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Tiye

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For other uses, seeTiye (disambiguation).
Tiye
Bust of Tiye, now in theÄgyptisches MuseuminBerlin,Germany
Queen consortofEgypt
Tenurec. 1390 BC – 1353 BC
(37–50 years)
Bornc. 1398 BC
Akhmim,Upper Egypt
Died1338 BC (aged 40–60 years)
Burial
KV35,Valley of the Kings,Thebes
SpouseAmenhotep III
IssueSitamun
Iset
Henuttaneb
Nebetah
Thutmose
Akhenaten
Smenkhkare(possibly)
"The Younger Lady"
Beketaten
Egyptianname
U33iiZ4B7
Dynasty18th of Egypt
FatherYuya
MotherThuya
ReligionAncient Egyptian religion

Tiye(c. 1398 BC – 1338 BC, also spelledTye,Taia,TiyandTiyi) was theGreat Royal Wifeof theEgyptianpharaohAmenhotep III,mother of pharaohAkhenatenand grandmother of pharaohTutankhamun;her parents wereYuyaandThuya.In 2010, DNA analysis confirmed her as the mummy known as "The Elder Lady" found in the tomb of Amenhotep II (KV35) in 1898.

Family and early life

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Tiye's father,Yuya,was a non-royal, wealthy landowner from the Upper Egyptian town ofAkhmim,[1]where he served as apriestand superintendent of oxen or commander of the chariotry.[2]Tiye's mother,Thuya,was involved in many religious cults, as her different titles attested (Singer of Hathor,Chief of the Entertainersof bothAmunandMin...),[3]which suggests that she was a member of the royal family.

Commemorative marriage scarab of Amenhotep III and Tiye

Egyptologists have suggested that Tiye's father, Yuya, was of foreign origin due to the features of his mummy and the many different spellings of his name, which might imply it was a non-Egyptian name in origin.[4]Some suggest that the queen's strong political and unconventional religious views might have been due not just to a strong character, but to foreign descent.[3]

Tiye also had a brother,Anen,who was Second Prophet ofAmun.[5]Ay,a successor ofTutankhamunas pharaoh after the latter's death, is believed to be yet another brother of Tiye, despite no clear date or monument confirming a link between the two.Egyptologistspresume this connection from Ay's origins (also from Akhmin), because he is known to have built a chapel dedicated to the local god Min there, and because he inherited most of the titles that Tiye's father, Yuya, held at the court of Amenhotep III during his lifetime.[3][6]

Tiye was married to Amenhotep III by the second year of his reign. He had been born of a secondary wife of his father and needed a stronger tie to the royal lineage.[4]Their marriage was celebrated by the issue of commemorative scarabs, announcing Tiye as Great Royal Wife and giving the names of her parents.[7]He appears to have been crowned while still a child, perhaps between the ages of six and twelve. The couple had at least seven, and possibly more, children.

Issue

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  1. Sitamun– The eldest daughter, who was elevated to the position of Great Royal Wife around year 30 of her father's reign.[8]
  2. Isis– Also elevated to the position of Great Royal Wife.[8]
  3. Henuttaneb– Not known to have been elevated to queenship, though her name does appear in a cartouche at least once.
  4. Nebetah– Sometimes thought to have been renamed Baketaten during her brother's reign.
  5. Crown Prince Thutmose– Crown Prince and High Priest of Ptah, pre-deceasing his father.
  6. Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten– Succeeded his father as pharaoh, husband of QueenNefertiti,father ofAnkhesenamun,who marriedTutankhamun.
  7. Smenkhkare– traditionally seen as one ofAkhenaten's immediate successors, today some Egyptologists such as Aidan Dodson believe he was the immediate predecessor ofNeferneferuatenand a junior co-regent of Akhenaten who did not have an independent reign.[9]Sometimes identified with the mummy fromKV55,and therefore Tutankhamun's father.
  8. The Younger LadyfromKV35– A daughter of Amenhotep III and Tiye, mother of Tutankhamun and sister-wife of KV55. Presumably one of the already-known daughters of Amenhotep III and Tiye.
  9. Beketaten– Sometimes thought to be Queen Tiye's daughter, usually based on reliefs of Baketaten seated next to Tiye at dinner withAkhenatenandNefertiti.[1]

Monuments

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Colossal statue ofAmenhotep IIIand his wife Queen Tiye,Egyptian Museum, Cairo
Tiye bust

Her husband devoted a number ofshrinesto her and constructed atemplededicated to her inSedeingainNubiawhere she was worshipped as a form of the goddessHathor-Tefnut.[10]He also had an artificial lake built for her in his Year 12.[11]On thecolossal statuenow in the Egyptian Museum she is of equal height with her husband. As the American Egyptologists David O'Connor and Eric Cline note:

