Meresankh

Meresankh III

Titles of Meresankh III:

King's daughter (Sat nesut - SAt nswt)

King's daughter of his body, (Sat nesut en Khetef - sAt nswt nt Xt.f)

King's wife (Hemet nesut - Hmt nswt)

King’s beloved Wife (Hemet nesut merytef - Hmt nswt mrt.f)

Beholder of Horus and Seth, (Maat Hr-StX)

Great favorite of Nebty, (Weret Hetes Nebty - wrt Hts Nbty)

Follower of Horus, (xt Hr)

Intimate of Horus (tist Hr)

Greatly praised, (wrt Hst)

Beloved of Thoth and Horus, (mr[yt] Dhwty Hr)

His companion, (smrt.f)

Companion of Horus (Smrt Hr)

Consort of him who is beloved of the Two Ladies (smAwt mry Nbty)

Greatly praised (wrt Hst)

priestess of Thoth (Hm-nTr DHwty)

priestess of Bapef (Hmt-nTr BA-pf)

Priestess of Hathor (Hmt-nTr Hwt - Hr)

Hetepheres II (left) and her daughter Meresankh III
Statue from her daughter's tomb (From Wikimedia Commons)

Her life

Daughter of Kawab and Hetepheres II. Meresankh was likely born late in the reign of Khufu. She may have been quite young when her father Kawab died. Her mother Hetepheres II seems to have married the next Pharaoh Djedefre, who would have been her half brother. This means Meresankh III grew up at the Egyptian court. It is not known when she married Khafre, but that may very well have been before Khafre even took the throne. Meresankh had several children. Her son Nebemakhet may be the best attested of them all. It is from his tomb that we learn about a daughter of Meresankh named Shepsetkau. Other sones likely include Duaenre, Khenterka and Niuserre.

Prince Kawab, with Hetepheres and Meresankh in a boat pulling papyrus.
From Meresankh's tomb.

The children of Meresankh III and Khafre

From Meresankh's tomb. On the left Meresankh's mother Hetepheres II.
Behind Hetepheres we see a young girl and a small prince named Khenterka.
Meresankh is depicted wearing a leaopard skip and holding a fly-whisk.
Behind Meresankh her son Nebemakhet is depicted.
It is not clear if the three small boys behind Nebemakhet are servants or other members of the family.

Prince Nebemakhet Mastaba 8172 King’s son of his body, Chief Justice and Vizier, etc. Temp. Khephren to Menkaure or a little later. In the mastaba Duaenre, and Niuserre are mentioned. As well as a brother named Akhemre. Nebemakhet's wife was named Nubhotep, Prophetess of Hathor Mistress-of-the-Sycamore in all her places, etc.
Prince Du(a)enre Mastaba G5110 Vizier of Menkaure. Possibly father of Babaef (Khnumbaf?)
Prince Kenterka. Mentioned in Meresankh's tomb. Khenterka is assumed by some to be a son of Meresankh III.
Prince Niuserre (Ny-user-Re-ankh (?) is mentioned in Meresankh's tomb) King’s son of his body, Chief lector-priest of his father,Treasurer of the King of Lower Egypt, etc. Middle to end of Dyn. IV. (Unfinished Rock cut tomb in central field)
Princess Shepsetkau (mentioned in Nebemakhet's Mastaba).

