Queen Tiy is known to be the most illustrious queen in the era of ancient Egypt.Her mummy is popularly termed as the Elder Lady. According to Egyptologists and historians, Queen Tiye was most likely ethnically a Sudanese woman or an Egyptian with some Sudanese blood in her family line.Queen Tiye was the co-regent of Ancient Egypt for over 20 years. She was an influential queen who pursued many different hobbies, including agriculture.As the wife of King Amenhotep III, Tiye was a powerful queen and mother to Akhenaten and Tutankhamun. Tiye became the Great Royal Wife when her husband ascended the throne.Queen Tiye is well known in history as a kind, smart and courteous lady who, as a devoted wife, took good care of her husband. She is also known for being the mother of King Akhenaten and Tutankhamun, for which she was called the ‘Mother of Kings’.Her death unleashed a power struggle over Egypt that eventually saw her son ousted from power by an outcast clan greedy for wealth and power.If you liked our suggestions for Queen Tiye facts, then check out Kidadl’s website for more great articles.Family and Early Life of Queen TiyeIn 1398 BC, queen Tiye was born in Akhmim in Upper Egypt, and she grew up there with her father there. Yuya and Tjuyu were her parents.Queen Tiye was born in the 18th dynasty, the daughter of Hotepneferu, a high priest, and his wife, Henuttawy.Tiye’s father is Yuya, a wealthy landowner who belongs to a non-royal family. Yuya lived in Akhmim in the upper Egyptian town. He served as the high priest, and he was the commander of chariots. Her father, also called Hotepneferu, started as a high-ranking official in King Thutmose III’s court. While her father was a provincial priest of Akhmim, Tiye was the advisor to the King.Tiye’s mother, Tjuyu, was involved in various cults. She belonged to the royal family. As per Egyptologists, Yuya, the father, was of a foreign origin because Yuya has a different spelling in name. It is to be noted that this is a non-Egyptian name. Anen, Tiye’s brother, was the second Prophet of Amun.Queen Tiye was famous as she was the royal wife of Amenhotep III. Although Tiye was not royal blood, she was the Amenhotep III King’s beloved wife. The artificial lake built in honor of his wife is as described on eleven scarabs. Tiye appears to be intelligent and strong as per the historical evidence, and she gained respect all over Egypt and foreign borders. Amenhotep III and Tiye made better rulers together. Foreign leaders seemed to have eagerly waited to establish a connection with her in terms of foreign dealings. She was the first queen to have established such strong political connections and foreign relations.Tiye and Amenhotep III ruled all over Egypt in peace and prosperity. Both ruled together over 38 years establishing the Egyptian dynasty. Tiye has been an advisor to her husband and her sons. Amenhotep III’s reign, was most influential in Egypt and luxurious.The 19th Dynasty ruled Egypt during her childhood and adolescence which is known as the ‘New Kingdom’ - in which powerful pharaohs such as King Amenhotep III and Amun-Re ruled most of Egypt. In this era, ancient Egyptian civilization increased its power globally through warfare, trade, agriculture, and scientific invention.At that time, Egypt was the wealthiest nation in the world. Queen Tiye and her husband lived in Malkata and had six children including two sons, and four daughters.Monuments Of Queen TiyeAmenhotep was fond of Tiye so much that he devoted a lot of shrines to her and constructed a temple in the memory of Tiye. He also built an artificial lake for her. Queen Tiye was the second female to rule Egypt, and Tiye was one of the greatest rulers in history. Tiye was the advisor of Amenhotep III and also his royal wife. In Sedeinga and Nubia, Tiye was worshipped as a goddess. She made important decisions and dealt with foreign leaders, and many of them wanted to deal with the queen herself directly. The name Queen Tiye was recorded in official acts and texts eventually. The mummy of queen Tiye is currently identified as Elder Lady.This queen is known to have built several monuments for herself and her family. She built a small tomb for herself called the ‘Secret Room.’ Her son Akhenaten also built a tomb in Thebes, which was called the ‘Secret Tomb.’ She was mentioned in the inscriptions of many monuments and temples. She is thought to have owned several estates in various parts of Egypt, including Fayoum and Amarna.Likewise, Amenhotep III was a gifted king who oversaw the construction and expansion of temples, such as the Temple of Amen-Re at Karnak and Ramesses II’s temple at Abu Simbel.Burial And Mummy Of Queen TiyeThe burial of the great royal wife and her current mummy has always been an interesting subject of study for Egyptologists. Her mummified body was first buried in the Akhenaten’s tomb at the Amarna. She was originally buried alongside her son and her grandmother, and then, she was re-buried in the location of her husband’s tomb. It is attributed to some of the inscriptions, of which some were just incomplete and became the subject of interpretation.The mummy of the Egyptian Queen was discovered in 1898 by the team of archaeologist Victor in Amenhotep II’s tomb. The mummy is currently at the location of the Egyptian museum, which is in Cairo, Egypt.According to history, First Egyptian Queen Tiye and King Amenhotep III were buried in the Valley of the Kings in Thebes. They are thought to have been buried in a royal tomb called the ‘Secret Room’, built for them by their son Akhenaten. She is believed to have been buried with gold, jewelry, and a sphinx made of dark stone, that depicted either herself or King Thutmose III.The ‘Secret Room’ was found during an excavation led by Khalil Bahnat. The tomb was discovered by a German archaeological team led by Ludwig Borchardt, who worked under the supervision of Dr. Georg Ebers from 1892 - 1896.In 1898, the rock tombs were raided and destroyed during an excavation led by the British Archaeological Association.The mummy in the nest of the four is miniature in the coffins inscribed with the name and contains a lock of the hair.Death Of Queen TiyeThe history of Queen Tiye took a turn for the worse when she fell ill, as she was more concerned about her husband and sons than anything else. She outlived all of her sons after being crowned as kings - Ankhesenpaaten, Meketaten, and Neferneferuaten Tasherit. Apart from her best ability to help the crown-bearers lead the country, she was also good at foreign relations. So, the collapse of the kingdom after her demise was considered inevitable.After the death of queen Tiye, the dynasty faced several issues. An example of that would be the city beginning to lose power after the death of the son Akhenaten. While experts are still investigating the historical incidents, viable information there helps us to see queen Tiye’s life necessary for the royal court. After the death of queen Tiye, the epoch in history finished forever. Queen Tiye has made the communication stronger between Egypt and the foreign countries during her reign.Although Queen Tiye’s death date is unknown, it is believed that she died in her 60s. Mummies of ancient Egyptians are known to last up to 3,800 years. This means that the Queen could have died around 1338 BC. However, it should be noted that Tutankhamun’s mummy was discovered with a dagger with a golden hilt made during King Akhenaten’s reign.It is possible that the dagger was placed in Tutankhamun’s tomb to disguise it as belonging to his mother Tiye. Tutankhamun’s mummy was bought by a wealthy Frenchman, Victor Loret, in 1898 at Luxor for $20,000.Did you know?The colossal statue depicts the royal couple and their three daughters. Being one of the strongest female rulers, serving as the Queen of Egypt during her earthly partner Amenhotep’s reign and the Queen Mother during her son Akhenaten’s reign, the Great King’s wife died in her early 60s was initially buried in the Valley of the Kings. The King’s Divine wife has a mummy known as the Elder Lady. Around year 12 of Akhenaten, Queen Mother Tiye died, leaving the young King to take over more significant responsibilities. Queen Tiye’s death shocked the young boy and the hereditary princess. The temple reliefs of Queen Tiye’s are now available in the Neues Museum. The relief is collected from the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III at Western Thebes.While researchers have assured that Amenhotep III is a lover of outdoor life and a fine sportsman, very little is known about Amenhotep IV. During year 12, Akhenaten’s reign took a turn, and he was named Amenhotep IV. Historians suggest that Amenhotep IV was born in the Malkata palace, while Memphis. Amenhotep IV also seemed to have been influenced by the worship of the sun god.Did you know that the younger lady from KV35 was the mother of King Tut? The younger lady was also Queen Tiye’s eldest daughter. As soon as King Tut ascended the throne, she was praised as the King’s Mother. In recent work by historians on the ancient cultures, the latter’s death was investigated. The King’s Mother seemed to have a wound on the left side of her face, which happened before her death, revealing many facts about her death. Not much has been revealed about Princess Baketaten, one of the royal daughters.
Queen Tiy is known to be the most illustrious queen in the era of ancient Egypt.
