Women in Ancient Egypt - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Women in Ancient Egypt had a status that may seem surprisingly modern when compared to the status women occupied in the majority of contemporary societies. Although men and women had traditionally distinct powers in society, it seems that there was no insurmountable barrier in front of those who wanted to deviate from this pattern. Egyptian society recognized women not as equal to men, but as having an essential complementarity, expressed especially in the action of producing children. This respect is expressed clearly in the Ancient Egyptian theology and morality, but it is certainly quite difficult to determine the extent of its application in the daily life of Egyptians. However, it was far different from the society of Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...

where women were considered eternal legal minors.

Women's legal equality with men

Current knowledge of Ancient Egypt indicates that Egyptian women were the equal of men under the law (unlike Greco-Roman or Mesopotamian women during the same period). Thus, they could own land, manage their own property and represent themselves in court cases. They could sit on juries and testify in trials. At the same time, they were also subject to the same legal penalties as men.She could divorce, initiate a lawsuit to recover the assets of the household and win the case, which did not prevent her from remarrying, as shown by the archaeological data on the Jewish community of Elephantine

Elephantine

Elephantine is an island in the River Nile, located just downstream of the First Cataract at the southern border of Ancient Egypt. This region is referred to as Upper Egypt because the land is higher than that near the Mediterranean coast. The island may have received its name because it was a...

found in the Elephantine papyri

Elephantine papyri

The Elephantine Papyri are a collection of ancient Jewish manuscripts dating from the 5th century BC. They come from a Jewish community at Elephantine, then called Yeb, the island in the Nile at the border of Nubia, which was probably founded as a military installation in about 650 BC during...

.

Marriages were often arranged by the fathers of the bride and groom, but it was not rare for spouses to make their own choice. Normally the fathers of the bride and groom would arrange a pre-nuptual contract between the future spouses. The purpose of the pre-marital contract was to specify what allowance the wife would be entitled to receive from her husband, as well as what presents the groom was expected to give to his wife and her parents. The contract specifies any property or goods that the wife brings with her, and they remain hers in the case of divorce. There was no dowry

Dowry

A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...

expected from the bride's father, another significant difference with other societies in the region.

By marrying, the Egyptian woman kept her name with the added-on surname "wife of X". Marriage appears to have been perceived as a natural state, and it seems that it did not result from an administrative process or a religious event; it often embodies the will of a man and a woman to live together, which does not prevent the possible existence of a material marriage contract in the future, as was often the case elsewhere. As Christiane Desroches Noblecourt emphasizes, "marriage and eventually divorce are events sanctioned in the family environment only by the will of the spouses, without any intervention by the Empire's bureaucracy"; the bride and groom pronounced the phrases: "I make you my wife" and "You make me your wife".

Men were obligated to guarantee the well-being of their spouse in material ways. The scribe Ani (during the New Kingdom

New Kingdom

The New Kingdom of Egypt, also referred to as the Egyptian Empire is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt....

period) advised future spouses :
Certainly, things did not always proceed in an ideal fashion and divorce existed. It began on the intiative of one or the other spouse. If the initiative came from the husband, it had to cede part of his goods to his wife; if the women took the initiative, she was held to the same obligation but to a lesser degree. Recourse to a tribunal was possible in the case of a contested divorce between the spouses, although the Empire's bureaucracy did not intervene in the act of marriage.

The great hymn to Isis

Isis

Isis or in original more likely Aset is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic...

written in the Oxyrhynchus Papyri

Oxyrhynchus Papyri

The Oxyrhynchus Papyri are a very numerous group of manuscripts discovered by archaeologists including Bernard Pyne Grenfell and Arthur Surridge Hunt at an ancient rubbish dump near Oxyrhynchus in Egypt . The manuscripts date from the 1st to the 6th century AD. They include thousands of Greek and...

expresses this equality between men and women, addressing the goddess with "the honour of the feminine sex" : "it is you, the mistress of the earth [...] you have given women power equal to that of men".

Christiane Desroches Noblecourt :
The insistance of the Egyptian moralists to remind men of their duties towards their wives lends itself to speculation that it was not rare in practise that men abused their position.

Working women

Most women belonged to the peasantry, and worked alongside their husbands doing agricultural work. Women were known to manage farms or businesses in the absence of their husbands or sons. Among the upper classes of society, a woman usually did not work outside the home, and instead supervised the servants of the household and her children's education. Women belonging to families wealthy enough to hire nannies to help with childcare frequently worked as perfume-makers, and also were employed in courts and temples, as acrobats, dancers, singers, and musicians, which were all considered respectable pursuits for upper-class women. Women belonging to any class could work as professional mourners or musicians, and these were common jobs. Noblewomen could be members of the priesthood connected to either a god or goddess. Women could even be at the head of a business as, for example, the lady Nenofer of the New Kingdom

New Kingdom

, and could also be a doctor, like the lady Peseshet during the Fourth dynasty of Egypt

Fourth dynasty of Egypt

The fourth dynasty of ancient Egypt is characterized as a "golden age" of the Old Kingdom. Dynasty IV lasted from ca. 2613 to 2494 BC...

Pregnancy and childbirth

There is much evidence of complex beliefs and practises in Ancient Egypt related to the important role fertility played in society. Religious beliefs included rules concerning purification, similar to other religions in the region. Women in Egypt were believed to be eliminating impure elements during menstruation

Menstruation

Menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining . It occurs on a regular basis in sexually reproductive-age females of certain mammal species. This article focuses on human menstruation.-Overview:...

, and were excused from work and could not enter the restricted rooms of temples while menstruating. Fertility rituals were used by couples desiring children. Contraception was permitted as well, and medical texts survive that refer to many contraceptive formulas (although the ingredients are often now difficult to identify). Some formulas, such as drinks made of celery base and beer, are dubious, but others show a basic knowledge of somewhat effective methods, such as a spermicide

Spermicide

Spermicide is a contraceptive substance that eradicates sperm, inserted vaginally prior to intercourse to prevent pregnancy. As a contraceptive, spermicide may be used alone. However, the pregnancy rate experienced by couples using only spermicide is higher than that of couples using other methods...

made of fermented acacia

Acacia

Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...

gum, which produces a sperm-killing lactic acid

Lactic acid

Lactic acid, also known as milk acid, is a chemical compound that plays a role in various biochemical processes and was first isolated in 1780 by the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele. Lactic acid is a carboxylic acid with the chemical formula C3H6O3...

.

Once pregnant, the uterus was placed under the protection of a specific goddess, Tenenet

Tenenet

Tenenet, alts. Zenenet, Tanenet, Tenenit, Manuel de Codage transliteration Tnn.t, was an ancient Egyptian goddess of childbirth and beer...

. Ritual medical care was given by anointing the woman's body with beneficial oils, using a small bottle in the form of a woman posed with her hands placed on a round belly. There was a ritual formula practised by Egyptians wanting to know the sex of their baby, which spread to Greece, Byzantium, and then to Europe, where it was practised for centuries without anyone realizing its origins in Ancient Egypt. It involves placing grains of barley and wheat in a cloth sachet

Sachet (scented bag)

A sachet is a small cloth scented bag filled with herbs, potpourri, or aromatic ingredients.It is also defined as a small soft bag containing perfumed or sweet-smelling items also referred to as an ascent bag, scent bag, sweet bag, sachet bag, sachet de senteurs, spiced sachet, potpourri sachet,...

and soaking them in the pregnant woman's urine; if barley sprouted first, the baby was said to be a boy, and if the wheat sprouted first, the baby was said to be a girl. In Ancient Egypt, the word for barley was the synonym of "father".

