Amun Her Shepeshef

Amun-her-shepeshef, First Son of Ramesses II
Amun-her-shepeshef, First Son of Ramesses II by Jimmy Dunn
The First son of born to Ramesses the Great, was Amun-her-wenemef, meaning Amun Is on His Right Hand". The child's mother was Ramesses II's Great ife, !efertari. Had he outli"ed his father, he would ha"e therefore become #haraoh, the $ing of %g&'t. Amun-her-wenemef came into the world while his father was still co-regent to his father, (eti I. Therefore, Amunher-wenemef 'robabl& was the current )ing's first grandson. hen Ramesses II Ascended the throne of %g&'t u'on (et I's death, Amun-her-wenemef's name was changed to Amun-her-she'eshef, which means, "Amun Is with his (trong Arm". e do not )now e*actl& wh& his name was changed, but it was not uni+ue among Ramesses II's sons for him to do so, and he ma& ha"e had other names as well. It was once thought that (eth-her-)he'eshef was an indi"idual son of Ramesses II, but current though on the matter is leaning to this being another name for Amun-her-she'eshef. In fact, man& names in the %g&'tian ro&al famil& could change, for e*am'le, de'ending on what 'art of the countr& the& were in. Hence, in Thebes, the 'rince might ha"e been called Amun-her-)he'eshef, but if he were in ,em'his, where the 'rinci'le god was #tah, then he might ha"e been called #tah-her-)he'eshef. Amun-her-)he'eshef had a number of titles, some of which were uni+ue to him, as the heir a''arent, but others that were shared b& man& of Ramesses II's other sons b& 'rinci'le wi"es. His titles included "Fan-bearer on the $ing's Right hand- Heir- Hereditar& 'rince- Ro&al (cribe- Generalissimo .of His ,a/est&0- %ldest and 1odil& $ing-s (on- First $ing's (on2ommander of the Troo's- %ffecti"e 2onfidant and 1elo"ed of Him". He ma& ha"e also had the titles, "2hief of the (ecrets of the $ing's House- 3ord in 2harge of the %ntire 3and, (em'riest of the Good God, 4elegate and 5udge of the Two lands, 2ontroller of 3ands Far-flung, if indeed he also has the name, (eth-her-)he'eshef. These last titles were disco"ered on a stele in the eastern 4elta site of 6antir.
Amun-her-khepeshef hunting with Ramesses II 7f all the sons, onl& he seems to ha"e held the titles, "%ffecti"e 2onfidant" and "2ommander of the Troo's". ,ost of the other titles were held b& one son or another. 7f his uni+ue titles, "2ommander of the Troo's" is the most interesting. 7f course, the title indicates that he held a high militar& 'osition, &et we hear little of him in battle after his father's earl& cam'aigns in !ubia and western Asia. He is de'icted in battle within a number of well )nown scenes of the battle, but whether he actuall& too) 'art in the militar& actions is still debated. (ome %g&'tologists belie"e he ma& ha"e been a teenager, old enough to ha"e actuall& too) 'art in these battles. 7thers belie"e he was much &ounger and the scenes were onl& meant to enhance his image. If he did ta)e 'art in the battles, then he was in one of the best )nown cam'aigns in anti+uit&the 1attle of $adesh. It was the first battle in histor& to ha"e been well documented, because Ramesses II a''ears to ha"e been "er& 'leased with its "ictorious outcome, though if it was a glorious "ictor& is more than a little debatable. Howe"er, it is "er& li)el& that Amun-her)he'eshef, along with his &ounger brother $haemwese, did at least tra"el with their father to the battle, e"en if neither one of them 'h&sicall& engaged the enem&.
The Battle of a!esh Amun-her-she'eshef is actuall& well attested in scenes, but man& of them or sim'l& 'rocessions of sons and sometimes daughters. He is shown in 'rocessions with other brothers or sisters at the Tem'le at Abu (imbel, the Tem'le of (eti I at Ab&dos, the Tem'le of 4err, 3u*or Tem'le, where a number of scenes are found, the Ramesseum on the est 1an) at 3u*or .ancient Thebes0, and at adi es-(ebua, where he is shown in 'rocession in two scenes. Howe"er, he is shown in a number of scenes that are more action oriented, such as hunting scenes with his father and se"eral other brothers. These scenes ma& be found at the Tem'le of Abu (imbel where he and two other brothers are shown in war chariots and at 1eit el- adi, where he and $haemwese are also shown in chariots. At $arna) he is with ele"en other brothers handling 'risoners, while there is a similar scene at 3u*or but with fewer brothers.
Amun-her-shepeshef in a war "hario 8nfortunatel&, Amun-her-she'eshef did not outli"e his father. He died in &ear 9: of his father's reign. Amun-her-she'eshef was 'robabl& between the age of 9: and 9;. In fact, Ramesses II outli"ed his first twel"e sons, with ,eren'tah, the thirteenth who ma& 'robabl& ha"e been si*t& at the time, finall& succeeding him. e belie"e that Amun-her-she'eshef was buried in $< ; in the <alle& of the $ings on the est 1an) at 3u*or. This huge and utterl& uni+ue tomb with o"er =;: chambers was most li)el& built for at least three or four of Ramesses II's sons, if not man& more. %*ca"ation in the tomb continues under the direction of one of the li"ing legends of modern %g&'tolog&, $ent ee)s. I am sure we can count on 4r. ee)s to 'ainsta)ingl& dig out e"er shred of information that the tomb ma& &ield, so one da& we ma& )now much more about this &oung 'rince of %g&'t. Referen"es#
Title History of Ancient Egypt, A The &ost Tomb Author Date Publisher Grimal, Nicolas 19 !lac"#ell 'illiam *orro# + 'ee"s, (ent R) 199 ,ompany Reference Number None $tate% -$!N ./ 10. 12
34for% History of Ancient Egypt, $ha#, -an The Ramesses --; Greatest of the *enu, Pharaohs !erna%ette
5... 34for% 6ni7ersity Press -$!N .8198 10.9:85 1999 Harry N) Abrams, -nc) -$!N .8 1.985 1.81 <pb")=

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Amun-her-shepeshef, First Son of Ramesses II

Amun-her-shepeshef, First Son of Ramesses II by Jimmy Dunn

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