Setepenre or Sotepenre ( "chosen of Re") 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 princess of the

18th Dynasty The Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XVIII, alternatively 18th Dynasty or Dynasty 18) is classified as the first dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. The Eighteenth Dynasty ...

; sixth and last daughter of Pharaoh

Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Akhenaton or Echnaton ( ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning 'Effective for the Aten'), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eig ...

and his chief queen

Nefertiti Nefertiti () () was a queen of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the Great Royal Wife, great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for their radical overhaul of state religious poli ...

., p.156

Family

Setepenre was born around the 9thTyldesley, Joyce. Nefertiti: Egypt's Sun Queen. Penguin. 1998. to 11th year of her father

in the city of Akhetaten.Aldred, Cyril, Akhenaten: King of Egypt ,Thames and Hudson, 1991 (paperback), She had five older sisters named

Meritaten Meritaten, also spelled Merytaten, Meritaton or Meryetaten () (14th century BC), was an ancient Egyptian royal woman of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Her name means "She who is beloved of Aten"; Aten being the sun-deity whom her father, Pharaoh ...

Meketaten Meketaten (, meaning "Behold the Aten" or "Protected by Aten") was the second of six daughters born to the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti. She likely lived between Year 4 and Year 14 of Akhenaten's reign. Although l ...

Ankhesenpaaten Ankhesenamun (, "Her Life Is of Amun"; c. 1348 or c. 1342 – after 1322 BC) was an ancient Egyptian queen who lived during the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. Born Ankhesenpaaten (, "she lives for the Aten"), she was the third of six known daughters ...

Neferneferuaten Tasherit Neferneferuaten Tasherit or Neferneferuaten the younger (, meaning ''most beautiful one of Aten – younger'') (14th century BCE) was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 18th Dynasty and the fourth daughter of Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal ...

, and

Neferneferure Neferneferure ( "beautiful are the beauties of Re") (14th century BCE) was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 18th Dynasty. She was the fifth of six known daughters of Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti. Family Neferneferure w ...

.Dodson, Aidan and Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. 2004.

Life

One of the earliest depictions of Setepenre is in a fresco from the King's House in Amarna. She is depicted sitting on her mother

's lap. The fresco is much damaged and only a small hand of Setepenre remains. The fresco is dated to ca. year 9 of

, and the entire family is depicted. The next time the six princesses appeared together was in Year 12, on the eighth day of the second month of winter, during the so-called "reception of foreign tributes". This event was depicted in the Amarna tombs of Meryre II and Huya. In the tomb of Meryre II, Akhenaten and Nefertiti are shown seated in a kiosk, receiving tribute from foreign lands. The daughters of the royal couple are shown standing behind their parents. Setepenre is the last daughter in the lower register. She is standing right behind her sister Neferneferure, who is holding a gazelle. Setepenre is shown reaching over to pet the gazelle.Murnane, William J., Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt, Society of Biblical Literature, 1995

Death and burial

On Wall C in Room

\alpha

of the

Royal Tomb of Akhenaten The Royal Tomb of Akhenaten is a multichambered tomb in the Royal Wadi east of Amarna, Egypt, where members of the Amarna Period royal family were originally buried. Akhenaten was an Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh who reigned for seventeen years (13 ...

the names of five princesses are listed, that of

is plastered over and only four of the princesses are depicted. This probably means that Setepenre predeceased Neferneferure, and it is likely that Setepenre died around Year 13 or 14, before she reached her sixth birthday. Since she is not shown on Wall B in Room

\gamma

, where the royal family mourns the death of the second princess

, it is likely that she predeceased Meketaten as well, perhaps before the construction of the royal tomb was advanced enough to allow burial. She was possibly the first of the princesses to die. It is possible that her body was later moved to Room

\alpha

of the Royal Tomb.

References

{{Amarna Period Navigator Princesses of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt 14th-century BC Egyptian women Children of Akhenaten Nefertiti Ancient Egyptian royalty who died as children