Age of the Goddess; Queens of the Ninth Century BC

(Photo: Pharaoh Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye)

I am working on an article / post about the world-changing Queens that reigned from the beginning of the 9th Century BC right up to the early decades of the 8th Century BC, and their sons and daughters became the leaders of the People of the Book. Here are some excerpts from the forthcoming, still-developing piece:

While studying the relatives of 18th Dynasty luminary Yuya, I came to realize that in addition to the Chosen males who are remembered vividly in the Bible, the women of this era also left a profound impact on our world, from religion to culture to politics to trade. Many people have wondered who the primary characters of the Old Testament were, and in recent years significant research (primarily by Charles Pope of www.DomainOfMan.com ) has been published online.

If you read the foundational material on his website, you can learn about the Biblical identities of most 18th Dynasty leading lights, as well as their appearances in Greek mythology, and the re-occurrences of the archetypes during the Persian and Herodian eras. Pope's extensive research on the Egyptian and Greek identities of major Biblical figures also draws on and fleshes out the breakthrough work by Ahmed Osman, David Rohl and Robert Eisenman, all of whom I also believe are worthwhile and sometimes crucial sources. The California Institute for Ancient Studies has made a clear case for Yuya being Ashurnasirpal, and they have been an inspirational source. Still, most of the research has focused on the male personalities and their role, but in the case of the Royal Women whose offspring became the Chosen People, the People of the Book, they have spent very little time in the spotlight.

These Ladies of the 18th Dynasty in Egypt and Assyrian / Mittanni royal courts, became the Founding Mothers of the People of the Book, and centuries later another descendant, Salome Alexandra, would herself anchor a Hasmonean Dynasty that led directly to Herod's Dynasty which gave the world Christianity, and their bloodlines, and the Armenian connection, may in fact lead all the way to Heraclius and Muhammad and the roots of Islam. So, please give these gals some serious attention.

The Ninth Century BC is bracketed by 2 royal queenies that together are the inspiration for "Queen of Heaven" devotion that my man Jeremiah (a man for these times, gotta love him!!!) so lamented. Queen Asenath was better known as Asherah and her grandson's wife Queen Shammurammat lived on as Semiramis, but the Queen of Heaven was the moniker they both shared that lives on forever.

This is how the Seven Queens ruled Middle Earth and Egypt for a century and more:

Queen Atarah, Wife of Jacob, Mother of Joseph

Queen Mutemwiya, Wife of King David / Thutmose IV

Mother of Solomon by Joseph

Queen Asherah, Mother of Queen Tiye, Wife of Joseph

Queen Tiye, Wife of Amenhotep, Mother of Akhenaten

Queen Nefertiti, Wife of Akhenaten (Moses II)

Queen Kiya, Wife of Akhenaten, Mother of Tutankhamun

Queen Shammuramat, Wife of Machir / King Shamshi-Adad V

Mother of Gilead / Galaad (Adad-Nirari III)

A few notes on each:

Queen Atarah, Wife of Jacob, Mother of Joseph

Queen Atarah, aka Rachel, Basemath, Merit-Amon, Merytamen

daughter of Ishmael / Thuthmosis III and Meryt-Re'-Hatshepsut

- wife of Esau first, and then Jacob

- mother of Onam Yuya Tushratta

- mother of Benjamin

Names of Mother of Yuya Joseph:

Rachel, aka Basemath / Bosmath (daughter of Ishmael), Atarah, Merit-Amon

- granddaughter of Abraham and Hagar

- dad is Ishmael /

- mom is Ribah / Meribah / Merybah

- sister of brothers Nebayoth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam (Book of Jasher)

Sister of Leah / Abijah / Tia / Mehtenweskhet (Mother of King David / Thutmose IV / Judah / Nemuel / Nimlot)

Rachel married the biological father of Joseph and the his adoptive, royal father:

