Isetnofret

The parents of Isetnofret are not known. There is substantial evidence suggesting that she had blood relationship with Pharaoh Horemheb.^{[note 1][2][1][3]} She is believed to have originated from Memphis and may have been closely related to Tanedjemet, the wife of Seti I and daughter of Horemheb. A block from Horemheb's tomb at Saqqara depicts an "Isetnofret" dressed as a princess. In Saqqara, this "Isetnofret" also appears on a block belonging to a male officer, bearing the title "Mistress of the House."^[4] She may have been a daughter born to Horemheb before he became pharaoh, who later married the officer and gave birth to the Isetnofret who eventually married Ramesses II. She must have married Ramesses II even before he came to the throne as her three children were born during the reign of Seti I.^[1] She had at least three sons and one daughter. Her children include:

• Prince Ramesses, Crown Prince from the death of Amunherkhepeshef(the specifics remain disputed) to Year 52 of Ramesses II^[5][6]
• Princess-Queen Bintanath, firstborn daughter and later wife of Ramesses^[7]
• Prince Khaemwaset, High Priest of Ptah. Crown Prince from Year 53 to 55 of Ramesses II^[5][6]
• Pharaoh Merneptah, Ramesses' 13th son and ultimate successor (he outlived the first 12 princes)
• Princess Isetnofret (?), possible wife of Merenptah as Isetnofret II,^[8] However, although this view has been proposed, the theory has been refuted by other scholars. Merneptah's wives never held the titles of "King's Daughter" or "King's Sister," and his age makes it impossible for him to have married his older sisters. When Merneptah was young, he was not considered the heir to the throne, and princesses would only marry the pharaoh himself or the crown prince.^[9]

Prince Sethi and Princess Nebettawy have been suggested as further children of Isetnofret, but they are more likely to be the children of Nefertari (or even some other mother).^[10]

Queen Isetnofret's titles include: Hereditary Princess (iryt-p't), Great of Praises (wrt-hzwt), King's Mother (mwt-niswt), Mistress of the entire Two Lands (hnwt-t3wy-tm), King's Wife (hmt-nisw), Great King's Wife (hmt-niswt-wrt)

Of these, only the title "King's Wife" can be definitively attested during her lifetime. While monuments depicting Isetnofret as "Great King's Wife" are known, these monuments were all produced by her sons, and not by the pharaoh himself, and their chronological position is uncertain and may have been accorded posthumously.^[11][1][12] In the reign of her son, Merneptah, the titles "Hereditary Princess," "Great of Praises," "King's Mother," and "Mistress of the Entire Two Lands" were all conferred upon her in a relief at the foot of a statue of the king.^[1][9]

Isetnofret is known from several inscriptions and small statues. Before the 30th year of Ramesses II's reign, records of her are scarce. In fact, she never appears in Ramesses II's constructions and is only attested through the monuments of her sons and her own funerary equipment.^[1]

