Twentieth Egyptian Dynasty 1187 - 1064 B.C.E., Ramesses VIII, Ramesses IX, Ramesses X, Ramesses XI

The Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, New Kingdom. This dynasty is considered to be the last one of the New Kingdom of Egypt, and was followed by the Third Intermediate Period. The Pharaohs of the 20th dynasty ruled for approximately one hundred and twenty years: from ca 1187 to 1064 BC. 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.

Ramesses VIII Sethhirkhepeshef

XX Egyptian Dynasty 1187 - 1064 B.C.E.
Sethnakht/Userkhaure 1187 - 1185 B.C.E.
Ramesses III/Usermaatre-Meryamun 1185 - 1153 B.C.E.
Ramesses IV/User/Heqamaatre-Setepenamun 1153 - 1146 B.C.E.
Ramesses V Amenhirkhepeshef I/Usermaatre-Sekhepenrenre 1146 - 1141 B.C.E.
Ramesses VI Amenhirkhepeshef II/Nebmaatre-Meryamun 1141 - 1133 B.C.E.
Ramesses VII Itamun/Usermaatre-Setepenre-Meryamun 1133 - 1125 B.C.E.
Ramesses VIII Sethhirkhepeshef/Usermaatre-Akhernamun 1125 - 1123 B.C.E.
Ramesses IX Khaemwaset I/Neferkare-Setepenre 1123 - 1104 B.C.E.
Ramesses X Amenhirkhepeshef III/Khepermaatre-Setepenre 1104 - 1094 B.C.E.
Ramesses XI Khaemwaset II/Menmaatre-Setpenptah 1094 - 1064 B.C.E

Usermare Akhenamun Ramesses VIII (also written Ramses and Rameses) or Ramesses Sethherkhepshef Meryamun ('Set is his Strength, beloved of Amun') (at 1130-1129 BC, or simply 1130 BC as Krauss and Warburton date his reign), was the seventh Pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt and was one of the last surviving sons of Ramesses III. Ramesses VIII is the most obscure ruler of this Dynasty and the current information from his brief kingship suggests that he lasted on the throne for one year at the most. Some scholars assign him a maximum reign of two years.

The fact that he succeeded to power after the death of Ramesses VII - a son of Ramesses VI - may indicate a continuing problem in the royal succession. Ramesses VIII's prenomen or royal name, Usermaatre Akhenamun, means "Powerful is the Justice of Re, Helpful to Amun." Monuments from his reign are scarce and consist primarily of an inscription at Medinet Habu, a mention of this ruler in one document - Berlin stela 2081 of Hori at Abydos - and one scarab. His only known date is a Year 1, I Peret day 2 graffito in the tomb of Kyenebu at Thebes.

He is the sole pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty whose tomb has not been definitely identified in the Valley of the Kings, though some scholars have suggested that the tomb of Prince Mentuherkhepshef, KV19, the son of Ramesses IX, was originally started for Ramesses VIII but proved unsuitable when he became a king in his own right. Ramesses IX (also written Ramses) (originally named Amon-her-khepshef Khaemwaset) (ruled 1129 - 1111 BC) was the eighth king of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt. He was the third longest serving king of this Dynasty after Ramesses III and Ramesses XI. He is now believed to have assumed the throne on I Akhet day 21 based on evidence presented by Jurgen von Beckerath in a 1984 GM article.

Ramesses IX Khaemwaset I

According to Papyrus Turin 1932+1939, Ramesses IX enjoyed a reign of 18 Years and 4 months and died in his 19th Year in the first month of Peret between day 17 and 27. His throne name, Neferkare Setepenre, means "Beautiful Is The Soul of Re, Chosen of Re." Ramesses IX is believed to be the son of Mentuherkhepeshef, a son of Ramesses III since Montuherkhopshef's wife, the lady Takhat on the walls of tomb KV10 which she usurped and reused in the late 20th dynasty, bears the prominent title of King's Mother; no other 20th dynasty king is known to have had a mother with this name. Ramesses IX was, therefore, probably a grandson of Ramesses III.