When it was time for childbirth, the pregnant woman was assisted by midwives. She would be shaved, including her head. The midwives would support the woman during labour while she remained in a squatting position on a mat. On the corners of the mat were placed four bricks, believed to be the incarnation of four goddesses: Nut (goddess)

Nut (goddess)

In the Ennead of Egyptian mythology, Nut was the goddess of the sky.-Goddess of the sky:...

, the great goddess of the sky; Tefnut

Tefnut

In Ancient Egyptian religion, Tefnut, transliterated tfnt is a goddess of moisture, moist air, dew and rain. She is the sister and consort of the air god Shu and the mother of Geb and Nut.- Etymology :...

, the elder, the feminine polarity of the first couple; Isis

Isis

the beautiful; and Nephtys

Nephtys

Nephtys is a genus of marine catworm. Some species are halotolerant to a degree in that they can survive in estuaries and estuarine lagoons down to a salinity of 20 psu ..- References :...

, the excellent.

Women playing an official role at the highest levels

Few ancient civilizations enabled women to achieve important social positions. In Ancient Egypt, there are not only examples indicating women high officials were not so rare, but more surprising (for its time), there are women in the highest office, that 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...

. More than a kind of feminism, this is a sign of the importance of theocracy in Egyptian society.

Egyptian society of antiquity, like many other civilizations of the time, used religion as a foundation for society. This was how the throne of the power of the Pharoahs was justified, as anointed by the gods, and the holder of the throne had a divine right. Typically, in ancient societies power was trasnferred from one male to the next. The son inherited the power, and in cases where the king did not have a son, the throne was then inherited by the male members of the family further removed from the king, such as cousins or uncles. But even if the monarch had daughters, they could not gain power.

In Egyptian civilization, this obligation of passing power to a male successor was not without exceptions. Royal blood, a factor determined by divine legitimacy, was the unique criteria for access to the throne. However, the divine essence was transmitted to the royal spouse, as was the case with 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...

, wife of Akhenaton.

Egyptians preferred to be governed by a woman with royal blood (being divine according to mythology) rather than by a man who did not have royal blood. Also, during crises of succession, there were women who took power. When this happened, the female Pharoah adopted all of the masculin symbols of the throne. There even exist doubts, in some instances, about the sex of certain Pharoahs who could have been women.

During the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt

Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt

The eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt...

, when Amenhotep I

Amenhotep I

Amenhotep I was the second Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. His reign is generally dated from 1526 to 1506 BC. He was born to Ahmose I and Ahmose-Nefertari, but had at least two elder brothers, Ahmose-ankh and Ahmose Sapair, and was not expected to inherit the throne...

died, his successor Thutmose I

Thutmose 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...

appears to have not been his son, at least he was not the child of a secondary wife of the late Pharoah; if his wife Ahmes was related to Amenhotep I, this union permitted divine legitimacy. For the following successor, princess Hatsepsut, daughter of Thutmose I and the Great Royal Wife, enabled Thutmose II, son of his second wife and therefore half-brother of the princess, to gain the throne by marrying him.
It was not rare for women to gain the throne in Ancient Egypt, as with Hatsepsut, who took the place of her nephew 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...

. When Hatsepsut inherited the throne from her late husband and became Pharoah, her daughter Neferure

Neferure

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.-Family:...

took on a role that exceeded the normal duties of a royal princess, acquiring a more queenly role. There were also the Cleopatras, of whom the most well-known is Cleopatra VII (69 BCE to 30 BCE), famous for her beauty and her relationships with Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

and then Marc Antony, the leaders who depended upon her throne.

The women Pharoahs who are most well-known, and of whom historians are most certain, are the following:

Nitocris
Nitocris
Nitocris has been claimed to have been the last pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty. Her name is found in the Histories of Herodotus and writings of Manetho but her historicity is questionable. She might have been an interregnum queen...

(Sixth dynasty of Egypt
Sixth dynasty of Egypt
The sixth dynasty of ancient Egypt is often combined with Dynasties III, IV and V under the group title the Old Kingdom.-Pharaohs:...

)
Sobekneferu
Sobekneferu
Sobekneferu was an Egyptian pharaoh of the twelfth dynasty. Her name meant "the beauty of Sobek." She was the daughter of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. Manetho states she also was the sister of Amenemhat IV, but this claim is unproven. Sobekneferu had an older sister named Nefruptah who may have been...

(Twelfth dynasty of Egypt
Twelfth dynasty of Egypt
The twelfth dynasty of ancient Egypt is often combined with Dynasties XI, XIII and XIV under the group title Middle Kingdom.-Rulers:Known rulers of the twelfth dynasty are as follows :...

),
Hatsepsut (Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
The eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt...

),
Neferneferuaten
Neferneferuaten
Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten was a woman who reigned as pharaoh toward the end of the Amarna era during the Eighteenth Dynasty. The royal succession of this period is very unclear. Manetho's Epitome, an ancient historical source written in Egypt during the third century B.C., mentions a certain...

(Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
The eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt...

),
Twosret
Twosret
Queen Twosret was the last known ruler and the final Pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty.She is recorded in Manetho's Epitome as a certain Thuoris, who in Homer is called Polybus, husband of Alcandara, and in whose time Troy was taken. She was said to have ruled Egypt for seven years, but this...

(Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt
Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt
The Nineteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt was one of the periods of the Egyptian New Kingdom. Founded by Vizier Ramesses I, whom Pharaoh Horemheb chose as his successor to the throne, this dynasty is best known for its military conquests in Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria.The warrior kings of the...

).

Many of the Great Royal Wives also played significant diplomatic and political roles:

Tiyi wife of 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...

)
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...

wife of Amenhotep IV
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...

wife of Ramses II.

Elsewhere in the New Kingdom

New Kingdom

, the Great Wife was often invested with a divine role: "Wife of god", "Hand of god". Hatchepsout was the first Great wife (of 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...

) to receive this latter title.

For women holding office in the highest levels of the bureaucracy, one can cite Nebet, a Vizir in Ancient Egypt during the Sixth dynasty of Egypt

Sixth dynasty of Egypt

The sixth dynasty of ancient Egypt is often combined with Dynasties III, IV and V under the group title the Old Kingdom.-Pharaohs:...

. It is necessary to recognize that a woman at such a high level of authority remained extremely rate and it was not until the Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt

Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt

The Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt was the last native dynasty to rule Egypt before the Persian conquest in 525 BC . The Dynasty's reign The Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt (also written Dynasty XXVI or Dynasty 26) was the last native dynasty to rule Egypt before the Persian conquest in 525 BC...

that a similar situation can be found. Women did, however, occupy numerous offices such as scribe

Scribe

A scribe is a person who writes books or documents by hand as a profession and helps the city keep track of its records. The profession, previously found in all literate cultures in some form, lost most of its importance and status with the advent of printing...

in the bureaucracy, except during the New Kingdom

New Kingdom

, where all public bureaucracy posts were filled by men.

