Sitamun
Encyclopedia
Sitamun was an Ancient Egyptian princess and queen consort during the 18th dynasty
.
and his Great Royal Wife
Tiye
. She was later married to her father around Year 30 of Amenhotep III's reign. However, there is a view that Sitamun may have been a daughter of Thutmose IV
and Iaret
, but no evidence has been found to support this view.
The belief that Sitamun was a daughter of Amenhotep and Tiye is based on the presence of objects found in the tomb of Yuya
and Thuya
, Queen Tiye's parents, especially a chair bearing her title as the king's daughter.
Almost nothing is known of her life beyond being the oldest daughter of a powerful (and long-lived) queen. In the last decade of her father's reign, she was promoted to the status of Great Royal Wife
. The evidence for this marriage consists of a blue-faience kohl-tube with the cartouches of Amenhotep III and Sitamun, an alabaster bowl found at Amarna with the same cartouches and jar-label inscriptions from Malkata
palace. Sitamun's elevation to her role as Great Royal Wife of her father, Amenhotep III, is attested as early as Year 30 of his reign from jar label inscription No.95 which was discovered in the royal palace.
She maintained her own rooms in the Malkata
palace complex, and Amenhotep, son of Hapu
was appointed as the steward of her properties here. She is attested on a Karnak
statue of Amenhotep, son of Hapu (now in the Egyptian Museum
, Cairo
) where she is mentioned as the king's Great Royal Wife. She also appears on a relief from Amenhotep III's mortuary temple
, found by William Matthew Flinders Petrie
, (now in the Petrie Museum). Sitamun is among a handful of figures that appear near the end of the reign of Amenhotep III. This was an era of Egyptian history in which women assumed far more prominent and powerful roles with Amenhotep III's wife Tiye
, Sitamun's mother, being a particular example. Prior to Tiye's reign, "no previous queen ever figured so prominently in her husband's lifetime". Tiye 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 jewellry, as well as their large commemorative scarabs.
As the eldest daughter of a powerful queen, Sitamun would have been groomed for a political role but never fulfilled this potential, despite having her own property at Malkata and her high position at court. One possibility is that she was married to an heir who never assumed the throne. Another possibility is that she died prematurely or went into seclusion after her brother Akhenaten
became king. She was an aunt of Tutankhamun
.
She vanishes at the end of Amenhotep III's reign and is not mentioned during Akhenaten's reign. A separate chamber was carved for her in Amenhotep III's tomb in the Valley of the Kings
, but there is no evidence that she was ever buried there.
Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
The eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt...
.
Family
Sitamun is considered to be the eldest daughter of Pharaoh Amenhotep IIIAmenhotep III
Amenhotep III also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty. According to different authors, he ruled Egypt from June 1386 to 1349 BC or June 1388 BC to December 1351 BC/1350 BC after his father Thutmose IV died...
and his 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...
Tiye
Tiye
Tiye was the daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu . She became the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III....
. She was later married to her father around Year 30 of Amenhotep III's reign. However, there is a view that Sitamun may have been a daughter of Thutmose IV
Thutmose IV
Thutmose IV was the 8th Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt, who ruled in approximately the 14th century BC...
and Iaret
Iaret
Iaret was a Great Royal Wife from the middle of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt.-Family:laret was the daughter of Amunhotep II and wife of Thutmose IV...
, but no evidence has been found to support this view.
The belief that Sitamun was a daughter of Amenhotep and Tiye is based on the presence of objects found in the tomb of Yuya
Yuya
Yuya was a powerful Egyptian courtier during the eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt...
and Thuya
Tjuyu
Tjuyu was an Egyptian noble goddess, and the mother of queen Tiye, wife of pharaoh Amenhotep III...
, Queen Tiye's parents, especially a chair bearing her title as the king's daughter.
Biography
Sitamun is very well attested, most notably in the tomb of Yuya and Thuya where three finely made chairs were discovered. As these chairs were used, and are of progressively larger size, it is assumed they belonged to Sitamun as she was growing up. They were then placed in her grandparents' tomb in the tradition of placing objects which had meaning in the deceased person's life. She is also depicted on the stele of her nurse Nebetkabeny.Almost nothing is known of her life beyond being the oldest daughter of a powerful (and long-lived) queen. In the last decade of her father's reign, she was promoted to the status of 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...
. The evidence for this marriage consists of a blue-faience kohl-tube with the cartouches of Amenhotep III and Sitamun, an alabaster bowl found at Amarna with the same cartouches and jar-label inscriptions from Malkata
Malkata
Malkata , meaning the place where things are picked up in Arabic, is the site of an Ancient Egyptian palace complex built by the 18th Dynasty pharaoh Amenhotep III. It is located on the West Bank of the Nile at Thebes, Egypt, in the desert to the south of Medinet Habu...
palace. Sitamun's elevation to her role as Great Royal Wife of her father, Amenhotep III, is attested as early as Year 30 of his reign from jar label inscription No.95 which was discovered in the royal palace.
She maintained her own rooms in the Malkata
Malkata
Malkata , meaning the place where things are picked up in Arabic, is the site of an Ancient Egyptian palace complex built by the 18th Dynasty pharaoh Amenhotep III. It is located on the West Bank of the Nile at Thebes, Egypt, in the desert to the south of Medinet Habu...
palace complex, and Amenhotep, son of Hapu
Amenhotep, son of Hapu
Amenhotep, son of Hapu, was an architect, a priest, a scribe, and a public official, who held a number of offices under Amenhotep III.He is said to have been born at the end of Thutmose III's reign, in the town of Athribis . His father was Hapu, and his mother Itu...
was appointed as the steward of her properties here. She is attested on a Karnak
Karnak
The Karnak Temple Complex—usually called Karnak—comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings, notably the Great Temple of Amun and a massive structure begun by Pharaoh Ramses II . Sacred Lake is part of the site as well. It is located near Luxor, some...
statue of Amenhotep, son of Hapu (now in the Egyptian Museum
Egyptian Museum
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display, the remainder in storerooms....
, Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
) where she is mentioned as the king's Great Royal Wife. She also appears on a relief from Amenhotep III's mortuary temple
Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III
The Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III is located in the Theban necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Luxor in Egypt. It was built for the Pharaoh Amenhotep III...
, found by William Matthew Flinders Petrie
William Matthew Flinders Petrie
William Matthew Flinders Petrie FRS , commonly known as Flinders Petrie, was an English Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology and preservation of artifacts...
, (now in the Petrie Museum). Sitamun is among a handful of figures that appear near the end of the reign of Amenhotep III. This was an era of Egyptian history in which women assumed far more prominent and powerful roles with Amenhotep III's wife Tiye
Tiye
Tiye was the daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu . She became the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III....
, Sitamun's mother, being a particular example. Prior to Tiye's reign, "no previous queen ever figured so prominently in her husband's lifetime". Tiye 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 jewellry, as well as their large commemorative scarabs.
As the eldest daughter of a powerful queen, Sitamun would have been groomed for a political role but never fulfilled this potential, despite having her own property at Malkata and her high position at court. One possibility is that she was married to an heir who never assumed the throne. Another possibility is that she died prematurely or went into seclusion after her brother Akhenaten
Akhenaten
Akhenaten also spelled Echnaton,Ikhnaton,and Khuenaten;meaning "living spirit of Aten") known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV , was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC...
became king. She was an aunt of Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun , Egyptian , ; approx. 1341 BC – 1323 BC) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty , during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom...
.
She vanishes at the end of Amenhotep III's reign and is not mentioned during Akhenaten's reign. A separate chamber was carved for her in Amenhotep III's tomb in the Valley of the Kings
Valley of the Kings
The Valley of the Kings , less often called the Valley of the Gates of the Kings , is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom .The valley stands on the west bank of...
, but there is no evidence that she was ever buried there.
Titles
- Singer of the Lord of the Two Lands
- King’s Wife
- King’s Great Wife
- King’s Daughter
- King’s Daughter Whom He Loves
- Eldest Daughter of the King
- Great Daughter of the King Whom He Loves