Ramesses X

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Khepermaatre Ramesses X (also written Ramses and Rameses) (ruled c. 1111 BC – 1107 BC)[1] was the ninth pharaoh of the 20th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. His birth name was Amonhirkhepeshef. His prenomen or throne name, Khepermaatre, means "The Justice of Re Abides."[2]

Reign

His accession day fell on 1 prt 27 (first month of the Winter season, day 27).[3] His highest attested regnal year is year 3; the highest attested date in his reign is either "year 3, second month of the Inundation season, day 2"[4] or possibly "year 3, month 4 (no day given)".[5] However, a later 20th Dynasty papyrus fragment from Deir el-Medina published in 2023 by Egyptologist Robert Demarée refers to a partial date of Year 4, third month of Inundation [or Akhet] together with a change to Year 1, month 4 of Inundation. Although both kings are unnamed, it is strongly suggested by Demarée to refer to the reigns of Ramesses X and his successor Ramesses XI. If confirmed, this would mean that Ramesses X ruled for 3 years and 10 months or nearly 4 years before he died.[6]

Journal from year 3 of Ramesses X's reign, from Deir el-Medina, between 1110 and 1107 BC. Museo Egizio, Turin.

The only other 20th Dynasty king who died in his regnal Year 4 was Ramesses V but this ruler died around the time interval between the first and second month of Peret[7] So, the papyrus document above cannot refer to Ramesses V.

The older theory put forward on astronomical grounds by Richard Parker that Ramesses X may have reigned for 9 years, [8] has since been abandoned. Likewise, the suggested ascription of Theban graffito 1860a to a hypothetical year 8 of Ramesses X[9][10] is no longer supported.[11]

Family

The English Egyptologists Aidan Dodson and Dylan Hilton wrote in a 2004 book:

No evidence is known to indicate the relationship between the final kings Ramesses IX, X and XI. If they were a father-son succession, Tyti, who bears the titles of King's Daughter, King's Wife and King's Mother, would seem [to be] a good candidate for the wife of Ramesses X, but little else can be discerned.[12]

However, Dodson's hypothesis here on Tyti's position must now be discarded since it has been proven in 2010 that Tyti was rather a queen of a previous 20th dynasty pharaoh instead. She is mentioned in the partly fragmented Harris papyrus to be Ramesses III's wife as Dodson himself acknowledges.[13]

Attestations

Ramesses X is a poorly documented king. His year 2 is attested by Papyrus Turin 1932+1939 while his third year is documented in the Necropolis Journal of the Workmen of Deir El Medina.[14] This diary mentions the general idleness of the necropolis workmen, at least partly due to the threat posed by Libyan marauders in the Valley of the Kings. It records that the Deir El-Medina workmen were absent from work in Year 3 IIIrd Month of Peret (i.e., Winter) days 6, 9, 11, 12, 18, 21 and 24 for fear of the "desert-dwellers" (i.e., the Libyans or Meshwesh) who evidently roamed through Upper Egypt and Thebes at will.[15] This is partly a reflection of the massive Libyan influx into the Western Delta region of Lower Egypt during this time. Ramesses X is also the last New Kingdom king whose rule over Nubia is attested from an inscription at Aniba.[16]

Tomb

His KV18 tomb in the Valley of the Kings was left unfinished. It is uncertain if he was ever buried there, since no remains or fragments of funerary objects were discovered within it.

References

  1. ^ Krauss, Rolf; Warburton, David A. (2006). "Conculsions and Chronological Tables". In Hornung, Erik; Krauss, Rolf; Warburton, David A. (eds.). Ancient Egyptian Chronology. Leiden: Brill. p. 493. ISBN 978 90 04 11385 5. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  2. ^ Clayton, Peter A. (1994). Chronicle Of The Pharaohs: The Reign By Reign Record Of The Rulers And Dynasties Of Ancient Egypt (2001 ed.). London: Thames & Hudson. p. 167. ISBN 0-500-05074-0. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  3. ^ J. von Beckerath, GM 79 (1984), 8-9
  4. ^ Botti & Peet, Il Giornale della Necropoli, 55
  5. ^ Botti & Peet, Il Giornale della Necropoli, 55, txt d
  6. ^ Demarée, Robert J. (2023). "Two Papyrus Fragments with Historically Relevant Data". Rivista del Museo Egizio. 7. doi:10.29353/rime.2023.5078. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  7. ^ Jürgen von Beckerath, Chronologie des Pharaonischen Ägypten. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, (1997), pp.201-202
  8. ^ R.A. Parker, The Length of the Reign of Ramesses X, RdÉ 11 (1951), 163-164
  9. ^ Bierbrier, M. L. (1972). "A Second High Priest Ramessesnakht?". The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. 58: 195–199. doi:10.2307/3856249.
  10. ^ Bierbrier, M. L. (1975). "The Length of the Reign of Ramesses X". The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. 61: 251. doi:10.2307/3856515.
  11. ^ Bell, L. D. (1980). "Only One High Priest Ramessesnakht and the Second Prophet Nesamun His Younger Son". Serapis. 6: 7–27.
  12. ^ Dodson, Aidan; Hilton, Dylan (2004). The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. London: Thames & Hudson. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-500-05128-3. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  13. ^ Collier, Mark; Dodson, Aidan; Hamernik, Gottfried (2010). "P. BM EA 10052, Anthony Harris, and Queen Tyti". The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. 96: 242–247. ISSN 0307-5133.
  14. ^ E.F. Wente & C.C. Van Siclen, "A Chronology of the New Kingdom" in Studies in Honor of George R. Hughes, (SAOC 39) 1976, p.261
  15. ^ J. Cerny, "Egypt from the Death of Ramesses III" in Cambridge Archaeological History (CAH), 'The Middle East and the Aegean Region c.1380-1000 BC', 1975, p.618
  16. ^ Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, (Blackwell Books: 1992), p.291

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