There was also the Divine Adoratrice of Amun

Divine Adoratrice of Amun

The Divine Adoratrice of Amun was a second title created for the chief priestess of the ancient Egyptian deity, Amun. During the first millennium BCE, when the holder of this office exercised her largest measure of influence, her position was an important appointment facilitating the transfer of...

, granted major spiritual power, but also a power restricted to Thebes

Thebes, Egypt

Thebes is the Greek name for a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile within the modern city of Luxor. The Theban Necropolis is situated nearby on the west bank of the Nile.-History:...

Women in Ancient Egyptian literature

Certainly, the literature of Ancient Egypt did not hesitate to present women as frivolous, capricious, and rarely trustworthy. But despite this, women benefitted from a status that was rare in the civilizations of the time.

While the painters and sculptors gave to women a serene image as part of a happy family, the writers were not tender, and they portrayed women as being the origin of misfortune and guilty of many sins (where one can see a form of the myth of Eve

Eve

Eve is the first woman created by God in the Book of Genesis.Eve may also refer to:-People:*Eve , a common given name and surname*Eve , American recording artist and actress-Places:...

and the apple, or Pandora

Pandora

In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman. As Hesiod related it, each god helped create her by giving her unique gifts...

).

As Gaston Maspero

Gaston Maspero

Gaston Camille Charles Maspero was a French Egyptologist.-Life:Gaston Maspero was born in Paris to parents of Lombard origin. While at school he showed a special taste for history, and by the age of fourteen he was already interested in hieroglyphic writing...

describes in Contes populaires (Popular Tales), there was the fatal misadventure of Bytaou, the humble farmhand at the home of his brother Anoupou. Seduced by the wife of his brother, he succumbs to the charm of her beauty. She does not hesitate to denounce him to Anoupou, lying and never ceasing until she obtains the ultimate punishment for Bytaou at the hands of Anoupou. But she is punished in turn; Anoupou discovers much later that he has been played for a fool by his wife, who he kills, and throws her body to the dogs.

It is important not to interpret this incorrectly: the rarely flattering portrayal of women in Egyptian literature does not reveal for nothing that women were despised. The Pharoah was often given the same treatment by storytellers who presented the Pharoah as a stubborn and whimsical character.

Men were invited to cherish their wives. Ptahhotep

Ptahhotep

Ptahhotep, sometimes known as Ptahhotpe or Ptah-Hotep, was an ancient Egyptian official during the late 25th century BC and early 24th century BC.-Life:...

(Third dynasty of Egypt

Third dynasty of Egypt

For the Sumerian Renaissance, see Third Dynasty of Ur.The Third Dynasty of ancient Egypt is the first dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Other dynasties of the Old Kingdom include the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth...

) expressed this in the following maxim (written in the Papyrus Prisse): "You must love your wife with all your heart, [...], make her heart happy as long as you live".

Romance was present in Egyptian literature, for example, in a papyrus at the Leyde Museum:

Divine image

In the abundance of divinities in Egyptian mythology

Egyptian mythology

Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. It centered on the Egyptians' interaction with a multitude of deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, the forces and elements of nature...

, there existed a large number of goddesses, as was also the case in Greece. By studying their symbolism we learn the image that women had in the eyes of the Ancient Egyptians. As with Greek divinities, many were related to one another, by blood or marriage, such as Isis

Isis

and her sister Nephtys

Nephtys

Nephtys is a genus of marine catworm. Some species are halotolerant to a degree in that they can survive in estuaries and estuarine lagoons down to a salinity of 20 psu ..- References :...

, both the respective wives of Osiris

Osiris

Osiris 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...

(the god of the dead) and of Seth

Seth

Seth , in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, is the third listed son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, who are the only other of their children mentioned by name...

, themselves brothers.

Women and their image were most often associated with life and fertility. In the case of the goddess Isis

Isis

, who was associated with many principles: as the wife of Osiris

Osiris

who was killed by his brother, she was connected to funeral rites. As a mother, she became the feminine protector, but above all the mother-creator, she who gives life. Through this goddess, the principles of life and death were closely linked. In effect, while she was associated with funeral rites, it must be noted that these rites were to prevent the deceased from submitting to a second death in the succeeding dimension, which explains among other things, the food found in abundance by archeologists in the tombs. On the other hand, life in its physical aspect meaningful only by death, because these principles are part of a movement of eternal new beginning that is then in a sense more spiritual, the movement of life, or eternal life. A symbol of the goddess is also the palm tree, the symbol of eternal life. She breathed the breath of eternal life to her dead husband.

The goddess represented the era's regard for women, because it was crucial to maintain the spirit in her image, it was this idea of eternal life and of maturity that Isis

Isis

reflected, venerated as the Celestial Mother. It was in this role that Isis

Isis

was arguably made the most important deity of Egyptian mythology

Egyptian mythology

. Her influence even extended to religions of different civilizations, where she would become identified under different names and where her cult grew, particularly in the Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

.

The most influential goddesses were:

Isis
Isis
Isis or in original more likely Aset is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic...

: goddess of magic and mysticism,
Hathor
Hathor
Hathor , is an Ancient Egyptian goddess who personified the principles of love, beauty, music, motherhood and joy. She was one of the most important and popular deities throughout the history of Ancient Egypt...

: goddess of nourishment and love,
Bastet: goddess protector of the home,
Sekhmet
Sekhmet
In Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet , was originally the warrior goddess as well as goddess of healing for Upper Egypt. She is depicted as a lioness, the fiercest hunter known to the Egyptians. It was said that her breath created the desert...

: goddess of wrath

The rediscovery of Ancient Egypt during the era of Napoleon

In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte led a campaign in Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

that would be a military fiasco, but which enabled him to return to France with drawings and observations by artists and scientists that he had brought on the expedition.

But it was in 1822 that Egypt became more open to researchers, when the young scientist Jean-François Champollion

Jean-François Champollion

Jean-François Champollion was a French classical scholar, philologist and orientalist, decipherer of the Egyptian hieroglyphs....

was able to decrypt the hieroglyphics carved into the Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek...

, which was looted by a French officer during Napoleon's campaign. Beginning with Napoleon's expedition, the wider world developed a passion for Ancient Egypt, and wanted to know more about its history and its culture.

The fascination with Egypt that followed, and with everything that concerned Antiquity

Classical antiquity

Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...

, carried a powerful influence. In this era, in Paris, almost all fields of creativity were heavily inspired by the rediscoveries from Antiquity. The arts became redirected along this path, following the fashion for Ancient Egypt down every esthetic route. In this way, clothing styles changed, and women during the Napoleonic Empire adopted styles associated with Ancient Egyptian women, combined with the influence of Ancient Greece and Rome: corsets were abandoned (only temporarily), as well as petticoats, and the raised Empire waist was the popular dress silhouette. Dresses were lighter, and were decorated with motifs from Antiquity, for example palm trees, one of the symbols of the goddess Isis

Isis

Modern images of women in Ancient Egypt

When women in Ancient Egypt are evoked, the first image that comes to mind for most is that of Cleopatra, or more precisely, Cleopatra VII. Although having a Greek origin, it is she who would be associated with the image of women in Ancient Egypt, for several generations. This has been in large part due to modern cinema, especially the films of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

During the 1950s and 1960s, a number of costume drama

Costume drama

A costume drama or period drama is a period piece in which elaborate costumes, sets and properties are featured in order to capture the ambiance of a particular era.The term is usually used in the context of film and television...

s were produced, putting on screen Egyptian women imagined during this era where filmmakers want to show glamour. In 1963, the glamourous image of Cleopatra was cemented for the public in the film Cleopatra (1963 film)

Cleopatra (1963 film)

Cleopatra is a 1963 British-American-Swiss epic drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The screenplay was adapted by Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, Ranald MacDougall, and Mankiewicz from a book by Carlo Maria Franzero. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy...

directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Joseph Leo Mankiewicz was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career and is best known as the writer-director of All About Eve , which was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six. He was brother to screenwriter and drama critic Herman J...

