Tabiry
Encyclopedia
Tabiry was a Nubia
n queen dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt
.
Tabiry was the daughter of Alara of Nubia
and his wife Kasaqa and the wife of King Piye
. She held some interesting titles: Main King’s Wife, first of her majesty (hmt niswt 'at tpit n hm.f) (the only other queen to hold the Main King's Wife title was Nefertiti
) and “The Great One of the Foreign Country” (ta-aat-khesut). She also holds the more standard titles of King's Wife (hmt niswt), King's Daughter (s3t niswt), and King's Sister (snt niswt).
Tabiry was buried in a pyramid at El-Kurru
(K.53). A carved granite funerary stela found in her tomb mentions she is the daughter of Alara of Nubia and the wife of Piye. The stela is now in Khartoum
. The stela gives Tabiry further titles. Reisner had initially translated one of her titles as 'the great chieftainess of the Temehu' (southern Libyans), and concluded that the royal house of Kush was somehow related to the Lybians. Others have since shown that her title should be read as "Great One (or 'Chieftainess') of the Desert-dwellers", showing her title connects her to the Nubians.
A blue faience shabti of Tabiry is now in the Petrie Museum in London (UC13220).
Nubia
Nubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
n queen dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt
Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt
The twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt, known as the Nubian Dynasty or the Kushite Empire, was the last dynasty of the Third Intermediate Period of Ancient Egypt....
.
Tabiry was the daughter of Alara of Nubia
Alara of Nubia
Alara was a King of Kush who is generally regarded as the founder of the Napatan royal dynasty by his 25th Dynasty Nubian successors and was the first recorded prince of Nubia. He unified all of Upper Nubia from Meroë to the Third Cataract and is possibly attested at the Temple of Amun at Kawa....
and his wife Kasaqa and the wife of King Piye
Piye
Piye, was a Kushite king and founder of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt who ruled Egypt from 747 BCE to 716 BCE according to Peter Clayton. He ruled from the city of Napata, located deep in Nubia, Sudan...
. She held some interesting titles: Main King’s Wife, first of her majesty (hmt niswt 'at tpit n hm.f) (the only other queen to hold the Main King's Wife title was 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...
) and “The Great One of the Foreign Country” (ta-aat-khesut). She also holds the more standard titles of King's Wife (hmt niswt), King's Daughter (s3t niswt), and King's Sister (snt niswt).
Tabiry was buried in a pyramid at El-Kurru
El-Kurru
El-Kurru was one of the royal cemeteries used by the Nubian royal family. Reisner excavated the royal pyramids. Most of the pyramids date to the early part of the Kushite period, from Alara of Nubia to King Nastasen ....
(K.53). A carved granite funerary stela found in her tomb mentions she is the daughter of Alara of Nubia and the wife of Piye. The stela is now in Khartoum
Khartoum
Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
. The stela gives Tabiry further titles. Reisner had initially translated one of her titles as 'the great chieftainess of the Temehu' (southern Libyans), and concluded that the royal house of Kush was somehow related to the Lybians. Others have since shown that her title should be read as "Great One (or 'Chieftainess') of the Desert-dwellers", showing her title connects her to the Nubians.
A blue faience shabti of Tabiry is now in the Petrie Museum in London (UC13220).