Meritaton

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Meritaton in hieroglyphics
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Meritaton
(Merit Aton)
Mr.jt Jtn
lover of Aton
Princess Meritaten, from el-Amarna, ca.1365-47 BCE, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen (2) (36284136341) .jpg
Meritaton with a Nubian wig, ca.1365-1347 BC, Carlsberg Glyptotek , Copenhagen.

Meritaton , also Merit-Aton , was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 18th dynasty and firstborn daughter of Pharaoh Akhenaten and his great royal wife Nefertiti .

Most likely she spent her childhood in Thebes , later in Achet-Aton ("Horizon of Aton") also called Amarna, the newly founded capital of her father, consecrated to the god Aton. Her father, Pharaoh Akhenaten, was the son of Amenophis III. and around the year 1350 BC Ascended the throne when he radically intervened in the state cult. With his main wife Nefertiti he banished all gods - except for one: the sun god Aton . He placed him at the top of the heaven of gods.

Her younger sister Maketaton died when she was ten . Meritaton is mentioned as "Mayati" in two Amarna letters .

King Burna-Buriasch II of Babylon sent her a necklace made of lapis lazuli . In a second letter, the same ruler complains that Meritaton is not concerned about his health.

Akhenaten was the father of six daughters and one son, Tutankhamun. After the death of her mother Nefertiti, Akhenaten married his eldest daughter Meritaton in order to prepare and legitimize her for the succession to the throne.

According to scant evidence, she became the great royal wife of her father's successor, Semenchkare . One ascribes her a daughter - but only because the names are identical - Meritaton tascherit ("Meritaton, the younger / the little one"). It is also believed that she could be the unnamed queen in the Dahamunzu affair . Her further life and her end are unknown.

The grave goods of Tutankhamun ( KV62 ) were re-examined for the Great Egyptian Museum , which is due to open in 2020 and is located around two kilometers from the necropolis of Giza . From the analysis of several pieces from the treasure of the young pharaoh, Egyptologists concluded that he received a generous share of the gifts of another person. Accordingly, a large part of Tutankhamun's grave treasure should not have been intended for him, but for his eldest sister Meritaton. Removed and re-engraved name cartridges could mean that there was still a female pharaoh before Tutankhamun.

This meant that the historical role of this forgotten Pharaoh had to be reassessed: after the death of her father, she would have ruled for her underage brother and maneuvered Egypt out of a strategically weak position. During her short reign she is said to have put together a magnificent tomb treasure, which Tutankhamun, once crowned Pharaoh, finally claimed for himself.

Head of a queen in the Amarnian style (Nefertiti or Merit-Aton), Neues Museum , Berlin.

literature

Web links

Commons : Meritaton  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ El-Amarna No. 10 = EA 10 , William L. Moran : The Amarna Letters. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore / London 1992, ISBN 08018-4251-4 , pp. 19-20.
  2. ^ EA 11 , William L. Moran: The Amarna Letters. P. 22.
  3. ↑ “Certaines pièces du trésor de Toutânkhamon appartiennent à sa sœur”, Marc Gabolde, Egyptologue à Montpellier. March 27, 2019, accessed May 12, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Meritaton
BRIEF DESCRIPTION first-born daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti
DATE OF BIRTH 14th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 14th century BC Chr.