Ahmose-Nefertari

Template:Short description Template:Infobox royalty Template:Infobox hieroglyphs Template:Ancient Egyptian religion Ahmose-Nefertari (Ancient Egyptian: Jꜥḥ ms Nfr trj) was the first Great Royal Wife of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. She was a daughter of Seqenenre Tao and Ahhotep I, and royal sister and wife to Ahmose I. Her son Amenhotep I became pharaoh and she may have served as his regent when he was young. Ahmose-Nefertari was deified after her death.

Family

Ahmose-Nefertari was a daughter of Seqenenre Tao and Ahhotep I and the granddaughter of Senakhtenre and queen Tetisheri.<ref name=dh>Template:Cite book</ref> Ahmose-Nefertari was born in Thebes, likely during the reign of Senakhtenre Ahmose.<ref name="Forbes">Forbes, Dennis C. Imperial Lives: Illustrated Biographies of Significant New Kingdom Egyptians. KMT Communications, Inc. 1998. Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Sébastien Biston-Moulin, "Le roi Sénakht-en-Rê Ahmès de la XVIIe dynastie", ENIM 5, pp. 61–71, 22 mars/march 2012 [online: [1]</ref> Ahmose-Nefertari had quite a few siblings and half-siblings, including her future husband Ahmose and King's Son Ahmose Sapair, and her many sisters: Ahmose-Henutemipet, Ahmose-Tumerisy, Ahmose-Nebetta, Ahmose-Meritamon, Ahmose-Henuttamehu, Ahmose, and Ahmose-Sitkamose.<ref name=dh/>

Ahmose-Nefertari may have married Pharaoh Kamose but, if so, there is no record of such a marriage.<ref name="Forbes"/> She did become the great royal wife of Ahmose I, with whom she had at least three sons. She is depicted on a stela from Karnak with a son named Ahmose-ankh and a son named Siamun was reburied in the royal cache DB320. But it was her son Amenhotep I who would eventually succeed his father to the throne. She was also the mother of two daughters who became Royal Wives, Ahmose-Meritamun and Ahmose-Sitamun. She may also have been the mother of Mutnofret, the wife of Thutmose I. A prince named Ramose included among the Lords of the West and known from a statue now in Liverpool, may be another son of Ahmose-Nefertari.<ref name=dh/>

Life

Posthumous stele of Amenhotep I and Ahmose-Nefertari making an offering to Osiris.

Ahmose-Nefertari was born during the latter part of the 17th Dynasty, during the reign of her grandfather Senakhtenre Ahmose.<ref name="Forbes"/> Her father Seqenenre Tao fought against the Hyksos and may have lost his life during a battle. He was succeeded by Kamose.<ref name=dh/> It is possible that Ahmose-Nefertari married Kamose, but no evidence exists of such a marriage.<ref name="Forbes"/>

After the death of Kamose the throne went to Ahmose I. Pharaoh Ahmose was very young and queen-mother Ahhotep I served as regent during the early years of his reign. Ahhotep would have taken precedence at court over her daughter Ahmose-Nefertari, who was the great royal wife. Ahmose I became the first king of the 18th Dynasty, and a pharaoh ruling over a reunited country.<ref name="Forbes"/>

Queen Ahmose-Nefertari held many titles, including those of hereditary princess (iryt-pꜥt), great of grace (wrt-imꜣt), great of praises (wrt-ḥswt), king's mother (mwt-niswt), great king's wife (ḥmt-niswt-wrt), god's wife (hmt-ntr), united with the white crown (ẖnmt-nfr-ḥḏjt), king's daughter (sꜣt-niswt), and king's sister (snt-niswt).<ref>Grajetzki, Ancient Egyptian Queens: A Hieroglyphic Dictionary, Golden House Publications, London, 2005, Template:ISBN</ref> The queen was revered as "Goddess of Resurrection" and was arguably the most venerated woman in Egyptian history.<ref name=gestoso>Graciela Gestoso Singer, "Ahmose-Nefertari, The Woman in Black". Terrae Antiqvae, January 17, 2011</ref> Ancient Nubia ruling families have been said to feature strong matriarchal inclinations, a characteristic described as indisputable in the case of the 17th Dynasty.  Along with other queens of the period, it has been suggested that the matriarchal quality of Ahmose-Nefertari's rule and line originated from Nubia.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="Edward. 1973" />Template:Rp

A donation stela from Karnak records how king Ahmose purchased the office of Second Prophet of Amun and endowed the position with land, goods and administrators. The endowment was given to Ahmose-Nefertari and her descendants, though she was the most prominent God's Wife of Amun. Separately the position of Divine adoratrix was also given to Ahmose-Nefertari.<ref name="Tyldesley">Tyldesley, Joyce. Chronicle of the Queens of Egypt. Thames & Hudson. 2006. Template:ISBN</ref> Records from a later era indicate that in this position she would have been responsible for all temple properties, administration of estates, workshops, treasuries and all the associated administration staff.<ref>"The Great Goddesses of Egypt", Barbara S. Lesko, p. 246, University of Oklahoma Press, 1999, Template:ISBN</ref>

