Panehesy (Vizier)

Last updated
Panehesy
Vizier
Dynasty 19th Dynasty
Pharaoh Merenptah
Panehesy %28Vizier%29Panehesy %28Vizier%29Panehesy %28Vizier%29Panehesy %28Vizier%29Panehesy %28Vizier%29
Panehesy [1]
in hieroglyphs

Panehesy (also written Panehsy) was a Vizier of Ancient Egypt. He served during the reign of Merenptah during the 19th Dynasty. [2]

Vizier (Ancient Egypt) highest rank of official in Ancient Egypt

The vizier was the highest official in Ancient Egypt to serve the pharaoh (king) during the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms. Vizier is the generally accepted rendering of ancient Egyptian tjati, tjaty etc., among Egyptologists. The Instruction of Rekhmire, a New Kingdom text, defines many of the duties of the tjaty, and lays down codes of behavior. The viziers were often appointed by the pharaoh. During the 4th Dynasty and early 5th Dynasty, viziers were exclusively drawn from the royal family; from the period around the reign of Neferirkare Kakai onwards, they were chosen according to loyalty and talent or inherited the position from their fathers.

Ancient Egypt ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa

Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in the place that is now the country Egypt. Ancient Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt and coalesced around 3100 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under Menes. The history of ancient Egypt occurred as a series of stable kingdoms, separated by periods of relative instability known as Intermediate Periods: the Old Kingdom of the Early Bronze Age, the Middle Kingdom of the Middle Bronze Age and the New Kingdom of the Late Bronze Age.

Monuments and Documents

Panehesy appears on a monument in Gebel el-Silsila. In the Great Speos which was originally constructed by Horemheb in the 18th Dynasty, but added on to in the 19th Dynasty we find a chapel of Panehesy. Panehesy is shown adoring King Merneptah and in a scene in the doorway he appears with Merneptah, Queen Isetnofret II and Prince Seti-Merneptah. Panehesy's chapel on the south side of the Speos is balanced by a chapel of the vizier Paser on the north side.

Gebel el-Silsila Place in Aswan Governorate, Egypt

Gebel el-Silsila or Gebel Silsileh is 65 km north of Aswan in Upper Egypt, where the cliffs on both sides close to the narrowest point along the length of the entire Nile. The location is between Edfu in the north towards Lower Egypt and Kom Ombo in the south towards Upper Egypt. The name Kheny means "The Place of Rowing". It was used as a major quarry site on both sides of the Nile from at least the 18th Dynasty to Greco-Roman times. Silsila is famous for its New Kingdom stelai and cenotaphs.

Horemheb Egyptian Pharaoh

Horemheb was the last pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled for 14 years somewhere between 1319 BC and 1292 BC. He had no relation to the preceding royal family other than by marriage to Mutnedjmet, who is disputed to have been the daughter of his predecessor Ay; he is believed to have been of common birth.

Merneptah Fourth pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty of Egypt

Merneptah or Merenptah was the fourth pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. He ruled Egypt for almost ten years from late July or early August 1213 BC until his death on May 2, 1203 BC, according to contemporary historical records. He was the thirteenth son of Ramesses II and only came to power because all his older brothers, including his full brother Khaemwaset or Khaemwase, had died. By the time he ascended to the throne, he was probably around seventy years old. His throne name was Ba-en-re Mery-netjeru, which means "The Soul of Ra, Beloved of the Gods".

Elsewhere in the Speos, Panehesy is depicted on a stela located in the gallery. One stela is located at the northern end of the Speos and the main scene shows Merneptah before the gods Amun-Ra, Monthu, Sobek and Hathor. Another stela is located to the left of the entrance of the sanctuary. On this stela, Penehesy is shown behind Merneptah and Queen Isetnofret II. [1]

Amun is 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 Amaunet. With the 11th dynasty, Amun rose to the position of patron deity of Thebes by replacing Montu.

Ra ancient Egyptian solar deity

Ra or Re is the ancient Egyptian deity of the sun. By the Fifth Dynasty in the 25th and 24th centuries BC, he had become one of the most important gods in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the noon sun. Ra was believed to rule in all parts of the created world: the sky, the Earth, and the underworld.

Sobek, in Greek, Suchos (Σοῦχος) and from Latin Suchus, was an ancient Egyptian deity with a complex and fluid nature. He is associated with the Nile crocodile or the West African crocodile and is represented either in its form or as a human with a crocodile head. Sobek was also associated with pharaonic power, fertility, and military prowess, but served additionally as a protective deity with apotropaic qualities, invoked particularly for protection against the dangers presented by the Nile.

Panehesy also appears on a stela near the royal shrines in Gebel el-Silsila. Rock shrines of Sethi I, Ramesses II and Merenptah were erected in the 19th Dynasty. The stela between the shrines of Merneptah and Ramesses II shows Merneptah followed by a Prince (possibly Seti-Merneptah) and the vizier Panehesy. The king offers an image of Maat to Amun-Re. [1]

Ramesses II Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt

Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom. His successors and later Egyptians called him the "Great Ancestor".

Maat Egyptian deity and concepts of truth, order and justice

Maat or Maʽat refers to the ancient Egyptian concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. Maat was also the goddess who personified these concepts, and regulated the stars, seasons, and the actions of mortals and the deities who had brought order from chaos at the moment of creation. Her ideological opposite was Isfet, meaning injustice, chaos, violence or to do evil.

