Iâhhotep

Iâhhotep (Iahotep, Ahotep, Ahhotep, ha-hotep, Iâh-hotep) is a queen of/ancient Egypt.

Girl of Sénakhtenrê Taâ {{Ier}}, sovereign thébain, it was born during the period from domination from the Hyksôs - which controlled then the delta and part of the Average-Egypt. She played a paramount role in the war of liberation of the country carried out by her brother and husband, Séqénenrê Taâ {{II}}, then successively by her two sons, Kamosis and Ahmosis (or Ahmosé). She will ensure regency, in an abstract way, for the account of her sons. The latter ensured initially their influence on the High-Egypt before launching out in the reconquest of the Low-Egypt. About year 18 of its reign, Ahmosis succeeds in conquering the capital of Hyksôs, Avaris, and driving out the foreigners of the country definitively (he was the first Pharaon of).

The Iâhhotep queen died certainly between year XVI and year XXII of the reign of her son. For proof of the high consideration in which it was held, Ahmosis known as of it, in its stele of Karnak:

That which achieved the rites and taken care of Egypt. It took care on its troops and protected them. It brought back its fugitive and gathered its deserters. It pacified High Egypt and drove out the rebelles.

This text more clarifies the role which the queen could have held during the war of liberation, like near his/her son still too young.

Just like his/her daughter-in-law (or girl) Ahmès-Néfertary, Iâhhotep was the object of a worship after her death, which attests the prestige which these queens enjoyed at the court thebaine.

Genealogy

Burial

The tomb of Iâhhotep was identified in 1859 not far from the site of the tomb of Kamosé discovered it two years earlier by Auguste Mariette. This last being absent at the time of the discovery, it was immediately put at the shelter in the stores of Karnak in order to withdraw it from covetousnesses hunters of treasures which prevailed in the area thebaine for the account of collectors or of the traffic of antiquities which flowered at that time. Informed discovery, Mariette ordered a statement of it, which enables us today to know the whole of the objects of it that it contained. It was then decided to repatriate the treasure of the queen to the Cairo.

During this transfer, the ship which carried its invaluable loading was intercepted by a local governor whom, officially to like the viceroy, wished itself to bring back the discovery to him. It made open the sarcophagus and got rid of the skin of the queen and of the strips of the mummy… and undoubtedly was used itself for the passage among the many gold relics which the mummy contained. Auguste Mariette which was informed of the mishap armed a boat immediately and intercepted the convoy of the governor who went to the Cairo. It required under the threat of the weapons that one gave to him the entirety of the contents of the cases, which was made not without some exchanges of insults and shot. Thanks to this rapid intervention the treasure which been able to be saved of a destiny certainly more venal than archaeological. The treasure arrived finally at Cairo and entered officially the collections of the young whole museum which it had just founded, at the price of a serious explanation with the viceroy Saïd Pasha.

Among the most famous objects which accompanied the sovereign one, one will quote an axe covered with gold and invaluable semi stones carrying titulature of his son Ahmosis, a chain out of gold carrying three pendentive in the shape of flies also in solid gold, a partitioned gold bracelet and invaluable semi stones carrying a cartouche always of Ahmosis framed by two sphinges also laid down out of gold, ornament very similar to the elements discovered on the mummy of Kamosé, like two great models of boat with their complete crews of which one out of solid silver and the other out of gold.

The sarcophagus out of wooden gilded of the queen complete with its had arrived at the Cairo, but the inventory of the museum indicates that the tank disaggregated some time afterwards. Only the lid remains, us presenting Iâhhotep carrying a heavy wig on which a gold uræus is fixed, while the remainder of the sarcophagus is treated in style richi. The disappeared mummy carried very many jewels and it is probable that certain were stolen at the time of the not-official opening of the sarcophagus. Only part of the large collar ousekh out of gold which covered it arrived at the museum for example. A last element is also lacking. They are the trunk with Canope S and its four vases which contained the internal organs of the queen which never reached the reserves of the museum whereas the unit is attested since he was described like being at the sides of the fleshfly of the queen at the time of his discovery.

The unit was exposed in various towns of Europe and, for the anecdote, at the time of her passage to Paris, the empress Eugenie carried her reserved on one of the jewels of the queen whom the viceroy seemed inclined to offer to him. It was without counting the tenacity of Mariette which categorically refused to yield one ounce of gold of this treasure. It ends up convincing Saïd Pasha not to offer it to the empress, which been worth the circumstantial enmity of the imperial family to him…

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