The queens of the succeeding dynasties were far less conspicuous than their 18th Dynasty predecessors, and only the wives of the 19th Dynasty King Ramesses II managed to make any real impact on Egyptian history. Ramesses had many wives, including his younger sister Hentmire, but his chief queen was Nefertari, who is featured on the temple of Hathor built by her husband at Abu Simbel. Although Nefertari was given the title ‘Great Royal Wife’ so was the Lady Istnofret, so we have the very unusual situation of having two major royal consorts at the same time. Nefertari bore Ramesses his eldest son Amen-hir-Khapshef and his daughter Meryt-Amen, while Istnofret produced his second son Ramesses, his elder daughter, Bint-Anath, and his twelfth son Merenptah, who eventually succeeded his father to the throne. Both Nefertari and Istnofret were buried in the Valley of the Queens; Nefertari’s painted tomb is acknowledged to be a particularly fine one.
Over the years Ramesses’ domestic arrangements grew even more eccentric as his two Great Royal Wives were succeeded by their daughters Meryt-Amen and Bint-Anath; the title ‘Great Royal Wife’ seems to have had a very literal meaning, and we know that Bint-Anath bore her father at least one daughter. A third ‘Great Wife’ was appointed in Year 34 when Maatnefrure, the daughter of the King of the Hittites, was also made a principal wife; at roughly the same time Maatnefrure’s sister married Ramesses II and joined the royal harem. Meryt-Amen either died or fell from grace, and her place was taken by Nebet-Tawy who was yet another of Ramesses’ daughters – this time by an unknown woman – the last of the Princess-Queens.
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The one queen’s title which became very important towards the end of the Dynastic era was that of ‘God’s Wife of Amen’, a title which should not be confused with the less specific accolade of ‘God’s Wife’ which had been used by several royal women during the Middle Kingdom. The god Amen and his influential Theban priesthood first came to national prominence during the Middle Kingdom. At the start of the New Kingdom they managed to consolidate and extended their power, ensuring that the victorious defeat of the Hyksos invaders became attributed to the direct intervention of Amen. It was at this time that the title God’s Wife of Amen was first employed, lasting in popular use for a period of approximately eighty years. The title reflected the mythological idea that the mothers of kings were impregnated by the god Amen; this reinforced the dogma that the king was indeed the son of Amen. The God’s Wife was not originally, as might be supposed, a young virgin dedicated to the service of the state god. Instead, the title was awarded to high-ranking ladies in the royal family – not always women of royal birth but usually the wife, mother or eldest daughter of a king. Its rarity shows that it was regarded as a position of some distinction and, indeed, several queens used it as their only or major title. The first 18th Dynasty holder of the title was Ahmose Nefertari, and contemporary illustrations show her dressed in a distinctive, short, Middle Kingdom-style wig and archaic-looking clothes, performing a range of public religious duties including processing in public with the priests of Amen. In return for her efforts, she received a generous endowment of land. The title slowly declined in popularity at the end of the 18th Dynasty.
During the troubled Third Intermediate Period Egypt was effectively split into two independent provinces; much of the north was ruled by the royal family living at Tanis in the Nile Delta while the south remained under the control of the influential High Priests of Amen based at Thebes. In a repetition of the north–south diplomatic marriages seen during the Archaic Period, it became customary for northern princesses to marry the High Priests of Amen, an arrangement which allowed the northern kings to assert a degree of long-range control over the wealthy and powerful Theban priesthood. The role of God’s Wife of Amen was revived at this time and conferred on an unmarried daughter of such a union who was formally consecrated to the service of the god. The position was now politically very important as the current God’s Wife held theoretical control over all the estates owned by Amen; rather than attempt to remove the powerful priests, the kings had sought to trump their influence by appointing a higher-ranking God’s Wife. Naturally, it was important that such a political figurehead should remain a virgin as the insecure kings could not risk the establishment of a new and powerful dynasty.
Year 4 of Apries, 4th Month of Shomu, day 4. The God’s Wife of Amen, Niacin, the justified, was raised up to heaven and united with the sun’s disk, the divine flesh being merged with him who made it.