Amenmesse: Encyclopedia II - Amenmesse - Usurper

Amenmesse - Usurper

It is likely he was not the true heir to the throne. Most scholars such as Kenneth Kitchen and Von Beckerath believe that he succeeded Merneptah as Pharaoh, even though Merneptah's son, Seti-Merneptah, should have been next in line. It is not clear why this happened. Amenmesse may have taken advantage of the weakness of Seti-Merneptah or seized power while the crown prince was away in Asia. It is most likely that Seti-Merneptah was the same man as Seti II, whose reign followed Amenmesse's.

Confusion generally clouds Amenmesse's reign and location within the Egyptian 19th Dynasty. A few scholars place him after Seti II, despite the clear fact that Seti II's name was written over his name in some Theban stele while others maintain that he usurped Seti II in the middle of the latter's reign. Still other scholars such as Aidan Dodson maintain that he ruled only Thebes and Upper Egypt for four Years during Years 2 to 5 of Seti II's reign, and that Amenmesse was once a Kushite Viceroy called Messuwy. However, the late Frank Yurco has noted that depictions of Messuwy in various Nibuan temples were never deliberately defaced by Seti II's agents compared to those of another Viceroy of Kush, Khaemter, who served as Amenmesse's Vizier. Yurco also oberved that Messuwy's tomb has been discovered in Nubia and it contained ushabti statues naming only Merneptah, Seti II's father. This suggests that Messuwy was buried in his tomb. Hence, Messuwy was not Seti II.

Amenmesse means "born of Amun". It is probable that one of his names was Heqa-waset, which means "Fashioned by Amun, Ruler of Thebes". His throne name was Men-mi-re Setep-en-re, meaning "Eternal like Re, Chosen by Re."

He possibly married a woman named Baktwerel and his mother was Queen Takhat, who was either a wife of Merneptah or Ramesses II. However, some Egyptologists have suggested that Takhat and Baktwerel were actually the mother and wife of Ramesses IX, and that the women may have latter occupied Amenmesse's tomb and added their own scenes and inscriptions.

Six quartzite statues originally placed along the axis of the hypostyle hall in the Amun Temple at Karnak are thought to be his, although these were defaced and overwritten with the name of Seti II. One of these statues, with the inscription, "the Great Royal Wife Takhat", lends support to the argument that she was Amenmesse's wife. Amenmesse was also responsible for restoring a shrine dating from Thutmose III that stands before a temple at Tod.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Usurper", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki