Meretseger (queen) explained

Meretseger
Great Royal Wife
King's mother
Reign:1879 BC – 1846 BC (reign of Sesostris III)?
Birth Date: 19th century BC
Spouses:--> Senusret III
Spouses-Type:-->
Consort:yes
Native Lang5:--> Ancient Egyptian
Native Lang5 Name1:-->
Dynasty:Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt
Religion:Ancient Egyptian religion

Meretseger ("She who Loves Silence") was an ancient Egyptian queen consort.

Biography

Meretseger appears in sources of the New Kingdom of Egypt as the wife of Senusret III. According to that she would be the first Egyptian queen consort to bear the title Great Royal Wife, which became the standard title for chief wives of pharaohs. She was also the first queen consort whose name was written in a cartouche.[1] However, as there are no contemporary sources relating to Meretseger, she is most likely a creation of the New Kingdom.[2]

Along with Khenemetneferhedjet II and Neferthenut, she is one of three known wives of Senusret III (a fourth, possible wife is Sithathoriunet). She was depicted on a New Kingdom stele now in the British Museum (EA846) and on an inscription in Semna dating to the reign of Thutmose III.[3]

Notes and References

  1. pp.26-27
  2. C. van Siclen: Egyptian Antiquities in South Texas. Part 2. A kohl Jar of Queen Meresger, in: Varia Aegyptiaca 8 (1992), 29-32
  3. Dodson & Hilton, p.97.