NEFERURE

'Neferure' (“The Beauty of Re”) was an Ancient Egyptian princess of the 18th dynasty. She was the daughter of two pharaohs, Thutmose II and Hatshepsut^[1].
Neferure was born during the reign of Thutmose II. She was the only child of Hatshepsut we know about, thus probably the only one who survived infancy. Her half-brother, who later reigned as Thutmose III, was born to a secondary wife or concubine of their father.^[2] Thutmose II died after a 13-year-long rule, and Neferure's mother, Hatshepsut, became the next ruler – first perhaps only as co-regent for Thutmose III, who was still a child, but by Year 7, it is well documented that her mother reigned as the crowned pharaoh and continued, until her death, as the sole pharaoh for more than twenty years.^[3]
Following her mother's succeeding to the throne, Neferure had an unusually prominent role in the court. According to some historians she was trained to become the next pharaoh. She was almost certainly educated to be the Great Royal Wife of Thutmose III. However, it is possible that Hatshepsut trained her to be capable to rule as pharaoh, lest something happen to Thutmose III. Neferure was tutored by some of Hatshepsut's most trusted advisers, at first Ahmose Pen-Nekhebet, who served under several of the preceding pharaohs and was held in great esteem, then by Senenmut, who was followed by Senimen.^[4][5]

The interpretation of one scene depicted on Hatshepsut's “Red Chapel” in the Karnak temple suggests that during Hatshepsut's reign, Neferure held the prestigious title “God's Wife of Amun”, which had been held by several queen consorts of her dynasty, including Hatshepsut when she was the queen of Thutmose II. The person entitled ''God's Wife of Amun'' played an important role in temple rituals, traditionally a female role as the principle wife to the godly pharaoh. Hatshepsut, who was now the pharaoh, could not continue to fulfill the role and, needing a female as the priestess for the religious rituals, she passed her former title to Neferure.^[6]
It is possible that Neferure died during the reign of her mother. She was mentioned in Senenmut's first tomb, which he had built in Regnal Year 7, and she was depicted on a stela in Serabit el-Khadim in Year 11, but she is not mentioned in Senenmut's second tomb, dated to the 16th regnal year. It is not known whether she ever married Thutmose III. On two depictions the name of Thutmose's wife, Satiah, seem to have replaced that of Neferure; one of the depictions is associated with the title “Great Royal Wife”, the other with “God's Wife” ^[7], a title which Satiah does bear later on other inscriptions^[8][9].)
Since Neferure is depicted in her mother's funeral temple, however, there are some authors who believe that Neferure was still alive in the first few years of Thutmose's sole rule, and that his eldest son, Amenemhat, was her child.^[10] Amenemhat did not survive his father and therefore never became pharaoh, as his half-brother born to yet another wife of Thutmose III did.
Neferure is depicted on several places, among them in her mother's funeral temple in Deir el-Bahri, on Senenmut's statues, on stelae in Karnak, and on the Sinai.
There was a tomb constructed for her; though Howard Carter discovered it, he did not alter it in any way. Archaeologists entered the tomb, atop a sheer cliff, to find it mainly empty. It was noted that the tomb had been used; traces of ochre and yellow paints could be defined. The archaeologists were certain that Neferure had not outlived her mother Hatshepsut.
^[11]

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References

1. Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, 2004, ISBN 0-500-05128-3, p.140
2. Dodson–Hilton, op.cit., p.131
3. Joyce A. Tyldesley: Hatchepsut: The Female Pharaoh
4. Tyldesley, op.cit., pp.101-102
5. Ian Shaw (ed.): The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, p.253
6. Tyldesley, op.cit., p.103
7. Dodson–Hilton, op.cit., pp.131-132
8. Shaw, op.cit., p.263
9. Tyldesley, op.cit., p.104
10. Shaw, op.cit., p.254
11. Dodson–Hilton, op.cit., p.140

External links

★ Statue of Senenmut and Neferure