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Die Königsmutter des Alten Ägypten von der Frühzeit bis zum Ende der 12. Dynastie. By SILKE ROTH. Ägypten und Altes Testament, vol. 46. Wiesbaden: HARRASSOWITZ VERLAG, 2001. Pp. xlvi + 584, illus. DM 168 (paper).
This work is a detailed study of the role of the mother of the king, from the 1st to the 12th dynasties, concluding with an excursus treating the 13th dynasty. Beginning with a brief review of previous work, from Frankfort's dismissal of the importance of the king's mother to Jánosi's study of the tombs of the queens, Roth goes on to characterize the role of the royal mothers as "Vertreterinnen eines Teilaspekts dieses Königtums" and underlines the importance of this period as background for the better-documented queenship of the New Kingdom.
Die Königsmutter comprises several distinctive parts. The first five chapters consist of chronological discussions of the individual women documented in the role of mother of the king. A few comments will suffice to characterize these presentations. The reigns of Djer and Den dominate the material of the first two dynasties. Roth notes, however, that there is little evidence with which to verify a female hierarchy for that period. The richness of the text is illustrated by the concluding excursus, taking up the possibility that Neithhotep, owner of the Nagada mastaba, otherwise identified as an early consort and royal mother, was, rather, the son of Aha.
The titulary, iconography, and functions of the royal women develop rapidly from the 3rd dynasty onward. Roth discusses aspects of this development, such as the participation of the royal women in the cults of deceased kings, particularly as the "leader of the slaughter of the Acacia House," indicating a role in the ritual butchering of an ox in connection with a royal burial. The title "daughter of the god," often a central point of interest in this period, is treated as part of the...