Everything about Ankhesenamen totally explained
Born as
Ankhesenpaaten (c. 1348 – after 1324 B.C.) and later renamed,
Ankhesenamen, which means.
She who lives through the Amun, was the third of six known daughters of the Egyptian
Pharaoh Akhenaten and his
Great Royal Wife Nefertiti. The change in her name reflects the changes in Ancient Egyptian religion during her lifetime after her father's death. Her youth is well documented in the ancient reliefs and paintings of the reign of her parents.
She was probably born in year 4 of Akhenaten's reign and by year 12 of her father's reign she was joined by her three younger sisters. He made his wife his co-regent and had his family portrayed in a realistic style in all official artwork.
Ankhesenamen was definitely married to one king -- she was the
Great Royal Wife of pharaoh
Tutankhamum (who may have been her half-brother). It is also possible that she was briefly married to Tutankhamun's successor,
Ay. It has also been posited that she may have been the great royal wife of her father,
Akhenaten, after the possible death of her mother and co-regent of Akhenaten's immediate successor,
Smenkhkare, who now is thought to have been a woman.
Early life
Ankhesenpaaten was born in a time when Egypt was in transition (c. 1348 BC). Her father had abandoned the old deities of Egypt in favor of the Aten, a minor sun-god who was the physical Sun Disk.
She is believed to have been born in Waset (present-day
Thebes), but probably grew up in her father's new capital city of
Akhetaten (present-day Tell el-Amarna). The three eldest daughters –
Meritaten,
Meketaten, and Ankhesenpaaten – became the "Senior Princesses" and participated in many functions of the government and religion.
Later life
She is believed to have been married first to her own father, and is thought to have been the mother of the princess
Ankhesenpaaten Tasherit (possibly by her father or by
Smenkhkare) when she was twelve, although the parentage is unclear. The couple appear to have had two stillborn daughters, although there's no evidence of their relationship to the remains found in
Tutankhamun's tomb. On the walls of Ay's tomb it's
Tey (Ay's senior wife), not Ankhesenamen, who appears as
queen. She probably died during or shortly after his reign and as of yet no burial has been found for her.
The Hittite Letters
A document was found in the ancient Hittite capital of
Hattusa which dates to the Amarna period. It was addressed to the Hittite king,
Suppiluliuma I, and reads;
"My husband has died and I've no son. They say about you that you've many sons. You might give me one of your sons to become my husband. I wouldn't wish to take one of my subjects as a husband... I'm afraid."
This document is extraordinary, Egyptians traditionally considered foreigners to be inferior. Understandably, Suppiluliuma I was wary and had an envoy investigate, but by so doing, he missed his chance to bring Egypt into his empire. He eventually did send one of his sons, Zannanza, but the prince was murdered en route.
The identity of the queen who wrote the letter is uncertain, she's called
Dakhamunzu in the Hittite annuals, a possible translation of the Egyptian title
Tahemetnesu (The King's Wife). Possible candidates are
Nefertiti,
Meritaten, who was pressuring the young widow to marry him and legitimise his claim to the throne of Egypt (which she eventually did). This also might explain why she describes herself as 'afraid', especially considering the popular (but not universally accepted) theory that Ay had a hand in her husband's death. Recent scientific evidence indicates that Tutankhamun died of
gangrene following a broken leg.
KV 63
After excavating the tomb
KV63 it's a theory that it was designed for Ankhesenamen due to the location which is very close to
KV62 which is
Tutankhamun's tomb. Also found in the tomb were
coffins (one with an imprint of a woman on it), womans clothing, jewellery and natron. However there were no mummies found in KV 63 so the theory of KV63 being Ankhesenamen's tomb remains a theory.
Appearances in contemporary fiction
She is the main character in
Christian Jacq's novel
La reine soleil.
She appears in the Japanese Manga series
Anatolia Story (known in the USA as
Red River) by Chie Shinohara. This appearance is in relation to the Hittite Letters event.
She appears in the novel
Nefertiti by
Michelle Moran, as the third of her six daughters.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Ankhesenamen'.
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