Nitocris

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Nitocris[2]
in hieroglyphs
Era: Old Kingdom
(2686–2181 BC)

Nitocris (Greek: Νίτωκρις) possibly was the last queen of the Sixth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. Her name is found in writings long considered as relatively accurate resources: a major chronological documentation of the reigns of the kings of ancient Egypt that was composed in the third-century BC by Manetho, an Ancient Egyptian priest and by the ancient Greek historian, Herodotus, in his Histories (430 BC). She is thought to be the daughter of Pepi II and Neith and to be the sister of Merenre Nemtyemsaf II.[2]

Her historicity has been questioned by some with speculation that, if she was a historical ruler, she may have been a regent. Another view, by the Egyptologist Kim Ryholt, argues that Nitocris is legendary and derives from the historical king Neitiqerty Siptah who succeeded Nitocris's brother, Merenre Nemtyemsaf II, at the transition between the Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period.

Manetho claimed she built the "third pyramid" at Giza. Modern historians and archaeologists attribute that pyramid to a king of the Fourth Dynasty, Menkaure.

  1. ^ Tyldesley, Joyce (2006). Chronicle of the Queens of Egypt. United Kingdom: Thames & Hudson. p. 63. ISBN 0-500-05145-3.
  2. ^ a b Tyldesley, J., Chronicle of the Queens of Egypt, 2006, Thames & Hudson, p. 63.