Nimaathap II

Last updated
Nimaathap II
Royal Wife
Nimaathap II Impression.png

An impression showing how Nimaathap II might have been represented in art, based on Old Kingdom iconography

Bornc. 2400 ± 100 BCE
Diedc. 2400 ± 100 BCE
Burialc. 2400 ± 100 BCE
Saqqara
SpouseUnknown
Egyptian name
Nimaathap IINimaathap II
Nimaathap II
Nimaathap II		Nimaathap IINimaathap II
Nimaathap II
Transliterationnj mꜣ't ḥp
Dynasty Fifth of Egypt
FatherUnidentified nobleman
MotherUnidentified noblewoman
Religion Ancient Egyptian

Nimaathap II (also Nimaethap II) was an Ancient Egyptian queen suggested to have lived during the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt.

Contents

Life

There remains very little evidence that records the existence of Nimaathap II. Egyptologist George Andrew Reisner variously attempted to link Nimaathap II's burial to the first half of the Fifth Dynasty [1] and to the reigns of pharaohs as late as Nyuserre. [2]

Egyptologist Lisa Kuchman Sabahhy aims to place Nimaathap II much earlier. [3] She suggests parallels between the titles of Nimaathap II and a queen of the late Fourth Dynasty, Bunefer, and presents the two queens as contemporaries.

French Egyptologist Michel Baud notes that Reisner's categorisation of Nimaathap II's burial was motivated by an attempt to reconstruct the royal families of the late Fourth Dynasty. [4] Nonetheless Baud dates her to the first half of the Fifth Dynasty.

Peter Jánosi, in undertaking a critical analysis of the datation of Nimaathap II's burial, questions Reisner's conclusions, labelling them contradictory. [5] He also dismisses Sabbahy's proposition, implying that it was made on uncertain assumptions. He observes that linking figures based on their titulary is not appropriate for all burials, pointing to the precedent that inscriptions are often added to or changed long after internment. He further highlights that the datation of Bunefer's burial is not settled fact. [6]

Instead, Jánosi prefers to closely examine the structural remains of the surrounding cemetery, consequently concluding that Nimaathap II's burial can only have taken place at such time the Fifth Dynasty was already well underway. [7]

Titulary

Nimaathap II was accorded the title of Royal Wife. [4] Further to this, the epithets she who sees Horus and Seth and great one of the Hetes-Sceptre are known from her burial. [8] Egyptologist Wilfried Seipel shows that these titles are customary of royal women of the Old Kingdom. [9]

Family

Nimaathap II was identified with the title Royal Wife, presumably to an unnamed pharaoh. [4] It is highly likely therefore that she was a figure of royal stature, but to whom, it cannot be said.

There exists no known surviving record that attributes Nimaathap II her parentage or issue.

Burial

Nimaathap II was buried in mastaba G 4712 in the Western Cemetery of Saqqara. It was first excavated by Reisner in late 1915 as part of a wider excavation of burials in the Western Cemetery. The findings were published in the History of the Giza Necropolis. [2]

The mastabas consists of a cult chapel with a niche at one end and an underground structure in the form of a shaft. [2] Jánosi notes the discovery of a weathered false door. [10] Evidence of a smaller mastaba, G4712 a, whose condition has severely deteriorated, was also uncovered by Reisner, partly overbuilt by Nimaathap II's. This is a curious find that Jánosi felt inferred the cemetery was already crowded come the time of Nimaathap II. According to him, cramming the burial of such a high ranking figure into this cemetery defies explanation.

Issues which further complicate attempts to precisely date the burial are its location and construction. Jánosi assesses the mastaba to be one of only a handful of examples of a Saqqara tomb apparently lacking context to its surroundings. [11] Further, from Reisner's categorisation, G 4712 can be said to have been constructed of the simplest and poorest materials. [12]

In order to reconcile the peculiarities of Nimaathap II's burial, further research or substantial inscriptional evidence is needed. Jánosi goes so far as to acknowledge more fringe explanations, namely: that Nimaathap II fell into disgrace, [11] or that her titles were false attestations, [13] although he offers these theories little support.

Attestations

Nimaathap II is known solely from an attribution on the false door of her mastaba. Its condition has deteroriated in antiquity, but epithets bestowed upon her during her life are legible. [8]

Notes

  1. ↑ Reisner 1942, p. 253.
  2. 1 2 3 Reisner 1942, p. 524.
  3. ↑ Sabbahy 1983, p. 27.
  4. 1 2 3 Baud 1999, p. 478.
  5. ↑ Jánosi 1993, p. 56.
  6. ↑ Jánosi 1993, p. 60.
  7. ↑ Jánosi 1993, p. 58.
  8. 1 2 Porter & Moss 1974, p. 136.
  9. ↑ Seipel 1980, p. 319.
  10. ↑ Jánosi, 1993 & 54-55.
  11. 1 2 Jánosi 1993, p. 62.
  12. ↑ & Reisner 1942, p. 194.
  13. ↑ Jánosi 1993, p. 63.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Userkare</span> Ancient Egyptian pharaoh

Userkare was the second pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt, reigning briefly, 1 to 5 years, in the late 24th to early 23rd century BC. Userkare's relation to his predecessor Teti and successor Pepi I is unknown and his reign remains enigmatic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huni</span> Ancient Egyptian king and pharaoh

Huni was an ancient Egyptian king, the last pharaoh of the Third Dynasty of Egypt during the Old Kingdom period. Bases on the Turin king list, he is commonly credited with a reign of 24 years, ending c. 2613 BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shepseskaf</span> Last Egyptian pharaoh of the 4th dynasty

Shepseskaf was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt, the sixth and probably last ruler of the fourth dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. He reigned most probably for four but possibly up to seven years in the late 26th to mid-25th century BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neferirkare Kakai</span> Egyptian pharaoh

