| Hemdjeret | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haberdjet, Habadjilat | |||||||||||||||
"Meadow-saffron" | |||||||||||||||
| Dynasty | 20th Dynasty | ||||||||||||||
| Pharaoh(s) | Setnakhte – Ramesses III | ||||||||||||||
| Titles | King's Wife King's Mother | ||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Setnakhte[1] or Ramesses III[2] | ||||||||||||||
| Issue | Iset-Tahemdjeret[1][3] | ||||||||||||||
| Burial | Valley of the Queens | ||||||||||||||
Hemdjeret, Haberdjet or Habadjilat (ancient Egyptian: ḥmḏr.t, "Meadow-saffron") was a King's Wife and King's Mother of the Twentieth Dynasty during the New Kingdom.
Name[]
Hemdjeret was probably of Asiatic origin due to her name, which means "Meadow-saffron" in Semitic. Due to this non-Egyptian origin, the spelling of her name in ancient Egyptian is not consistent (at times transliterated as ḥmḏr.t, ḥbrḏ.t or ḥbḏl.t).[1]
Titles[]
Papyrus BM EA 10052 attests Hemdjeret as a "King's Wife" (ḥm.t-nswt), while sandstone blocks from Deir el-Bakhit attest her with the title "King's Mother" (mwt-nswt).[1]
Origins and Family[]
Hemdjeret's Asiatic origin suggests that she may have been a Canaanite or Syrian princess. Both Pharaoh Setnakhte[1] and Ramesses III[2] have been suggested as the king she married. She is attested as the mother of Queen Iset-Tahemdjeret in the latter's QV51 tomb.[1][3] Her title of King's Mother on the Deir el-Bakhit blocks remains somewhat problematic, but could refer to her being Ramesses III's mother-in-law and/or stepmother.[1] Perhaps, due to the usurpation of the blocks by her grandson Ramesses VI, the title may refer to this king instead, in which case it should be interpreted as King's Grandmother.
Burial[]
Hemdjeret was buried in one of the numerous anonymous tombs in the Valley of the Queens, since the Papyrus BM EA 10052 mentions the robbing of her tomb there.[1] The exact location of her tomb in the valley and whereabouts of her mummy remain unknown.
References[]
Bibliography[]
- Černý, J., 1958: Queen Ēse of the Twentieth Dynasty and Her Mother. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 44.
- Dodson, A./Hilton, D., 2004: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, London.
- Grist, J., 1985: Grist: The Identity of the Ramesside Queen Tyti. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 71.