Papyrus Chester Beatty III (vs 4-5) contains a letter from a scribe of the necropolis to the Vizier Panehesy. The beginning of the letter says:

"The scribe Kenhikhopeshef of the Great Necropolis of Baenre-miamon, the son of Re, Merenptah-hetephimaat, in the estate of Amun communicates to his lord, the fanbearer [on] the king's right, the city prefect and vizier of Upper and Lower Egypt, Panehsy: In life, prosperity and health! This is a missive to inform my lord."(Wente).

The letter continues on to report that work on the Great Place of the Pharaoh (his tomb) is progressing well. There is however a shortage of spikes and gypsum. The scribe requests that some necessary equipment and supplies be sent. [3]

Related Research Articles

Seti II Egyptian pharaoh, fifth ruler of the Nineteenth dynasty

Seti II was the fifth pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt and reigned from c. 1200 BC to 1194 BC. His throne name, Userkheperure Setepenre, means "Powerful are the manifestations of Re, the chosen one of Re." He was the son of Merneptah and Isetnofret II and sat on the throne during a period known for dynastic intrigue and short reigns, and his rule was no different. Seti II had to deal with many serious plots, most significantly the accession of a rival king named Amenmesse, possibly a half brother, who seized control over Thebes and Nubia in Upper Egypt during his second to fourth regnal years.

Amenmesse Egyptian pharaoh

Amenmesse was the fifth pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty in Ancient Egypt, possibly the son of Merneptah and Queen Takhat. Others consider him to be one of the innumerable sons of Ramesses II. Very little is known about this pharaoh, who ruled Egypt for only three to four years. Various Egyptologists date his reign between 1202 BC–1199 BC or 1203 BC–1200 BC with others giving an accession date of 1200 BC. Amenmesse means "born of or fashioned by Amun" in Egyptian. Additionally, his nomen can be found with the epithet Heqa-waset, which means "Ruler of Thebes". His royal name was Menmire Setepenre.

Bintanath Ancient Egyptian princess and queen

Bintanath was the firstborn daughter and later Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II.

Prince Khaemweset was the fourth son of Ramesses II, who was born c. 1303 BCE; died July or August 1213 BCE; reigned 1279–1213 BCE, and the second son by his queen Isetnofret. He is by far the best known son of Ramesses II, and his contributions to Egyptian society were remembered for centuries after his death. Khaemweset has been described as "the first Egyptologist" due to his efforts in identifying and restoring historic buildings, tombs and temples.

Siptah Penultimate Pharaoh of the 19th dynasty

Akhenre Setepenre Siptah or Merenptah Siptah was the penultimate ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. His father's identity is currently unknown. Both Seti II and Amenmesse have been suggested although the fact that Siptah later changed his royal name or nomen to Merneptah Siptah after his Year 2 suggests rather that his father was Merneptah. If correct, this would make Siptah and Seti II half-brothers since both of them were sons of Merneptah.

Isetnofret Ancient Egyptian queen consort

Isetnofret was one of the Great Royal Wives of Pharaoh Ramesses II and was the mother of his heir, Merneptah. She was one of the most prominent of the royal wives, along with Nefertari, and was the chief queen after Nefertari's death.

Pinehesy Ancient Egyptian viceroy

Pinehesy, Panehesy or Panehasy, depending on the transliteration, was Viceroy of Kush during the reign of Ramesses XI, the last king of the Egyptian 20th Dynasty.

Ramesses (prince) Son of Ramesses II

Ramesses was an Ancient Egyptian crown prince during the 19th Dynasty.

Paser (vizier) vizier and High Priest of Amun

The Ancient Egyptian Noble Paser was vizier, in the reigns of Seti I and Ramesses II, during the 19th dynasty. He would later also become High Priest of Amun.

Isetnofret(3s.t-nfr.t; also spelled as Isetneferet, Isisnofret etc.) was an ancient Egyptian female name, meaning “Isis is beautiful”.

Paser I was the Viceroy of Kush during the reigns of Ay and likely Horemheb. Reisner mentions that the only datable inscriptions for Paser belong to the reign of Ay. The next known Viceroy however is Amenemopet, who is dated to the reign of Seti I. Hence it's possible that Paser I served during the reigns of Ay, Horemheb

Hori I (High Priest of Ptah) High Priest of Ptah

Hori was the High Priest of Ptah at the very end of the reign of Ramesses II. Hori succeeded Neferronpet in office.

Isetnofret II ancient Egyptian queen consort

Isetnofret was one of the Great Royal Wives of Pharaoh Merenptah.

The Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt is the third and last dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian New Kingdom period, lasting from 1189 BC to 1077 BC. The 19th and 20th Dynasties furthermore together constitute an era known as the Ramesside period.

Articles related to ancient Egypt include:

Tia (overseer of treasury) ancient Egyptian treasurer

Tia was an ancient Egyptian high official under king Ramses II. His main title was that of an overseer of the treasuries. Tia was married to a woman with the same name, the princess Tia who was sister of Ramses II.

Panehesy(p3-nḥsỉ, also spelled Panehsy, Pinehesy, etc.) is an ancient Egyptian masculine name, meaning "the Nubian." It is the original Egyptian form of the Hebrew name Phinehas.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Porter and Moss Topographical Bibliography, Volume V, Upper Egypt, Griffith Institute, 2004 (first published 1937)
  2. K.A. Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions: Merenptah & the late Nineteenth Dynasty, Wiley-Blackwell, 2003, pg 74
  3. Wente, E., Letters from Ancient Egypt, Scholars Express, Atlanta, GA, 1990, pg 48-49