Great Royal Love Tutankhamun & Ankhesenamun In the tradition of ancient Egypt's ruling families, King Tut married his own sister Ankhesenamun who seems to have been the great love of his life. Ankhesenamun (ˁnḫ-s-n-imn, "Her Life Is of Amun"; c. 1348 -- after 1322 BC) was a queen of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Born as Ankhesenpaaten, she was the third of six known daughters of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti, and became the Great Royal Wife of her half-brother Tutankhamun. The change in her name reflects the changes in Ancient Egyptian religion during her lifetime after her father's death. Her youth is well documented in the ancient reliefs and paintings of the reign of her parents. Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun shared the same father but Tut's mother has recently been established by genetic evidence as one of Akhenaten's sisters, a daughter (so far unidentified) of Amenhotep III. She was probably born in year 4 of Akhenaten's reign and by year 12 of her father's reign she was joined by her three younger sisters. He possibly made his wife his co-regent and had his family portrayed in a realistic style in all official artwork. Ankhesenamun was definitely married to one king - she was the Great Royal Wife of pharaoh Tutankhamun. It is also possible that she was briefly married to Tutankhamun's successor, Ay, believed by some to be her maternal grandfather. It has also been posited that she may have been the great royal wife of her father, Akhenaten, after the possible death of her mother and co-regent of Akhenaten's immediate successor, Smenkhkare. Recent DNA tests released in February 2010 have also speculated that one of two late 18th dynasty queens buried in KV 21 could be her mummy. Both mummies are thought, because of DNA, to be members of the ruling house. Ankhesenpaaten was born in a time when Egypt was in the midst of an unprecedented religious revolution (c. 1348 BC). Her father had abandoned the old deities of Egypt in favor of the Aten, hitherto a minor aspect of the sun-god, characterised as the Sun's disc. She is believed to have been born in Waset (present-day Thebes), but probably grew up in her father's new capital city of Akhetaten (present-day Amarna). The three eldest daughters -- Meritaten, Meketaten, and Ankhesenpaaten -- became the "Senior Princesses" and participated in many functions of the government and religion. Her birthdate is not yet known for certain. She is believed to have been married first to her own father, and is thought to have been the mother of the princess Ankhesenpaaten Tasherit (possibly by her father or by Smenkhkare) when she was twelve, although the parentage is unclear. After her father's death and the short reigns of Smenkhkare and Neferneferuaten, she became the wife of Tutankhamun. Following their marriage, the couple honored the deities of the restored religion by changing their names to Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun. The couple appear to have had two stillborn daughters. As Tutankhamun's only known wife was Ankkhesenamun, it is highly likely the fetuses found in Tutankhamun's tomb are her daughters. Some time in the ninth year of his reign, at about the age of eighteen, Tutankhamun died suddenly, leaving Ankhesenamun alone without an heir at about age twenty-one. A ring discovered is thought to show that Ankhesenamun married Ay shortly before she disappeared from history, although no monuments show her as a royal consort. On the walls of Ay's tomb it is Tey (Ay's senior wife), not Ankhesenamun, who appears as queen. She probably died during or shortly after his reign and no burial has been found for her yet. The Hittite Letters A document was found in the ancient Hittite capital of Hattusa which dates to the Amarna period; the so called "Deeds" of Suppiluliuma I. The king receives a letter from the Egyptian queen, while being in siege on Karkemish. The letter reads: "My husband has died and I have no son. They say about you that you have many sons. You might give me one of your sons to become my husband. I would not wish to take one of my subjects as a husband... I am afraid." This document is considered extraordinary, as Egyptians traditionally considered foreigners to be inferior. Suppiluliuma I was surprised, and exclaimed to his courtiers: "Nothing like this has happened to me in my entire life!" Banned Thoughts Forgotten Histories Forbidden Knowledges Ankhesenamun The Angel of Egypt: (^_^)~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankhesenamun KGB

• published: 16 Jul 2014
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