Meryet-Amun Queen of Egypt

• Preferred Name: Meryet-Amun Queen of Egypt^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}
  
• Gender: F
  
• FSID: G73G-6Q5
  
• Burial: in Deir el-Bahari, Cairo, El Qahira, Egypt at LATI: N0.0463 LONG: E1.2412 with note: Find a Grave: Queen Meryet-Amun
  
• Birth: in Egypt at LATI: N7 LONG: E0 with note: Find a Grave: Queen Meryet-Amun
  
• Death: in Egypt at LATI: N7 LONG: E0 with note: Find a Grave: Queen Meryet-Amun
  

1. Khenemetneferhedjet Great Royal Wife I,    
2. Senusret Khakheperre 4th Pharaoh 12th Dynasty II, b. 1922 BC in Egypt     d. 1878 BC in Egypt

1. Title: EGYPT TOMBS OF THE NOBLES: Tomb of Queen Meryetamun - Number TT358
   Author: Tomb of Queen Meryetamun - Number TT358, discovered February 23rd 1929
   Publication: Name: http://ib205.tripod.com/tt358.html;
   Note: The tomb entrance is sited almost straight under the Northern colonnade of the first terrace of Queen Hatshepsut's funerary temple at Deir el-Bahri (evidence suggests that the tomb was built after the temple). The tomb had been robbed in antiquity, High Priests of the 21st Dynasty restored the coffin (robbers had stripped all gold from the coffin - the wooden coffin was painted by the restorers, down the front of the first coffin, see below, an inscription gives the names and titles of Meryetamun - again added by the 21st Dynasty restorers). Both the first and second coffins were made from fine cedar wood, a third coffin did originally exist but was damaged so badly by tomb robbers that only fragments survive. Who was Queen Meryetamun? Unfortunately, very little is known about her - it is thought that she was the eldest daughter of Thuthmose III and also the wife of Amenhotep II. She probably died soon after becoming queen, it was Queen Tio who was the principal wife of Amenhotep II (and mother of Tuthmosis IV). The robbers had stripped the orginally of the wrappings from the body to remove any valuable items, - the mummy was re-wrapped by the High Priest restorers. The mummy: Height of the body - 1.545 metres. Meryetamun died aged approximately 50 years old, the resemblance can be seen between her and her father Tuthmosis III. The second coffin: length - 3.135 metres Other burials in TT358 The tomb also was used by the restorers of the burial to house a number of other mummies - perhaps most notable being that of Princess Entiu-ny daughter of Pinudjem I - although the well in the tomb stopped the priests from placing these extra coffins in the burial crypt of Meryetamun and so were left the other side of the well (these burials were robbed - the gold from the coffin of Entiu-ny was removed - these mummies were dragged from the coffins and left scattered around the first two rooms of the tomb).
   
2. Title: Tomasa Longoria in entry for Sarah Sanmiguel, "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997"
   Author: "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VDP7-HBC : 1 January 2015), Tomasa Longoria in entry for Sarah Sanmiguel, 11 Aug 1944; from "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing Texas Department of State Health Services.
   Publication: Name: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VDP7-HBC;
   
3. Title: viaLibra: "The tomb of Queen Meryet-Amun at Thebes. Photographs by Harry Burton; plans by Walter Hauser and catalogue," by Charlotte R. Clark
   Author: rare book seller
   Publication: Name: https://www.vialibri.net/years/books/74411422/1932-winlock-herbert-e-the-tomb-of-queen-meryet-amun;
   Note: WINLOCK Herbert E. The tomb of Queen Meryet-Amun at Thebes. Photographs by Harry Burton; plans by Walter Hauser and catalogue by Charlotte R. Clark. Very rare. Metropolitan Museum of Art - Egyptian Expedition 06. MMA, New York, 1932. First edition. Folio, xii & 100 pages, 47 plates. Small stamp of "Hausbibliothek St. Gabriel, Mödling bei Wien" on title page and small sticker on front cover. Other pages are mostly uncut and in excellent condition. Original softcover. A near-mint copy. Bookseller: Meretseger Books [LEBANON]
   
