What is Bintanath?

Bintanath in hieroglyphs

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Bintanath (or Bentanath) was the firstborn daughter and later Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II.^[1]

She was born possibly when her father was still a co-regent with his father, Seti I. Her mother was Isetnofret, one of the two most prominent wives of Ramesses. It is interesting to note that her name is Syrian, meaning Daughter of Anath, referring to the Canaanite goddess Anath. She became Great Royal Wife around the 25th year of her father's reign, following Isetnofret's death.^[2]

Bintanath had a daughter who appears on the paintings in her tombs; she is unnamed there but it is possible that her name was also Bintanath and she married the next pharaoh, Merneptah. A statue of Merneptah in Luxor mentions "the Great Royal Wife Bintanath", who is, possibly, this daughter, since it is unlikely that the older Bintanath married Merneptah when both of them were well over sixty.

Her depictions appear on the walls of the temple in Abu Simbel, statues of her can be found in Pi-Ramesses and Wadi es-Sebua. A statue generally thought to be hers stands in Karnak.

Despite her being Ramesses' first daughter, she was actually one of the few children who outlived their long-lived father. She was depicted on a statue usurped by Merenptah.^[3] She died during the reign of her brother Merneptah and was buried in the tomb QV71 in the Valley of the Queens.^[4]

Sources

External links

• Anneke Bart: Queen Bint-Anath