Neferirkare Kakai was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the third king of the Fifth Dynasty. Neferirkare, the eldest son of Sahure with his consort Meretnebty, was known as Ranefer A before he came to the throne. He acceded the day after his father's death and reigned for eight to eleven years, sometime in the early to mid-25th century BCE. He was himself very likely succeeded by his eldest son, born of his queen Khentkaus II, the prince Ranefer B who would take the throne as king Neferefre. Neferirkare fathered another pharaoh, Nyuserre Ini, who took the throne after Neferefre's short reign and the brief rule of the poorly known Shepseskare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menkauhor Kaiu</span> Pharaoh of Egypt

Menkauhor Kaiu was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Old Kingdom period. He was the seventh ruler of the Fifth Dynasty at the end of the 25th century BC or early in the 24th century BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Djedkare Isesi</span> Ancient Egyptian pharaoh

Djedkare Isesi was a pharaoh, the eighth and penultimate ruler of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt in the late 25th century to mid-24th century BC, during the Old Kingdom. Djedkare succeeded Menkauhor Kaiu and was in turn succeeded by Unas. His relationship to both of these pharaohs remain uncertain, although it is often conjectured that Unas was Djedkare's son, owing to the smooth transition between the two.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neferefre</span> Pharaoh of Egypt

Neferefre Isi was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Fifth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. He was most likely the eldest son of pharaoh Neferirkare Kakai and queen Khentkaus II. He was known as prince Ranefer before he ascended to the throne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abusir</span> Village in Giza Governorate, Egypt

Abusir is the name given to an ancient Egyptian archaeological pyramid complex comprising the ruins of 4 kings' pyramids dating to the Old Kingdom period, and is part of the Pyramid Fields of the Memphis and its Necropolis UNESCO World Heritage Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senedj</span> Egyptian pharaoh

Senedj was an early Egyptian king (pharaoh), who may have ruled during the 2nd Dynasty. His historical standing remains uncertain. His name is included in the kinglists of the Ramesside era, although it is written in different ways: While the Abydos King List imitates the archaic form, the Royal Canon of Turin and the Saqqara King List form the name with the hieroglyphic sign of a plucked goose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Layer Pyramid</span> Archaeological site in Egypt

The Layer Pyramid is a ruined step pyramid dating to the 3rd Dynasty of Egypt and located in the necropolis of Zawyet El Aryan. Its ownership is uncertain and may be attributable to pharaoh Khaba. The pyramid architecture, however, is very similar to that of the Buried Pyramid of king Sekhemkhet and for this reason is firmly datable to the 3rd Dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nebka</span> Throne name of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh

Nebka is the throne name of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Third Dynasty during the Old Kingdom period, in the 27th century BCE. He is thought to be identical with the Hellenized name Νεχέρωχις recorded by the Egyptian priest Manetho of the much later Ptolemaic period.

Khamerernebty II was an ancient Egyptian queen of the 4th Dynasty. She was a daughter of Pharaoh Khafre and Queen Khamerernebty I. She married her brother Menkaure and she was the mother of Prince Khuenre.

Thamphthis is the hellenized name of an ancient Egyptian ruler (pharaoh) of the 4th Dynasty in the Old Kingdom, who may have ruled around 2500 BC under the name Djedefptah for between two and nine years. His original Egyptian name is lost, but it may have been Djedefptah or Ptahdjedef according to William C. Hayes. Thamphthis is one of the shadowy rulers of the Old Kingdom, since he is completely unattested in contemporary sources. For this reason, his historical figure is discussed intensely by historians and Egyptologists.

Meresankh IV was an Ancient Egyptian queen believed to have lived during the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Her familial ties are the subject of ongoing speculation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khuit I</span> Queen consort of Egypt

Khuit I was an Ancient Egyptian queen who has been tentatively dated by association to have lived during the 5th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom.

Nefertkau III was an ancient Egyptian princess. She lived during the 4th Dynasty. She was possibly a daughter of Meresankh II and Horbaef. If so, she was a granddaughter of King Khufu. Baud has proposed that Nefertkau was a daughter of Khufu instead. Nefertkau has the titles King's daughter of his body and Priestess of Neith in a scene in the chapel of her tomb. She was married to an official named Iynefer. Nefertkau and Iynefer had a daughter also called Nefertkau and two or three sons. Strudwick has suggested that Iynefer may be a son of Khufu. Depending on the interpretation of the family relationships Nefertkau may have married either her uncle or her brother.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giza West Field</span> Ancient cemetery in Egypt

The West Field is located on the Giza Plateau, to the west of the Great Pyramid of Giza. It is divided up into smaller areas like the cemeteries known as the Abu Bakr Excavations, as well as several cemeteries whose toponyms are based on the mastaba numbers such as Cemetery G 1000 and Cemetery G 1100. The West Field contains Cemetery G1000 – Cemetery G1600, and Cemetery G 1900. Further cemeteries in this field are: Cemeteries G 2000, G 2200, G 2500, G 3000, G 4000, and G 6000. Three other cemeteries are named after their excavators: Junker Cemetery West, Junker Cemetery East and Steindorff Cemetery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bunefer</span> Ancient Egyptian queen

Bunefer was an ancient Egyptian queen from the 4th or 5th dynasty. It is not known which king she was married to. Bunefer was buried in tomb G 8408 in the Central Field of the Giza Necropolis.

Kaemtjenent was an ancient Egyptian official under pharaoh Djedkare Isesi in the late Fifth Dynasty, during the Old Kingdom period.

Nebunebty was an Ancient Egytpian queen who has been tentatively associated with the 5th Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Her name translates as 'the gold of the Two Ladies', or 'golden are the Two Ladies'.

References

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.