4. Title: Wikiwand: Women in ancient Egypt
   Author: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
   Publication: Name: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Women_in_ancient_Egypt;
   Note: Women in ancient Egypt had some special rights other women did not have in other comparable societies. They could own property and were, at court, legally equal to men. However, Ancient Egypt was a society dominated by men. Women could not have important positions in administration, though there were women rulers and even women pharaohs. Women at the royal court gained their positions by relationship to male kings. Work Most women belonged to the peasantry, and worked alongside their husbands doing agricultural work. Women were known to manage farms or businesses in the absence of their husbands or sons. Among the upper classes of society, a woman usually did not work outside the home, and instead supervised the servants of the household and her children's education. An exception is the textile industry. Here women are well attested as weavers. A letter found at Lahun and dating around 1800 BC names six female weavers. In the Old Kingdom wealthy women often owned an own household. There were working men and women side by side, and it is not uncommon to find in the stuff of a women's household other women with administrative titles. Especially in tomb scenes of the periods, men are often served by men, while women are served by women. Here, a separation of sexes is visible. Women belonging to families wealthy enough to hire nannies to help with childcare frequently worked as perfume-makers, and also were employed in courts and temples, as acrobats, dancers, singers, and musicians, which were all considered respectable pursuits for upper-class women. Women belonging to any class could work as professional mourners or musicians, and these were common jobs. Noblewomen could be members of the priesthood connected to either a god or goddess. Women could even be at the head of a business as, for example, the lady Nenofer of the New Kingdom, and could also be a doctor, like the lady Peseshet during the Fourth dynasty of Egypt. Family and marriage Marriage The purpose of marriage was to have more children and descendants of the family. In the New Kingdom there was a saying that: "Take a wife while you are young That she make a son for you She should bear for you while you are youthful It is proper to make people Happy is the man whose people are many He is saluted on account of his progeny." It is true that some egalitarian relationship between husband and wife was implied in Egypt depiction. For example, in love songs, "brother and sister" carried the same significance as "husband and wife." "Sn," the Egyptian word for "brother," also meant "peer," "mate," or "second." Thus, the love songs may be referring to the egalitarian relationship between husband and wife. The example for interbreeding among royalty was set by the gods since Osiris married his sister, Isis. However, depictions usually show a husband and wife in an affectionate attitude with their children, so we assume most families were generally happy, but marriage was more realistic. The wife shared responsibilities and worked with her husband. Marriages in ancient Egypt were usually monogamous, but it also was not uncommon for a man of high economic status to have more than one wife. This was especially true if the man's first wife was unable to have children of her own. Although it was possible to divorce, it was very difficult. Marriages were usually arranged by parents, who chose appropriate partners for their children. Despite what the laws stated, it was suggested that women made more family decisions and controlled more of the home than usual. Women had control over most of their property, could serve as legal persons who brought cases to the court, and even worked in public. Husbands did not take total control over their wives property because women had a degree of independence in ancient Egypt. For example, from ca. 365 B.C, a new marriage contract was emerged which mainly protected women from divorce, placing more financial burdens on men. The influence of queens and queen mothers was considered as a big reason for women's special rights in ancient Egypt compared to other societies at that time. Queens and queen mothers always had a great power since many pharaohs were very young when they succeeded the throne. For example, the great pharaoh Ahmose I in New Kingdom, always took advice from his mother, Ahhotep I, and his principal wife, Nefertari. Although the women of ancient Egypt were viewed as one of the most independent groups of women, widowhood could result in suspicion due to the lack of male control. Widows also gained more legal freedom, being able to buy and sell land, making donations, and even making loans. Pregnancy There is much evidence of complex beliefs and practices in ancient Egypt related to the important role fertility played in society. If a woman was not fertile, her husband could potentially divorce her for not producing heirs. Religious beliefs included rules concerning purification, similar to other religions in the region. Women in Egypt were believed to be eliminating impure