, and portrayed by Liz Taylor.

This passion for the queen is explained by the tumultous life that she lived, full of intrigues, romances (her two most famous lovers being Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

and Marc Antony), her power, and her tragic death (she died by suicide). In short, she fascinates, by her life and by what she did. Through her connection to Ancient Egypt, she has an aura of mystery for spectators, the same aura that surrounds Ancient Egypt and its esoteric aspects, the same mysteriousness linked in the popular imagination with ancient curses of mummies, or other secrets of the tombs. Presented this way, Egyptian women become a sort of seductress, fascinating because of a romanticized view of her.

As a sign of celebrity, this imagined Egypt has not only been the object of fantasies, it has also been caricatured. The most well-known of today appear in mass media, as with comic strips such as the adventures of Astérix
Asterix
Asterix or The Adventures of Asterix is a series of French comic books written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo . The series first appeared in French in the magazine Pilote on October 29, 1959...

in France, by René Goscinny

René Goscinny

René Goscinny was a French comics editor and writer, who is best known for the comic book Astérix, which he created with illustrator Albert Uderzo, and for his work on the comic series Lucky Luke with Morris and Iznogoud with Jean Tabary.-Early life:Goscinny was born in Paris in 1926, to a family...

and Albert Uderzo

Albert Uderzo

Albert Uderzo is a French comic book artist, and scriptwriter. He is best known for his work on the Astérix series, but also drew other comics such as Oumpah-pah, also in collaboration with René Goscinny.-Early life:...

. Playing on the glamourous image created by cinema, the authors satirize the fascination that Cleopatra exercises around her, by focussing especially on her nose, and exaggerating her queenly status by depicting her as capricious and temperamental, well far from the idea of the seductive woman so often imagined.

In a more general manner, this image of Egyptian women, forceful, behind a mysterious and magical veil, and exercising a seductive power, continues to this day, for example in the American series Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...

, or again in Luc Besson

Luc Besson

Luc Besson is a French film director, writer, and producer. He is the creator of EuropaCorp film company. He has been involved with over 50 films, spanning 26 years, as writer, director, and/or producer.-Early life:...

's film The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element is a 1997 French science fiction film directed, co-written, and based on a story by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich...

(1997).

Fashion designers are also regularly inspired by the iconography of Egyptian women, who have become an esthetic point of reference.

Known royal women (by chronological order)

First dynasty of Egypt
First dynasty of Egypt
The first dynasty of Ancient Egypt is often combined with the Dynasty II under the group title, Early Dynastic Period of Egypt...
- Merneith
  Merneith
  Merneith was a consort and a regent of Ancient Egypt during the first dynasty. She may have been a ruler of Egypt in her own right. The possibility is based on several official records. Her rule occurred the thirtieth century B.C., for an undetermined period of time...
  
  , daughter of Djer
  Djer
  Djer was the second or third pharaoh of the first dynasty of Egypt, which dates from approximately 3100 BC. Some scholars, however, debate whether the first pharaoh, Menes or Narmer, and Hor-Aha might have been different rulers. If they were separate rulers, this would make Djer the third pharaoh...
  
  , wife of Djet
  Djet
  Djet, also known as Wadj, Zet, and Uadji , was the fourth Egyptian pharaoh of the first dynasty...
  
  , mother of Den
  Den (Pharaoh)
  Den, also known as Hor-Den, Dewen and Udimu, is the Horus name of an early Egyptian king who ruled during the 1st dynasty. He is the best archaeologically attested ruler of this period. Den is said to have brought prosperity to his realm and numerous innovations are attributed to his reign...

Third dynasty of Egypt
Third dynasty of Egypt
For the Sumerian Renaissance, see Third Dynasty of Ur.The Third Dynasty of ancient Egypt is the first dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Other dynasties of the Old Kingdom include the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth...
- Djefatnebti
  Djefatnebti
  Djefatnebti was a royal lady in ancient Egypt. She lived at the end of the 3rd dynasty and may have been a wife of the last king of that dynasty, Huni.- Evidence :...
  
  , wife of Huni
  Huni
  Huni was the last Pharaoh of Egypt of the Third dynasty. He was the successor to Khaba.-Family:Huni was the father of Hetepheres I, the wife of Sneferu who was the first king of the Fourth Dynasty...
- Meresankh I
  Meresankh I
  Meresankh I was Ancient Egyptian king's wife and the mother of King Sneferu. She may have been a wife of King Huni, the last king of the 3rd dynasty....
  
  , second wife of Huni
  Huni
  Huni was the last Pharaoh of Egypt of the Third dynasty. He was the successor to Khaba.-Family:Huni was the father of Hetepheres I, the wife of Sneferu who was the first king of the Fourth Dynasty...
  
  , mother of Sneferu
  Sneferu
  Sneferu, also spelled as Snephru, Snefru or Snofru , was the founder of the Fourth dynasty of Egypt. Estimates of his reign vary, with for instance The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt suggesting a reign from around 2613 BC to 2589 BC, a reign of 24 years, while Rolf Krauss suggests a 30-year reign...
- Hetepheres I
  Hetepheres I
  Queen Hetepheres I was a Queen of Egypt during the 4th dynasty.- Biography :Hetepheres I may have been a daughter of pharaoh Huni. Her title God's Daughter suggests she was the daughter of a king and the most likely candidate is Huni, the predecessor of Sneferu...
  
  , wife of Sneferu
  Sneferu
  Sneferu, also spelled as Snephru, Snefru or Snofru , was the founder of the Fourth dynasty of Egypt. Estimates of his reign vary, with for instance The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt suggesting a reign from around 2613 BC to 2589 BC, a reign of 24 years, while Rolf Krauss suggests a 30-year reign...
  
  , mother of Kheops
  Khéops
  Khéops is a French DJ, and a member of the French hip hop group IAM. He has also a prolific solo career, and runs his own record label, Sad Hill Records, with Def Bond....
- Meritites I
  Meritites I
  Meritites I was an ancient Egyptian Queen of the 4th dynasty.She was a daughter of King Sneferu and the wife of King Khufu. Her name means "Beloved of her Father". Several of her titles are known from a stela found at Giza. She was the mother of Crown Prince Kawab and may have had several more...
  
  , wife of Khufu
  Khufu
  Khufu , also known as Cheops or, in Manetho, Suphis , was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom. He reigned from around 2589 to 2566 BC. Khufu was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty. He is generally accepted as being the builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of...
  
