Iset was an ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

ian princess and God's Wife of Amun

God's Wife of Amun

God's Wife of Amun was the highest ranking priestess of the Amun cult, an important Ancient Egyptian religious institution centered in Thebes during the Egyptian 25th and 26th dynasties...

 during the 20th dynasty

Twentieth dynasty of Egypt

The Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, New Kingdom. This dynasty is considered to be the last one of the New Kingdom of Egypt, and was followed by the Third Intermediate Period....

.

Iset was the daughter of Pharaoh Ramesses VI

Ramesses VI

Ramesses VI was the fifth ruler of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt who reigned from 1145 BC to 1137 BC and a son of Ramesses III by Iset Ta-Hemdjert...

 and his Great Royal Wife Nubkhesbed

Nubkhesbed

Nubkhesbed was an ancient Egyptian queen of the 20th dynasty. She was the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Ramesses VI and mother of Pharaoh Ramesses VII, Princess Iset and Princes Amenherkhepshef and Panebenkemyt....

, and a sister to Pharaoh Ramesses VII

Ramesses VII

Usermaatre Meryamun Setepenre Ramesses VII was the sixth pharaoh of the 20th dynasty of Ancient Egypt. He reigned from about 1136 to 1129 BC and was the son of Ramesses VI. Other dates for his reign are 1138-1131 BC...

.

She was the first to hold the revived titles of God's Wife of Amun

God's Wife of Amun

God's Wife of Amun was the highest ranking priestess of the Amun cult, an important Ancient Egyptian religious institution centered in Thebes during the Egyptian 25th and 26th dynasties...

 and Divine Adoratrice, both of which had been of great importance during the early 18th dynasty

Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt

The eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt...

 but fell into disuse later. From her time on, the position of God's Wife became more and more influential, reaching the peak of its power during the Third Intermediate Period. Iset was probably the first God's Wife of Amun

God's Wife of Amun

God's Wife of Amun was the highest ranking priestess of the Amun cult, an important Ancient Egyptian religious institution centered in Thebes during the Egyptian 25th and 26th dynasties...

 to live in celibacy

Celibacy

Celibacy is a personal commitment to avoiding sexual relations, in particular a vow from marriage. Typically celibacy involves avoiding all romantic relationships of any kind. An individual may choose celibacy for religious reasons, such as is the case for priests in some religions, for reasons of...

 (the previous holders of the title were queens, usually Great Royal Wives).

She is depicted on a stela in Coptos (today in the Manchester Museum). Her installation as God's Wife is shown on a block from Dira Abu’l Naga. Her name is written in a cartouche

Cartouche

In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an ellipse with a horizontal line at one end, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name, coming into use during the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty under Pharaoh Sneferu, replacing the earlier serekh...

along with the title Divine Adoratrix.

Sources