Usersatet 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 official with the titles
king's son of Kush (''Viceroy of Kush'') and ''overseer of the southern countries''. He was in office under king
Amenhotep II
Amenhotep II (sometimes called Amenophis II and meaning "Amun is Satisfied") was the seventh pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. He inherited a vast kingdom from his father Thutmose III, and held it by means of a few military campaigns i ...
and perhaps in the early years of the reign of
Thutmosis IV. As ''king's son of Kush'' he was the main official in charge of the Nubian provinces.
Usersatet was perhaps born in
Elephantine
Elephantine ( ; ; ; ''Elephantíne''; , ) is an island on the Nile, forming part of the city of Aswan in Upper Egypt. The archaeological site, archaeological digs on the island became a World Heritage Site in 1979, along with other examples of ...
or at least the region around this island. The name ''Usersatet'' means ''Satet is strong'',
Satet
Satet, Satit or Satjet, Satjit in Ancient Egyptian ( or ', ."Pourer" or "Shooter"), Greek: Satis, also known by numerous related names, was an Upper Egyptian goddess who, along with Khnum and Anuket, formed part of the Elephantine Triad. A pro ...
being the main deity of Elephantine. Usersatet's father was Siamun, and his mother was Nenwenhermenetes, ''king's ornament'', about both of whom not much is known.
It seems that Usersatet grew up in the royal palace and followed the king on his military campaign to
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
. He cleared five canals in the region of
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 canals were already more than 700 years old and most likely had been filled with sand earlier in the 18th Dynasty. Usersatet is known from a large number of monuments, especially in Lower Nubia. Near
Qasr Ibrim, he erected a chapel in honour of king Amenhotep II. A stela found at
Semna
The region of Semna is 15 miles south of Wadi Halfa and is situated where rocks cross the Nile narrowing its flow—the Semna Cataract.
Semna was a fortified area established in the reign of Senusret I (1965–1920 BC) on the west bank of the ...
bears a copy of a king's letter to Usersatet. However, no biography of this official survived. Therefore, there is not much known about his life and career. His name had been removed from many monuments, therefore it seems that he fell into dishonour at some point in his career.
His tomb has not yet been identified. A stela from
Wadi el-Hudi, first described in 2017, was found showing Usersatet in front of Satet and
Hathor
Hathor (, , , Meroitic language, Meroitic: ') was a major ancient Egyptian deities, goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky god Horus and the sun god R ...
. In March 2019, the discovery of 14
stele
A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...
dated back to the
Middle Kingdom was announced by archaeologists in Wadi el-Hudi. In one of the 3,400-year-old stelas was written the name of Usersatet.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Usersatet
Viceroys of Kush
Officials of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt