Amenirdis I

Amenirdis I
Amenirdis in Medinet Habu
Divine Adoratrice of Amun God's Wife of Amun
Reign	714–700 BCE (25th Dynasty)
Predecessor	Shepenupet I
Successor	Shepenupet II
Royal titulary
Father	Kashta
Mother	Pebatjma

Amenirdis I (throne name: Hatneferumut) was a God's Wife of Amun during the 25th Dynasty of ancient Egypt.^[2] She also held the priestly titles of Divine Adoratrice of Amun and God's Hand.^[3]

Biography

She was a Kushite princess, the daughter of Pharaoh Kashta and Queen Pebatjma. She is likely to have been the sister of pharaohs Shabaka and Piye.^[2][4] Kashta arranged to have Amenirdis I adopted by the Divine Adoratrice of Amun, Shepenupet I, at Thebes as her successor.^[5] This shows that Kashta already controlled Upper Egypt prior to the reign of Piye, his successor.^[6]

She ruled as high priestess approximately between 714 and 700 BCE, under the reigns of Shabaka and Shabataka, and she adopted Piye's daughter Shepenupet II as her successor. Upon her death, she was buried in a tomb in the grounds of Medinet Habu.^[2]

She is depicted in the Osiris-Hekadjet ("Osiris, Ruler of Eternity") temple in the Karnak temple complex, and in Wadi Gasus, along with Shepenupet I. She is mentioned on two offering tables, five statues, a stela and several small objects including scarabs.^[2]

References

1. von Beckerath, Jürgen (1999). Handbuch der Ägyptischen Königsnamen (in German). Mainz am Rhein, Von Zabern. ISBN 3-8053-2591-6., pp. 210-11
2. Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson (2004) ISBN 0-500-05128-3, p.238
3. "God's Wife of Amun". Ancient Egypt by Anneke Bart.
4. Ian Shaw, The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford University Press 2003. p. 347
5. Alexander J. Peden, The Graffiti of Pharaonic Egypt: Scope and Roles of Informal Writings (c. 3100–332 B.C.), Brill Academic Publishers 2001. p. 276
6. László Török, The Kingdom of Kush: Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic Civilization. (Handbuch der Orientalistik 31), Brill 1997. p. 149

Further reading

• Ayad, Mariam F. "The Selection and Layout of the Opening of the Mouth Scenes in the Chapel of Amenirdis I at Medinet Habu". Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 41 (2004), pp 113-133.
• Ayad, Mariam F. "The Pyramid Texts of Amenirdis I: Selection And Layout". Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 43 (2007), pp. 71-92. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27801607
• Ayad, Mariam F. God's Wife, God's Servant: The God's Wife of Amun (c. 740–525 BC). Routledge, 2009. ISBN 978-0-415-41170-7.
• Dodson, Aidan. The Problem of Amenirdis II and the Heirs to the Office of God's Wife of Amun during the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 88 (2002), pp. 179-186. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3822343
• Hays, Harold M. "A New Offering Table for Shepenwepet". Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 40 (2003), pp. 89-102. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40000292
• Kitchen, Kenneth, The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1100–650 B.C.), 2 Sub edition. Aris & Phillips, 1996. ISBN 0856682985.