elements during menstruation, and were excused from work and could not enter the restricted rooms of temples while menstruating. Fertility rituals were used by couples desiring children. Contraception was permitted as well, and medical texts survive that refer to many contraceptive formulas (although the ingredients are often now difficult to identify). Some formulas, such as drinks made of celery base and beer, are dubious, but others show a basic knowledge of somewhat effective methods, such as a spermicide made of fermented acacia gum, which produces a sperm-killing lactic acid. Once pregnant, the uterus was placed under the protection of a specific goddess, Tenenet. Ritual medical care was given by anointing the woman's body with beneficial oils, using a small bottle in the form of a woman posed with her hands placed on a round belly. There was a way in the Egyptian society for families who wanted to know the sex of their baby, which spread to Greece, Byzantium, and then to Europe, where it was practiced for centuries without anyone realizing its origins in ancient Egypt. It involves placing grains of barley and wheat in a cloth sachet and soaking them in the pregnant woman's urine; if barley sprouted first, the baby was said to be a boy, and if the wheat sprouted first, the baby was said to be a girl. In ancient Egypt, the word for barley was the synonym of "father." Childbirth When it was time for childbirth, the pregnant woman was assisted by midwives. She would be shaved, including her head. The midwives would support the woman during labor while she remained in a squatting position on a mat. On the corners of the mat were placed four bricks, believed to be the incarnation of four goddesses: Nut, the great goddess of the sky; Tefnut, the elder, the feminine polarity of the first couple; Aset the beautiful; and Nebet-Het, the excellent. Women playing an official role at the highest levels Few ancient civilizations enabled women to achieve important social positions. The same is true for ancient Egypt. There are only very few examples of women as high officials. Only very few women made it into the highest office, that of Pharaoh. One example of a woman in a high state position is Nebet who became vizier in the Sixth Dynasty. The vizier was the highest state official, second only to the king. Egyptian society of antiquity, like many other civilizations of the time, used religion as a foundation for society. This was how the throne of the power of the Pharaohs was justified, as anointed by the gods, and the holder of the throne had a divine right. Typically, in ancient societies power was transferred from one male to the next. Women gave birth to the heirs, signaling importance towards marriage, as well. The son inherited the power, and in cases where the king did not have a son, the throne was then inherited by the male members of the family further removed from the king, such as cousins or uncles. But even if the monarch had daughters, they could not gain power. In Egyptian civilization, this obligation of passing power to a male successor was not without exceptions. Royal blood, a factor determined by divine legitimacy, was the unique criteria for access to the throne. However, the divine essence was transmitted to the royal spouse, as was the case with Nefertiti, wife of Akhenaton. Egyptians preferred to be governed by a woman with royal blood (being divine according to mythology) rather than by a man who did not have royal blood. Also, during crises of succession, there were women who took power. When this happened, the female Pharaoh adopted all of the masculine symbols of the throne. There even exist doubts, in some instances, about the sex of certain Pharaohs who could have been women. During the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, when Amenhotep I died, his successor Thutmose I appears to have not been his son, at least he was not the child of a secondary wife of the late Pharaoh; if his wife Ahmes was related to Amenhotep I, this union permitted divine legitimacy. For the following successor, princess Hatshepsut, daughter of Thutmose I and the Great Royal Wife, enabled Thutmose II, son of his second wife and therefore half-brother of the princess, to gain the throne by marrying him. It became more common for women to gain the throne in ancient Egypt. For example, as with Hatshepsut, who took the place of her nephew Thutmose III. When Hatshepsut inherited the throne from her late husband and became Pharaoh, her daughter Neferure took on a role that exceeded the normal duties of a royal princess, acquiring a more queenly role. There were also the Cleopatras, of whom the best known is Cleopatra VII (69 BCE to 30 BCE), famous for her beauty and her relationships with Julius Caesar and then Marc Antony, the leaders who depended upon her throne. The women Pharaohs who are best known, and of whom historians are most cer..
   
5. Title: Find a Grave: Queen Meryet-Amun
   Publication: Name: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32257341/queen-meryet_amun;
   Note: Queen Meryet-Amun BIRTH unknown Egypt DEATH unknown Egypt BURIAL Deir el Bahri Cairo, El Qahira, Egypt Queen of Egypt. Wife of Amenhotep II. PLOT DB 358 MEMORIAL ID 32257341