Nineteenth Egyptian Dynasty 1298 to 1187 B.C.E., Seti II, Amenmesse

The Pharaohs of the 19th dynasty ruled for approximately one hundred and ten years: from 1298 to 1187 B.C.E. The dates and names in the table are taken from Dodson and Hilton. Many of the pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings in Thebes (designated KV). More information can be found on the Theban Mapping Project website. The Nineteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt was one of the periods of the Egyptian New Kingdom. Founded by Vizier Ramesses I, whom Pharaoh Horemheb chose as his successor to the throne, this dynasty is best known for its military conquests in Canaan.

XIX Egyptian Dynasty 1298 to 1187 B.C.E.

Seti II/Userkheperure

Ramesses I/Menpehtire 1298 - 1296 B.C.E..
Seti I/Menmaetre 1296 - 1279 B.C.E.
Ramesses II/Usermaetre Setepenre 1279 - 1212 B.C.E..
Merenptah/Banenre 1212 - 1201 B.C.E.
Seti II/Userkheperure 1201 - 1195 B.C.E..
Amenmesse/Menmire-Setepenre 1195 - 1196 B.C.E.
Siptah/Sekhaenre/Akheperre 1196 - 1189 B.C.E.
Tawosret/Sitre-Merenamun 1189 - 1187 B.C.E.

Seti II (or Sethos II), was the fifth ruler of the Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt and reigned from 1203 BC to 1197 BC. His throne name, Userkheperure Setepenre, meant "Powerful are the Manifestations of Re, Chosen by Re.' 

He was the son of Merneptah and wife Isisnofret and sat on the throne during a period known for dynastic intrigue and short reigns, and his rule was no different. Seti II had to deal with many serious plots, most significantly being the accession of a rival king named Amenmesse, possibly a half brother, who seized control over Thebes and Nubia in Upper Egypt during his second to fourth regnal years.

Evidence that Amenmesse was a direct contemporary with Seti II's rule - rather than Seti II's immediate predecessor - includes the fact that Seti II's royal KV13 tomb at Thebes was deliberately vandalized with many of Seti's royal names being carefully erased here during his reign. The erasures were subsequently repaired by Seti II's agents. This suggests that Seti II's reign at Thebes was interrupted by the rise of a rival: king Amenmesse in Upper Egypt.

Secondly, the German scholar Wolfgang Helck has shown that Amenmesse is only attested in Upper Egypt by several Year 3 and a single Year 4 ostracas here; Helck also noted that no Year 1 or Year 2 ostracas from Deir El Medina could legitimately be assigned to Amenmesse's reign. This conforms well with the clear evidence of Seti II's control over Thebes in his first two years which is documented by various documents and papyri. In contrast, Seti II is absent from Upper Egypt during his third and fourth years which are notably unattested here - presumably because Amenmesse controlled this region during this time.

Seti II/Userkheperure

Finally, and most importantly, it is well known that the chief foreman of Deir el-Medina, a certain Neferhotep, was killed in the reign of king Amenmesse on the orders of a certain 'Msy' who was either Amenmesse himself or one of this king's agents, according to Papyrus Salt 124. Seti II promoted Chancellor Bay to become his most important state official and built 3 tombs - KV13, KV14, and KV15 - for himself, his Senior Queen Twosret and Bay in the Valley of the Kings.

This was an unprecedented act on his part for Bay, who was of Syrian descent and was not connected by marriage or blood ties to the royal family. Due to the relative brevity of his reign, Seti's tomb was unfinished at the time of his death. Twosret later rose to power herself after the death of Siptah, Seti II's successor. According to a graffito written in the first corridor of Twosret's KV14 tomb, Seti II was buried in his KV15 tomb on "Year 1, IV Peret day 11" of Siptah.

Seti II's earliest prenomen in his First Year was 'Userkheperure Setepenre' which is written above an inscription of Messuwy, a Viceroy of Nubia under Merneptah, on a rock outcropping at Bigeh Island. However, Messuwy's burial in Tomb S90 in Nubia has been discovered to contain only funerary objects naming Merneptah which suggests that 1) Messuwy may have died during Merneptah's reign and 2) Seti II merely associated himself with an official who had actively served his father as Viceroy of Kush. Seti II soon changed his royal name to 'Userkheperure Meryamun', which was the most common form of his prenomen.

Amenmesse (also Amenmesses or Amenmose) was the 5th ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty in Ancient Egypt, possibly the son of Merneptah and Queen Takhat. Others consider him to be one of the innumerable sons of Ramesses II. Very little is known about this king, who ruled Egypt for only three to four years. Various Egyptologists date his reign between 1202 BC - 1199 BC or 1203 BC - 1200 BC with others giving an accession date of 1200 BC. Amenmesse means "born of or fashioned by Amun" in Egyptian. Additionally, his nomen can be found with the epithet Heqa-waset, which means "Ruler of Thebes". His royal name was Menmire Setepenre. 

Amenmesse/Menmire-Setepenre

It is likely that he was not Merneptah's intended heir. Some scholars such as Kenneth Kitchen and Jurgen von Beckerath follow the traditional view that Amenmesse usurped the throne from Seti-Merneptah, Merneptah's son and Crown Prince who should have been next in line to the royal succession. It is unclear why this should have happened. Kitchen has written that Amenmesse may have taken advantage of a momentary weakness of Seti-Merneptah or seized power while the crown prince was away in Asia.

Seti-Merneptah was most likely the same man as king Seti II, whose reign was traditionally thought to have followed upon Amenmesse's reign. The cartouches of Seti II's tomb in Upper Egypt were deliberately erased and then repainted, suggesting that Seti's rule in Upper Egypt was temporarily interrupted by agents of his half-brother. Confusion generally clouds Amenmesse's reign and location within the Egyptian 19th Dynasty.

However, an increasing number of Egyptologists today such as Rolf Krauss and Aidan Dodson maintain that Seti II was in fact the immediate successor of Merneptah "without any intervening rule by Amenmesse." Under this scenario, Amenmesse did not succeed Merneptah on the throne of Egypt and was rather a rival king who usurped power sometime during Years 2 to 4 of Seti II's reign in Upper Egypt and Nubia where his authority is monumentally attested.

His mother is known to be Queen Takhat, who was either a minor wife of Merneptah or a later royal wife of Ramesses II or both. Some have assumed that Twosret, wife of Seti II, was his sister, making him half-brother to Seti II. Amenmesse's wife was once thought to be a woman named Baktwerel but more recent analysis of his royal tomb proves that she was not a contemporary of this Pharaoh.