Meritamen
Encyclopedia
Meritamen was a daughter and later Great Royal Wife
of Pharaoh
Ramesses the Great
.
. Meritamen appears as the fourth daughter in the list of daughters in Abu Simbel. She had at least four brothers: Amun-her-khepeshef
, Pareherwenemef
, Meryre and Meryatum
, as well as a sister named Henuttawy
. Meritamen may have had more brothers and sisters, but these five are known from the facade of Queen Nefertari's temple in Abu Simbel.
Meritamen's siblings are relatively well-known to us. Her eldest brother - Amun-her-khepeshef
- was the crown prince until at least year 25 of the reign of their father. Prince Prehirwenemef is known to have served in the army and is depicted in the battle scenes from Kadesh. The youngest sibling known to us - Prince Meryatum - would later become High Priest of Re in Heliopolis.
Around the time her mother died (around the 24th or 25th regnal year), Meritamen became Great Royal Wife
, along with her half-sister Bintanath
.
Meritamen was buried at QV68 in the Valley of the Queens
. The tomb of Meritamen was described by Lepsius.
An interesting scene in the tomb shows Meritamen consecrating cloth-boxes to Osiris and Hathor. The inscriptions identify the Queen as The Osiris, King's Daughter, Great Royal Wife, Lady of Both Lands, Merytamen, may she live. She is said to be "Bringing a box of clothing, eternally; consecrating the box of clothing 3 times (sic)."
The sarcophagus-lid is now in Berlin (15274). Meritamen's titles on the sarcophagus lid are given twice. At the head she is described as: "[King's Daughter], Great [Royal Wife], Lady of Both Lands, Merytamen, justified". Over the head she is described as: "The Osiris, King's Daughter beloved of him, Great Royal Wife, Lady of Both Lands, Merytamen, justified".
Great Royal Wife
Great Royal Wife or Chief King's Wife is the term used to refer to the chief wife of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. While most Ancient Egyptians were monogamous, the pharaoh would have had other, lesser wives and concubines in addition to the Great Royal Wife...
of Pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
Ramesses the Great
Ramesses II
Ramesses II , referred to as Ramesses the Great, was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire...
.
Family
Meritamen was a daughter of Ramesses and his favourite wife NefertariNefertari
Nefertari also known as Nefertari Merytmut was one of the Great Royal Wives of Ramesses the Great. Nefertari means 'Beautiful Companion' and Meritmut means 'Beloved of [the Goddess] Mut'. She is one of the best known Egyptian queens, next to Cleopatra, Nefertiti and Hatshepsut...
. Meritamen appears as the fourth daughter in the list of daughters in Abu Simbel. She had at least four brothers: Amun-her-khepeshef
Amun-her-khepeshef
Amun-her-khepeshef or Amonhirkhopshef or Amun-her-wenemef was the firstborn son of Pharaoh Ramesses II and Queen Nefertari.-Name:...
, Pareherwenemef
Pareherwenemef
Pareherwenemef was an ancient Egyptian prince of the 19th dynasty, the third son of pharaoh Ramesses II, the second by Queen Nefertari.-Family:...
, Meryre and Meryatum
Meryatum
Meryatum was an Ancient Egyptian prince and High Priest of Re, the son of Pharaoh Ramesses II and Nefertari.He is shown as 16th on the processions of princes, and is likely to have been the last child born to Ramesses and Nefertari...
, as well as a sister named Henuttawy
Henuttawy (19th dynasty)
Henuttawy was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 19th dynasty.- Biography :Henuttawy was a daughter of Pharaoh Ramesses II and the Great Royal Wife Nefertari and half-sister of Merneptah...
. Meritamen may have had more brothers and sisters, but these five are known from the facade of Queen Nefertari's temple in Abu Simbel.
Meritamen's siblings are relatively well-known to us. Her eldest brother - Amun-her-khepeshef
Amun-her-khepeshef
Amun-her-khepeshef or Amonhirkhopshef or Amun-her-wenemef was the firstborn son of Pharaoh Ramesses II and Queen Nefertari.-Name:...
- was the crown prince until at least year 25 of the reign of their father. Prince Prehirwenemef is known to have served in the army and is depicted in the battle scenes from Kadesh. The youngest sibling known to us - Prince Meryatum - would later become High Priest of Re in Heliopolis.
Around the time her mother died (around the 24th or 25th regnal year), Meritamen became Great Royal Wife
Great Royal Wife
Great Royal Wife or Chief King's Wife is the term used to refer to the chief wife of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. While most Ancient Egyptians were monogamous, the pharaoh would have had other, lesser wives and concubines in addition to the Great Royal Wife...
, along with her half-sister Bintanath
Bintanath
Bintanath was the firstborn daughter and later Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II.-Family:Bintanath was likely born during the reign of her grandfather Seti I. Her mother was Isetnofret, one of the two most prominent wives of Ramesses II...
.
Burial in the Queens Valley
Valley of the Queens
The Valley of the Queens is a place in Egypt where wives of Pharaohs were buried in ancient times. In ancient times, it was known as Ta-Set-Neferu, meaning –‘the place of the Children of the Pharaoh’, because along with the Queens of the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties many princes and princesses...
. The tomb of Meritamen was described by Lepsius.
An interesting scene in the tomb shows Meritamen consecrating cloth-boxes to Osiris and Hathor. The inscriptions identify the Queen as The Osiris, King's Daughter, Great Royal Wife, Lady of Both Lands, Merytamen, may she live. She is said to be "Bringing a box of clothing, eternally; consecrating the box of clothing 3 times (sic)."
The sarcophagus-lid is now in Berlin (15274). Meritamen's titles on the sarcophagus lid are given twice. At the head she is described as: "[King's Daughter], Great [Royal Wife], Lady of Both Lands, Merytamen, justified". Over the head she is described as: "The Osiris, King's Daughter beloved of him, Great Royal Wife, Lady of Both Lands, Merytamen, justified".