The unprecedented thing about Tiyi.... is not where she came from but what she became. No previous queen ever figured so prominently in her husband's lifetime. Tiyi regularly appeared besides Amenhotep III in statuary, tomb and temple reliefs, and stelae while her name is paired with his on numerous small objects, such as vessels and jewelry, not to mention the large commemorative scarabs, where her name regularly follows his in the dateline. New elements in her portraiture, such as the addition of cows' horns and sun disks—attributes of the goddessHathor—to her headdress, and her representation in the form of a sphinx—an image formerly reserved for the king—emphasize her role as the king's divine, as well as earthly partner. Amenhotep III built a temple to her in Sedeinga in northernSudan,where she was worshiped as a form of Hathor... The temple at Sedeinga was the pendant to Amenhotep III's own, larger temple at Soleb, fifteen kilometres to the south (an arrangement followed a century later by Ramses II atAbu Simbel,where there are likewise two temples, the larger southern temple dedicated to the king, and the smaller, northern temple dedicated to the queen,Nefertiry,as Hathor).[12]

Influence at court

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Relief of Queen Tiye, wearing the vulture headdress and uraeus. From the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III at Western Thebes, Egypt, c. 1375 BCE. Neues Museum

Tiye wielded a great deal of power during both her husband's and son's reigns. Amenhotep III became a fine sportsman, a lover of outdoor life, and a great statesman. He often had to consider claims for Egypt's gold and requests for his royal daughters in marriage from foreign kings such asTushrattaof Mitanni andKadashman-Enlil Iof Babylon. The royal lineage was carried by the women of Ancient Egypt and marriage to one would have been a path to the throne for their progeny. Tiye became her husband's trusted adviser and confidant. Known for her intelligence and strong personality, she was able to gain the respect of foreign dignitaries. Foreign leaders were willing to deal directly with her. She continued to play an active role in foreign relations and was the first Egyptian queen to have her name recorded on official acts.[13]

Tiye may have continued to advise her son, Akhenaten, when he took the throne. Her son’s correspondence withTushratta,the king ofMitanni,speaks highly of the political influence she wielded at court. InAmarna letter EA 26,Tushratta, corresponded directly with Tiye to reminisce about the good relations he enjoyed with her then deceased husband and extended his wish to continue on friendly terms with her son, Akhenaten.

Amenhotep III died in Year 38 or Year 39 of his reign (1353 BC/1350 BC) and was buried in theValley of the KingsinWV22;however, Tiye is known to have outlived him by as many as twelve years. Tiye continued to be mentioned in theAmarna lettersand in inscriptions as queen and beloved of the king. Amarna letter EA 26, which is addressed to Tiye, dates to the reign of Akhenaten. She is known to have had a house at Akhetaten (Amarna), Akhenaten's new capital and is shown on the walls of the tomb of Huya – a "steward in the house of the king's mother, the great royal wifeTiyi"– depicted at a dinner table with Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and their family and then being escorted by the king to hersunshade.[14]In an inscription approximately dated to November 21 of Year 12 of Akhenaten's reign (1338 BC), both she and her granddaughterMeketatenare mentioned for the last time. They are thought to have died shortly after that date. This information is corroborated by the fact that the shrine which Akhenaten created for her—which was later found transported from Amarna to tombKV55in Thebes—bore the later form of the Aten's name which was only used after Akhenaten's Year 9.[15]

If Tiye died soon after Year 12 of Akhenaten's reign (1338 BC), this would place her birth around 1398 BC, her marriage to Amenhotep III at the age of eleven or twelve, and her becoming a widow at the age of forty-eight to forty-nine. Suggestions of a co-regency between Amenhotep III and his son Akhenaten lasting for up to twelve years continue, but most scholars today either accept a brief co-regency lasting no more than one year[16]or no co-regency at all.[14]

Burial and mummy

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Fragmentary funerary mask of Queen Tiye from KV35 in theÄgyptisches Museum.
The Mummy of Queen Tiye, as foundin situwithin KV35. Picture taken by Victor Loret in 1899.

Tiye is believed to have been originally buried in theRoyal TombatAmarnaalongside her son Akhenaten and granddaughter,Meketaten.Evidence shows the two northern pillars of the incomplete pillared hall were removed to accommodate a sarcophagus plinth[17]and pieces of her smashed sarcophagus were found in and around the burial chamber.[18]Analysis of the badly damaged decoration on the left wall beyond the plinth also indicates that Tiye was buried there. In a depiction that closely resembles the mourning of Meketaten in chamber γ, a figure stands beneath a floral canopy while the royal family grieves. The figure wears a queenly sash but cannot be Nefertiti as Nefertiti is shown with the mourners.[19]Tiye's sarcophagus was likely contained within multiple nested shrines, like those of her grandsonTutankhamun.The inscription on a portion of such a shrine found inKV55indicates that Akhenaten had the shrines made for his mother.[20]

Following the move of the capital back to Thebes, Tiye, along with others buried in the royal tomb, were transferred to the Valley of the Kings. The presence of pieces of one of her gilded burial shrines in KV55 indicate she was likely interred there for a time.[21]Provisions had been made during the reign of her husband Amenhotep III for her burial within his tomb,WV22.Shabtifigures belonging to her were found in this tomb.[22]

The mummy of Queen Tiye, front view, taken in 1912, back when it was still known as theElder Lady.Damage to the chest of the mummy, made by tomb robbers, is visible.