His reign is best known for the Year 16 tomb robberies, recorded in the Abbott Papyrus, the Leopold II-Amherst Papyrus and the Mayer Papyri, when several royal and noble tombs in the Western Theban necropolis were found to have been robbed, including that of a 17th Dynasty king, Sobekemsaf I. Paser, Mayor of Eastern Thebes or Karnak, accused his subordinate Paweraa, the Mayor of West Thebes responsible for the safety of the necropolis, of being either culpable in this wave of robberies or negligent in his duties of protecting the Valley of the Kings from incursions by tomb robbers.

Khepermare Ramesses X (also written Ramses and Rameses) (ruled c. 1111 BC - 1107 BC) was the ninth ruler of the 20th dynasty of Ancient Egypt. His birth name was Amonhirkhepeshef. It is uncertain if his reign was 3 or 4 Years, but there is now a strong consensus among Egyptologists that it did not last as long as 9 Years, as was previously assumed. His prenomen or throne name, Khepermaatre, means "The Justice of Re Abides." The English Egyptologist Aidan Dodson states:

"No evidence is known to indicate the relationship between the final kings Ramesses IX, X and XI. If they were a father-son succession, Tyti, who bears the titles of King's Daughter, King's Wife and King's Mother, would seem to be a good candidate for the wife of Ramesses X, but little else can be discerned." However, Dodson's hypothesis here on Tyti's position must now be discarded since it has been proven in 2010 that Tyti was rather a queen of a previous dynasty 20 pharaoh instead. She is mentioned in the partly fragmented Harris papyrus to be Ramesses III's wife.

Ramesses IX Relief

Ramesses X is a poorly documented king. All that is really known about his kingship is that the general insecurity and wave of tomb robberies which had become prevalent under his predecessors continued to grow under his reign. His Year 1 and Year 2 is attested by Papyrus Turin 1932+1939 while his third Year is documented in a diary kept by a Workmen of Deir El Medina. 

Ramesses XI reigned from 1107 BC to 1078 BC or 1077 BC and was the tenth and final king of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt. He ruled Egypt for at least 29 years although some Egyptologists think he could have ruled for as long as 30. The latter figure would be up to 2 years beyond this king's highest known date of Year 10 of the Whm-Mswt era or Year 28 of his reign.[2] One scholar, Ad Thijs, has even suggested that Ramesses XI reigned as long as 33 years - such is the degree of uncertainty surrounding the end of his long reign.

It is believed that Ramesses ruled into his Year 29 since a graffito records that the High Priest of Amun Piankhy returned to Thebes from Nubia on III Shemu day 23 - or just 3 days into what would have been the start of Ramesses XI's 29th regnal year. Piankhy is known to have campaigned in Nubia during Year 28 of Ramesses XI's reign (or Year 10 of the Whm Mswt) and would have returned home to Egypt in the following year.

Ramesses XI's reign was characterized by the gradual disintegration of the Egyptian state. Civil conflict was already evident around the beginning of his reign when High Priest of Amon, Amenhotep, was ousted from office by the king with the aid of Nubian soldiers under command of Pinehesy, Viceroy of Nubia, for overstepping his authority with Ramesses XI. Tomb robbing was prevalent all over Thebes as Egypt's fortunes declined and her Asiatic empire was lost.

Twentieth Egyptian Dynasty 1187 - 1064 B.C.E., Ramesses IV, Ramesses V, Ramesses VI, Ramesses VII

The Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, New Kingdom. This dynasty is considered to be the last one of the New Kingdom of Egypt, and was followed by the Third Intermediate Period. The Pharaohs of the 20th dynasty ruled for approximately one hundred and twenty years: from ca 1187 to 1064 BC. 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.

