The Divine Adoratrice of Amun was a second title created for the chief priestess of the ancient Egyptian deity, Amun. Amun, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu (also spelled Amon, Amoun, Amen, and rarely Imen, Greek Ἄμμων During the first millennium BCE, when the holder of this office exercised her largest measure of influence, her position was an important appointment facilitating the transfer of power from one pharaoh to the next, when his daughter was adopted to fill it by the incumbent office holder. The Divine Adoratrice ruled over the extensive temple duties and domains, controlling a significant part of the ancient Egyptian economy.
God's Wife of Amun, a title for a similar office of the high priestess, originated as a title held by a daughter of the High Priest of Amun during the reign of Hatshepsut and continued as an important office while the capital of Egypt remained in Thebes. Hatshepsut (or Hatchepsut, hætˈʃɛpsʊt meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies, was the fifth Pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of
Later, the added title of Divine Adoratice of Amun can be seen to accompany a resurgence of the title God's Wife of Amun which had fallen into disuse, first in an attempt to weaken the power of the matrilineality, and then when the worship of Amun was suppressed with all of the other traditional deities in the eighteenth dynasty by Akhenaten, and later, eclipsed by other deities when the capital changed. God's Wife of Amun ( Egyptian: ḥmt nṯr n ỉmn) was the highest ranking Priestess of the Amun cult an important Ancient Egyptian Matrilineality is a system in which lineage is traced through the mother and maternal ancestors Akhenaten (often alt: Akhnaten, or rarely Ikhnaton) (In English ˌɑkəˡnɑtən or approximately "AHK-en-AHT-en" his royal name Amenhotep The God's Wife title was revived in the 20th Dynasty, when Ramesses VI's daughter Aset held the office, as well as the additional office of Divine Adoratrice. The Eighteenth Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title New Kingdom. Ramesses VI (also written Ramses and Rameses) was the fifth ruler of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt who reigned from 1145 BC to 1137 BC [1] He reigned from 1145-1137 BC. She never married and seems to have been the first of the celibate holders of the office of Divine Adoratrice of Amun, as he stipulated along with the new tradition that she would adopt the daughter of the succeeding pharaoh as her successor at the end of his reign in order to facilitate the transition to the next pharaoh. [2] Generally, the tradition was followed and the position was filled by the daughter of the current king, who was adopted as the daughter of the incumbent Divine Adoratrice.
The new office reached the very heights of its political power during the late Third Intermediate Period of Egypt when Shepenupet I, Osorkon III's daughter, was first appointed to this post at Thebes. The Nubian king Kashta, in turn, appointed his daughter, Amenirdis, as her successor. The high status of this office is illustrated by the tomb of Amenirdis at Medinet Habu. [4]
Toward the end of the Third Intermediate Period and the start of the Late Period, during the 25th and 26th Dynasties, the office was at its height both politically and economically. The Third Intermediate Period refers to the time in Ancient Egypt from the death of Pharaoh Ramesses XI in 1070 BC to the foundation of the The Late Period of Egypt refers to the last flowering of native Egyptian rulers after the Third Intermediate Period from the 26th Saite Dynasty into Persian As the role of the high priests of Amun changed from a mostly spiritual to a more 'earthly' role, the Divine Adoratrice became the main focus of the cult of Amun in Thebes. Amun, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu (also spelled Amon, Amoun, Amen, and rarely Imen, Greek Ἄμμων Amun, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu (also spelled Amon, Amoun, Amen, and rarely Imen, Greek Ἄμμων Thebes ( Thēbai) was a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean on the east bank of the river Nile ( During the twenty-sixth dynasty, the Saite king Psamtik I forcibly reunited Egypt under his rule in March 656 BC and he compelled the God's Wife of Amun serving at the time, Shepenupet II, daughter of Piye, to adopt his daughter as her chosen successor to this position. The Ancient Egyptian princess Shepenupet II (alt Shepenwepet II) was Divine Adoratrice of Amun from around 700 BC to 650 BC during the Twenty-fifth
