Hetepheres II

Hetepheres II in hieroglyphics
	Statue of Hetepheres II and Meresanch III, Museum of Fine Arts

Hetepheres II was a queen of the ancient Egyptian 4th dynasty . She was a daughter of Pharaoh Cheops , her mother is unknown. She was married at least twice. Her first husband was her (half) brother Kawab . From this marriage the sons Mindjedef , Kaemsechem and possibly Duaenhor and a daughter named Meresanch III went. emerged.

After Kawab's death, Hetepheres II married a king who is commonly identified with Radjedef . It is unclear whether she married another member of the royal family after his death. The vizier Anchhaf , an uncle or brother of Cheops, had a wife by the name of Hetepheres, who is partly equated with Hetepheres II, but partly only taken for a woman of the same name.

tomb

The final resting place of Hetepheres II is still unknown today. In the east cemetery of the Great Pyramid of Cheops , the double mastaba G 7110 - 7120 was originally intended for her and her first husband Kawab, but due to his early death and the remarriage of his wife he was buried there alone.

The nearby Mastaba G 7350, which was built at the end of the 4th Dynasty, is also partially regarded as the tomb of Hetepheres II, as reliefs have been found here that may show her and her daughter.

Special finds

Sphinx sculpture of Hetepheres II.

In the pyramid complex of Radjedef in Abu Rawash one dedicated to her was Sphinx sculpture found. It is probably the first representation of the Sphinx in Egyptian history.

literature

Michel Baud : Famille royale et pouvoir sous l'Ancien Empire égyptien. Tome 2 (= Bibliothèque d'Étude. Volume 126/2). Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, Cairo 1999, ISBN 2-7247-0250-6 , pp. 527-529 ( PDF; 16.7 MB ).
Aidan Dodson , Dyan Hilton : The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, London 2004, ISBN 0-500-05128-3 , pp. 52-61.
Dows Dunham: A Statuette of Two Egyptian Queens. In: Bulletin of The Museum of Fine Arts. Volume XXXIV, No. 201, Boston, February 1936, pp. 3–5 ( PDF file; 1.1 MB ).
Peter Jánosi : The tombs of Queen Hetepheres II. In: Journal for Egyptian language and antiquity (ZÄS) . Volume 123, Berlin 1996, pp. 46-62 ( PDF file; 9.0 MB ).
Bertha Porter , Rosalind LB Moss : Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings. III. Memphis. Part I. Abû Rawâsh to Abûṣîr. 2nd edition, revised and expanded by Jaromír Málek . The Clarendon Press, Oxford 1974, pp. 187, 193 ( PDF file; 29.5 MB ).
William Kelly Simpson (Ed.): The Mastabas of Kawab, Khafkhufu I and II (= Giza Mastabas. Volume 3). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 1978, ISBN 0-87846-120-5 , pp. 1–8, 11, 26 ( PDF file; 58.8 MB ).

Web links

Museum of Fine Arts Boston: Pair statue of Queens Hetepheres II and Meresankh III. (English)
Hetepheres II. (English) at The Ancient Egypt Site
Pete Vanderzwet: The Queens of Egypt's 4th Dynasty. (English) at Tour Egypt

Individual evidence

↑ Silke Roth: The royal mothers of ancient Egypt from the early days to the end of the 12th Dynasty (= Egypt and Old Testament. Volume 46). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2001, ISBN 3-447-04368-7 , p. 388.

personal data
SURNAME	Hetepheres II
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Queen of the ancient Egyptian 4th Dynasty
DATE OF BIRTH	26th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	26th century BC BC or 25th century BC Chr.

[1] Silke Roth: The royal mothers of ancient Egypt from the early days to the end of the 12th Dynasty (= Egypt and Old Testament. Volume 46). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2001, ISBN 3-447-04368-7 , p. 388.