| Iset Ta-Hemdjert | |
|---|---|
| Queen consort ofEgypt | |
 Queen Isis in the Valley of the Queens | |
| Burial | QV51 |
| Spouse | Ramesses III |
| Issue | Ramesses VI |
| Dynasty | 20th Dynasty of Egypt |
| Father | unknown |
| Mother | Hemdjert |
| Religion | Ancient Egyptian religion |
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| Iset Ta-Hemdjert[1] inhieroglyphs | |||||||||||||||
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| Era:New Kingdom (1550–1069 BC) | |||||||||||||||
Iset Ta-Hemdjert orIsis Ta-Hemdjert, simply calledIsis in her tomb, was anancient Egyptian queen of theTwentieth Dynasty; theGreat Royal Wife ofRamesses III and the Royal Mother ofRamesses VI.[2]
She was probably of Asian origin; her mother's nameHemdjert (orHabadjilat orHebnerdjent) is not an Egyptian name but a Syrian one.[3] One of her children are known to us, Ramesses VI, who succeeded his nephewRamesses V, the short-lived son ofRamesses IV. Other than Ramesses V, the grandchildren of Iset Ta-Hemdjert includeRamesses VII, the God's Wife of AmunIset, and princes Amunherkhopsef and Panebenkemyt; these are all the children of Ramesses VI.[2] Ramesses IV was once thought to be this queen's own son too until it was revealed in a recent 2010 Journal of Egyptian Archaeology article that QueenTyti was most likely to be this king's mother from copies of fragments of the tomb robbery papyri that Anthony Harris made revealing that she was Ramesses III's own wife plus the fact that she is known to have been a king's mother.[4]
Apart from theGreat Royal Wife designation, she also held the titles ofGod's Wife, and, during the reign of her sons, "King's Mother". She is shown on a statue of Ramesses III in theMut temple atKarnak.
Isis Ta-Hemdjert was buried in theValley of the Queens, in tomb QV51.[3] The tomb was described byChampollion, and is documented inLepsius' Denkmahler.[5] The construction of the tomb may have started during the reign of her husband KingRamesses III, but it was finished during the reign of her sonRamesses VI. The tomb had been looted in ancient times and is mentioned in the papyri regarding the tomb robberies during the20th Dynasty.[6]
The tomb consists of a corridor ending in a main hall with two side chambers. The corridor is decorated with scenes showing the queen before a variety of divinities includingPtah-Sokar,Atum andOsiris.[5]
The outerjambs for the main hall contain a text by Ramesses VI.[5] The queen appears before several gods, including Ptah. and hawk-god, the godAnhur-Shu andAtum.[5] The side rooms are decorated with scenes showing a variety of goddesses includingNeith,Serket,Isis, andNephthys.[5]
Fragments of a redgranitesarcophagus were recovered during the excavations bySchiaparelli and are now in theMuseo Egizio in Turin, Italy.[5]
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