Khepresh
Khepresh, the blue crown of Egypt
Details
Country	Ancient Egypt

Thekhepresh (ḫprš) was an ancientEgyptian royal headdress. It is also known as theblue crown orwar crown.New Kingdompharaohs are often depicted wearing it in battle, but it was also frequently worn in ceremonies.^[1] While it was once called the war crown by many, modern historians refrain from characterizing it thus.^[2]

No original example of a khepresh has yet been found. Based on ancient artistic representations, some Egyptologists have speculated that the khepresh was made of leather or stiffened cloth^[3] covered with a precise arrangement of hundreds of sequins, discs, bosses, or rings. Given that thedeshret (red crown) andhedjet (white crown) were apparently woven of some sort of plant fiber, the circles or rings decorating ancient artistic representations of the khepresh may instead indicate the regular array of hexagonal holes in an open triaxial weave. As with many other royal crowns, anuraeus (cobra) was hooked to the front of the khepresh.

Blue Crown "War Crown" inhieroglyphs

The Blue Crown, or War Crown, was represented in hieroglyphs.

The earliest known mention of thekhepresh is on the stela Cairo JE 59635 [CG 20799] which dates to the reign of pharaohNeferhotep III, during theSecond Intermediate Period.^[4] In this and other examples from the same era, the word is written with adeterminative that represents the cap crown, a lower and less elaborate type of crown.

The earliest known depiction of thekhepresh is on the stela Cairo CG 20517 which dates to the reign ofSnaaib, during theSecond Intermediate Period. The stela shows him wearing the Khepresh crown and adoring the godMin^[5][6]

During theNew Kingdom, pharaohs were shown with this crown in military circumstances. However, some scholars think that the crown was also meant to evoke the divine power of the pharaoh, and was thereby worn to religiously situate kings as manifestations of gods on earth.^[7]

Images of thekhepresh from the reign ofAhmose I, first king of theEighteenth Dynasty, show a headdress that is taller than the cap crown and more angular than later forms of thekhepresh. This crown continued to evolve during the early Eighteenth Dynasty, attaining its best-known form in the reigns ofHatshepsut andThutmose III.^[8] AfterAmenhotep III's reign – and particularly during the 18th and 19th Dynasties – it came into fashion and was even adopted by somepharaohs as a primary crown.^[9]

The crown was not seen depicted in theKushite Dynasty (747 to 656 BCE).^[10] However, depictions of the crowns returned in theTwenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt (664 to 525 BCE). Some of thePtolemaic and earlyRoman pharaohs are also depicted wearing it, with the last depiction being from the reign ofTrajan.

• 
  Snaaib
• 
  Ahmose I
• 
  Amenhotep I
• 
  Hatshepsut
• 
  Thutmose III
• 
  Relief from theRed Chapel showing Thutmose III behind Hatshepsut while both are wearing the Khepresh and making offering to the gods.
• 
  Amenhotep II
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  Thutmose IV
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  Relief from the Barque Chapel of Thutmosis IV showing Thutmose IV wearing the Khepresh and making offering to the gods.
• 
  Amenhotep III
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  Akhenaten
• 
  Akhenaten with blue paint on the khepresh crown
• 
  Wooden standing statue of Akhenaten. Currently in theEgyptian Museum of Berlin.
• 
  Akhenaten andNefertiti statuette
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  Tutankhamun
• 
  Tutankhamunushabti
• 
  Ay
• 
  Horemheb
• 
  Horemheb relief
• 
  This relief showsTutankhamun (usurped byHoremheb) wearing the khepresh crown. Luxor Temple.
• 
  Seti I
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  Relief of theAbydos King List showingSeti I and his sonRamesses II on the way to make an offering. Seti is seen wearing the Khepresh while Ramesses is depicted as a prince holdingcensers.
• 
  Relief in thetemple of Seti I ofSeti I wearing the Khepresh while presenting an offering toHorus
• 
  Ramesses II
• 
  Fragment of a painted relief ofRamesses II wearing the Khepresh while being accompanied by Horus
• 
  This statue showsAmenhotep III (recarved as Ramesses II) wearing the khepresh crown.Walters Art Museum,Baltimore.
• 
  Merneptah
• 
  Amenmesse
• 
  Ramesses III
• 
  Ramesses IV
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  Ramesses VI
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  Ramesses VII
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  Ramesses IX
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  Ramesses X
• 
  Ramesses XI
• 
  Siamun
• 
  Psamtik I
• 
  Psamtik II
• 
  Apries
• 
  Hakor
• 
  Nectanebo I
• 
  Teos
• 
  Nectanebo II
• 
  Alexander the Great
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  Ptolemy I
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  Ptolemy II
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  Ptolemy III
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  Ptolemy IV
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  Ptolemy VI (left)
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  Ptolemy VIII
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  Ptolemy XII
• 
  Ptolemy XV (Caesarion)
• 
  Augustus
• 
  Tiberius
• 
  Nero
• 
  Titus
• 
  Trajan

Wikimedia Commons has media related toKhepresh.

• Atef – Crown with feathers identified withOsiris
• Deshret – Red Crown of Lower Egypt
• Hedjet – White Crown of Upper Egypt
• Nemes - striped head-dress of pharaohs
• Pschent – Double Crown of Lower & Upper Egypt

• Egyptian artefact types
• Crowns (headgear)
• Egyptian hieroglyphs: crowns-dress-staves

• Pages using the WikiHiero extension
• CS1 Mexican Spanish-language sources (es-mx)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Commons category link is on Wikidata