Ramesses IV Karnak

XX Egyptian Dynasty 1187 - 1064 B.C.E.
Sethnakht/Userkhaure 1187 - 1185 B.C.E.
Ramesses III/Usermaatre-Meryamun 1185 - 1153 B.C.E.
Ramesses IV/User/Heqamaatre-Setepenamun 1153 - 1146 B.C.E.
Ramesses V Amenhirkhepeshef I/Usermaatre-Sekhepenrenre 1146 - 1141 B.C.E.
Ramesses VI Amenhirkhepeshef II/Nebmaatre-Meryamun 1141 - 1133 B.C.E.
Ramesses VII Itamun/Usermaatre-Setepenre-Meryamun 1133 - 1125 B.C.E.
Ramesses VIII Sethhirkhepeshef/Usermaatre-Akhernamun 1125 - 1123 B.C.E.
Ramesses IX Khaemwaset I/Neferkare-Setepenre 1123 - 1104 B.C.E.
Ramesses X Amenhirkhepeshef III/Khepermaatre-Setepenre 1104 - 1094 B.C.E.
Ramesses XI Khaemwaset II/Menmaatre-Setpenptah 1094 - 1064 B.C.E.

Heqamaatre Ramesses IV (also written Ramses or Rameses) was the third pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. His name prior to assuming the crown was Amonhirkhopshef. He was the fifth son of Ramesses III and was appointed to the position of crown prince by the twenty-second year of his father's reign when all four of his elder brothers predeceased him. As his father's chosen successor the Prince employed three distinctive titles: "Hereditary Prince", "Royal scribe" and "Generalissimo"; the latter two of his titles are mentioned in a text at Amenhotep III's temple at Soleb and all three royal titles appear on a lintel now in Florence, Italy.

As heir-apparent he took on increasing responsibilities; for instance, in Year 27 of his father's reign, he is depicted appointing a certain Amenemopet to the important position of Third Prophet of Amun in the latter's TT 148 tomb. Amenemope's Theban tomb also accords prince Ramesses all three of his aforementioned sets of royal titles. Due to the three decade long rule of Ramesses III, Ramesses IV is believed to have been a man in his forties when he took the throne. His rule has been dated to either 1151 to 1145 BC or 1155 to 1149 BC.

Ramesses V

Ramesses IV is attested by his aforementioned building activity at Wadi Hammamat and Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai as well as several papyri and even one obelisk. The creation of a royal cult in the Temple of Hathor is known under his reign at Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai while Papyrus Mallet (or P. Louvre 1050) dates to Years 3 and 4 of his reign.[4] Papyrus Mallet is a six column text dealing partly with agricultural affairs; its first column lists the prices for various commodities between Year 31 of Ramesses III until Year 3 of Ramesses IV.

Usermare Sekhepenre Ramesses V (also written Ramses and Rameses) was the fourth pharaoh of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt and was the son of Ramesses IV and Queen Duatentopet. His reign was characterized by the continued growth of the power of the priesthood of Amun, which controlled much of the temple land in the country and state finances at the expense of Pharaoh. The Turin 1887 papyrus records a financial scandal during his reign that involved the priests of Elephantine.

The great Wilbour Papyrus, dating to Year 4 of his reign, was a major land survey and tax assessment document which covered various lands "extending from near Crocodilopolis (Medinet el-Fayyum) southwards to a little short of the modern town of El-Minya, a distance of some 90 miles." It reveals most of Egypt's land was controlled by the Amun temples which also directed the country's finances. The document highlights the increasing power of the High Priest of Amun Ramessesnakht whose son, a certain Usimare'nakhte, held the office of chief tax master.

The circumstances of Ramesses V's death are unknown but it is believed he had a reign of almost 4 full years. It is possible he was dethroned by his successor, Ramesses VI because Ramesses VI usurped his predecessor's KV9 tomb. An ostracon records that this king was only buried in Year 2 of Ramesses VI which was highly irregular since Egyptian tradition required a king to be mummified and buried precisely 70 days into the reign of his successor. 

