Neferure
Encyclopedia
Neferure was an Egyptian
princess of the eighteenth dynasty
. She was the daughter of two pharaohs, Hatshepsut
and Thutmose II
. She served in high offices in the government and the religious administration of Ancient Egypt.
. Neferure had a half brother, Thutmose III
, who was born to a secondary wife or concubine of their father and was a youth at the time of his father's death.
It has been suggested that Neferure married her half-brother, but there is no conclusive evidence of such a marriage. A king’s son named Amenemhat (B) was installed as Overseer of the Cattle in year 24 of the reign of Thutmosis III and this prince may have been a son of Neferure. It has been pointed out however that if Neferure had become a great royal wife, she would have been attested with that title.
Neferure was born during the reign of Thutmose II. In Karnak Neferure is depicted with Thutmose II and Hatshepsut. Some records indicate that Thutmose II died after a thirteen-year-long rule. The heir to the throne, Thutmose III, was only a child and Hatshepsut served as his regent, but by the seventh year of his rule it is well documented that Hatshepsut took on the role of pharaoh
and continued to rule until her death, for more than twenty years.
Neferure was tutored by some of Hatshepsut's most trusted advisers, at first Ahmose Pen-Nekhebet
, who served under several of the preceding pharaohs and was held in great esteem. In his tomb he claims:
Neferure’s next tutor was Senenmut
. Senenmut is known from many statues depicting him with his young charge. In all these statues Senenmut is shown wearing a long cloak. Seven statues are block statues in which the head of Princess Neferure pokes out of the block. One statue shows Neferura seated on his lap, while in another statue Senenmut is shown seated with one leg pulled up and Neferure leaning against his leg. After Hatshepsut became regent, Senenmut became her advisor and the role of tutor for Neferure was handed over to the administrator Senimen.
Following her mother's accession to the Egyptian throne, Neferure had an unusually prominent role in the court, exceeding the normal role played by a royal princess to the pharaoh. As Hatshepsut took on the role of pharaoh, so Neferure took on a queenly role in public life. Many depictions of her in these roles exist. She was given the titles Lady of Upper and Lower Egypt, Mistress of the Lands, and God's Wife of Amun
. The latter title being one that Hatshepsut had to abandon upon becoming pharaoh. These offices had to be filled by a royal woman in order to fulfill the religious and ceremonial duties, normally of the queen, in the government and the temples. The interpretation of one scene depicted on Hatshepsut's Chapelle Rouge
(Red Chapel) in the Karnak temple depicts her fulfilling the rituals required of God's Wife of Amun
. Perhaps significantly, this royal title had been held by several queens of her dynasty including her mother, and this woman played an important role in temple rituals with the pharaoh.
Neferure is depicted on a stela from Serabit el-Khadim
in the Sinai dated to year 11. The stela shows Senenmut and Neferure. The year is given at the top of the stela, but no mention is made of the name of the pharaoh.
Since Neferure is depicted in her mother's funeral temple, there are some authors who believe that Neferure was still alive in the first few years of Thutmose III
's rule as pharaoh, and that his eldest son, Amenemhat
, was her child. However, there is no concrete evidence to prove that she outlived her mother into Thutmose III's reign. Peter Dorman
has argued that a sphinx of a queen dated to the reign of Tuthmose III depicts Neferure as a queen. There are however no inscriptions that prove or disprove this proposed identification. It is not clear if Neferure married her half-brother Tuthmose III or not.
, is recorded as the wife of Thutmose, and seems to have replaced that of Neferure, which had been the original name recorded; one of the depictions is associated with the title “Great Royal Wife”, the other with “God's Wife”, a title which Satiah does bear later on other inscriptions. All of the titles associated with Neferure are not found ascribed to Satiah however.
A tomb was constructed for her that was found by archeologist Howard Carter
. Located atop a sheer cliff, it was found to be mostly empty. It was noted that the tomb had been used, however, since traces of ochre and yellow paints could be defined. The archaeologists who inspected the tomb were certain that Neferure had not outlived her mother, Hatshepsut.
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...
princess of the eighteenth dynasty
Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
The eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt...
. She was the daughter of two pharaohs, Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut also Hatchepsut; meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies;1508–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt...
and Thutmose II
Thutmose II
Thutmose II was the fourth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. He built some minor monuments and initiated at least two minor campaigns but did little else during his rule and was probably strongly influenced by his wife, Hatshepsut...
. She served in high offices in the government and the religious administration of Ancient Egypt.
Family
Neferure was the only known child of Thutmose II and Hatshepsut, his great royal wife. She was the granddaughter of Thutmose IThutmose I
Thutmose I was the third Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. He was given the throne after the death of the previous king Amenhotep I. During his reign, he campaigned deep into the Levant and Nubia, pushing the borders of Egypt further than ever before...
. Neferure had a half brother, Thutmose III
Thutmose III
Thutmose III was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. During the first twenty-two years of Thutmose's reign he was co-regent with his stepmother, Hatshepsut, who was named the pharaoh...
, who was born to a secondary wife or concubine of their father and was a youth at the time of his father's death.
It has been suggested that Neferure married her half-brother, but there is no conclusive evidence of such a marriage. A king’s son named Amenemhat (B) was installed as Overseer of the Cattle in year 24 of the reign of Thutmosis III and this prince may have been a son of Neferure. It has been pointed out however that if Neferure had become a great royal wife, she would have been attested with that title.
