The other day while I was waiting to check out at the
grocery store, my eyes were, as usual, magnetically drawn to that ubiquitous
consumer trap: the magazine display. Tucked underneath the tabloids was an
issue of National Geographic History
with a cover story about Octavian (Caesar Augustus for whom this balmy month is
named) but one of the other stories advertised on the cover was: Egypt’s Rebel
Queens. It’s like they know me. Because I was already planning a post on Ancient
Egyptian Queens and Lady Pharaohs, I beelined for it and flipped through it
while my husband unloaded the groceries onto the conveyor belt by himself.
(Oops.)
So, I
bought the magazine for more leisurely reading later and what I discovered was
that the article wasn’t even about any
of the queens I had been planning to write about, but a whole other set of
babes hitherto unknown to me.
In the sage
words of John Green: Egyptian Civilization lasted a long-ass time. To put it in
perspective: the Pyramids of Giza were half a millennium older to Cleopatra than Cleopatra is to us.
Just let
that sink in. It will wreck you.
When I
teach AP World History, I spend at most two class periods on Ancient Egypt, and
those days are usually spent comparing Egyptian Civilization with Mesopotamian
Civilization. As a result, my students only get a snapshot of Ancient
Civilizations – which is fine, because AP World is meant to be a survey course.
However, it does tend to give the sense of a languid and unchanging Egypt – and
it’s ridiculous to assume that a civilization that lasted for 3000 years was
completely static. (To be fair, up until the middle of the 18th
century and the start of the industrial revolution, most people were likely to
die in a world that was politically, socially, and technologically very similar
to the one in which they were born– even octogenarians.)
Over the
course of the next few weeks, I hope to give you an inkling of a more dynamic Ancient
Egypt, through the eyes of a handful of babes who were at the levers of power.
I recommend watching Crash Course for a general background on Egyptian Civilization.
The pertinent information in case you don’t want to watch the video: Ancient Egypt is divided into three main periods: The Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom. I’m starting at the end of the Middle Kingdom, c. 1700s BCE when Egypt was conquered by outsiders called the Hyksos, who originated from somewhere in the vicinity of present-day Israel. Don’t worry – the beef between the Hyksos and Ancient Egyptians had nothing to with the present-day Arab-Israeli conflict, not least because there were no Arabs or Israelis involved. The Hyksos were just hungry. A famine in their homeland led them to literally seek greener pastures. The Hyksos set up shop in the north, while a kingdom of Egyptians continued in the south and from their capital, Thebes (aka Karnak), attempted to drive the Hyksos out. Towards the end of the 17th dynasty, three queens helped chase out the invaders and establish the 18th dynasty over a re-united Egypt, ushering in a period Egyptologists call the New Kingdom.
The first of these was Queen Tetisheri, wife of King Senakhtenre, and matriarch of the resistance against the Hyksos. Although not herself of royal blood, Tetisheri became Senakhtenre’s “Great Wife” and lived to oversee three generations of her dynasty and the foundation of the New Kingdom. Her grandson, Ahmose I, the first Pharaoh of the New Kingdom, erected a cenotaph in Abydos to honor her contributions, and a stela in Karnak to honor his mother (Tetisheri’s daughter).
Tetisheri’s significance begins with the reign of her children, King Seqenenre Tao and Queen Ahhotep. (Per tradition, brother and sister married each other – gross!) Seqenenre Tao launched his attack on the Hyksos with the support of his mom Tetisheri and sister/wife Ahhotep. However, because both Seqenenre Tao and his successor Kamose died in battle after short reigns, carrying the mantle of the rebellion fell to the women in the dynasty.
After the death of Kamose, Seqenenre Tao and Ahhotep’s young son, Ahmose I, came to the throne, under the regency of his mother, Ahhotep. The situation during Ahhotep’s regency seems to have been particularly fraught: in addition to dealing with the Hyksos in the north, she also had to contend with the Hyksos’ Nubian allies in the south, and possibly rebellions in the Theban kingdom itself. The honors that Ahmose I bestowed on his mother after her death suggest that she played an active role in the military campaigns. For instance, the stela dedicated to her in Karnak reads:
She governs vast numbers of people and cares for Egypt wisely; she has forced its enemies to leave and united dissenters; she has pacified Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt and made the rebels submit.
In addition, a number of the objects in her tomb point to her active military leadership, such as weapons and golden flies awarded for valor and military service – honors rarely bestowed on Egyptian queens.
Using the foundation laid by his mother, Ahmose I captured Memphis and drove out the Hyksos, as well as capturing some gold-rich areas of Nubia. Then, alongside his wife/sister, (still gross) Ahmose Nefertari, established the 18th dynasty, and the New Kingdom.
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| This family tree comes from the blog post "Who Was Tetisheri?" listed in my sources. Just putting it here to help you remember how everyone is related. |
While her mother and grandmother had exercised a military role, Queen Ahmose Nefertari had a more political role in the establishment of a new dynasty over recently reunited/occupied territories. She is most noted for her role in overseeing the construction of new temples in Karnak and the Valley of Kings. Like her mother and grandmother, she lived a long life and served as regent for both her son and grandson. After her death, her grandson erected a statue of her in a temple at Karnak, and she became deified as the Wife of Amun (one of the primary gods of Ancient Egypt). She was not only celebrated and mourned in her own time, but also venerated for generations after her death.
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| Stela of Queen Ahmose Nefertari from 20th dynasty. |
The 18th dynasty that these three women helped found is particularly well-noted for its powerful babes and I will be writing posts about two of them: Hatshepsut, one of the few women to have the title of Pharaoh, and Nefertiti, one of the most recognizable Ancient Egyptian women, and mother of King Tut. Stay tuned!
Sources:
Three of a Kind: The Rebel Queens of Thebes, by Irene Cordón in National Geographic History, July/August 2017 issue
UNESCO General History of Africa: Vol. II Ancient Civilizations of Africa, Ed. G. Mokhtar.
Wikipedia:
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