Ramesses VI Tomb

Ramesses VI (also written Ramses and Rameses) was the fifth ruler of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt who reigned from 1145 BC to 1137 BC and a son of Ramesses III by Iset Ta-Hemdjert. His royal tomb, KV9, is located near Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Ramesses' prenomen or royal name was Nebmaatre-meryamun meaning "Lord of Justice is Re, Beloved of Amun" while his royal epithet - Amunherkhepshef Netjer-heqa-iunu - translates as "Amun is his Strength, God Ruler of Heliopolis. His 8th Regnal Year is attested in a graffito which names the then serving High Priest of Amun, Ramessessnakht. Based on Raphael Ventura's successful reconstruction of Turin Papyrus 1907+1908, Ramesses VI is generally assumed to have enjoyed a reign of 8 full Years.

The tomb of Ramesses V (KV 9) is one of the most interesting tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Its decorations represent sort of a treatise on theology, in which the fundamental elements are the sun and its daily journey in the world of darkness.

Ramesses VI

 In general, the decorations provide the story of the origins of the heavens, earth, the creation of the sun, light and life itself. The decorative plan for this tomb is one of the most sophisticated and complete in the Valley of the Kings.

Usermaatre Meryamun Setepenre Ramesses VII (also written Ramses and Rameses) was the sixth pharaoh of the 20th dynasty of Ancient Egypt. He reigned from about 1136 to 1129 BC and was the son of Ramesses VI. Other dates for his reign are 1138-1131 BC. The Turin Accounting Papyrus 1907+1908 is dated to Year 7 of his reign and states that 11 full years passed from Year 5 of Ramesses VI to Year 7 of his reign. Ramesses VII's seventh year is also attested in Ostraca O. Strasbourg h 84 which is dated to II Shemu of his 7th Regnal Year. In 1980, C.J. Eyre proposed that a Year 8 papyri belonged to the reign of Ramesses VII. This papyri, dated anonymously to a Year 8 IV Shemu day 25, details the record of the commissioning of some copper work and mentions 2 foreman at Deir El-Medina: Nekhemmut and Hormose.

Ramesses VII

Since Ramesses VII's accession is known to have occurred around the end of III Peret, the king would have ruled Egypt for 7 years and 5 months when this document was drawn up provided that it belonged to his reign something which is now in dispute.

At any rate, his reign must have lasted for a minimum of 6 years and 10 months or nearly 7 full years since the accession date of his successor Ramesses VIII has been fixed by Amin Amer to an 8 month period between I Peret day 2 and I Akhet day 13. Ramesses VII could easily have died on III Peret during this large interval for a reign of 7 full years.

Very little is known about his reign, though it was evidently a period of turmoil as grain prices soared to the highest level. Ramesses VII was buried in Tomb KV1 upon his death. His mummy has never been found, though four cups inscribed with the pharaoh's name were found in the "royal cache" in DB320 along with the remains of other pharaohs.

Twentieth Egyptian Dynasty 1187 - 1064 B.C.E., Sethnakht, Ramesses III

The Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, New Kingdom. This dynasty is considered to be the last one of the New Kingdom of Egypt, and was followed by the Third Intermediate Period. The Pharaohs of the 20th dynasty ruled for approximately one hundred and twenty years: from ca 1187 to 1064 BC.

 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.

XX Egyptian Dynasty 1187 - 1064 B.C.E.
Sethnakht/Userkhaure 1187 - 1185 B.C.E.
Ramesses III/Usermaatre-Meryamun 1185 - 1153 B.C.E.
Ramesses IV/User/Heqamaatre-Setepenamun 1153 - 1146 B.C.E.
Ramesses V Amenhirkhepeshef I/Usermaatre-Sekhepenrenre 1146 - 1141 B.C.E.
Ramesses VI Amenhirkhepeshef II/Nebmaatre-Meryamun 1141 - 1133 B.C.E.
Ramesses VII Itamun/Usermaatre-Setepenre-Meryamun 1133 - 1125 B.C.E.
Ramesses VIII Sethhirkhepeshef/Usermaatre-Akhernamun 1125 - 1123 B.C.E.
Ramesses IX Khaemwaset I/Neferkare-Setepenre 1123 - 1104 B.C.E.
Ramesses X Amenhirkhepeshef III/Khepermaatre-Setepenre 1104 - 1094 B.C.E.
Ramesses XI Khaemwaset II/Menmaatre-Setpenptah 1094 - 1064 B.C.E.

Userkhaure-setepenre Setnakhte (or Setnakht) was the first Pharaoh (1190 BC - 1186 BC) of the Twentieth Dynasty of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt and the father of Ramesses III.
Setnakhte was not the son, brother or a direct descendant of the previous 2 pharaohs: either Twosret or Merneptah Siptah, nor that of Siptah's predecessor Seti II, whom Setnakht formally considered the last legitimate ruler. It is possible that he was an usurper who seized the throne during a time of crisis and political unrest, or he could have been a member of a minor line of the Ramesside royal family who emerged as Pharaoh.

He married Queen Tiy-merenese, perhaps a daughter of Merenptah. A connection between Setnakhte's successors and the preceding 19th dynasty is suggested by the fact that one of Ramesses II's children also bore this name and that similar names are shared by Setnakhte's descendants such as Ramesses, Amun-her-khepshef, Seth-her-khepshef and Monthu-her-khepshef. Setnakhte was originally believed to have enjoyed a reign of only two years based upon his Year 2 Elephantine stela but his third regnal year is now attested in Inscription No.271 on Mount Sinai.

Ramesses III/Usermaatre-Meryamun

If his theoretical accession date is assumed to be II Shemu 10, based on the date of his Elephantine stela, Setnakhte would have ruled Egypt for at least two years and 11 months before he died, or nearly three full years. This date is only three months removed from Twosret's highest known date of Year 8, III Peret 5, and is based upon a calculation of Ramesses III's known accession date of I Shemu 26. Peter Clayton also assigned Setnakhte a reign of three years in his 1994 book on the Egyptian Pharaohs.

Usimare Ramesses III (also written Ramses and Rameses) was the second Pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty and is considered to be the last great New Kingdom king to wield any substantial authority over Egypt. He was the son of Setnakhte and Queen Tiy-Merenese. Ramesses III is believed to have reigned from March 1186 to April 1155 BCE. This is based on his known accession date of I Shemu day 26 and his death on Year 32 III Shemu day 15, for a reign of 31 years, 1 month and 19 days. (Alternate dates for this king are 1187 to 1156 BCE). During his long tenure in the midst of the surrounding political chaos of the Greek Dark Ages, Egypt was beset by foreign invaders (including the so-called Sea Peoples and the Libyans) and experienced the beginnings of increasing economic difficulties and internal strife which would eventually lead to the collapse of the Twentieth Dynasty.

The Sea Peoples were a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed into the eastern Mediterranean, caused political unrest, and attempted to enter or control Egyptian territory during the late 19th dynasty and especially during year 8 of Ramesses III of the 20th Dynasty. The Egyptian Pharaoh Merneptah explicitly refers to them by the term "the foreign-countries (or 'peoples') of the sea" in his Great Karnak Inscription.

Ramesses III/Usermaatre

In Year 8 of his reign, the Sea Peoples, including Peleset, Denyen, Shardana, Meshwesh of the sea, and Tjekker, invaded Egypt by land and sea. Ramesses III defeated them in two great land and sea battles. Although the Egyptians had a reputation as poor seamen they fought tenaciously. Rameses lined the shores with ranks of archers who kept up a continuous volley of arrows into the enemy ships when they attempted to land on the banks of the Nile. Then the Egyptian navy attacked using grappling hooks to haul in the enemy ships. In the brutal hand to hand fighting which ensued, the Sea People were utterly defeated.

