Meritamen | |
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Queen consort of Egypt Great Royal Wife Lady of The Two Lands Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt King's Daughter, his beloved, etc | |
Died | Thebes? |
Burial | QV68, Valley of the Queens, Thebes |
Spouse | Pharaoh Ramesses II |
Dynasty | 19th of Egypt |
Father | Ramesses II |
Mother | Nefertari |
Religion | Ancient Egyptian religion |
Meritamen in hieroglyphs | ||||||||||||||
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Meritamen Mrjt Jmn Beloved of Amun | ||||||||||||||
Meritamen (also spelled Meritamun, Merytamen, Merytamun, Meryt-Amen; ancient Egyptian: Beloved of Amun ) was a daughter and later Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Ramesses the Great.
Meritamen was a daughter of Ramesses and one of his wives, Nefertari. She appears as the fourth daughter in the list of daughters in Abu Simbel and had at least four brothers: Amun-her-khepeshef, Pareherwenemef, Meryre and Meryatum, as well as a sister named Henuttawy. Meritamen may have had more brothers and sisters, but these five are known from the facade of Queen Nefertari's temple in Abu Simbel.
Her eldest brother, Amun-her-khepeshef, was the crown prince until at least year 25 of the reign of their father. Prince Prehirwenemef is known to have served in the army and is depicted in the battle scenes from Kadesh. The youngest sibling known to us, Prince Meryatum, would later become High Priest of Re in Heliopolis.
Around the time her mother died (around the 24th or 25th regnal year), Meritamen became Great Royal Wife, along with her half-sister Bintanath.
Meritamen is depicted in quite a few scenes in temples and is represented on several statues.
Meritamen was buried at QV68 in the Valley of the Queens. The tomb of Meritamen was described by Lepsius. An interesting scene in the tomb shows Meritamen consecrating cloth-boxes to Osiris and Hathor. The inscriptions identify the Queen as The Osiris, King's Daughter, Great Royal Wife, Lady of Both Lands, Merytamen, may she live. She is said to be "Bringing a box of clothing, eternally; consecrating the box of clothing three times" (sic). [1] The sarcophagus-lid is now in Berlin (15274). Meritamen's titles on the sarcophagus lid are given twice. At the head she is described as: "[King's Daughter], Great [Royal Wife], Lady of Both Lands, Merytamen, justified". Over the head she is described as: "The Osiris, King's Daughter beloved of him, Great Royal Wife, Lady of Both Lands, Merytamen, justified". [1]
Nefertari, also known as Nefertari Meritmut, was an Egyptian queen and the first of the Great Royal Wives of Ramesses the Great. She is one of the best known Egyptian queens, among such women as Cleopatra, Nefertiti, and Hatshepsut, and one of the most prominent not known or thought to have reigned in her own right. She was highly educated and able to both read and write hieroglyphs, a very rare skill at the time. She used these skills in her diplomatic work, corresponding with other prominent royals of the time. Her lavishly decorated tomb, QV66, is one of the largest and most spectacular in the Valley of the Queens. Ramesses also constructed a temple for her at Abu Simbel next to his colossal monument there.
Abu Simbel is a historic site comprising two massive rock-cut temples in the village of Abu Simbel, Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt, near the border with Sudan. It is located on the western bank of Lake Nasser, about 230 km (140 mi) southwest of Aswan. The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside in the 13th century BC, during the 19th Dynasty reign of the Pharaoh Ramesses II. Their huge external rock relief figures of Ramesses II have become iconic. His wife, Nefertari, and children can be seen in smaller figures by his feet. Sculptures inside the Great Temple commemorate Ramesses II's heroic leadership at the Battle of Kadesh.
Ahmose was an Ancient Egyptian queen in the Eighteenth Dynasty. She was the Great Royal Wife of the dynasty's third pharaoh, Thutmose I, and the mother of the queen and pharaoh Hatshepsut. Her name means "Born of the Moon".
Tey was the Great Royal Wife of Kheperkheprure Ay, who was the penultimate pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty. She also had been the wet nurse of Nefertiti.
Sitre or Tia-Sitre, was the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Ramesses I of Egypt and mother of Seti I.
Bintanath was the firstborn daughter and later Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II.
Isetnofret 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 wives, along with Nefertari, and was the chief queen after Nefertari's death.
Tuya was the wife of Pharaoh Seti I of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt and mother of Tia, Ramesses II, and possibly Henutmire.
Ramesses was an ancient Egyptian crown prince during the 19th Dynasty.
Nebettawy(nb.t-t3.wỉ; "Lady of the Two Lands") was an ancient Egyptian princess and queen, the fifth daughter and one of the eight Great Royal Wives of Pharaoh Ramesses II.
Meryatum was an ancient Egyptian prince and High Priest of Re, the son of Pharaoh Ramesses II and Queen Nefertari.
Henuttawy was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 19th Dynasty.
Pareherwenemef was an ancient Egyptian prince of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, the third son of Pharaoh Ramesses II, the second by Queen Nefertari.
Abu Simbel is a village in the Egyptian part of Nubia, about 240 km (150 mi) southwest of Aswan and near the border with Sudan. As of 2012, it has about 2600 inhabitants. It is best known as the site of the Abu Simbel temples, which were built by King Ramses II.
Heqanakht was Viceroy of Kush during the reign of Ramesses II. His titles include: King's son of Kush, overseer of the Southern Lands, Fan-bearer on the Right Side of the King, Messenger to every land, Hereditary prince, royal sealbearer.
Nebwenenef was High Priest of Amun at the beginning of the reign of Ramesses II during the 19th Dynasty. Prior to that, Nebwenenef had served as High Priest of Anhur and High Priest of Hathor during the reign of Seti I and possibly even earlier.
Isetnofret was a royal woman of Ancient Egypt and, as the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Merenptah, she became Isetnofret II.
Merytre-Hatshepsut was the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Thutmose III after the death of Queen Satiah. She was the mother of Pharaoh Amenhotep II.
Baketmut was an ancient Egyptian princess of the Nineteenth Dynasty. She was the second daughter of Pharaoh Ramesses II.