  , mother of Kawab
  Kawab
  Kawab was an ancient Egyptian prince of the 4th Dynasty. He was the eldest son of King Khufu and Queen Meritites I. Kawab served as vizier and was buried in the double mastaba G 7110 - 7120 in the east field which is part of the Giza Necropolis.- Biography:Kawab was the eldest son of Pharaoh...
  
  , Baufra
  Baufra
  Baufra was a son of King Khufu from the 4th dynasty of ancient Egypt. He is known from a story in the Papyrus Westcar and an inscription in Wadi Hammamat. He may have been buried in the double mastaba G 7310 - 7320 in Giza....
  
  , Djedefhor
  Djedefhor
  Djedefhor or Hordjedef was an ancient Egyptian prince of the 4th dynasty. His name means "Enduring Like Horus".-Biography:Djedefhor was a son of Pharaoh Khufu and half-brother of pharaohs Djedefre and Khafre...
  
  and Meresankh II
  Meresankh II
  Meresankh II was a Queen of Egypt who lived during 4th dynasty.-Family:Meresankh II's parents are assumed to be King Khufu and Queen Meritites I given that they are mentioned in Meresankh's mastaba. She is never explicitly called their daughter however...
- Henutsen
  Henutsen
  Henutsen was an ancient Egyptian queen of the 4th dynasty.- Biography :Henutsen was a daughter of Pharaoh Sneferu and his third wife. Henutsen married her elder half-brother Khufu. Her name is known only from a 16th dynasty stela, found next to an Isis' temple which was built during the reign of...
  
  , second wife of Khufu
  Khufu
  Khufu , also known as Cheops or, in Manetho, Suphis , was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom. He reigned from around 2589 to 2566 BC. Khufu was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty. He is generally accepted as being the builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of...
  
  , mother of Khufukhaf I and Khafra
  Khafra
  Khafra — also Khafre — was an Egyptian pharaoh of the Fourth dynasty, who had his capital at Memphis. According to some authors he was the son and successor of Khufu, but it is more commonly accepted that Djedefre was Khufu's successor and Khafra was Djedefre's...
- Nubet, fourth wife of Khufu
  Khufu
  Khufu , also known as Cheops or, in Manetho, Suphis , was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom. He reigned from around 2589 to 2566 BC. Khufu was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty. He is generally accepted as being the builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of...
  
  , mother of Khentetenka, Djedefra
  Djedefra
  Djedefre was an Egyptian pharaoh, the son and immediate successor of Khufu. The mother of Djedefre is unknown. His name means "Enduring like Re." Djedefre was the first king to use the title Son of Ra as part of his royal titulary, which is seen as an indication of the growing popularity of the...
  
  and Hetepheres II
  Hetepheres II
  - Birth and family :Queen Hetepheres II may have been one of the longest-lived members of the royal family of the Fourth dynasty of Egypt, which lasted from ca. 2723 to 2563 BC. She was a daughter of Khufu and was either born during the reign of her grandfather Sneferu or during the early years of...
- Khamerernebti I, wife of Khafra
  Khafra
  Khafra — also Khafre — was an Egyptian pharaoh of the Fourth dynasty, who had his capital at Memphis. According to some authors he was the son and successor of Khufu, but it is more commonly accepted that Djedefre was Khufu's successor and Khafra was Djedefre's...
  
  , mother of Mykerinos
- Khamerernebti II, second wife Khafra
  Khafra
  Khafra — also Khafre — was an Egyptian pharaoh of the Fourth dynasty, who had his capital at Memphis. According to some authors he was the son and successor of Khufu, but it is more commonly accepted that Djedefre was Khufu's successor and Khafra was Djedefre's...
  
  then wife of Mykerinos
- Khentkaus I
  Khentkaus I
  Khentkaus I was a Queen of Ancient Egypt during the 4th dynasty. She may have been a daughter of Pharaoh Menkaure, wife of Shepseskaf and mother of Userkaf, but this is by no means certain. Her Mastaba at Giza - tomb LG100 - is located very close to Menkaure's pyramid complex...
  
  , wife of Shepseskaf
  Shepseskaf
  Shepseskaf was a son of Menkaure who succeeded his father on the throne. Shepseskaf's name means "His Soul is Noble."- Family :Shepseskaf was a son of Menkaure and grandson of Khafra, but his mother's name is not known. His mother can be either Khamerernebty II or Rekhetre...
  
  then of Userkaf
  Userkaf
  Userkaf was the founder of the Fifth dynasty of Egypt and the first pharaoh to start the tradition of building sun temples at Abusir. His name means "his Ka is powerful". He ruled from 2494-2487 BC and constructed the Pyramid of Userkaf complex at Saqqara.- Family :Userkaf's wife was Queen...
  
  , mother of Neferirkare Kakai
  Neferirkare Kakai
  Neferirkare Kakai was the third Pharaoh of Egypt during the Fifth dynasty. His praenomen, Neferirkare, means "Beautiful is the Soul of Ra". His Horus name was Userkhau, his Golden Horus name Sekhemunebu and his Nebti name Khaiemnebty.- Family :...
  
  and Sahure
  Sahure
  - Etymology :Sahure's birth name means "He who is Close to Re". His Horus name was Nebkhau.- Biography :Sahure was a son of queen Neferhetepes, as shown in scenes from the causeway of Sahure's pyramid complex in Abusir. His father was Userkaf. Sahure's consort was queen Neferetnebty. Reliefs show...

Eleventh dynasty of Egypt
Eleventh dynasty of Egypt
The eleventh dynasty of ancient Egypt was one group of rulers, whose earlier members are grouped with the four preceding dynasties to form the First Intermediate Period, while the later members are considered part of the Middle Kingdom...
- Neferu, wife of Intef II
  Intef II
  Intef II was a Pharaoh of the Eleventh dynasty during the First Intermediate Period. His capital was located at Thebes. At this time, Egypt was split between several local dynasties. After the death of the nomarch Ankhtifi, Intef II was able to unite all the southern nomes down to the First Cataract...
  
  , mother of Intef III
  Intef III
  Intef III was a Pharaohin Egypt of the Eleventh Dynasty during the First Intermediate Period. His Horus name was Nakjtnebtepnefer, which translates to "Horus, the victorious one, Lord of the good beginning". He was buried in a saff-tomb at el-Tarif , and little is known about his deeds...
- Iah, wife of Intef III
  Intef III
  Intef III was a Pharaohin Egypt of the Eleventh Dynasty during the First Intermediate Period. His Horus name was Nakjtnebtepnefer, which translates to "Horus, the victorious one, Lord of the good beginning". He was buried in a saff-tomb at el-Tarif , and little is known about his deeds...
  
  , mother of Mentuhotep II
  Mentuhotep II
  Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II was a Pharaoh of the 11th dynasty, the son of Intef III of Egypt and a minor queen called Iah. His own wife was the 'king's mother' Tem. Other wives were Neferu and several secondary wives, one or more who it has been suggested were possibly Nubian, buried in his...
- Tem, first wife of Mentuhotep II
  Mentuhotep II
  Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II was a Pharaoh of the 11th dynasty, the son of Intef III of Egypt and a minor queen called Iah. His own wife was the 'king's mother' Tem. Other wives were Neferu and several secondary wives, one or more who it has been suggested were possibly Nubian, buried in his...
  
  , mother of Mentuhotep III
  Mentuhotep III
  Sankhkare Mentuhotep III of the Eleventh dynasty was Pharaoh of Egypt during the Middle Kingdom. He was assigned a reign of 12 years in the Turin Canon.-Family:Mentuhotep III was the son and successor of Mentuhotep II...
- Neferu, second wife and sister of Mentuhotep II
  Mentuhotep II
  Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II was a Pharaoh of the 11th dynasty, the son of Intef III of Egypt and a minor queen called Iah. His own wife was the 'king's mother' Tem. Other wives were Neferu and several secondary wives, one or more who it has been suggested were possibly Nubian, buried in his...
- Achaït or Ashayt, concubine of Mentuhotep II
  Mentuhotep II
  Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II was a Pharaoh of the 11th dynasty, the son of Intef III of Egypt and a minor queen called Iah. His own wife was the 'king's mother' Tem. Other wives were Neferu and several secondary wives, one or more who it has been suggested were possibly Nubian, buried in his...
  
  , also a priestess of the goddess Hathor
  Hathor
  Hathor , is an Ancient Egyptian goddess who personified the principles of love, beauty, music, motherhood and joy. She was one of the most important and popular deities throughout the history of Ancient Egypt...
- Imi, wife of Mentuhotep III
  Mentuhotep III
  Sankhkare Mentuhotep III of the Eleventh dynasty was Pharaoh of Egypt during the Middle Kingdom. He was assigned a reign of 12 years in the Turin Canon.-Family:Mentuhotep III was the son and successor of Mentuhotep II...
  
  , mother of Mentuhotep IV
  Mentuhotep IV
  Nebtawyre Mentuhotep IV was the last king of the 11th Dynasty. He seems to fit into a 7 year period in the Turin Canon for which there is no recorded king, and is known from a few inscriptions in Wadi Hammamat that record expeditions to the Red Sea coast and to quarry stone for the royal monuments...

Twelfth dynasty of Egypt
Twelfth dynasty of Egypt
The twelfth dynasty of ancient Egypt is often combined with Dynasties XI, XIII and XIV under the group title Middle Kingdom.-Rulers:Known rulers of the twelfth dynasty are as follows :...
- Neferet or Nofret, wife of a priest in Thebes, Senousret, mother of Amenemhat I
  Amenemhat I
  Amenemhat I, also Amenemhet I, was the first ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty . He ruled from 1991 BC to 1962 BC...
- Neferitatjenen, principal wife of Amenemhat I
  Amenemhat I
  Amenemhat I, also Amenemhet I, was the first ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty . He ruled from 1991 BC to 1962 BC...
  
  , mother of Senusret I
  Senusret I
  Senusret I was the second pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from 1971 BC to 1926 BC, and was one of the most powerful kings of this Dynasty. He was the son of Amenemhat I and his wife Nefertitanen. His wife and sister was Neferu. She was also the mother of the successor Amenemhat II...
- Dedyet, other wife of Amenemhat I
  Amenemhat I
  Amenemhat I, also Amenemhet I, was the first ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty . He ruled from 1991 BC to 1962 BC...
  
  , possibly also his sister
- Neferu III
  Neferu III
  Neferu was an ancient Egyptian queen of the 12th dynasty. She was a daughter of Amenemhat I, wife of Senusret I and the mother of Amenemhat II....
  
  , wife of Senusret I
  Senusret I
  Senusret I was the second pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from 1971 BC to 1926 BC, and was one of the most powerful kings of this Dynasty. He was the son of Amenemhat I and his wife Nefertitanen. His wife and sister was Neferu. She was also the mother of the successor Amenemhat II...
  
  , mother of Amenemhat II
  Amenemhat II
  Nubkhaure Amenemhat II was the third pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. Not much is known about his reign. He ruled Egypt for 35 years from 1929 BC to 1895 BC and was the son of Senusret I through the latter's chief wife, Queen Nefru. His queen is not known; although recently a...
- Itakaiet, daughter or wife Senusret I
  Senusret I
  Senusret I was the second pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from 1971 BC to 1926 BC, and was one of the most powerful kings of this Dynasty. He was the son of Amenemhat I and his wife Nefertitanen. His wife and sister was Neferu. She was also the mother of the successor Amenemhat II...
- Neferusobek, Neferuptah, Nenseddjedet, daughters of Senusret I
  Senusret I
  Senusret I was the second pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from 1971 BC to 1926 BC, and was one of the most powerful kings of this Dynasty. He was the son of Amenemhat I and his wife Nefertitanen. His wife and sister was Neferu. She was also the mother of the successor Amenemhat II...
- Khenemetneferhedjet I
  Khenemetneferhedjet I
  Khenemetneferhedjet I Weret was an ancient Egyptian queen of the 12th dynasty, a wife of Senusret II and the mother of Senusret III.She is likely to be same person who is mentioned as the daughter of Amenemhat I on a seal . This would mean she was the sister of her husband...
  
  , daughter of Amenemhat II
  Amenemhat II
  Nubkhaure Amenemhat II was the third pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. Not much is known about his reign. He ruled Egypt for 35 years from 1929 BC to 1895 BC and was the son of Senusret I through the latter's chief wife, Queen Nefru. His queen is not known; although recently a...
- Neferet II, wife of Senusret II
  Senusret II
  Khakeperre Senusret II was the fourth pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from 1897 BC to 1878 BC. His pyramid was constructed at El-Lahun...
- Weret, wife of Senusret II
  Senusret II
  Khakeperre Senusret II was the fourth pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from 1897 BC to 1878 BC. His pyramid was constructed at El-Lahun...
  
  , mother of Senusret III
  Senusret III
  Khakhaure Senusret III was a pharaoh of Egypt. He ruled from 1878 BC to 1839 BC, and was the fifth monarch of the Twelfth Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom. Among his achievements was the building of the Sisostris Canal...
- Sithathoryunet, daughter of Senusret II
  Senusret II
  Khakeperre Senusret II was the fourth pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from 1897 BC to 1878 BC. His pyramid was constructed at El-Lahun...
- Mereret or Meriret or Merit, wife of Senusret III
  Senusret III
  Khakhaure Senusret III was a pharaoh of Egypt. He ruled from 1878 BC to 1839 BC, and was the fifth monarch of the Twelfth Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom. Among his achievements was the building of the Sisostris Canal...
- Sithathormerit, daughter of Senusret III
  Senusret III
  Khakhaure Senusret III was a pharaoh of Egypt. He ruled from 1878 BC to 1839 BC, and was the fifth monarch of the Twelfth Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom. Among his achievements was the building of the Sisostris Canal...
- Sobekneferu
  Sobekneferu
  Sobekneferu was an Egyptian pharaoh of the twelfth dynasty. Her name meant "the beauty of Sobek." She was the daughter of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. Manetho states she also was the sister of Amenemhat IV, but this claim is unproven. Sobekneferu had an older sister named Nefruptah who may have been...
  
  , daughter of Amenemhat III
  Amenemhat III
  Amenemhat III, also spelled Amenemhet III was a pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from c.1860 BC to c.1814 BC, the latest known date being found in a papyrus dated to Regnal Year 46, I Akhet 22 of his rule. He is regarded as the greatest monarch of the Middle Kingdom...
  
