| Kilu-Ḫepa | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gilukhipa/Kyregypa | ||||||||
"The Sun Goddess Ḫepa is my Strength" | ||||||||
| Dynasty | 18th Dynasty | |||||||
| Pharaoh(s) | Amenhotep III | |||||||
| Titles | King's Wife King's Daughter King's Sister | |||||||
| Father | Šuttarna II | |||||||
| Spouse(s) | Amenhotep III | |||||||
| Burial | Unknown | |||||||
Kilu-Ḫepa or Gilukhipa (transliteration: kïrgïpꜣ, meaning: "The Sun Goddess Ḫepa is my Strength") was a Princess from Mitanni and King's Wife of the Eighteenth Dynasty during the New Kingdom.
Family[]
Kilu-Ḫepa was the daughter of king Šuttarna II of Mitanni. She was the sister of the later king of Mitanni, Tušratta. Kilu-Ḫepa had married Pharaoh Amenhotep III in his 10th regnal year. Her niece Tadu-Ḫepa (daughter of Tušratta) also married Amenhotep III, more than two decades later.[1]
Life[]
For political reasons, Kilu-Ḫepa was sent to Egypt to join Amenhotep III in marriage. The Egyptian pharaoh made a special issue of commemorative scarabs on the occasion of his marriage to Kilu-Ḫepa in his 10th regnal year, where he recorded that the princess was escorted by 317 ladies-in-waiting, women from the Mitanni king's royal palace.[2] Kilu-Ḫepa became known as the "Secondary King's Wife," meaning she was secondary to Amenhotep III's chief wife, Queen Tiye.
References[]
Bibliography[]
- Dodson, A./Hilton, D., 2004: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, London.