Iytjenu (The one who has come distinguished) was an

ancient Egypt 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 ...

ian king of the

First Intermediate Period The First Intermediate Period, described as a 'dark period' in ancient Egyptian history, spanned approximately 125 years, c. 2181–2055 BC, after the end of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom. It comprises the seventh Dynasty, Seventh (altho ...

, about 2100 BC. Very little is known about him as he is only indirectly attested in the name of a woman called Zat-Iytjenu - ''Daughter of Iytjenu''. The element Iytjenu within the woman's name is written with a royal

cartouche upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the bottom., Birth and throne cartouches of Pharaoh KV17.html" ;"title="Seti I, from KV17">Seti I, from KV17 at the ...

. In this period the cartouche was only used for writing a king's name. Therefore, her name must refer to a king. The ruler's name is composed of two elements: Iy and Tjenu, both elements are also well attested as independent names. The position of the king within the First Intermediate Period remains highly speculative. Zat-Iytjenu is only known from her

false door A false door, or recessed niche, is an artistic representation of a door which does not function like a real door. They can be carved in a wall or painted on it. They are a common architectural element in the tombs of ancient Egypt, but appeared p ...

(

Egyptian Museum The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum (, Egyptian Arabic: ) (also called the Cairo Museum), located in Cairo, Egypt, houses the largest collection of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian antiquities in the world. It hou ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, JE 59158) excavated at

Saqqara Saqqara ( : saqqāra ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in the markaz (county) of Badrashin in the Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for ...

in about 1920 to 1922 by

Cecil Mallaby Firth Cecil Mallaby Firth (5 July 1878 – 1931) was a British Egyptologist. Firth was baptised at Ashburton in Devon on 14 August 1878, the son of Henry Mallaby Firth, gent., and Frances (Fanny) Caunter. He became a lawyer, and after briefly wor ...

. Firth never found time to publish the stela. However, a note on the king's name was written shortly after by

Henri Gauthier Henri Louis Marie Alexandre Gauthier (19 September 1877 – 1950) was a French Egyptologist and geographer. In 1903 he entered the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology of Cairo. He made extensive excavations at Dra Abu el-Naga and El Qattah ...

in 1923. The false door was only fully published in 1963 by Henry George Fischer.H. G. Fischer: ''A stela of the Heracleopolitan Period at Saqqara: the Osiris Iti'', in ''ZÄS'' 90 (1963), 36-37, pl. VI Very little is known about Zat-Iytjenu. She bore the titles ''sole ornament of the king'' and ''

Priestess of Hathor Priestess of Hathor or Prophetess of Hathor was the title of the Ordination of women#Ancient Egypt, Priestess of the goddess Hathor in the Temple of Dendera in Ancient Egypt. Title The title is known to be given during the Old Kingdom of Egypt, an ...

''. Her relation to king Iytjenu is unknown. Royal names as part of private names are common in almost all periods of

Ancient Egyptian history Ancient Egypt spans the period of Egyptian history from the early prehistoric settlements of the northern Nile valley to the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BC. The pharaonic period, the period in which Egypt was ruled by a pharaoh, is dated ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iytjenu 22nd-century BC pharaohs 21st-century BC pharaohs Pharaohs of the Eighth Dynasty of Egypt Pharaohs of the Ninth Dynasty of Egypt Pharaohs of the Tenth Dynasty of Egypt First Intermediate Period of Egypt