In March, 1898 within a dark side chamber of Amenhotep II's tomb (KV35) the famed French Egyptologist, Victor Loret gazed upon the face of a severely damaged mummy of an ancient woman, which to him exuded “a noble and majestic seriousness”. This lady had guided her son, Akhenaten – the first monotheist in history – when he became pharaoh; and had gifted that most tender of all mementos – an auburn lock of her hair – to her grandson, Tutankhamun. One of the foremost women of her time who was an able companion to her illustrious husband Amenhotep III, the matchless matriarch Queen Tiye was a formidable leader in her own right.
[Read:Dazzling Nebmaatre: Amenhotep III and the Age of Opulence]
Head of a statuette of Queen Tiye, wearing a double-feathered crown, made of yew wood with silver, gold and glass. Neues Museum, Berlin. (Photo: Heidi Kontkanen)
ALL THE PHARAOH’S WIVES
Amenhotep III married many women during his lifetime and lorded over a large harem filled with foreign princesses and concubines. Gilukhepa, daughter of King Shuttarna II of Mitanni was one of the first attested foreign princesses to marry the king in his Regnal Year 10. When she arrived bearing great treasures and an entourage of 317 ladies-in-waiting, the pharaoh exclaimed: “It's a marvel!”
