Shepenupet II (alt. Shepenwepet II, prenomen: ''Henutneferumut Irietre'') was an ancient Egyptian princess of the

25th Dynasty The Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXV, alternatively 25th Dynasty or Dynasty 25), also known as the Nubian Dynasty, the Kushite Empire, the Black Pharaohs, or the Napatans, after their capital Napata, was the last dynasty of t ...

who served as the high priestess, the

Divine Adoratrice of Amun The Divine Adoratrice of Amun ( Egyptian: '' dwꜣt nṯr n jmn'') was a second title – after God's Wife of Amun – created for the chief priestess of the ancient Egyptian deity Amun. During the first millennium BCE, when the holder of this ...

, from around 700 BC to 650 BC. She was the daughter of the first Kushite pharaoh

Piye Piye (once transliterated as Pankhy or Piankhi; d. 714 BC) was an ancient Kushite king and founder of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt, who ruled Egypt from 744–714 BC. He ruled from the city of Napata, located deep in Nubia, modern-day Sudan ...

and sister of Piye's successors,

Shabaka Neferkare Shabaka, or Shabako ( Egyptian: 𓆷𓃞𓂓 ''šꜣ bꜣ kꜣ'', Assyrian: ''Sha-ba-ku-u'') was the third Kushite pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt, who reigned from 705 to 690 BC.F. Payraudeau, Retour sur la succession ...

and

Taharqa Taharqa, also spelled Taharka or Taharqo ( Egyptian: 𓇿𓉔𓃭𓈎 ''tꜣ-h-rw-k'', Akkadian: ''Tar-qu-u2'', , Manetho's ''Tarakos'', Strabo's ''Tearco''), was a pharaoh of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt and qore (king) of the Kingdom of ...

Biography

Shepenupet II was adopted by her predecessor in office,

Amenirdis I Amenirdis I (throne name: ''Hatneferumut'') was a God's Wife of Amun during the 25th Dynasty of ancient Egypt., p.238 Originating from the Kingdom of Kush, she was the daughter of Pharaoh Kashta and Queen Pebatjma, and was later adopted by Shepen ...

, a sister of Piye. Shepenupet was

God's Wife of Amun God's Wife of Amun ( Egyptian: ''ḥm.t nṯr n ỉmn'') was the highest-ranking priestess of the Amun cult, an important religious institution in ancient Egypt. The cult was centered in Thebes in Upper Egypt during the Twenty-fifth and Twent ...

from the beginning of Taharqa's reign until Year 9 of Pharaoh

Psamtik I Wahibre Psamtik I ( Ancient Egyptian: ) was the first pharaoh of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt, the Saite period, ruling from the city of Sais in the Nile delta between 664–610 BC. He was installed by Ashurbanipal of the Neo-Assyrian Empir ...

. While in office she had to come to a power sharing arrangement with the mayor of Thebes,

Mentuemhat Mentuemhat or Montuemhat (c. 700 BCE – c. 650 BCE) was a rich and powerful Theban official from ancient Egypt who lived during the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt and Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt. He was the Fourth Priest of Amun in Thebe ...

.Michael Rice, ''Who's Who in Ancient Egypt'', Routledge 2001, p.189 Her niece, Amenirdis, the daughter of Taharqa, was appointed as her heiress. Shepenupet was compelled to adopt

Nitocris Nitocris ( el, Νίτωκρις) possibly was the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt's Sixth Dynasty. Her name is found in Herodotus' '' Histories'' (430BC) and in writings by the 3rd-century BC Manetho, but her historicity has been questioned. If she ...

, daughter of pharaoh Psamtik I, who reunited Egypt after the

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyri ...

conquest. This is evidenced by the so-called Adoption Stela of Nitocris. In 656 BC, in Year 9 of the reign of Psamtik I, she received Nitocris at Thebes. Her tomb is located in the grounds of

Medinet Habu Medinet Habu ( ar, مدينة هابو; Egyptian: ''Tjamet'' or ''Djamet''; cop, ''Djeme'' or ''Djemi'') is an archaeological locality situated near the foot of the Theban Hills on the West Bank of the River Nile opposite the modern city of Lu ...

., p.240 She was succeeded as Divine Adoratrice by Amenirdis II, who was succeeded by Nitocris I.

Images

File:Bas-relief at the mortuary temple of Ramesses III 1.jpg, Shepenupet II at Medinet Habu File:Bas-relief at the mortuary temple of Ramesses III 2.jpg, Shepenupet II and Amenirdis II at Medinet Habu File:Ch Chep II Med Habou 082005.jpg, Chapel of Shepenupet at Medinet Habu File:Genies of Nile flood E27208 mg 8657.jpg, Shepenupet's cartouche File:Egypte louvre 068 coffret.jpg, Box with name of Shepenupet File:Karnak Chepenoupet II Amenirdis II.jpg, Shepenupet and Amenirdis II

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepenupet 02 God's Wives of Amun Princesses of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt 8th-century BC Egyptian people 7th-century BC Egyptian people 8th-century BC Egyptian women 7th-century BC Egyptian women 8th-century BC clergy 7th-century BC clergy