Not to be confused with Amun-her-khepeshef

Amun-her-khepeshef (20th dynasty)

Amun-her-khepeshef was the eldest son and appointed heir of Pharaoh Ramesses III. Like many of his brothers, he was named after a son of Ramesses II, Amun-her-khepeshef. He died when he was about fifteen years old....

, a son of Ramesses III, and Amenherkhepshef

Amenherkhepshef

The Egyptian prince Amenherkhepshef was the son of Ramesses VI and Queen Nubkhesbed. He lived in the Twentieth dynasty and was buried in the reused sarcophagus of Twosret, in the reused tomb of Chancellor Bay, KV13, in the Valley of the Kings, on the west bank of the Nile, in Thebes, Egypt....

, a son of Ramesses VI.

Amun-her-khepeshef or Amonhirkhopshef or Amun-her-wenemef was the firstborn son 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...

 Ramesses II

Ramesses II

Ramesses II , referred to as Ramesses the Great, was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty. He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire...

 and Queen Nefertari

Nefertari

Nefertari also known as Nefertari Merytmut was one of the Great Royal Wives of Ramesses the Great. Nefertari means 'Beautiful Companion' and Meritmut means 'Beloved of [the Goddess] Mut'. She is one of the best known Egyptian queens, next to Cleopatra, Nefertiti and Hatshepsut...

.

Name

He was born when his father was still a co-regent with Seti I

Seti I

Menmaatre Seti I was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt , the son of Ramesses I and Queen Sitre, and the father of Ramesses II...

. He was originally called Amun-her-wenemef ("Amun

Amun

Amun, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu , was a god in Egyptian mythology who in the form of Amun-Ra became the focus of the most complex system of theology in Ancient Egypt...

 Is with His Right Arm"). He changed his name to Amun-her-khepeshef ("Amun Is with His Strong Arm") early in his father's reign. He appears to have changed his name once again to Seth-her-khepeshef around Year 20 of Ramesses II. Seth-her-khepeshef was formerly thought to be another son of Ramesses II.

Biography

Amun-her-khepeshef was the crown prince of Egypt for the first 25 years of Ramesses II's reign but eventually predeceased his father in Year 25 of his father's reign. Ramesses B

Ramesses B

Ramesses was an Ancient Egyptian prince, the eldest son of Pharaoh Ramesses II and Queen Isetnofret.-Family:Ramesses was the eldest son of Ramesses II and Queen Isetnofret. He had at least two sister and two brothers. His sister Bintanath was elevated to the position of great royal wife later in...

, Ramesses II's second oldest son then succeeded him as Crown Prince for another 25 years (from Year 25 to Year 50 of this pharaoh's reign). Merenptah, Ramesses II's 13th son, would later assume the throne in Year 67 of Ramesses II.

Amun-her-khepeshef, as heir to the throne, held several titles. Some of them were unique such as "Commander of the Troops", "Effective Confidant" and "Eldest Son of the King of his Body." Some of his other titles were shared with other prominent princes such as "Fan-bearer on the King's Right Hand

Fan-bearer on the Right Side of the King

Fan-bearer on the Right Side of the King – sometimes also translated as Fanbearer on the King's Right Hand – or is a term used to describe an Ancient Egyptian courtier....

" and "Royal Scribe". His titles indicate that he held a high position in the army, and according to some relief depictions, he and his younger half-brother Khaemwaset fought in the Battle of Kadesh

Battle of Kadesh

The Battle of Kadesh took place between the forces of the Egyptian Empire under Ramesses II and the Hittite Empire under Muwatalli II at the city of Kadesh on the Orontes River, in what is now the Syrian Arab Republic....

 and the campaigns in Nubia

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...

 (or at least he accompanied his father to these battles). He appears on a wall in the Temple of Beit el-Wali. Amun-her-khepeshef was involved in an exchange of diplomatic correspondence with the Hittites after Ramesses II's Year 21 peace treaty with them.

Statues and depictions of Amun-her-khepeshef appear in his father's famous temples in Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel temples refers to two massive rock temples in Abu Simbel in Nubia, southern Egypt on the western bank of Lake Nasser about 230 km southwest of Aswan...

, Luxor

Luxor

Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate. The population numbers 487,896 , with an area of approximately . As the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open air museum", as the ruins of the temple...

, in the Ramesseum

Ramesseum

The Ramesseum is the memorial temple of Pharaoh Ramesses II . It is located in the Theban necropolis in Upper Egypt, across the River Nile from the modern city of Luxor...

, and in Seti's Abydos

Abydos, Egypt

Abydos is one of the most ancient cities of Upper Egypt, and also of the eight Upper Nome, of which it was the capital city. It is located about 11 kilometres west of the Nile at latitude 26° 10' N, near the modern Egyptian towns of el-'Araba el Madfuna and al-Balyana...

 temple. He is depicted with his father lassoing a bull in the Abydos temple walls and appears frequently on Ramesses II's statues.

Death

Amun-her-khepeshef died around Year 25 of his father's reign. He is known to have had a wife named Nefertari – who could be identical with Ramesses' daughter, Nefertari, possibly a child of Queen Nefertari

Nefertari

Nefertari also known as Nefertari Merytmut was one of the Great Royal Wives of Ramesses the Great. Nefertari means 'Beautiful Companion' and Meritmut means 'Beloved of [the Goddess] Mut'. She is one of the best known Egyptian queens, next to Cleopatra, Nefertiti and Hatshepsut...

 – and a son named Seti. The next crown prince was his half-brother Ramesses, the eldest son of Queen Isetnofret

Isetnofret

Isetnofret was one of the Great Royal Wives of Pharaoh Ramesses II and was the mother of his heir, Merneptah...

. Amun-her-khepeshef was buried in tomb KV5

KV5

Tomb KV5 is a subterranean, rock-cut tomb in the Valley of the Kings.It belonged to the sons of Ramesses II. Though KV5 was partially excavated as early as 1825, its true extent was discovered by Dr Kent R. Weeks and his exploration team. The tomb is now known to be the largest in the Valley of the...

 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...

, in a large tomb built for the sons of Ramesses II. His internment was apparently inspected in Year 53 of Ramesses II.

If the skeleton discovered by Dr. Weeks in KV5

KV5

Tomb KV5 is a subterranean, rock-cut tomb in the Valley of the Kings.It belonged to the sons of Ramesses II. Though KV5 was partially excavated as early as 1825, its true extent was discovered by Dr Kent R. Weeks and his exploration team. The tomb is now known to be the largest in the Valley of the...

is his, then he may have been in his early forties when he died, and he died from a strike to the back of his head.