Persenet

Summary

Persenet (Personet, Per-sent) was an ancient Egyptian queen consort of the 4th Dynasty. She may have been a daughter of Pharaoh Khufu and a wife of Pharaoh Khafre. She is mainly known from her tomb at Giza (G 8156).

Persenet in hieroglyphs
pr
r
hatching
[1]
pr-[..]
Per[..]
pr
r
O34
n
t
[2]
pr-snt (reconstructed)
Persenet

Biography edit

 
Partial name of Persenet from her tomb in Giza

According to Grajetzki, Persenet's full set of titles was: great of sceptre (wr.t-ḥts), king's beloved wife (ḥm.t-nỉswt mrỉỉt=f) and king's daughter of his body (sat-niswt-nt-xtf). The position of her tomb suggests that she was the wife of king Khafre and possibly a daughter of Khufu.[3] Persenet may be the mother of the vizier Nikaure.[4]

Tomb edit

 
Cross section of the tomb of queen Persenet. (Lepsius)

Persenet's tomb is LG 88 in Giza using the numbering introduced by Lepsius.[1][4] It is also given the designation G 8156.[5] The tomb is a rock-cut mastaba located in the Central Field which is part of the Giza Necropolis.

Persenet's tomb is adjacent to that of Nikaure and were probably constructed at the same time. Persenet's tomb can be entered through and entrance in the south wall or an entrance in the east wall which connects to the tomb of Nikaure. The chamber is L-shaped and contains two pillars. There are no decorations on the walls but the pillars are inscribed.[6]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Lepsius, Denkmaeler Text 1, p. 105-108.
  2. ^ Tyldesley, Joyce. Chronicle of the Queens of Egypt. Thames & Hudson. 2006. ISBN 0-500-05145-3
  3. ^ Grajetzki, Ancient Egyptian Queens: A Hieroglyphic Dictionary, Golden House Publications, London, 2005, ISBN 978-0-9547218-9-3
  4. ^ a b Dodson, Aidan and Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. 2004. ISBN 0-500-05128-3
  5. ^ Giza pyramids by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
  6. ^ Reisner, George A. A History of the Giza Necropolis 1. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1942, pp. 225, 310, fig. 125.