• Isetnofret is shown on a family stela from Aswan. The upper register shows Ramesses II, Isetnofret and Khaemwaset before the god Khnum. The lower register shows Prince Ramesses, Merneptah and Princess Queen Bintanath.^[13] The stela was created by and centers on Khaemwaset, with the titles of the princes and princesses beginning respectively with "his brother", "his sister", and "his younger brother".^[13] The stela is believed to have been created after the 30th year of Ramesses II's reign, but before his 33rd/34th year. At this time, Isetnofret was undoubtedly still alive, her eldest son had already become crown prince, and her eldest daughter had attained the title of Great King's Wife. Yet Isetnofret is referred to only as "King's Wife."^[1] Some scholars argue that this may be due to limited space for a longer inscription, as a Great King's Wife was often simply called "King's Wife."^[12] However, there is sufficient blank space before Isetnofret’s head and before her legs, and on the stela at Silsila, Bintanath's title demonstrates a compact form of "Great King's Wife," occupying a space equivalent to that of "King's Wife." Moreover, in cases where both mother and daughter held the title of Great King's Wife—such as Tiye and Sitamun, or Nefertari and the daughters of Ramesses II—when their names appear together, the mother's name always retains the title Great King's Wife, while the daughter is referred to as King's Wife or by another designation.^{[note 2][15][16][17]} In contrast, Isetnofret's stela presents the opposite situation, which more likely indicates that she had not yet acquired the title of Great King's Wife at that time.
• A family stela from the Speos at West Silsila shows Ramesses II, Isetnofret and Bintanath with a much smaller Khaemwaset before the gods Ptah and Nefertem. The lower register shows Prince Ramesses and Prince (later Pharaoh) Merenptah.^[13] The stela was created by and centers on Khaemwaset. On this stela, Isetnofret is depicted as a woman holding the Ankh symbol, which may indicate that she had already died at the time of its creation.^[1] Here, like her daughter, she is shown holding the title of Great King's Wife.^[1]
• A Statue with Prince's Figure (Brussels E.7500). Her son is named on the statue: the Sem-Priest and King's Son Khaemwaset.^[13] This is Khaemwaset's work. The reverse side records Isetnofret participating in the worship of Sekhmet and Ptah (with Néséret/Nesret being another name for Sekhmet^[18]). Here, only her title of King's Wife can be confirmed: "...the Horus, master of the palace, she who fills the audience hall with her mere fragrance. Her scents are like those of Punt when its limbs are anointed (?), the Royal Wife [...].[...] the sanctuary of Néséret, her perfection envelops the private chambers, the audience hall is under the influence of her pleasant perfumes, beside her father who rejoices at seeing her, the Royal Wife [...]."^[1]
• A Statue group with Sons (Louvre 2272): A "hetep-di-nesu" offering for the King's Son, Sem priest of Ptah, Khaemwaset and the royal scribe, Generalissimo and King's Son Ramesses. The text mentions Queen Isetnofret (the princes' mother).^[13] Referring to Khaemwaset's speech at his mother's funeral, the inscription indicates that Isetnofret held the title of Great King's Wife during the ceremony and that she was buried at Saqqara in Memphis rather than in Thebes:"May the king make Sokar-Osiris, master of Ânkh-Taouy(Another name for Memphis), satisfied in the repose of the necropolis of the Beautiful West in Hout-ka-khénem-nétjérou, which conceals the body after the time of life and gathers the limbs for eternity. The royal son, the Sem priest of Ptah, Khaemwaset, true of voice, says: 'May you live as Sothis, Great Royal Wife Isetnofret. May you be chosen (?) in the sky among the stars. May you complete Orion opposite Khepri as a single star on the thighs of Nut, Osiris Isetnofret, living as the manifestation of Him who is protected in Busiris.' The royal scribe and great general, the royal son Ramses, true of voice."^[1]
• The Head of a Statue (Brussels E.5924): On right shoulder the name of Isetnofret appears.^[13] However, there are no titles on it, and no clues that would rule out the possibility that it refers to Merneptah's wife of the same name.^[1]
• Isetnofret is also mentioned at the Serapeum, on a block discovered in 1986 among others bearing the names of Ramesses II and Khaemwaset. This block depicts offerings being presented by the genii of two nomes, accompanied by the repeated mention of "the King's Wife Isetnofret." The relief was likely part of the base of a local sanctuary that displayed all the nomes bringing their offerings. The queen's mention in place of the king suggests that, during her lifetime, she had been involved in the management of this sanctuary, which would make sense if she were indeed of Memphite origin.^[1] Moreover, after the 30th year of Ramesses II's reign, Khaemwaset became the administrator of the Serapeum,^[6] and his mother may have been able to step out of the harem to assist him in his duties.
• A naophorous Statue of Prince Khaemwaset mentions his mother. On the dorsal pillar it reads: "Iunmutef-priest, born of the Great Royal Wife Isetnofret, the Sem-priest of Ptah Khaemwaset."^[13] This was created during the later period of Ramesses II's reign.
• Relief for offering for Prince Khaemwaset in Horemheb's Speos. The text above the prince reads: "Sitting at table, making purification with natron and reading out the (funerary) menu, every good offering, for the King's Son of Usermaatre Setepenre, born of the Great Royal Wife, Isetnofret, the Sem-priest Khaemwaset."^[13] This was created during the later period of Ramesses II's reign.
• Shabtis from Middle cemetery of Abydos: One of these has a cartouche of Queen Isetnofret.^[19]
• West Silsila: Rock shrine of Merneptah. A scene depicts Pharaoh, Queen Isetnofret with sistra before Taweret (as a hippopotamus), Thoth and Nut. However, the individuals depicted here are actually Merneptah and his wife. The pharaoh is Merneptah, and the queen named Isetnofret does not bear the title of King's Mother; she is, in fact, his wife rather than his mother.^[19]
• A potsherd discovered in the Valley of the Kings mentions the "Isetnofret" tomb under construction, describing it as located 200 cubits from the tomb of Meryatum, the youngest son of Nefertari and the Greatest of Seers. However, for Queen Isetnofret, this potsherd is too late in date, and it lacks any titles; the name "Isetnofret" is not enclosed in a cartouche. This suggests that it more likely refers to a princess or a female descendant of Ramesses II bearing the same name, rather than the queen herself.^[20]
• At a Ramesses II-era tomb site near the Saint-Jeremiah monastery in Saqqara, Memphis, two stelae believed to be funerary equipment of Isetnofret were unearthed, each bearing her name. One of the stelae depicts the queen standing between two now-lost deities, wearing a tall feathered crown, holding a floral scepter in one hand, while the object in her other hand is damaged. An accompanying inscription refers to her as "Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt" and "Great Royal Wife," indicating that this is her posthumous image. This provides the clearest evidence to date and suggests that, perhaps one day, Isetnofret's tomb may be discovered in the Saqqara region.^[1]

