Pasherienptah (III) ''(p3-šrỉ-n-ptḥ'', 'Son of
Ptah'; November 4, 90 BCE – July 13 or 14, 41 BCE) was an
ancient Egyptian
high Priest of Ptah in
Memphis from 76 BCE until his death. Two of his stelas are known, the one with a hieroglyphic inscription is in the
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University o ...
(Ash. M. 1971/18), the other, Demotic stela, of which only seven fragments have been found, is in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
(BM 886).
Background
Born as the son of High Priest Pedubast III and the
sistrum
A sistrum (plural: sistra or Latin sistra; from the Greek ''seistron'' of the same meaning; literally "that which is being shaken", from ''seiein'', "to shake") is a musical instrument of the percussion family, chiefly associated with ancient ...
-player of Ptah, Herankh-Beludje in the 25th regnal year of
Ptolemy X. He became High Priest at the age of fourteen and played an important role at the
Sed festival of the king. It is also known that he made a visit to
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
, where he participated in a ritual honoring the goddess
Isis
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...
. His autobiography also mentions a visit of the king to Memphis. At the age of 31, on July 25, 58 BCE he married fourteen-year-old
Taimhotep, the member of a priestly family, and had three daughters in succession, Berenike (56/55–33 BCE), Herankh-Beludje, and Her'an-Tapedubast. They prayed to
Imhotep – an
Old Kingdom
In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth ...
sage who was later deified and associated with Ptah – for a son. Their son Imhotep-Pedubast was born in 46 BCE, as Pasherienptah's fifth child. Another daughter, Kheredankh (65–44 BCE), was from a previous relationship.
Pasherienptah died at the age of 49, surviving his wife by one year, and was buried in the 12th regnal year of
Cleopatra VII
Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
, on October 1, 41 BCE. His son followed him as high priest, but he died young, in 30 BCE and had no descendants.
References
External links
Epitaph of Psherenptah
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pasherienptah III
Memphis High Priests of Ptah
90 BC births
41 BC deaths