Potential adoptive father: Jacob / Israel / Amenhotep II / Sheshonq I,

Potential biological father: Shuttarna II / Tukulti-Ninurta / Esau / Ashur-nadin-ahhe / Eriba-Adad

Queen Mutemwiya, Wife of King David / Thutmose IV

Queen Mutemwiya aka Bath-shua, Bathsheba / Dinah / (Gilu-Hepa / Kilu-Heba)

- wife of Thutmose IV (King David) (Mutemwiya was niece of her husband)

- mother of Amenhotep III (Solomon) with Yuya Joseph

Queen Asherah, Mother of Queen Tiye

Queen Asherah aka Asenath Ashratu Tuya (aka Athirat, Ashtart, Ishtar, Elat, Asertu, Ashtoreth, Hertu, Qudshu, Qodesh, Pyhi)

- daughter of dad Potiphera (read Pharaoh Poti, Thutmose IV / King David) and mom Queen Iaret-Wadjet

- wife of Yuya Joseph Tushratta (aka Yusuf / Asurnasirpal)

- mother of Queen Tiye Zipporah (Queen of Sheba)

- mother of Prince Aanen Manasseh (aka Shaulmaneser III / Amenhotep III / Solomon / King of Kings)

- mother or stepmother of Aye Ephraim

In the political / military world, Tuya Asherah's daughter Tiye was wife to two Pharaoh's, plus mother of two and grandmother of at least one (Tutankhamun).

In the spiritual realm, Asherah's memory was melded with and eclipsed by (in the pantheon of Goddesses) her granddaughter-in-law, Queen Shammuramat / Semiramis, who founded the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and created a lasting monument to her own name, "Heaven in the Sands" (Shammu-ramat). Tuya / Asherah's sons Aye (Ephraim) and Aanen (Manasseh) and their progeny more than made up for her fade from memory, as they and the Chosen changed the world forever.

The 9th Century BC will come to be viewed as the true beginning of monotheism, resulting from a melding of Egyptian / Ethiopian rites and teachings with those of Assyria / Mittanni, even then without insulting Mesopotamian / Babylonian ancestors. The Sun King Akhenaten professed worship of One God, and the Century of Peace between David and Joseph created the faith we know as Judaism, and laid the foundations for the emergence of Christianity in the First Century AD and Islam in the 7th Century AD.

Queen Tiye, Wife of Amenhotep, Mother of Akhenaten

Queen Tiye aka Zipporah / Jochebed / Jezebel / Joacaste / Merope / Naamah

- wife of Amenhotep III, Solomon, with him:

- mother of son Akhenaten / Amenhotep IV / Moses II (Solomon may be "royal" father of Akhenaten, while bio-dad would then be Yuya Joseph

- as Jezebel, mother of daughter Athaliah, herself mother of King Azahiah and grandmom of King Joash and of Queen Jehoaddan, Wife of King Josiah

- mother of daughter Sitamun

- mother of daughter Henuttaneb

- mother of daughter Hentymerheb

- mother of daughter Isis / Iset

- mother of daughter Nebetah (possibly Athaliah, neb-etah)

- mother of Bakytaten

- - grandmother of Tutankhamun Joshua

According to Charles Pope, "Queen Tiye patterned herself after Hatshepsut and Hatshepsut herself was looking to at least one earlier great queen as a role model, specifically Nefrusobek of the 12th Dynasty who also was declared a pharaoh." (ReadHatshepsut, the Hyskos, and the Exodus)

Queen Tiye's husband Sol-Amenhotep III is in fact Shalmaneser III who is Shaul Manasseh, overstanding Solomon / Shalom as the western/southern / Egyptian/Ethiopian/Judean remembrance, Aaron as the northern / Israel memory and Salman / Manasseh / Shalim as the eastern / Assyrian/Mittanni manifestation of the same King. The west remembers the wisdom and the era of Peace, the north remembers the crucial role of a Joseph-quality Vizier, and the East knew well that the the Two Lands no longer meant Upper and Lower Nile, but rather Egypt and Mittanni, and they had to be the fiercest of warriors to maintain a unified front. Control of the center of the world (Medi-Terranean meaning Middle Earth) meant that others would bow their knee.

