Wives of Pharaohs and their different statuses in the history of Ancient Egypt

How many mysteries the ancient Egyptian civilization keeps, which has left a huge legacy and had a strong influence on the world culture, no one knows. From the school program, for sure, everyone remembers the main claim that all power in Ancient Egypt belonged exclusively to male Pharaohs. But rather recently this postulate was recognized as erroneous, and the rulers of the developed ancient state were spoken of as a well-known fact.

God on earth and after death

It should be noted that all the pharaohs were considered governors of the god, they even attributed magical properties. A special attitude towards death left its imprint on the rulers of the country's main rulers: a place to take them forever was cared for in advance. Burial pyramids were built, later they were abandoned and the huge halls that contained not only sarcophagi, but also objects of utensils and jewelry were cut down in the rocks, because it was believed that Pharaoh continued to lead a habitual way of life after his death.

Tombs - not a place for grief

The famous Luxor burial of the Ta-Set-Neferov was not far from the tombs of the rulers of Egypt. Its name was translated as "valley of beauty", which is very unusual for the cemetery on which the wives of the pharaohs rested. The Egyptians treated the sacred place without sorrow and grief, for it was believed that the dead had passed into a bright and beautiful world.

Statuses of wives

Rulers sometimes married their sisters or daughters, because women were forbidden to marry not for kings, but a healthy offspring was born from the concubines of a harem. The supreme rulers were called gods during their lifetime, and the wives of the pharaohs did not always acquire this status.

Egyptologists, who studied the problem for a long time, found that only special priestesses from the royal family were in a special situation. No one dared to discuss their actions, and the orders were carried out without question. Women who embodied God on earth, conducted special secret rituals in the sanctuary of the Egyptian god Amun, rubbing the golden statue with incense and dancing in front of her.

The meaning of growth for the Egyptians

Nefertari, as the wife of Pharaoh Ramses II, was depicted in all the bas-reliefs of the same height, not only with her husband, but with the goddess Hathor, who gave her the symbol of the afterlife. These paintings, not lost brightness of colors, were stored by her magnificent tomb, located in the famous Valley of the Queens.

It was the height of the person depicted that the Egyptians attached great importance. The real wives of the pharaohs, who did not become the embodiment of God, always showed much less growth than their husbands. But Nefertari was never the ruler of Egypt, like, for example, Cleopatra or Hatshepsut. I want to tell you about the latter separately.

Hatshepsut: a history of government

Famous wives of Egyptian pharaohs and their mothers who did not receive official status as rulers, but were on the throne until the Hellenistic period. Among these seven legendary masters was Hatshepsut, who lost her husband Tuthmosis II and gave birth to a daughter, not an heir. She becomes a stepmother and aunt for the offspring of the concubine, declaring herself a regent and leading all public affairs on behalf of the boy, but after 6 years begins to claim power, declaring her regal origin. The title of the wife of Amon and the reverence of the whole country to a strong-willed woman help her to climb to the throne without hindrance.

The rules of Hatshepsut country of a long 20 years, during this time, it competently suppressed the riots in Nubia, which earned special respect. Becoming a very significant figure in the state, she takes the capital to Thebes (Luxor) and during her lifetime is engaged in the construction of her after-death sanctuary. In the magnificent tomb were placed huge stone statues of Hatshepsut in the guise of the god of death Osiris: portrayed with a crown on his head and an overhead male bearded wife of the pharaoh, whose sculptural portrait still showed pretty features.

Revenge of Thutmose III

After her death, the son of concubine Thutmose III, who remained the sole ruler, begins to systematically destroy all religious objects associated with the former keeper of the throne, who never tried to overthrow him.

200 statues depicting Hatshepsut and sphinxes were destroyed and buried near the size-striking temple. Modern archaeological expeditions, which have found the remains of unique compositions, restored pictures of the greatness of the sacred place.

Black rulers

When the power of Egypt is shaken, its own colonies are conquered - Nubia and Libya. The temples include black Pharaohs, who required a special status. To be on the throne by inheritance, and not after the seizure of power, they marry the Egyptian aristocrats, declaring them and themselves divine incarnations.

There are facts when the wives of the pharaohs dedicated their daughters to the spouses of Amun, because such a high title gave great power. Many black rulers, reviving the glory of Thebes, were not required of a man, and they transferred the status of a goddess to adoptive daughters. Unfortunately, the legendary city was plundered by the Assyrians, and no one remembered the power of the goddesses-pharaohs.

Working in Egypt archaeological expeditions revealed to the world unknown facts hitherto. Each new discovery of such burials becomes a debated event in the academic world.