I know the king is called a Pharaoh, but is there a different name for the queen ruler?
2006-09-22 11:13:39 · 11 answers · asked by Jai 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
In the ancient Egyptian language, the term for the chief wife of a ruling king was ḥmt nswt wrt which translates literally as "Great Royal Wife." This is frequently conflated with "queen" but the term "queen" has conotations from European royalty and history that do not apply to circumstances in ancient Egypt.
Kings in ancient Egypt had numerous wives and concubines.
In those rare cases where a woman reigned as king, Hatshepsut being the prime example, she took on the full titulary of a king. This caused some problems, as the titulary is gendered for a male, yet when Hatshepsut was on the throne, the "king" was a female.
The term pharaoh did not come into frequent use until the mid-18th Dynasty. It comes from pr aA "great house" which is a term for palace in Middle Egyptian. The use of pr aA as a reference to the king is first attested in the reign of Tutmose III, 18th Dynasty, New Kingdom, but the term is frequently applied by modern historians to all Egyptian kings before and after the reign of Tutmose. Prior to the 18th Dynasty, the term pr aA was used, but in reference to the actual palace or court, rather than the king himself. By the 19th Dynasty, pr aA was used with relative frequency, often interchanged with "'his majesty" in texts.
A similar term, Xnw (roughly pronounced henew) meaning "(royal) Residence" is used in earlier periods in a similar way, meaning as much the place as the person (eg. the king) who lived there.
The ordinary word for king is nsw, less comon is ity, usually translated "sovreign." Nb, "lord" is also used, usually determined with a seated figure wearing a crown with uraeus. Other terms that were applied to the king were Hm "majesty" usually with a pronoun such as Hm=f "his majesty;" nTr nfr "the good/beautiful god;" nb tAwy "lord of the 2 lands;" and Hr nb aH "Horus, lord of the castle." This is in addtion to the 5 part titulary each king had - a practice established by about mid-way through the Old Kingdom.
2006-09-22 11:29:51 · answer #1 · answered by F 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Cleopatra, a Macedonian Greek descendant of Ptolemy's, presented herself a queen to her Greek citizens, and as Pharaoh to the Egyptian masses. She even took to wearing the Pharaonic garb (including the fake beard) when she would take her barge up the Nile. Most everyone is correct, Pharaoh was a gender neutral term (although dealing with a female Pharaoh didn't come up too often.)
2006-09-22 19:06:00 · answer #2 · answered by Rico Toasterman JPA 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I believe Pharaoh, means Ruler.
2006-09-22 11:18:55 · answer #3 · answered by kickinupfunf 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The only female Pharaoh, Hatshepsut was referred to as Pharoah.,
But I believe by the time Cleopatra ruled, she was called "Queen"
2006-09-22 11:21:19 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
The ruling female monarch is also called a Pharaoh and is portrayed as if she was male.
2006-09-22 11:19:40 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
you can call her a pharaoh . remember that cleopatra was the last PHARAOH. so use that
2006-09-24 06:25:39 · answer #6 · answered by panagiotis b 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no. it is the same as for the men as for the women. paharoh means ruler. it was the same no matter what the sex
2006-09-22 11:21:51 · answer #7 · answered by catchup 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
they were also called pharaohs.
2006-09-22 11:31:02 · answer #8 · answered by Minnie 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
there was no other title for females,as only males were acknowledged. one female reportedly wore a false beard and men's clothes to avoid upsetting her people.
2006-09-22 11:21:20 · answer #9 · answered by scylax 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Pharrah?
2006-09-22 11:21:33 · answer #10 · answered by The real questions 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