A daughter of her son Khaemwaset (sometimes called Isetnofret III) was named after her. It is possible that this Isetnofret was Merenptah's wife, not her aunt Isetnofret II.^[8] A possible daughter of Merneptah also bears this name.^[21]

In private monuments, Isetnofret is attested in both Upper and Lower Egypt. Her two most notable records, namely the family stelae of Khaemwaset, are located at Aswan and Silsila in Upper Egypt, while funerary-related records and other mentions concerning her and her sons are found at Memphis in Lower Egypt. There is evidence that she participated in the administration of the temple where her son served and held a priestly role. However, she did not appear in any of Ramesses II's official monuments. Given the complete absence of Isetnofret from the official artistic program of Ramesses II, any specific interpretation of a singular omission—such as attempting to explain her absence from the Great Temple of Abu Simbel or from the official art related to Ramesses II’s Sed festival^[22][12]—is rendered meaningless, as she is in no instance mentioned by her husband, the pharaoh. Besides that, she was also not buried in the Valley of the Queens, but rather in a local tomb at Saqqara.^[1] Although her son became pharaoh, she does not appear on the royal ancestor lists of the Ramesside period,^[17] and there is no evidence that she held the title of Great King's Wife during her lifetime, despite assertions by some scholars. All evidence indicates that Isetnofret was simply an ordinary King's Wife. She was respected due to her possible confirmed familial connection to Pharaoh Horemheb and as the mother of several older princes and princesses.^{[note 3]} That she has emerged from historical obscurity to be known to modern audiences is entirely thanks to her son, especially Khaemwaset.^[1][24] As the Belgian Egyptologist Claude Obsomer note:^[1]

One will note the ankh sign held by Queen Isetnofret on the stela of Gebel Silsileh, which suggests that her death had occurred some time before year 33/34. Adding to this the fact that the Brussels statue and the Aswan graffito grant her only the title of "Royal Wife," one may wonder whether Isetnofret truly was "Great Royal Wife" during Nefertari’s lifetime, or whether this title was conferred on her only after Nefertari’s death, or even after her own death, in a purely honorific manner. The third hypothesis seems to me the most likely. This makes it easier to understand the subdued role played by Isetnofret throughout her life, while the only "Great Royal Wife" was Nefertari, followed by her own daughter Bintanath. As for the succession to the throne, the choice of Ramesses as heir presumptive, after the death of the eldest son Amun-her-khepeshef, can thus be explained by the simple respect for the order of birth of the royal sons, independently of their mother’s status as "Great Royal Wife." There is no need to imagine a rivalry between the two queens or between their sons, if matters were clear from the outset and guaranteed by the authority of the king. Once they had attained important positions, succeeding one another as heir to the throne, the three sons of Isetnofret could only have rejoiced at thus occupying the forefront of the scene, while their mother had been content to remain modestly in the shadow of Nefertari, like other anonymous royal wives. It is their monuments that today allow us to know her name. On several objects bearing the name of Khaemwaset, she is mentioned in the prince’s maternal filiation formula: "he whom the Great Royal Wife Isetnofret bore."^[1]