  , wife of her own brother Amenemhat IV
  Amenemhat IV
  Amenemhat IV, or Amenemhet IV was Pharaoh of Egypt, likely ruling between ca. 1815 BC and ca. 1806 BC. He served first as the junior coregent of Amenemhat III and completed the latter's temple at Medinet Maadi, which is "the only intact temple still existing from the Middle Kingdom" according to...

Thirteenth dynasty of Egypt
Thirteenth dynasty of Egypt
The thirteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is often combined with Dynasties XI, XII and XIV under the group title Middle Kingdom. Other writers separate it from these dynasties and join it to Dynasties XIV through XVII as part of the Second Intermediate Period...
- Nubhotepti I, wife of Hor
  Hor
  Hor was an Egyptian king of the 13th Dynasty. He appears in the Turin King List as Au-ib-Rê. He most likely reigned only for a short time, not long enough to prepare a pyramid, which was in this dynasty still the common burial place for kings.-Burial:...
- Senebhenas I, wife of Khendjer
  Khendjer
  Khendjer was an Egyptian king of the 13th Dynasty. The name Khendjer is poorly attested in Egyptian. Khendjer "has been interpreted as a foreign name hnzr and equated with the Semitic personal name hzr, [for] boar" according to the Danish Egyptologist Kim Ryholt...
- Senebhenas II and Neni, wives of Sobekhotep III
  Sobekhotep III
  Sobekhotep III was an Egyptian king of the 13th dynasty.-Family:The family of the king is known from several sources. A monument from Sehel Island shows Sobekhotep with his father Mentuhotep, his mother was Iuhetibu , his brothers Seneb and Khakau, and a half-sister called Reniseneb...
- Senebsen, wife of Neferhotep I
  Neferhotep I
  Neferhotep I was an Egyptian king of the Thirteenth Dynasty and one of the most powerful rulers of this dynasty. The Turin Canon assigned him a reign length of 11 years....
- Tjan, wife of Sobekhotep IV
  Sobekhotep IV
  Khaneferre Sobekhotep IV was one of the most powerful Egyptian kings of the 13th Dynasty. He was the son of the 'god's father' Haankhef and of the 'king's mother' Kemi. His brother, Neferhotep I, was his predecessor on the throne....
- Aya
  Aya
  is a female Japanese rock artist on the BMG FUNHOUSE label.AYA's song Over Night is used as the ending theme to the Anime Le Chevalier D'Eon.-Early life:...
  
  , wife of Intef
- Sitmut, wife of Mentuhotep V
  Mentuhotep V
  Mentuhotep V was a pharaoh of Egypt in the 13th dynasty. His prenomen was Sewedjara....

Fourteenth dynasty of Egypt
Fourteenth dynasty of Egypt
The Eleventh , Twelfth, Thirteenth and Fourteenth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, Middle Kingdom, though this dynasty overlaps partially with either the Thirteenth Dynasty or the Fifteenth Dynasty, during the Second Intermediate Period.It is associated with the...
- Tati, wife of Sheshi
  Sheshi
  Maaibre Sheshi was a pharaoh of Egypt during Egypt's fragmented Second Intermediate Period. Sheshi is difficult to precisely place chronologically. While he is usually described as the founder of the 15th dynasty, this suggestion does not appear tenable since the early Hyksos kings such as...

Sixteenth dynasty of Egypt
Sixteenth dynasty of Egypt
The sixteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt was a dynasty of pharaohs that ruled in Upper Egypt for 50 years during the Second Intermediate Period The sixteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty XVI) was a dynasty of pharaohs that ruled in Upper Egypt for 50 years during the Second Intermediate...
- Mentuhotep (queen)
  Mentuhotep (queen)
  Mentuhotep was an Ancient Egyptian queen of the Second Intermediate Period. Her main title was Great Royal Wife. Another title was Khenemetneferhedjet She is only known from her burial equipment found in the 19th century in Thebes. The inscriptions of her coffin were copied, but the original...
  
  , wife of Djehuti
  Djehuti
  Djehuti, Djehuty or Thuty was a pharaoh of Ancient Egypt dating to the Second Intermediate period. Djehuti's prenomen, Sekhemre Sementawy, means "The Power of Re who Establishes the Two Lands."...

Seventeenth dynasty of Egypt
Seventeenth dynasty of Egypt
The Fifteenth, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, Second Intermediate Period. The Seventeenth Dynasty dates approximately from 1580 to 1550 BC.-Rulers:...
- Noubkhaes II, wife of Sobekemsaf I
  Sobekemsaf I
  Sobekemsaf I was an Egyptian king of the Seventeenth dynasty of Egypt who reigned during the Second Intermediate Period, when Egypt was ruled by multiple kings...
- Sobekemsaf, wife of Antef VII
  Antef VII
  Nubkheperre Intef was an Egyptian king of the Seventeenth dynasty of Egypt at Thebes during the Second Intermediate Period, when Egypt was divided by rival dynasties including the Hyksos in Lower Egypt. He is known to be the brother of Sekhemre-Wepmaat Intef and perhaps the son of Sekhemre...
- Noubemhet, wife of Sobekemsaf II
  Sobekemsaf II
  Sobekemsaf II Sekhemrewadjkhaw was a pharaoh of Egypt during the 17th Dynasty. He is attested by a series of inscriptions mentioning a mining expedition to the rock quarries at Wadi Hammamat in the Eastern Desert during his reign. One of the inscriptions is explicitly dated to his Year 7...
- Tetisheri
  Tetisheri
  Tetisheri was the matriarch of the Egyptian royal family of the late 17th Dynasty and early 18th Dynasty.-Family:Tetisheri was the daughter of Tjenna and Neferu. The names of Tetisheri's parents are known from mummy bandages found in TT320....
  
  , daughter of Tienna and Neferu, wife of Senakhtenre Tao I
- Ahhotep I
  Ahhotep I
  Ahhotep I , was an Ancient Egyptian queen who lived circa 1560- 1530 BC, during the end of the Seventeenth dynasty of ancient Egypt, she was the daughter of Queen Tetisheri and Senakhtenre Tao I, and was likely the sister, as well as the wife, of pharaoh Seqenenre Tao...
  
  , daughter of Senakhtenre Tao I, sister and wife of Seqenenre Tao II
- Ahmose-Nefertari
  Ahmose-Nefertari
  Ahmose-Nefertari of Ancient Egypt was a Queen of Egypt. She was a daughter of Seqenenre Tao II and Ahhotep I, and royal sister and the great royal wife of pharaoh, Ahmose I. She was the mother of king Amenhotep I and may have served as his regent when he was young...
  
  , daughter of Seqenenre Tao II and of Ahhotep I
  Ahhotep I
  Ahhotep I , was an Ancient Egyptian queen who lived circa 1560- 1530 BC, during the end of the Seventeenth dynasty of ancient Egypt, she was the daughter of Queen Tetisheri and Senakhtenre Tao I, and was likely the sister, as well as the wife, of pharaoh Seqenenre Tao...
  
  , sister and wife of Ahmose I
  Ahmose I
  Ahmose I was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Eighteenth dynasty. He was a member of the Theban royal house, the son of pharaoh Tao II Seqenenre and brother of the last pharaoh of the Seventeenth dynasty, King Kamose...
  