As the reigning warrior side of our lifetime heroes are hidden in Western / Judaic / Christian teachings, does that mean that to some degree the peaceful and loving side of these same humans has been hidden from Eastern disciples of The Prophet?

Oh what a predicament we're in...

Queen Nefertiti, Wife of Akhenaten

Nefertiti, Beautiful Wife of the Sun King

Queen Nefertiti aka Miriam (Daughter of Aye / Ephraim and Karamat; Graddaughter of King David)

- daughter of Taduhepa, mom (herself daughter of Yuya) and

- wife of Akhenaten, with who she had six daughters

- mother of daughter Meritaten (Meritaten TaSherit and Ankhesenpaaten TaSherit are twin daughters of Meriaten and Smenkhkare)

- mother of daughter Meketaten

- mother of daughter Ankhesenpaaten / Ankhesenamen

- mother of daughter Neferneferuaten

- mother of daughter Neferneferure

- mother of daughter Setepenre

Queen Kiya, Wife of Akhenaten, Mother of Tutankhamun

Queen Kiya aka Kiye / Mery-amon / Mery-amun / Meriamon / Miriam

possible daughter of Aye and Tiye, also possibly a sister or daughter of Yuya Tushratta

- wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten, to whom she bore two sons

- mother of Prince Smenkhare

- mother of Pharaoh Tutankhamun Joshua

Even though Kiya is shrouded in mystery, if she was the biological mother of Tutankhamun, biblical boy-king Joshua II, then as Mery-Amun, she was the prototype for a later Mariamne, mom of Jeshua Aristobulus remembered as the Roman Catholic Goddess The Virgin Mary.

The most likely scenario is that Kiya / Kiye is Meritre, daughter of Tiye and reported mother of Tutankhamun. This would make Kiya an early child (perhaps first child, by a royal lover) of Solomon's first wife Tiye, and would mean that Kiya became her "royal" daddy's sixth and final official Egyptian wife (his Eastern wives are still quite hidden).

If so, who's Kiya's bio-daddy? She was important enough to become the Favourite Wife of Moses Akhenaten, and likely brought the Sun King two shining sons of his own, Smenkhare and Tutankhamun. Tiye's / Jezebel's first husband / genetic liaison would have to be a major figure in a line from Abraham...

Queen Shammuramat, Wife of Machir / King Shamshi-Adad V

Shammu-ramat as Semiramis

Mother of Gilead / Galaad (Adad-Nirari III)

Queen Shammuramat aka Semiramis / Maachah / Maacah / Derket

By legend (semiramis), daughter of "Fish Goddess" Artagatis / Artegatis, indicating she may have been a granddaughter of Artatama, Isaac / Is-haq.

Cephelion states that Belimus / Belochus was the father of Semiramis II, and that his reign began in the 640th year from Ninus or the 702nd year of the Assyrian Empire. In terms of BC chronology? She seems to fit in towards the end of the 25 Assyrian Kings of Abydenus, which would put her in the right era to be the wife of Machir, Shamshi- Adad V, son of Salmanessah.

- daughter of dad Talmai, King of Geshur / (Belimus / Belochus)

- daughter of mom Abital? /

- Living Wife of Shamshi-Adad V (Machir)

- mother of Adad-Nirari III (Absalom?)

- sister of Shephatiah

Considering this fine Lady was the daughter of King Talmai (compare with Talmud) and the mother Absalom, she carried forth the prime Eastern line and also played a role in the emerging Israel and Judah to the West.

Queen Shammuramat (Greek / Persian = Semiramis), builder of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Eight Wonders of the Ancient World, and an apothecary for beauty, healing and vitality (eg. cosmetics and medicines), as she used the flowers and herbs to make resins, balms and oils for royal beautification and for the healing of her people the nearby nations. King Ashoka in India planted similar gardens circa 250 BC, but this was 500 years before that, a testament to her forward-thinking, beneficient leadership.