When the Napatan kings from Kush started to extend their power into Upper Egypt, the reigning God's Wife of Amun, Shepenupet I, was persuaded to adopt Amenirdis, the daughter of Kashta as her heir. The twenty-first twenty-second twenty-third twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth dynasties of Ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title Third Intermediate Kush civilization centered in the confluence of the Blue Nile and the White Nile, and the confluence of the River Atbara and Nile in what God's Wife of Amun ( Egyptian: ḥmt nṯr n ỉmn) was the highest ranking Priestess of the Amun cult an important Ancient Egyptian Shepenupet I (or sometime Shapenewpet I) was the first of the "hereditary" God's Wife or Divine Adoratrice of Amun to wield political power in ancient The Ancient Kushite princess commonly known as Amenirdis I was the daughter of Kashta and sister of Piye and Shabaka. Kashta was a king of the Kushite Dynasty whose names translates literally as "The Kushite" This sequence was followed throughout the 25th Dynasty until Egypt was conquered by Psamtek I, who had his daughter, Nitocris I, adopted by Amenirdis II. Nitoqret (alt Nitiqret, Nitocris, Nitokris I) (died 584 BC) reigned as Divine Adoratrice of Amun or God's Wife of The Ancient Egyptian princess Amenirdis II, daughter of the Kushite pharaoh Taharqa, was adopted by Shepenupet II, daughter of Piye, to become The Adoption Stelae of Nitocris' shows the ceremony involved by this event, and the prestige of the role:[3]
| “ | "I have given to him my daughter to be a god's wife and have endowed her better than those who were before her. Surely he will be gratified with her worship and protect the land who gave her to him. | ” |
At this time, the dynastic rulers were based in the Nile Delta region, and the office of the Divine Adoratrice was a means to secure peaceful relations with the Theban area where the cult of Amun was centered. A number of the God's Wives had mortuary shrines constructed on the west bank of the river, mostly alongside the Medinet-Habu of Ramesses III. Usimare Ramses III (also written Ramesses and Rameses) was the second Pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty and is considered to be the last great
Because of the power and prestige of the offices, the ceremony of adoption by the current incumbent of the post was used as a way for the kings of the delta area to project their power into the south of Egypt. In the same manner it was used by Napatan kings to project their power northward into Egypt proper. The twenty-first twenty-second twenty-third twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth dynasties of Ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title Third Intermediate The power of the Divine Adoratrice of Amun was limited to the area around Thebes, which was the center of the cult. Thebes ( Thēbai) was a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean on the east bank of the river Nile (
| Name | Comments | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Shepenupet I | 754 – 714 BCE | |
| Amenirdis I | 740 – 720 BCE | |
| Shepenupet II | 710 – 650 BCE | |
| Amenirdis II | 670 – 640 BCE | |
| Nitocris I | 656 – 586 BCE | |
| Ankhnesneferibre | 595 – 525 BCE |
See also
Notes
- ^ Ian Shaw, The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford University Press 2003, ISBN 0192804588 p. Shepenupet I (or sometime Shapenewpet I) was the first of the "hereditary" God's Wife or Divine Adoratrice of Amun to wield political power in ancient The Ancient Kushite princess commonly known as Amenirdis I was the daughter of Kashta and sister of Piye and Shabaka. The Ancient Egyptian princess Shepenupet II (alt Shepenwepet II) was Divine Adoratrice of Amun from around 700 BC to 650 BC during the Twenty-fifth The Ancient Egyptian princess Amenirdis II, daughter of the Kushite pharaoh Taharqa, was adopted by Shepenupet II, daughter of Piye, to become Nitoqret (alt Nitiqret, Nitocris, Nitokris I) (died 584 BC) reigned as Divine Adoratrice of Amun or God's Wife of Ankhnesneferibre held the office of Divine Adoratrice of Amun from around 595 to 525 BC. God's Wife of Amun ( Egyptian: ḥmt nṯr n ỉmn) was the highest ranking Priestess of the Amun cult an important Ancient Egyptian 474
- ^ Toby Wilkinson, The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson, 2005, p. 93
- ^ J. H. Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, Part Four, Chicago 1906, §§ 935-958
References
- Strudwick, N & H. Thebes In Egypt, 1999, British Museum Press, London
- Watterson, Barbara, Women In Ancient Egypt, 1994, Sutton Publishing, Stroud
- Robins, Gay. Women In Ancient Egypt, 1993, British Museum Press, London
- Kuhrt, Amelie. The Ancient Middle East – Vol. II, 1995, Routledge, London
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