Amenhotep I came to power while he was still young. As his mother, Ahmose-Nefertari may have served as regent for him until he reached maturity.<ref name="Tyldesley"/><ref name="Shaw">Shaw, Ian. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. 2000. Template:ISBN</ref> Because of her position as regent for her son, some speculate that she started the Valley of the Kings.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Ahmose-Nefertari is shown to be alive during the early years of the reign of Thutmose I. She is depicted in Nubia next to the Viceroy of Kush Ahmose called Turo in the company of the newly crowned king and Queen Ahmose. A vase fragment found in KV20 was inscribed with the double cartouche of king Tuthmose I and Ahmose-Nefertari and the epithet indicates the queen was alive. A large statue of queen Ahmose-Nefertari from Karnak may be one of the last statues created in her honor before she died.<ref name="Bradbury" />

Death and deification

Template:Infobox deity Ahmose-Nefertari likely died in approximately the fifth or sixth year of Thutmose I. Her death is recorded on the stela of a wab-priest called Nefer. The text mentions that "the divine consort Ahmose-Nefertari, justified with the great god lord of the West, flew to heaven". Helck proposed that the annual cult holiday (II Shemu 14) dedicated to Ahmose-Nefertari at Deir el-Medina may have commemorated the day of her death. The father of Nefer, who was likely overseer of the royal works Ineni, oversaw her burial.<ref name="Bradbury">Louise Bradbury, Nefer's Inscription: On the Death Date of Queen Ahmose-Nefertary and the Deed Found Pleasing to the King, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 22 (1985), pp. 73-95</ref> She was likely buried in Dra Abu el-Naga and had a mortuary temple there. Considering the placement of her coffin in DB320, Ahmose-Nefertari may have instead been the tomb's original occupant prior to its reuse as a cache.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> When Ahmose-Nefertari died, she was deified and became "Mistress of the Sky" and "Lady of the West".<ref name="Tyldesley"/><ref>Tyldesley, Joyce (1996). "Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh", p.62, Viking, Template:ISBN.</ref>

Mummy

Alleged mummy of Ahmose-Nefertari, from DB320

Ahmose-Nefertari's mummy is assumed to have been retrieved from her tomb at the end of the New Kingdom and moved to the royal cache in DB320, had she not originally been buried there. Her presumed body, with no identification marks, was discovered in the 19th century and unwrapped in 1885 by Émile Brugsch. Two mummies were found in a coffin one of which was more carefully wrapped than the other. The former was assumed to be that of Queen Ahmose Nefertari by the museum authorities whilst the other was stored in a damp room which caused the mummy to decompose so much so that it was buried in the garden of the museum. Maspero at later date came to assume that the mummy buried in the garden was that of Ahmose Nefertari.<ref>A History of the Pharaohs, V2, p. 253, Arthur Weigall</ref> Template:Efn The original ownership of the tomb has been challenged.<ref>The so-called Royal Cachette TT 320 was not the grave of Ahmose Nefertari [2] Template:Webarchive</ref> Ahmose-Nefertari died in her 70s. Similarly to Tetisheri, her grandmother, her hair had been thinning and plaits of false hair had been woven in with her own to cover this up.<ref name="Edward. 1973">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Her body had been damaged in antiquity and was missing her right hand.<ref name="Tyldesley" />

According to Grafton Elliot Smith's description in 1912, the mummy's skin is blackened in the same manner as the majority of other contemporary mummies. He also associates the strands tied to her own hair with those of Nubian women's hair at the time of his writing. He adds that the shape of the cranium firmly supports her foreign origin.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Several authors highlight the significant prominence of Ahmose-Nefertari's front teeth as revealed in X-ray images, and also characterized as severe maxillary or dental-alveolar prognathism.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="Edward. 1973"/>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp The same authors bring attention to the presence of the same trait in Ahmose-Nefertari's grandmother Tetisheri, suggesting that it is genetically determined and inherited. Harris and Wente add that dental-alveolar prognathism is a common trait in both ancient and current Nubians at the time of their writing. It is stated that Ahmose-Nefertari shares the same pure genealogy as her mother, Ahhotep I.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp

In April 2021 Ahmose-Nefertari's mummy was moved to National Museum of Egyptian Civilization along with those of 3 other queens and 18 kings in an event termed the Pharaohs' Golden Parade.<ref name=Parisse>Template:Cite news</ref>

Iconography

Ahmose-Nefertari, 18th dynasty, Louvre Museum

Statuette of Ahmose Nefertari. From Deir el-Medina

Ahmose-Nefertari 4 depictions from various Tombs

In the Theban region – and especially in the village of Deir el-Medina – Ahmose-Nefertari is mentioned or depicted in at least 50 private tombs and on a large number of objects which are datable from the reign of Thutmose III to the end of the 20th Dynasty.<ref name="Shaw" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp

