Khentkaus I

Khentkaus I in hieroglyphs
xnt
t		 kA kA
kA		 s

Khentkaus
ḫnt-kꜣw.s
M23
X1		 L2
X1		 M23
X1		 L2
X1		 G14
[1]
Mut-nesut-biti-nesut-biti
mw.t-nsw-bi.tj-nsw-bi.tj
Title of Khentkaus I and Khentkaus II
Khentkaus depicted on her tomb

Khentkaus I, also referred to as Khentkawes, was a royal woman who lived in ancient Egypt during both the Fourth Dynasty and the Fifth Dynasty.[2] She may have been a daughter of king Menkaure, the wife of both king Shepseskaf and king Userkaf (the founder of the Fifth Dynasty), the mother of king Sahure.[3]

Some suggest that she was the regent for one of her sons. Perhaps, in her own right, she may have been the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, which aspects of her burial suggest.[4] Her mastaba at Giza – tomb LG100 – is located very close to Menkaure's pyramid complex. This close connection may point to a family relationship. Although the relationship is not clear, the proximity of the pyramid complex of Khentkaus to that of king Menkaure has led to the conjecture that she may have been his daughter.[5]

  1. ^ Dilwyn Jones: An Index of Ancient Egyptian Titles, Epithets, and Phrases of the Old Kingdom, Band 1, 427, Nr. 1578, Oxford, 2000, ISBN 1-84171-069-5
  2. ^ Verner, Miroslav (2015). "The miraculous rise of the Fifth Dynasty – the story of Papyrus Westcar and historical evidence". Pražské egyptologické studie (Prague Egyptological Studies) (15): 86–92. ISSN 1214-3189.
  3. ^ Michael Rice: Who is who in Ancient Egypt, Routledge London & New York 1999, ISBN 0-203-44328-4, see p. 96
  4. ^ Robinson, Andrew, Archaeology: The wonder of the pyramids, Nature, 550, 330-331(2017), October 17, 2017
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference SH was invoked but never defined (see the help page).