Ankhesenamun was another daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti.
Ankhesenamun’s siblings were Meritaten, Meketaten, Neferneferuaten Tasherit, Neferneferure, Setepenre, and Tutankhamun.
Her husbands were Tutankhamun and Ay.
Ankhesenamun’s father, Akhenaten (r. 1351-1334 BC), was the son of Amenhotep III and Tiye.
Queen Tiye, mother of Pharaoh Akhenaten is regarded as one of the most influential queens ever to rule Egypt (Kemet). Tiye was a daughter of Yuya, king’s Lieutenant to Amenhotep III, and his wife, Thuya.
Ankhesenamun’s mother (and mother-in-law), Nefertiti, is said to have possibly been the daughter of Pharaoh Ay. His Great Royal Wife, Tey, is known to be her wet-nurse.
Ankhesenamun’s paternal grandparents were Amenhotep III (r. 1388-1351 BC) and Tiye.
Ankhesenamun’s maternal grandfather, Pharaoh Ay (c. 1323-1319 BC), was her second husband.
Ankhesenamun was the mother of two infant daughters and possibly Ankhesenpaaten Tasherit.
She married her brother, Tutankhamun (r. 1332-1323 BC), son of Akhenaten and stepson of Nerfertiti. His mother was likely Nebetah, and his grandmother Queen Tiye.
Tutankhamun ascended the throne around the age of nine following the short reigns of his predecessors Smenkhkare (r. 1335-1334 BC) and Neferneferuaten (r. 1334-1332 BC). It’s likely that he was guided by several key figures including Ay, Grand Vizier and maternal grandfather, and Horemheb, the commander-in-chief of the military.
Since the two children of Tutankhamun and Queen Ankhesenamun were both stillborn (317a and 317b), Tutankhamun was the last of the royal male siblings and there was no immediate heir apparent to assume the throne as Ankhesenamun's husband.
Tutankhamun died at age 18 or 19. A small bone fragment on the inside of his skull initially led some historians to believe that he was murdered by a blow to the back of his head.
A document was found in the ancient Hittite capital of Hattusa dating back to the Amarna period in which an Egyptian queen (thought by many to be Ankhesenamun) requests that the Hittite king, Suppiluliuma I (c. 1350-1322 BC), send her a son to marry so that she is not forced to marry her “subject.”
Suppiluliuma I agreed to send Zannanza, the second-youngest of his five sons, to Egypt.
Zannanza never made it past the Egyptian border. Suppiluliuma I accused the Egyptians of murdering him. Pharaoh Ay, denied the murder, but acknowledged the death.
Zannanza’s disappearance under mysterious circumstances caused a diplomatic incident between the Hittites and Egyptian Empire, resulting in a war that ultimately resulted in the death of Suppliluliuma I and a long-lived rivalry between Egypt and the Hittites.
Hittite forces subsequently attacked Egyptian settlements. Sick prisoners of war brought back to the Hittite Empire caused a deadly epidemic that spread rapidly. As a result, Suppiluliuma I himself died from the epidemic.
Zannanza’s suspicious death resulted in hostilities between Egypt and the Hittites, which did not come to an end until Ramesses II (c. 1279-1213 BC) signed a treaty with the Hittites following the Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BC.
Pharaoh Ay succeeds Tutankhamun as the next-to-last pharaoh of Egypt's 18th Dynasty. He had been the vizier of both Akhenaten, Tutankhamun and possibly Smenkhkare (r. 1335-1334 BC).
Horemheb (c. 1319-1292 BC), who succeeded Ay, had no relation to the preceding royal family other than by marriage to Mutnedjmet, who is thought to have been the daughter of Pharaoh Ay.
---
Like this post? Stop by and read “Queens & Consorts of 18th Dynasty Egypt: Meritaten, Wife of Smenkhkare (r. 1335-1334 BC).” Queen Meritaten, wife of Pharaoh Smenkhkare (r. 1335-1334), was the daughter of Pharaoh Akhenaten (r. 1351-1334 BC) and Queen Nefertiti. Smenkhkare was succeeded by Neferneferuaten (r. 1334-1332 BC), who was then succeeded by Tutankhamun (r. 1332-1323 BC)
I'd love to have you as a customer, head to the online store and shop for handcrafted beaded jewelry by beYOUteous.
Leave a comment