Isetnofret (or Isis-nofret or Isitnofret) (

Ancient Egyptian Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

: "the beautiful Isis") was one of the Great Royal Wives of

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

Ramesses II and was the mother of his successor,

Merneptah Merneptah () or Merenptah (reigned July or August 1213–2 May 1203 BCE) was the fourth pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. According to contemporary historical records, he ruled Egypt for almost ten y ...

. She was one of the most prominent of the royal wives, along with

Nefertari Nefertari, also known as Nefertari Meritmut, was an Egyptian queen and the first of the Great Royal Wife, Great Royal Wives (or principal wives) of Ramesses II, Ramesses the Great. She is one of the best known Egyptian queens, among such women ...

, and was the chief queen after Nefertari's death (around the 24th year of the pharaoh's reign).

Family

The parents of Isetnofret are not known. She must have married Ramesses II even before he came to the throne as her eldest children already appear in scenes from the time of Seti I. She had at least three sons and one daughter. Her children include: * Prince

Ramesses Ramesses or Ramses may refer to: Ancient Egypt Pharaohs of the nineteenth dynasty * Ramesses I, founder of the 19th Dynasty * Ramesses II, also called "Ramesses the Great" ** Prince Ramesses (prince), second son of Ramesses II ** Prince Rames ...

, Crown Prince from Year 25 to 50 of Ramesses II * Princess-Queen Bintanath, firstborn daughter and later wife of RamessesDodson & Hilton, p.170 * Prince Khaemwaset, High Priest of Ptah. Crown Prince from Year 50 to 55 of Ramesses II * Pharaoh

, Ramesses' 13th son and ultimate successor (he outlived the first 12 princes) * Princess Isetnofret (?), possible wife of Merenptah as Isetnofret IIDodson & Hilton, p.171 Prince Sethi and Princess Nebettawy have been suggested as further children of Isetnofret, but they are more likely to be the children of Nefertari (or even some other mother).

Titles

Queen Isetnofret's titles include: Hereditary Princess (iryt-p`t), Great of Praises (wrt-hzwt), King’s Mother (mwt-niswt), Mistress of the entire Two Lands (hnwt-t3wy-tm), King’s Wife (hmt-nisw), Great King’s Wife (hmt-niswt-wrt)

Life

Isetnofret is known from several inscriptions and small statues. She is not well attested before year 25 of

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Pharaoh, Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of th ...

. Most of the items and scenes mentioning Queen Isetnofret seem to be associated with her sons

, Khaemwaset and Merenptah. * Isetnofret is shown on a family stela from

Aswan Aswan (, also ; ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate. Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract. The modern city ha ...

. The upper

register Register or registration may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), ...

shows Ramesses II, Isetnofret and Khaemwaset before the god Khnum. The lower register shows Prince Ramesses,

and Princess Queen Bintanath. * A family stela from the Speos at West Silsila shows Ramesses II, Isetnofret and Bintanath with a much smaller Khaemwaset before the gods Ptah and Nefertem. The lower register shows Prince Ramesses and Prince (later

) Merenptah.Kitchen, K.A., Ramesside Inscriptions, Translated & Annotated, Translations, Volume II, Blackwell Publishers, 1996. * A Statue with Prince's Figure (Brussels E.7500). Her son is named on the statue: the Sem-Priest and King's Son Khaemwaset. * A Statue group with Sons (Louvre 2272): A "hetep-di-nesu" offering for the King's Son, Sem priest of Ptah, Khaemwaset and the royal scribe, Generalissimo and King's Son Ramesses. The text mentions Queen Isetnofret (the princes' mother). * The Head of a Statue (Brussels E.5924): On right shoulder the name of Isetnofret appears. * A naophorous Statue of Prince Khaemwaset mentions his mother. On the dorsal pillar it reads: "Iunmutef-priest, born of the Great Royal Wife Isetnofret, the Sem-priest of Ptah Khaemwaset." * Relief for offering for Prince Khaemwaset in

Horemheb Horemheb, also spelled Horemhab, Haremheb or Haremhab (, meaning "Horus is in Jubilation"), was the last pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 18th Dynasty of Egypt (1550–1292 BC). He ruled for at least 14 years between 1319 ...

's Speos. The text above the prince reads: "Sitting at table, making purification with natron and reading out the (funerary) menu, every good offering, for the King's Son of Usermaatre Setepenre, born of the Great Royal Wife, Isetnofret, the Sem-priest Khaemwaset." * Shabtis from Middle cemetery of Abydos: One of these has a cartouche of Queen Isetnofret.Porter and Moss Topographical Bibliography; Volume V Upper Egypt Griffith Institute * West Silsila: Rock shrine of Merneptah. A scene depicts Ramesses II, Queen Isetnofret with sistra before Taweret (as a hippopotamus),

Thoth Thoth (from , borrowed from , , the reflex of " eis like the ibis") is an ancient Egyptian deity. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an African sacred ibis, ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him. His feminine count ...

and Nut. A daughter of her son Khaemwaset (sometimes called Isetnofret III) was named after her. It is possible that this Isetnofret was Merenptah's wife, not her aunt Isetnofret II. A possible daughter of Merneptah also bears this name.Dodson & Hilton, p.182

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isetnofret 01 13th-century BC Egyptian women Wives of Ramesses II Princesses of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt