwt-nỉswt-bỉt),'' and Great of Sceptre ''(wr.t-ḥt=s).'' Grajetzki, Wolfram. Ancient Egyptian Queens: A Hieroglyphic Dictionary. London: Golden House Publications. (2005), p.28 Her tomb was discovered in 1859, and was fully excavated in 1968 by

Dieter Arnold Dieter Arnold (born 1936 in Heidelberg) is a German archaeology, archaeologist. Biography He received his doctorate on 31 January 1961 from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, University of Munich with the thesis "Wall relief and spatial f ...

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tem Queens consort of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt Mothers of monarchs Mentuhotep II 3rd-millennium BC births 3rd-millennium BC deaths 20th-century BC deaths