In the tomb of Tetyky (TT15), the queen is depicted wearing a brow ornament with two uraei instead of a double gazelle.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="gitton81" />Template:Rp According to Eaton-Krauss, this is the "earliest occurrence of the double uraeus, which is a standard part of queenly regalia thereafter."<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Michel Gitton acknowledges Norman de Garis Davis' estimate that Ahmose-Nefertari is depicted with dark complexion (black) four times more often than light complexions (red and yellow).<ref name="gitton81">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp He indicates that his own survey suggests a much lower figure although he could not provide a general figure as he could not himself verify the colors on site. He also noted there are other cases in which she is shown with a pink, golden, dark blue, or dark red skin color.<ref name="gitton81" />Template:Rp As observed by Gardiner, in some instances Ahmose-Nefertari's skin is blue,<ref name="gardiner">Template:Cite book, p.175</ref> a popular color symbolizing fertility, birth, rebirth and life and usually used to depict water and the heavens.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1981 Gitton called the issue of Ahmose-Nefertari's black color "a serious gap in the Egyptological research, which allows approximations or untruths".<ref name="gitton81" />Template:Rp He pointed out that there is no known depiction of her painted during her lifetime (she is represented with the same light skin as other represented individuals in tomb TT15, before her deification); the earliest black skin depiction appears in tomb TT161, circa 150 years after her death.<ref name="gitton81" />Template:Rp<ref name="dh" />Template:Rp Barbara Lesko wrote in 1996 that Ahmose-Nefertari was "sometimes portrayed by later generations as having been black, although her coffin portrait gives her the typical light yellow skin of women."<ref>The Remarkable Women of Ancient Egypt, by Barbara S. Lesko; page 14; B.C. Scribe Publications, 1996; Template:ISBN</ref>

Highlighting Ahmose-Nefertari and her son's deification as patrons of Deir el-Medina as well her worship as 'Mistress of the Sky', 'Lady of the West' and goddess of resurrection, Joyce Tyldesley indicates in 2006 that frequently in this setting she was depicted with black skin which symbolizes "fertility and rebirth rather than decay".<ref name="Tyldesley" />Template:Rp Sigrid Hodel-Hoenes states in 2000 that her black skin color can be attributed to her role as deified patron of Deir el-Medina, the color black being a reflection of "fertile earth and of the Netherworld and death"<ref>Hodel-Hoenes, S & Warburton, D (trans), Life and Death in Ancient Egypt: Scenes from Private Tombs in New Kingdom Thebes, Cornell University Press, 2000, p. 268.</ref>Template:Rp In 2011, Graciela Gestoso Singer states that her black or blue skin color is "a reference to her position as the mother of Egypt" and indicative of her role as a goddess of resurrection, since black is the color of death, the underworld, rebirth and fertility, as well as the fertile land of Egypt.<ref name="gestoso"/> In 2003, Betsy Bryan wrote in The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt that "the factors linking Amenhotep I and his mother with the necropolis region, with deified rulers, and with rejuvenation generally was visually transmitted by representations of the pair with black or blue skin – both colours of resurrection."<ref>Betsy Bryan; pg 213; The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt; edited by Ian Shaw; OUP Oxford, 2003; Template:ISBN</ref> In 2004 Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton recognized in a later depiction of the queen, "the black skin of a deity of resurrection" in connection to her role as a patron goddess of the Theban necropolis.<ref name="dh" />Template:Rp In 2009 Eleni Vassilika, noting that in a wooden statuette of the queen (now at the Museo Egizio) the face is painted black but the arms and feet are light in color, argued that the reason for the black coloring in that case was religious and not genetic.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp In 2014, Margaret Bunson wrote that "the unusual depictions of Ahmose-Nefertari in blue-black tones of deification reflect her status and cult."<ref>Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt; by Margaret Bunson; Pg 17, Infobase Publishing, 2014; Template:ISBN</ref> In a wooden votive statue of Ahmose-Nefertari, currently in the Louvre museum, her skin was painted red,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a color commonly seen symbolizing life or a higher being, or elevated status.<ref name=":0" />

Early 20th century archaeologists made observations on Ahmose-Nefertari's likely phenotype and genealogy, and also on the probable symbolic meaning of her most frequent representation in black or purplish black skin tones.Template:Efn In 1974, Cheikh Anta Diop described her as "typically negroid."<ref name="Mokhtar 1990 1–118">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp In the controversial book Black Athena, Martin Bernal intimated that members of the royal family to which Ahmose-Nefertari belonged may have originated from Nubia, and, according to him, 18th dynasty pharaohs could generally be referred to as black.Template:Efn Bernal's work has been embraced by Afrocentrists, but rejected by mainstream Egyptologists.Template:Efn

External links

• Template:Commons category-inline
• Ahmose Nefertari Image of her coffin and short bio.
• Mummy of Ahmose-Nefertari by Max Miller.
• "Women in ancient Egypt"
• "Women in Power BCE 4500-1000"
• "Royal Women"
• Hatshepsut: from Queen to Pharaoh, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Ahmose-Nefertari (see index)