Khepresh
Encyclopedia
The Khepresh was an ancient Egyptian royal headdress. It is also known as the blue crown or war crown. New Kingdom pharaoh
s are often shown wearing it in battle, but it was also frequently worn in ceremonies. It used to be called a war crown by many, but modern historians refrain from defining it thus.
The Khepresh was made from cloth or leather stained blue and was covered with small yellow sun discs. Like many other royal crowns an uraeus
was fastened to its front.
. Amenhotep III
was apparently the first king to be depicted wearing the Blue Crown, and during the 18th and 19th Dynasties it was worn by some pharaoh
s as the main crown. Under the Kushite Dynasty
(747 to 656 BCE) it is no longer depicted.
The Blue Crown, or War Crown was also represented in hieroglyphs.
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...
s are often shown wearing it in battle, but it was also frequently worn in ceremonies. It used to be called a war crown by many, but modern historians refrain from defining it thus.
The Khepresh was made from cloth or leather stained blue and was covered with small yellow sun discs. Like many other royal crowns an uraeus
Uraeus
The Uraeus is the stylized, upright form of an Egyptian spitting cobra , used as a symbol of sovereignty, royalty, deity, and divine authority in ancient Egypt.The Uraeus is a symbol for the goddess Wadjet, who was one of the earliest Egyptian deities and who...
was fastened to its front.
History
The earliest mention of the khepresh is probably on the Cairo Stela 20799 dating from the Second Intermediate PeriodSecond Intermediate Period of Egypt
The Second Intermediate Period marks a period when Ancient Egypt fell into disarray for a second time, between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom...
. 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...
was apparently the first king to be depicted wearing the Blue Crown, and during the 18th and 19th Dynasties it was worn by some 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...
s as the main crown. Under the Kushite Dynasty
Kingdom of Kush
The native name of the Kingdom was likely kaš, recorded in Egyptian as .The name Kash is probably connected to Cush in the Hebrew Bible , son of Ham ....
(747 to 656 BCE) it is no longer depicted.
The Blue Crown, or War Crown was also represented in hieroglyphs.
See also
- DeshretDeshretDeshret, from ancient Egyptian, was the formal name for the Red Crown of and for the desert Red Land on either side of Kemet, the fertile Nile river basin. The end has a curly wire on it, that represents the proboscis of a honey bee. Deshret or DSRT also represents the insect known as the honeybee...
- Red Crown of Lower Egypt - HedjetHedjetHedjet is the formal name for the White Crown of pharaonic Upper Egypt. The crown was white and, after the unification of Egypt, it was combined with the Red Crown of Lower Egypt, with the delta to form the Pschent, the Double Crown of Egypt...
- White Crown of Upper Egypt - PschentPschentThe Pschent was the name of the Double Crown of Ancient Egypt. The Ancient Egyptians generally referred to it as sekhemti , the Two Powerful Ones. It combined the Red Deshret Crown of Lower Egypt and the White Hedjet Crown of Upper Egypt....
- Double Crown of Lower & Upper Egypt - AtefAtefAtef is the specific feathered white crown of the Egyptian Deity Osiris. It combines the Hedjet, the crown of Upper Egypt, with red ostrich feathers for the Osiris cult. The feathers are identified as ostrich from their curl or curve at the upper ends, with a slight flare toward the base. They are...
- HedjetHedjetHedjet is the formal name for the White Crown of pharaonic Upper Egypt. The crown was white and, after the unification of Egypt, it was combined with the Red Crown of Lower Egypt, with the delta to form the Pschent, the Double Crown of Egypt...
Crown with feathers identified with OsirisOsirisOsiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and... - Khepresh - Blue or War Crown also called Royal Crown
- UraeusUraeusThe Uraeus is the stylized, upright form of an Egyptian spitting cobra , used as a symbol of sovereignty, royalty, deity, and divine authority in ancient Egypt.The Uraeus is a symbol for the goddess Wadjet, who was one of the earliest Egyptian deities and who...
- Rearing Cobra
- N-red crown (n hieroglyph)N-red crown (n hieroglyph)The ancient Egyptian Red Crown, the Deshret crown, is one of the oldest Egyptian hieroglyphs. As an iconographic element, it is used on the famous Narmer Palette of Pharaoh Narmer as the "Red Crown of the Delta", the Delta being Lower Egypt....
- N-water ripple (n hieroglyph)N-water ripple (n hieroglyph)The ancient Egyptian ripple of water is one of the oldest language hieroglyphs from Ancient Egypt. It is used on a famous cartouche of Pharaoh Den of the First dynasty....