Kings and Queens 4th dynasty Seneferu, Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure, Djedefre, etc. 11th dynasty Kings named Mentuhotep and Intef 12th dynasty Amenemhet I - IV, Senusret I-III 18th dynasty Amenhotep I-IV, Tuthmosis I-IV, Akhenaten, Tutankhamen, Aye, Horemheb, etc. 19th dynasty Sety I-II, Ramesses I-II, Merenptah, Amenmesses, Tawosret. 20th dynasty Sethnakht, Ramesses III Ramesses IV - XI 25th dynasty Alara, Kashta, Piye, Shabaka, Shabataka, Taharqa, Tanutamun, etc. Cleopatra VII Philopator Old Kingdom Queens (Dyn 1-6) Middle Kingdom Queens (Dyn 11-13) New Kingdom Queens (Dyn 16-20) Officials, Priesthood etc. Viziers (New Kingdom) High Priests of Amun God's Wives of Amun High Priests of Ptah Viceroys of Nubia Who's who of New Kingdom Amarna Period Akhenaten Queen Nefertiti inscriptions Queen Nefertiti. Queen Kiya Smenkhare Tutankhamen Tombs at Amarna Houses at Amarna Tombs: Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens Theban Tombs, Tombs at Abydos Tombs at El Kab Tombs in Aswan Early dynastic Saqqara New Kingdom Saqqara The Unis Cemetary Mastabas at the Giza Plateau Giza Mastabas 1000 cemetary Giza Mastaba 2000 cemetary Giza Mataba 2300 cemetary Giza Mastaba 4000 cemetary Giza Mastaba 5000 cemetary Giza Mastaba 6000 cemetary Giza Mastaba 7000 cemetary Mummy Caches Tomb DB320 Tomb KV35
	Meresankh III Titles of Meresankh III: King's daughter (Sat nesut - SAt nswt) King's daughter of his body, (Sat nesut en Khetef - sAt nswt nt Xt.f) King's wife (Hemet nesut - Hmt nswt) King’s beloved Wife (Hemet nesut merytef - Hmt nswt mrt.f) Beholder of Horus and Seth, (Maat Hr-StX) Great favorite of Nebty, (Weret Hetes Nebty - wrt Hts Nbty) Follower of Horus, (xt Hr) Intimate of Horus (tist Hr) Greatly praised, (wrt Hst) Beloved of Thoth and Horus, (mr[yt] Dhwty Hr) His companion, (smrt.f) Companion of Horus (Smrt Hr) Consort of him who is beloved of the Two Ladies (smAwt mry Nbty) Greatly praised (wrt Hst) priestess of Thoth (Hm-nTr DHwty) priestess of Bapef (Hmt-nTr BA-pf) Priestess of Hathor (Hmt-nTr Hwt - Hr) Hetepheres II (left) and her daughter Meresankh III Statue from her daughter's tomb (From Wikimedia Commons) Her life Daughter of Kawab and Hetepheres II. Meresankh was likely born late in the reign of Khufu. She may have been quite young when her father Kawab died. Her mother Hetepheres II seems to have married the next Pharaoh Djedefre, who would have been her half brother. This means Meresankh III grew up at the Egyptian court. It is not known when she married Khafre, but that may very well have been before Khafre even took the throne. Meresankh had several children. Her son Nebemakhet may be the best attested of them all. It is from his tomb that we learn about a daughter of Meresankh named Shepsetkau. Other sones likely include Duaenre, Khenterka and Niuserre. Prince Kawab, with Hetepheres and Meresankh in a boat pulling papyrus. From Meresankh's tomb. The children of Meresankh III and Khafre From Meresankh's tomb. On the left Meresankh's mother Hetepheres II. Behind Hetepheres we see a young girl and a small prince named Khenterka. Meresankh is depicted wearing a leaopard skip and holding a fly-whisk. Behind Meresankh her son Nebemakhet is depicted. It is not clear if the three small boys behind Nebemakhet are servants or other members of the family. Prince Nebemakhet Mastaba 8172 King’s son of his body, Chief Justice and Vizier, etc. Temp. Khephren to Menkaure or a little later. In the mastaba Duaenre, and Niuserre are mentioned. As well as a brother named Akhemre. Nebemakhet's wife was named Nubhotep, Prophetess of Hathor Mistress-of-the-Sycamore in all her places, etc. Prince Du(a)enre Mastaba G5110 Vizier of Menkaure. Possibly father of Babaef (Khnumbaf?) Prince Kenterka. Mentioned in Meresankh's tomb. Khenterka is assumed by some to be a son of Meresankh III. Prince Niuserre (Ny-user-Re-ankh (?) is mentioned in Meresankh's tomb) King’s son of his body, Chief lector-priest of his father,Treasurer of the King of Lower Egypt, etc. Middle to end of Dyn. IV. (Unfinished Rock cut tomb in central field) Princess Shepsetkau (mentioned in Nebemakhet's Mastaba). The King's Son of his body Dua(en)re. From Meresankh's Tomb. Meresankh is known to have owned estates which were overseen by her steward Khemetnu. His mastaba is G5210. Khem(e)tnu held the titles of King’s wab-priest, Prophet of Khufu, Steward of Kawab, Htepheres II and Meresankh III, etc.Khemetnu may have died at the end of the 4th dynasty or even in the beginning of the 5th dynasty. Burial: In Giza in Mastaba G7530 -7540. This tomb was given to her by her mother Hetepheres II according to an inscription in the tomb. References: Dodson, Hilton The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, London 2004 N-C. Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt Porter and Moss, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings; Part III; Download from Gizapyramids.org The Mastaba of Meresankh III Gizapyramids.org

Ancient Egypt
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Ancient Egypt

Meresankh III