Queen Shammu-ramat (Heaven in the Sands) is the most recent and powerful manifestation of the Queen of Heaven, in a role played two generations earlier by her husband's grandmother, and after that there was a gap in the East while Queen Tiye was strongest in the West, and it was a combo of these gals who was worshipped as a Goddess by 6th century BC folk, invoking the wrath of Jeremiah.

"Besides," the women added, "do you suppose that we were burning incense and pouring out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven, and making cakes marked with her image, without our husbands knowing it and helping us? Of course not!" - Jeremiah 44:19

So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you. ¹⁷ Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁸ The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes of bread for the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke me to anger. ¹⁹ But am I the one they are provoking? declares the LORD. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame? - Jeremiah 7:16-19

Peace 2 All

New Chronology of the Dynasties of Ancient Egypt

Sculpture of Ashurnasirpal - Yuya Tushratta Bar Hadad

In recent weeks I have posted preliminary research into the dates of the 12th to 25th Dynasties of Egypt, an attempt at the historical dates of the Sixth Dynasty to the Eleventh Dynasty,and then a rudimentary effort at placing the historical eras of the First through Fifth Dynasties of ancient Egypt. Here we will try for a complete list of the Thirty-One Dynasties of Ancient Egypt, with probable historical dates and a suggested birth year for major figures within each dynasty.

Ancient Egyptian Dynasties - Revised Chronology

1st Dynasty - Circa 2480 BC to 2290 BC

2nd Dynasty - Circa 2305 BC to 2115 BC

3rd Dynasty - Circa 2130 BC to 2020 BC

4th Dynasty - Circa 2020 BC to 1900 BC

5th Dynasty - Circa 1900 BC to 1740 BC

Sixth Dynasty - 1740 BC to 1620 BC

Seventh Dynasty - 1620 BC to 1590 BC

Eighth Dynasty - 1615 BC to 1580 BC

Ninth Dynasty - 1580 BC to 1495 BC

Tenth Dynasty - 1495 BC to 1420 BC

Eleventh Dynasty - 1420 BC to 1375 BC

12th Dynasty - 1385 BC to 1235 BC

13th Dynasty - 1235 BC to 1175 BC

14th Dynasty - 1190 BC to 1130 BC

15th and 16th (concurrent) Dynasty - c1145 BC to 1065 BC

17th Dynasty - c 1075 BC to c 1020 BC

18th Dynasty - c 1020 BC to 830 BC

19th Dynasty - 840 BC to 785 BC

20th Dynasty - 800 BC to 745 BC

21st Dynasty - 770 BC to 715 BC

22nd Dynasty - 760 BC to 705 BC

23rd Dynasty - 755 BC to 710 BC

24th Dynasty - 730 BC to 720 BC

25th Dynasty - 750 BC to 660 BC

26th Dynasty - 664 BC to 525 BC

27th Dynasty - 525 BC to 404 BC

28th Dynasty - 404 to 398 BC

29th Dynasty - 398 BC to 380 BC

30th Dynasty - 380 BC to 342 BC

31st Dynasty - 343 BC to 332 BC

The 31st Dynasty of Egypt was followed by the rise of Alexander the Great, and is considered the beginning of the Greco-Roman Period, when a series of Ptolemies ruled Egypt.

Below you will find a first attempt (hoping to expand this in coming weeks) at pegging the estimated birthdates of major luminaries within each ancient Dynasty of Egypt. For those new to research on the historical identities of Biblical figures through analysis of Egyptian and Persian royalty, a great place to start would be the pioneering work of Charles Pope on his Domain of Man website. The name associations in brackets are often solid but sometimes preliminary, and the reason that certain names (Joseph, David) repeat in different dynasties is that they are more than a name, they are a designated role, an archetype that the human honoured to receive the name is destined to fulfill.

