| Gilukhipa | |
|---|---|
| Queen consort ofEgypt Princess ofMitanni | |
| Spouse | Amenhotep III |
| Father | Shuttarna II |
| Gilukhipa inhieroglyphs | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kirgipa (kyrgypɜ) The sun goddess Hepa is my strength | |||||||
Gilukhipa, or more probableKilu-Hepa in theHurrian language, in theEgyptian languageKirgipa (fl. early 14th c. BCE), was the daughter ofShuttarna II, king ofMitanni. She was the sister ofTushratta (later King of Mitanni), Biria-Waza andArtashumara.
For political reasons, Gilukhipa was sent toEgypt to joinAmenhotep III in marriage. The Egyptian pharaoh made a special issue of commemorativescarabs on the occasion of his marriage to Gilukhipa in his 10th regnal year (ca.1378–1376 BCE), where he recorded that the princess was escorted by 317 ladies-in-waiting, women from the Mitanni king's royal palace.[2] Gilukhipa became known as the "Secondary King's Wife," meaning she was secondary to Amenhotep III's chief wife, QueenTiye.
Twenty-six years later, her nieceTadukhepa also became Amenhotep's wife.