In 1898, three sets of mummified remains were found in a side chamber of the tomb ofAmenhotep IIinKV35byVictor Loret.One was an older woman and the other two were a young boy who died at around the age of ten, thought to beWebensenuor Prince Thutmose, and a younger, unknown woman. The three were found lying naked side-by-side and unidentified, having been unwrapped in antiquity by tomb robbers. The mummy of the older woman, who would later be identified as Tiye, was referred to by Egyptologists as the 'Elder Lady' while the other woman was 'The Younger Lady'. Several researchers argued that the Elder Lady was Queen Tiye. There were other scholars who were skeptical of this theory, such as British scholars Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton, who once stated that "it seems very unlikely that her mummy could be the so-called 'Elder Lady' in the tomb of Amenhotep II."[22]

Queen Tiye mummy, side view

A nest of four miniature coffins inscribed with her name and containing a lock of hair[23]was found in the tomb of her grandsonTutankhamun– perhaps a memento from a beloved grandmother.[22]In 1976, microprobe analysis conducted on hair samples from the Elder Lady and the lock from the inscribed coffins found the two were a near perfect match, thereby identifying the Elder Lady as Tiye.[24]

The Mummy of Queen Tiye, now at theNational Museum of Egyptian CivilizationinCairo

By 2010,DNAanalysis, sponsored by the Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of AntiquitiesZahi Hawass,was able to formally identify the Elder Lady as Queen Tiye.[25]She was found to be about 40–50 years old at the time of her death, and 145 cm (4 ft 9 in) tall.[26]DNA results published in 2020 revealed that Tiye had themtDNA haplogroup K(as did her mother,Thuya). Tiye's fatherYuyawas found to have the Y-DNA haplogroupG2aand mtDNA haplogroup K.[27][28]

In 2022, S.O.Y. Keita analysed 8short tandem loci(STR) published data from studies by Hawass et al. 2010;2012[29][30]which sought to determine familial relations and research pathological features such as potential, infectious diseases among the New Kingdom royal mummies which included her grandsonTutankhamun,husbandAmenhotep IIIandRameses III.Keita, using an algorithm that only has three choices (Eurasians,Sub-Saharan Africans,andEast Asians) concluded that the studies showed "a majority to have an affinity with 'Sub-Saharan' Africans in one affinity analysis". However, Keita cautioned that this does not mean that the royal mummies "lacked other affiliations" which he argued had been obscured in typological thinking. Keita further added that different "data andalgorithmsmight give different results "which reflected the complexity of biological heritage and the associated interpretation.[31]

According to historian William Stiebling and archaeologist Susan N. Helft, conflicting DNA analysis results conducted by different research teams on ancient Egyptians such as the Amarna royal mummies has led to a lack of consensus on the genetic makeup of the ancient Egyptians and their geographic origins.[32]

Her mummy has the inventory number CG 61070.[33]In April 2021 her mummy was moved from theMuseum of Egyptian AntiquitiestoNational Museum of Egyptian Civilizationalong with those of 3 other queens and 18 kings in an event termed thePharaohs' Golden Parade.[34]

References

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  1. ^abTyldesley 2006,p. 115.
  2. ^"Bart, Anneke." Ancient Egypt. "http://euler.slu.edu/~bart/egyptianhtml/kings%20and%20Queens/amenhotepiii.htmArchived2016-09-24 at theWayback Machine
  3. ^abcTyldesley 2006,p. 116.
  4. ^abO'Connor & Cline 1998,p. 5.
  5. ^O'Connor & Cline 1998,p. 5-6.
  6. ^Shaw, Ian.The Oxford history of Ancient Egypt.Oxford University Press: London, 2003. p.253
  7. ^Hayes, William C. (1959).The Sceptre of Egypt: A Background for the Study of the Egyptian Antiquities in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Part II, The Hyksos Period and the New Kingdom (1675–1080 B.C.)(1990 (revised) ed.). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 231.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-10-25.Retrieved2020-09-02.
  8. ^abTyldesley 2006,p. 121.
  9. ^Aidan Dodson, "Amarna Sunset: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemhab and the Egyptian Counter-reformation" (Cairo: AUC Press, 2010), pp.27-29
  10. ^O'Connor & Cline 1998,p. 6.
  11. ^Kozloff, Arielle; Bryan, Betsy (1992). "Royal and Divine Statuary".Egypt's Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III and his World.Cleveland.ISBN978-0-940717-16-9.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  12. ^O'Connor & Cline 1998,p. 6-7.
  13. ^Tyldesley 2006,p. 118.
  14. ^abO'Connor & Cline 1998,p. 23.
  15. ^Joyce Tyldesley, Nefertiti: Egypt's Sun Queen, Penguin UK, 2005
  16. ^Reeves, Nicholas.Akhenaten: The False Prophet,pp. 75-78
  17. ^Martin, G. T. (1989).The Royal Tomb at El-'Amarna. The Rock Tombs of El-'Amarna, Part 8. Volume 2.London: Egypt Exploration Society. p. 21.
  18. ^Gabolde, M. (1998).D'Akhenaton à Toutânkhamon.Lyon: Université Lumière-Lyon. pp. 134–36.
  19. ^Dodson, Aidan (2018).Amarna sunset: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian counter-reformation(Revised ed.). Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. p. 25.ISBN978-977-416-859-8.
  20. ^Davis, T. M. (1910).The Tomb of Queen Tȋyi.Westminster: Archibald Constable.
  21. ^Dodson, Aidan (2018).Amarna sunset: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian counter-reformation(Revised ed.). Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. p. 76.ISBN978-977-416-859-8.
  22. ^abcDodson & Hilton 2004,p. 157.
  23. ^320e."Griffith Institute: Carter Archives - 320e".griffith.ox.ac.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-06-21.Retrieved2019-06-30.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  24. ^Harris, James E.; Wente, Edward F.; Cox, Charles F.; El Nawaway, Ibrahim; Kowalski, Charles J.; Storey, Arthur T.; Russell, William R.; Ponitz, Paul V.; Walker, Geoffrey F. (1978). "Mummy of the" Elder Lady "in the Tomb of Amenhotep II: Egyptian Museum Catalog Number 61070".Science.200(4346): 1151.Bibcode:1978Sci...200.1149H.doi:10.1126/science.349693.ISSN0036-8075.JSTOR1746491.PMID349693.
  25. ^Hawass, Zahi et al. "Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun's Family"The Journal of the American Medical Associationpp.640-641
  26. ^Hawass, Zahi; Saleem, Sahar N. (2016).Scanning the Pharaohs: CT Imaging of the New Kingdom Royal Mummies.Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. p. 77.ISBN978-977-416-673-0.
  27. ^Gad, Yehia (2020). "Maternal and paternal lineages in King Tutankhamun's family".Guardian of Ancient Egypt: Essays in Honor of Zahi Hawass.Czech Institute of Egyptology. pp. 497–518.ISBN978-80-7308-979-5.
  28. ^Gad, Yehia (2020)."Insights from ancient DNA analysis of Egyptian human mummies: clues to disease and kinship".Human Molecular Genetics.30(R1): R24–R28.doi:10.1093/hmg/ddaa223.PMID33059357.
  29. ^Hawass, Zahi; Gad, Yehia Z.; Ismail, Somaia; Khairat, Rabab; Fathalla, Dina; Hasan, Naglaa; Ahmed, Amal; Elleithy, Hisham; Ball, Markus; Gaballah, Fawzi; Wasef, Sally; Fateen, Mohamed; Amer, Hany; Gostner, Paul; Selim, Ashraf (2010-02-17)."Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun's Family".JAMA.303(7): 638–647.doi:10.1001/jama.2010.121.ISSN0098-7484.PMID20159872.
  30. ^Hawass, Zahi; et al. (2012). "Revisiting the harem conspiracy and death of Ramesses III: anthropological, forensic, radiological, and genetic study".BMJ.345(e8268): e8268.doi:10.1136/bmj.e8268.hdl:10072/62081.PMID23247979.S2CID206896841.
  31. ^Keita, S. O. Y."Ideas about" Race "in Nile Valley Histories: A Consideration of" Racial "Paradigms in Recent Presentations on Nile Valley Africa, from" Black Pharaohs "to Mummy Genomest".Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections.
  32. ^Jr, William H. Stiebing; Helft, Susan N. (3 July 2023).Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture.Taylor & Francis. pp. 209–212.ISBN978-1-000-88066-3.
  33. ^Habicht, M.E; Bouwman, A.S; Rühli, F.J (25 January 2016)."Identifications of ancient Egyptian royal mummies from the 18th Dynasty reconsidered".Yearbook of Physical Anthropology.159(S61): 216–231.doi:10.1002/ajpa.22909.PMID26808107.
  34. ^Parisse, Emmanuel (5 April 2021)."22 Ancient Pharaohs Have Been Carried Across Cairo in an Epic 'Golden Parade'".ScienceAlert.Archivedfrom the original on 27 March 2022.Retrieved5 April2021.

Books

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