A great place to find online research into Eastern, Syrian and Mitanni identities of Egyptian and Biblical figures is the SpecialtyInterests.net website of the California Institute for Ancient Studies.

Ancient Egyptian Dynasty Pharaohs and other major figures with their Biblical and Eastern identities in brackets:

1st Dynasty - Circa 2480 BC to 2290 BC

Djer Itit - 2470 BC

(Noah, Utnapishtim)

Semerkhet - 2410 BC

(Shem, Etana)

2nd Dynasty - Circa 2305 BC to 2115 BC

Hotepsekemwy - 2330 BC

(Ham, Lugalbanda)

Seth-Peribsen - 2315 BC

(Japheth / Put)

3rd Dynasty - Circa 2130 BC to 2020 BC

Djoser Netjerykhet - 2105 BC

(Mizraim, Meskiag-gasher, Labasher)

Aha Khaba - 2078 BC

(Cush, Scorpion, Agga, Zukakip)

Imhotep Hemiun - 2039 BC

Ra-Hotep, Joseph, Raamah, Madai, Mashda, Meshede, Ahura-Mazda)

4th Dynasty - Circa 2020 BC to 1900 BC

Khufu (Builder of Cheops) - 2018 BC

(Jacob, Sabtah, Tiras, Tizkar)

Khafre (Builder of Khafra) - 1986 BC

(Chephren, Judah, Dan, Ephraim, Ha-danish, Lugal-anda)

Djer Menkhaure (Builder of Menkaure) - 1960 BC

(Mycerinus, Mykerinos, Issachar, Benjamin, Meshech, Manasseh, Mesilim)

The Fourth Dynasty of Egypt is responsible for the construction of the largest of Egypt's 120 pyramids, those found on the Giza Plateau:

5th Dynasty - Circa 1900 BC to 1740 BC

Sahure Neb Khau - b 1921 BC

(Ashur, Ashur, Zerah, Ush, Cush, Ill-Shu, Illyrius)

Neferirkare Kakai - b 1900 BC

(Gad, Perez, Ur-Nanshe, Puzur-Nirah)

Shepsekare Ini - 1886 BC

(Shepsekaf Isi, Ishtar, Muti, Zebulun)

Unas - 1838 BC

Sixth Dynasty - 1740 BC to 1620 BC

Teti - b 1792 BC

(Shem, Akki, Uruk-agina)

Oho! Oho! Rise up, O Teti!

Take your head, collect your bones,

Gather your limbs, shake the earth from your flesh!

Take your bread that rots not, your beer that sours not,

Stand at the gates that bar the common people!

The gatekeeper comes out to you, he grasps your hand,

Takes you into heaven, to you father Geb.

He rejoices at your coming, gives you his hands,

Kisses you, caresses you,

Sets you before the spirits, the imperishable stars...

The hidden ones worship you,

The great ones surround you,

The watchers wait on you,

Barley is threshed for you,

Emmer is reaped for you,

Your monthly feasts are made with it,

Your half-month feasts are made with it,

As ordered done for you by Geb, your father,

Rise up, O Teti, you shall not die!

From an afterlife prayer to Teti text carved during the early 6th Dynasty into an inner pyramid wall at Saqqara

Pepi Khety Akhtoy - 1765 BC

(Nefer- sa-Hor, Mery-Re, Jacob, Israel, Moses, E-annatum, Igigi)

Merenre Nemtyemzaf - 1762 BC

(Meferkamin Anu, Simon, Simeon, Entemena, Naram-Sin, Inyotef, Joseph)

Pepi II Neferkare - 1726 BC

(Ka-Nefer-Re, Judah, Issachar, Akhtoy II, Khendu, En annatum)

Seventh Dynasty - 1620 BC to 1590 BC

Neferkare Neby - b 1670 BC

Eighth Dynasty - 1615 BC to 1580 BC

NeferKhaure II - b 1635 BC

There was a major global climate catastrophe circa 1628 BC, setting Egyptian and Mesopotamian societies into an era of chaos and uncertainty that lasted for many decades, with the aftershocks requiring more close cooperation between the two dominant civilizations. Irrigation and food storage techniques were developed and shared, and the result was a quicker rebound from the 1159 BC disasters that came centuries later; man hadn't learned much, but something had been achieved...

