The XIth dynasty temple at Deir el-Bahari .. - NYU | Digital Library ...

THE XlTii DYNASTY TEMPLE AT i)ElR EL-liAHARI.
The titles of queen Aashait are kinj-wii to us.
On one of the fragments commg from the
shrines, behind the king we see : 1 ^40 s~^
royal wife, who loves him, the royal favourite,
the only one, the priestess of Hathor, beloved of
Osiris, Aashait " (PL xvii. e). She is said to be
dead, but on the fragment the king is spoken
of as dead also. On another fragment (I'l.
xii. a) she is j^robably the queen represented
behind the king. Aashait has the title of royal
wife ;
she undoubtedly was Mentuhetep's queen
and 231'obably the first in rank, but she was not
the only one.^ We must admit that besides
their re2;ular wives the kino's had in their
harims wives of lower rank called l'^^ ()> " the
royal favourite." This was already the custom
under the Old Empire, as we know from the
tombs. Here these priestesses of Hathor are
called i ^ ^^"^j " the royal favourite, tlie only
one ;
" but we cannot suppose that there was
only one at a time ; for we find remains of
processions of these princesses, and we must
admit tliat they lived at the same time, for
they are not said to be dead.
The titles of some of them have not been
preserved ; those whose coffins and shrine-
fragments have been discovered, "^ css ,
' A
r|)
gold-mounted scarab in the British Museum
(No. 40855) bears her name spelt , with the title,
\
Ky !2E^ chief royal wife." Cf. Newberry, P.S.B.A.
xxiv. (1902), p. 251.
,
Kauif, '
,
/i/W\AA /\A/\AAA
llenhc.nU,
i hem^lt.
Tamdlt (" The Cat"), arc all royal favourites.
Therefore we must conclude that there was a
college of jDriestesses of Hathor who all had the
title of royal favourites, or that the princesses
of the harim of the king, probably those who
lived at Thebes, Avere priestesses of Hathor,
specially devoted to the goddess. This religious
chai'acter given to the wives of the king has
nothing surprising about it, considering that
the king himself was a god. All the kings of
Egypt, from the Thinite period down to the
Roman emperors, were gods, and Ave see in
several instances the kings of the Xlth Dynasty
taking the apjDearance of Amon and Min.^
The king whom I consider to be the successor
of Meutuhetep III., and Avho Avould be Mentu-
hetep IV., is f o ^37 ^^"^ |, who Avas more poAver-
ful still than his predecessor or father, and Avho
certainly ruled over the Delta, for he drew
soldiers from it. AVe found his name on a
fragment in tlie temple. As for fop-^UI,
Sankhkara, Mentuhetep V., he has not yet
been discovered in the temple. He is chiefly
known through his expedition to Punt. But no
Xlth Dynasty mention of that country has yet
been discovered in the excavations, and Ave
cannot yet say that he, or a thousand years
afterAvards the jJOAverful queen Hatshej^su, took
example from Neb-hepet-Ra Avhen they sent
their ships to the land of frankincense.
- Lepsius, Dcnkm. ii. 150, li, 19.