Beketaten
Encyclopedia
Beketaten was an Ancient Egypt
ian princess of the 18th dynasty. Beketaten was the youngest daughter of Pharaoh
Amenhotep III
and his Great Royal Wife
Tiye
, thus the sister of Pharaoh Akhenaten
. Her name means "Handmaid of Aten
"
of Huya
, the steward of Queen Tiye
in Amarna
.
Beketaten is shown with Queen Tiye in two separate banquet scenes. Queen Tiye is shown seated opposite Pharaoh
Akhenaten
and Queen Nefertiti
. In one scene Beketaten is shown seated on a small chair next to her mother Tiye, and in the other banquet scene Beketaten is shown standing next to Tiye.
On the east wall of Huya's tomb Akhenaten
is shown leading his mother Tiye to a temple. They are accompanied by the Beketaten as they enter the temple.
The lintel on the North Wall shows a depiction of the two royal families. On the right side Amenhotep III
is shown seated opposite Queen Tiye
who is accompanied by the princess Beketaten. Three female attendants are shown behind Tiye.
, Amenhotep III's youngest daughter was identical with Beketaten. However, no evidence proves that they are the same people.
According to one theory Beketaten was in fact a daughter of Akhenaten and his secondary wife Kiya
. She may be identical with the princess who is shown with Kiya and whose name ends in -aten but full name was lost. After Kiya's demise her depictions were re-carved to show Meritaten
and Ankhesenpaaten with their daughters Meritaten Tasherit
and Ankhesenpaaten Tasherit
(who might have been fictional and made up to fill the place of Kiya's child on these depictions). This theory is partially based on the fact that Beketaten was never named king's sister in the scenes from Amarna
, but only king's bodily daughter. She never appears along side the daughters of Nefertiti
leading to the conjecture that she must be the daughter of Akhenaten
by another wife who may be Kiya
. After the death of her mother, Beketaten may have been raised by her grandmother Tiye
. A wine docket mentioning Beketaten dates to year 13 and it has been proposed that she inherited Kiya's estates after her death.
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 of the 18th dynasty. Beketaten was the youngest daughter 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...
Amenhotep III
Amenhotep 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....
, thus the sister of Pharaoh 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...
. Her name means "Handmaid of Aten
Aten
Aten is the disk of the sun in ancient Egyptian mythology, and originally an aspect of Ra. The deified Aten is the focus of the monolatristic, henotheistic, or monotheistic religion of Atenism established by Amenhotep IV, who later took the name Akhenaten in worship in recognition of Aten...
"
Biography
Beketaten is mainly known from the tombAmarna Tomb 1
The tomb of the Ancient Egyptian noble Huya, known as Amarna Tomb 1 is located in the cluster of tombs known collectively as the Northern tombs, near to the city of Amarna, in Egypt....
of Huya
Huya (Noble)
Huya was an Egyptian noble living around 1350 BC. He was the "Superintendent of the Royal Harem", "Superintendent of the Treasury" and "Superintendent of the House", all titles that are associated with Queen Tiye, mother of Akhenaten....
, the steward of Queen Tiye
Tiye
Tiye was the daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu . She became the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III....
in Amarna
Amarna
Amarna is an extensive Egyptian archaeological site that represents the remains of the capital city newly–established and built by the Pharaoh Akhenaten of the late Eighteenth Dynasty , and abandoned shortly afterwards...
.
Beketaten is shown with Queen Tiye in two separate banquet scenes. Queen Tiye is shown seated opposite 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...
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...
and Queen Nefertiti
Nefertiti
Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a religious revolution, in which they started to worship one god only...
. In one scene Beketaten is shown seated on a small chair next to her mother Tiye, and in the other banquet scene Beketaten is shown standing next to Tiye.
On the east wall of Huya's tomb 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...
is shown leading his mother Tiye to a temple. They are accompanied by the Beketaten as they enter the temple.
The lintel on the North Wall shows a depiction of the two royal families. On the right side Amenhotep III
Amenhotep 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...
is shown seated opposite Queen Tiye
Tiye
Tiye was the daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu . She became the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III....
who is accompanied by the princess Beketaten. Three female attendants are shown behind Tiye.
Proposed alternative identities
Beketaten's only known title is King's Daughter of his Body. It is likely that she died young since she is not mentioned in the historical records after Queen Tiye's death. Some scholars have speculated that NebetahNebetah
Nebetah was one of the daughters of Ancient Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III of the 18th dynasty and his Great Royal Wife Tiye. She was a younger sister of Akhenaten.- Biography :...
, Amenhotep III's youngest daughter was identical with Beketaten. However, no evidence proves that they are the same people.
According to one theory Beketaten was in fact a daughter of Akhenaten and his secondary wife Kiya
Kiya
Kiya was one of the wives of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Little is known about her, and her actions and roles are poorly documented in the historical record, in contrast to those of Akhenaten's first royal wife, Nefertiti. Her unusual name suggests that she may originally have been a Mitanni...
. She may be identical with the princess who is shown with Kiya and whose name ends in -aten but full name was lost. After Kiya's demise her depictions were re-carved to show Meritaten
Meritaten
Meritaten also spelled Merytaten or Meryetaten was an ancient Egyptian queen of the eighteenth dynasty, who held the position of Great Royal Wife to Pharaoh Smenkhkare, who may have been a brother or son of Akhenaten...
and Ankhesenpaaten with their daughters Meritaten Tasherit
Meritaten Tasherit
Meritaten Tasherit, which means Meritaten the Younger was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 18th dynasty. She is likely to have been the daughter of Meritaten, eldest daughter of Pharaoh Akhenaten....
and Ankhesenpaaten Tasherit
Ankhesenpaaten Tasherit
Ankhesenpaaten Tasherit was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 18th dynasty. She is most commonly held to have been the daughter of Ankhesenpaaten and Akhenaten himself, though it is also possible that her mother was Kiya, Akhenaten's second wife...
(who might have been fictional and made up to fill the place of Kiya's child on these depictions). This theory is partially based on the fact that Beketaten was never named king's sister in the scenes from Amarna
Amarna
Amarna is an extensive Egyptian archaeological site that represents the remains of the capital city newly–established and built by the Pharaoh Akhenaten of the late Eighteenth Dynasty , and abandoned shortly afterwards...
, but only king's bodily daughter. She never appears along side the daughters of Nefertiti
Nefertiti
Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a religious revolution, in which they started to worship one god only...
leading to the conjecture that she must be the daughter of 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...
by another wife who may be Kiya
Kiya
Kiya was one of the wives of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Little is known about her, and her actions and roles are poorly documented in the historical record, in contrast to those of Akhenaten's first royal wife, Nefertiti. Her unusual name suggests that she may originally have been a Mitanni...
. After the death of her mother, Beketaten may have been raised by her grandmother Tiye
Tiye
Tiye was the daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu . She became the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III....
. A wine docket mentioning Beketaten dates to year 13 and it has been proposed that she inherited Kiya's estates after her death.