Ninth Dynasty - 1580 BC to 1495 BC

Tenth Dynasty - 1495 BC to 1420 BC

Eleventh Dynasty - 1420 BC to 1375 BC

Mentuhotep II - b 1446 BC

(Levi, Seth, Joseph)

Inyotef Mentuhotep Sehertawy - b 1432 BC

( Gad, Joseph)

Inyotef Mentuhotep Sankhare Wahankh - b 1417 BC

Inyotef Mentuhotep Nebtawyre - b 1412 BC

(Enetarzi, Etana Shem, Shar-Kali-Sham)

12th Dynasty - 1385 BC to 1235 BC

Amenhemet I - b 1403 BC

(Enosh, Enoch)

Amenhemet III - 1312 BC

13th Dynasty - 1235 BC to 1175 BC

Wegaf - b 1276 BC

(Wegef, Zebulun)

Neferhotep - b 1219 BC

Wahibre Ibiau - b 1198 BC

Merneferre Ay - b 1181 BC

14th Dynasty - circa 1190 BC to 1130 BC

The fourteenth Dynasty of Egypt took the brunt of the global catastrophes brought on by the climate changing disruptions brought on by the 13th Cycle of Venus in 1159 BC, a date bracketed by the Transits of 1155BC and 1163 BC. Although Earth was again in turmoil, much had been learned from the previous calamity 469 years earlier, and the rebound took a few decades rather than a couple of centuries.

15th and 16th (concurrent) Dynasty - c1145 BC to 1065 BC

17th Dynasty - c 1075 BC to c 1020 BC

18th Dynasty - c 1020 BC to 830 BC

Ahmose - 1045 BC

Amenhotep I - 1025 BC

Thutmose I - 1015 BC

Thutmose II - 1000 BC

Thutmose III - 982 BC

Thutmose IV - 963 BC

Amenhotep II - 949 BC

Yuya - 928 BC

(Joseph, Tushratta, Ashurnasirpal, Abdi-Ashratu, Omri, Reuel)

Sculpture of Ashurnasirpal; Eastern identity of Yuya of Egypt.

Rib-addi asks:

Canst thou not rescue me from the hand of Abd-Ashera? All the Habiri are on his side; the princes will hear no remonstrances, but are in alliance with him; thereby is he become mighty.

Tuya - 921 BC

Amenhotep III - 917 BC

(Solomon, Suleiman)

Kiya (Mother of Tut Joshuah) - 902 BC

(Tadukepah, Maryamun)

Kiya - Daughter of Yuya Tushratta, Wife of Akhenaten, Mother of Tutankamun

Tiye - 901 BC

Aye - 897 BC

Amenhotep IV - 893 BC

(Akhenaten, Moses, Musa, Rehoboam, Shammai, Nimmuria)

Tutankhamun - 862 BC

(Joshua)

Boy-King Pharaoh Tutankhum

19th Dynasty - 840 BC to 785 BC

20th Dynasty - 800 BC to 745 BC

21st Dynasty - 770 BC to 715 BC

22nd Dynasty - 760 BC to 705 BC

23rd Dynasty - 755 BC to 710 BC

24th Dynasty - 730 BC to 720 BC

25th Dynasty - 750 BC to 660 BC

26th Dynasty - 664 BC to 525 BC

27th Dynasty - 525 BC to 404 BC

28th Dynasty - 404 to 398 BC

29th Dynasty - 398 BC to 380 BC

30th Dynasty - 380 BC to 342 BC

31st Dynasty - 343 BC to 332 BC