Life
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...
and continued to rule until her death, for more than twenty years.
Neferure was tutored by some of Hatshepsut's most trusted advisers, at first Ahmose Pen-Nekhebet
Ahmose Pen-Nekhebet
Ahmose Pen Nekhbet was an ancient Egyptian official who started his career under Ahmose I and served all the pharaohs until Thutmose III. His autobiographical inscriptions are important for the understanding of the history of the early New Kingdom, though less detailed than those of his...
, who served under several of the preceding pharaohs and was held in great esteem. In his tomb he claims:
- "For me the god’s wife repeated favors, the king’s great wife Maatkare justified; I brought up her eldest (daughter), the princess Neferura, justified, while she was (still) a child at the breast."
Neferure’s next tutor was Senenmut
Senenmut
Senenmut was an 18th dynasty ancient Egyptian architect and government official. His name translates literally as "mother's brother."- Family :...
. Senenmut is known from many statues depicting him with his young charge. In all these statues Senenmut is shown wearing a long cloak. Seven statues are block statues in which the head of Princess Neferure pokes out of the block. One statue shows Neferura seated on his lap, while in another statue Senenmut is shown seated with one leg pulled up and Neferure leaning against his leg. After Hatshepsut became regent, Senenmut became her advisor and the role of tutor for Neferure was handed over to the administrator Senimen.
Following her mother's accession to the Egyptian throne, Neferure had an unusually prominent role in the court, exceeding the normal role played by a royal princess to the pharaoh. As Hatshepsut took on the role of pharaoh, so Neferure took on a queenly role in public life. Many depictions of her in these roles exist. She was given the titles Lady of Upper and Lower Egypt, Mistress of the Lands, 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...
. The latter title being one that Hatshepsut had to abandon upon becoming pharaoh. These offices had to be filled by a royal woman in order to fulfill the religious and ceremonial duties, normally of the queen, in the government and the temples. The interpretation of one scene depicted on Hatshepsut's Chapelle Rouge
Chapelle Rouge
The Red Chapel of Hatshepsut or the Chapelle Rouge originally was constructed as a barque shrine during the reign of Hatshepsut. She was the fifth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt and ruled from approximately 1479 to 1458 BC....
(Red Chapel) in the Karnak temple depicts her fulfilling the rituals required 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...
. Perhaps significantly, this royal title had been held by several queens of her dynasty including her mother, and this woman played an important role in temple rituals with the pharaoh.
Neferure is depicted on a stela from Serabit el-Khadim
Serabit el-Khadim
Serabit el-Khadim is a locality in the south-west Sinai Peninsula where turquoise was mined extensively in antiquity, mainly by the ancient Egyptians...
in the Sinai dated to year 11. The stela shows Senenmut and Neferure. The year is given at the top of the stela, but no mention is made of the name of the pharaoh.
Since Neferure is depicted in her mother's funeral temple, there are some authors who believe that Neferure was still alive in the first few years of Thutmose III
Thutmose III
Thutmose III was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. During the first twenty-two years of Thutmose's reign he was co-regent with his stepmother, Hatshepsut, who was named the pharaoh...
's rule as pharaoh, and that his eldest son, Amenemhat
Amenemhat (son of Thutmose III)
Amenemhat was a prince of the eighteenth dynasty of Egypt; the son of Pharaoh Thutmose III.He was the eldest son and appointed heir of the pharaoh...
, was her child. However, there is no concrete evidence to prove that she outlived her mother into Thutmose III's reign. Peter Dorman
Peter Dorman
Peter Fitzgerald Dorman is an epigraphist, philologist, and cultural anthropologist. He currently serves as the 15th President of the American University of Beirut...
has argued that a sphinx of a queen dated to the reign of Tuthmose III depicts Neferure as a queen. There are however no inscriptions that prove or disprove this proposed identification. It is not clear if Neferure married her half-brother Tuthmose III or not.
Death
It is possible that Neferure died during the reign of her mother. She is mentioned in Senenmut's first tomb, which he had built in Regnal Year 7. Neferure is also depicted on a Year 11 stela in Serabit el-Khadim, but is completely absent from Senenmut's second tomb, which dates to Year 16 of Hatshepsut. No record has been found recording that she married Thutmose III, however, there is research that suggests that she did and was the mother of his eldest son. On two depictions the name, SatiahSatiah
Satiah was an Ancient Egyptian queen, the Great Royal Wife of Thutmose III.-Family:Satiah was the daughter of the royal nurse Ipu. It is possible that her father was the important official Ahmose Pen-Nekhebet...
, is recorded as the wife of Thutmose, and seems to have replaced that of Neferure, which had been the original name recorded; one of the depictions is associated with the title “Great Royal Wife”, the other with “God's Wife”, a title which Satiah does bear later on other inscriptions. All of the titles associated with Neferure are not found ascribed to Satiah however.
A tomb was constructed for her that was found by archeologist Howard Carter
Howard Carter
Howard Carter may refer to:* Howard Carter , English archaeologist who discovered Tutankhamun's tomb* Howard Carter , American basketball player...
. Located atop a sheer cliff, it was found to be mostly empty. It was noted that the tomb had been used, however, since traces of ochre and yellow paints could be defined. The archaeologists who inspected the tomb were certain that Neferure had not outlived her mother, Hatshepsut.