  , mother of Amenhotep I
  Amenhotep I
  Amenhotep I was the second Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. His reign is generally dated from 1526 to 1506 BC. He was born to Ahmose I and Ahmose-Nefertari, but had at least two elder brothers, Ahmose-ankh and Ahmose Sapair, and was not expected to inherit the throne...
  
  and Ahmose-Sipair

Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
The eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt...
- Ahmose-Meritamon
  Ahmose-Meritamon
  Ahmose-Meritamun was a Queen of Egypt during the early Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. She was both the sister and the wife of Pharaoh Amenhotep I...
  
  daughter of Ahmose I
  Ahmose I
  Ahmose I was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Eighteenth dynasty. He was a member of the Theban royal house, the son of pharaoh Tao II Seqenenre and brother of the last pharaoh of the Seventeenth dynasty, King Kamose...
  
  and Ahmose-Nefertari
  Ahmose-Nefertari
  Ahmose-Nefertari of Ancient Egypt was a Queen of Egypt. She was a daughter of Seqenenre Tao II and Ahhotep I, and royal sister and the great royal wife of pharaoh, Ahmose I. She was the mother of king Amenhotep I and may have served as his regent when he was young...
  
  , wife of her brother Amenhotep I
  Amenhotep I
  Amenhotep I was the second Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. His reign is generally dated from 1526 to 1506 BC. He was born to Ahmose I and Ahmose-Nefertari, but had at least two elder brothers, Ahmose-ankh and Ahmose Sapair, and was not expected to inherit the throne...
- Ahmes
  Ahmes
  Ahmes was an ancient Egyptian scribe who lived during the Second Intermediate Period and the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty . He wrote the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, a work of Ancient Egyptian mathematics that dates to approximately 1650 BC; he is the earliest contributor to mathematics...
  
  , possible sister of Amenhotep I
  Amenhotep I
  Amenhotep I was the second Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. His reign is generally dated from 1526 to 1506 BC. He was born to Ahmose I and Ahmose-Nefertari, but had at least two elder brothers, Ahmose-ankh and Ahmose Sapair, and was not expected to inherit the throne...
  
  , wife of Thutmose I
  Thutmose 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...
  
  , mother of Hatsepsut and Amenemes
- Mutnofret
  Mutnofret
  Mutnofret was a queen during the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. She was a secondary wife of Thutmose I and the mother of Thutmose II....
  
  , second wife of Thutmose I
  Thutmose 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...
  
  , mother of 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...
- Hatshepsut
  Hatshepsut
  Hatshepsut also Hatchepsut; meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies;1508–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt...
  
  , daughter of Thutmose I
  Thutmose 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...
  
  and of Ahmes, wife of her half-brother 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...
  
  , mother of Neferure
  Neferure
  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.-Family:...
  
  and Merytre-Hatshepsut
  Merytre-Hatshepsut
  Queen Merytre-Hatshepsut was the principal wife of Pharaoh Thutmose III and the mother of Amenhotep II.-Family:Merytre-Hatshepsut was of noble birth...
- Isis, second wife of 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...
  
  , mother 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...
- Mutemwiya, wife of Thutmose IV
  Thutmose IV
  Thutmose IV was the 8th Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt, who ruled in approximately the 14th century BC...
  
  , mother of 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...
- Tiyi (wife of Amenhotep III), wife of 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...
- 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...
  
  , wife of Akhenaton

Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt
Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt
The Nineteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt was one of the periods of the Egyptian New Kingdom. Founded by Vizier Ramesses I, whom Pharaoh Horemheb chose as his successor to the throne, this dynasty is best known for its military conquests in Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria.The warrior kings of the...
- Satre, wife of Ramses I, mother of 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...
- 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...
  
  , wife of Ramses II
- Isetnofret
  Isetnofret
  Isetnofret was one of the Great Royal Wives of Pharaoh Ramesses II and was the mother of his heir, Merneptah...
  
  , second wife of Ramses II, mother of Merenptah
- Twosret
  Twosret
  Queen Twosret was the last known ruler and the final Pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty.She is recorded in Manetho's Epitome as a certain Thuoris, who in Homer is called Polybus, husband of Alcandara, and in whose time Troy was taken. She was said to have ruled Egypt for seven years, but this...
  
  , wife of Seti II
  Seti II
  Seti II , was the fifth ruler of the Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt and reigned from 1203 BC to 1197 BC. His throne name, Userkheperure Setepenre, meant "Powerful are the Manifestations of Re, Chosen by Re.' He was the son of Merneptah and wife Isisnofret and sat on the throne during a...

Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt
- Berenice I, wife of Ptolemy I, mother of Arsinoe II and of Ptolemy II
- Arsinoe I, wife of Ptolemy II, mother of Ptolemy III
- Berenice II
  Berenice II
  Berenice II was the daughter of Magas of Cyrene and Queen Apama II, and the wife of Ptolemy III Euergetes, the third ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt....
  
  , daughter of Magas, King of Cyrene and of Arsinoe, wife of Demetrios the Just, brother of the King of Macedonia then of Ptolemy III, mother of Arsinoe III and of Ptolemy IV
- Cleopatra I, wife of Ptolemy V
- Cleopatra II, wife of Ptolemy VI then of Ptolemy VIII
- Cleopatra III, second wife of Ptolemy VIII
- Cleopatra IV of Egypt
  Cleopatra IV of Egypt
  Cleopatra IV was Queen of Egypt briefly from 116-115 BC, jointly with her husband Ptolemy IX Lathyros. She later became queen consort of Syria as the wife of Antiochus IX Cyzicenus.-Biography:...
  
  , wife of Ptolemy IX
- Cleopatra V, second wife of Ptolemy IX
- Berenice III, wife of Ptolemy X
- Cleopatra VI of Egypt
  Cleopatra VI of Egypt
  Cleopatra VI Tryphaena was an Egyptian Ptolemaic queen. She may be identical with Cleopatra V.There were at least two, perhaps three Ptolemaic women called Cleopatra Tryphaena:-Tryphaena, daughter of Ptolemy VIII Physcon and Cleopatra III:...
  
  , wife of Ptolemy XII
- Berenice IV, second wife of Ptolemy XII
- Cleopatra VII, wife of Ptolemy XIII then of Ptolemy XIV, Julius Caesar
  Julius Caesar
  Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
  
  and Marc Antony, mother of Ptolemy XV
- Cleopatra VIII, daughter of Cleopatra VII and Marc Antony, wife of Juba II
  Juba II
  Juba II or Juba II of Numidia was a king of Numidia and then later moved to Mauretania. His first wife was Cleopatra Selene II, daughter to Greek Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Roman triumvir Mark Antony.-Early life:Juba II was a prince of Berber descent from North Africa...
  
  , King of Numidia
  Numidia
  Numidia was an ancient Berber kingdom in part of present-day Eastern Algeria and Western Tunisia in North Africa. It is known today as the Chawi-land, the land of the Chawi people , the direct descendants of the historical Numidians or the Massyles The kingdom began as a sovereign state and later...

Sources

Christiane Desroches Noblecourt, La femme au temps des pharaons, Stock, 1986
Pierre Montet, La vie quotidienne en Égypte au temps des Ramsès, Hachette, 1946

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.