Ramesses III claims that he incorporated the Sea Peoples as subject peoples and settled them in Southern Canaan. Their presence in Canaan may have contributed to the formation of new states in this region such as Philistia after the collapse of the Egyptian Empire in Asia. Ramesses III was also compelled to fight invading Libyan tribesmen in two major campaigns in Egypt's Western Delta in his Year 6 and Year 11 respectively. 

Although it was long believed that Ramesses III's body showed no obvious wounds, a recent examination of the mummy by a German forensic team, televised in the documentary Rameses on the Science Channel in 2011, showed excess bandages around the neck. A subsequent CT Scan revealed that beneath the bandages was a deep knife wound across the throat, a wound deep enough to reach the vertebrae. According to the documentary narrator, "It was a wound no one could have survived."

Nineteenth Egyptian Dynasty 1298 to 1187 B.C.E., Siptah, Tawosret

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.

Amenmesse/Menmire-Setepenre 

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.

Akhenre Setepenre Siptah or Merneptah Siptah was the penultimate ruler of the 19th Dynasty. His father's identity is currently unknown. Both Seti II and Amenmesse have been suggested. He was not the crown prince, but succeeded to the throne as a child after the death of Seti II.

His accession date occurred on II Peret day 2 around the month of December. Historically, it was believed that Queen Tiaa, a wife of Seti II, was the mother of Siptah. This view persisted until it was eventually realized that a relief in the Louvre Museum (E 26901) "pairs Siptah's name together with the name of his mother" a certain Sutailja or Shoteraja.

Sutailja was a Canaanite rather than a native Egyptian name which means that she was almost certainly a king's concubine from Canaan. However, Dodson/Hilton assert that this is not correct and that the lady was, instead, the mother of Ramesses-Siptah and a wife of Ramesses II. Chancellor Bay publicly boasts that he was instrumental in installing Siptah on the throne in several inscriptions including an Aswan stela set up by Seti, the Viceroy of Kush and at Gebel el-Silsila. 

Bay, however, later fell out of favour at Court and last appears in public in a dated Year 4 inscription from Siptah's reign. He was executed in the fifth Year of Siptah's reign, on orders of the king himself. News of his execution was passed to the Workmen of Deir el-Medina in Ostraca IFAO 1254. This ostraca was translated and published in 2000 by Pierre Grandet in a French Egyptological journal. Callendar notes that the reason for the king's message to the workmen was to notify them to cease all work on decorating Bay's tomb since Bay had now been deemed a traitor to the state.

Siptah himself died sometime in his 6th regnal Year. After his death, Twosret simply assumed his Regnal Years and ruled Egypt as a Queen for a brief while. Siptah was buried in the Valley of the Kings, in tomb KV47, but his mummy was not found there. In 1898, it was discovered along with 18 others in a mummy cache within the (KV35) tomb of Amenhotep II. An examination of Siptah's mummy reveals that he died around the age of 16 and likely suffered from polio with a severely deformed and crippled left foot. The study of his tomb shows that it was conceived and planned in the same style as those of Twosret and Bay, clearly part of the same architectural design. 

Tawosret/Sitre-Merenamun

Queen Twosret (Tawosret, Tausret) was the last known ruler and the final Pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty. She is recorded in Manetho's Epitome as a certain Thuoris, who in Homer is called Polybus, husband of Alcandara, and in whose time Troy was taken. 

She was said to have ruled Egypt for seven years, but this figure included the nearly six year reign of Siptah, her predecessor. Consequently, her sole independent reign would have lasted for slightly more than one full year from 1191 to 1190 BC. Her royal name, Sitre Meryamun, means "Daughter of Re, beloved of Amun."

Theodore Davis identified the Queen and her husband in a cache of jewelry found in tomb KV56 in the Valley of the Kings. This tomb also contained objects bearing the name of Rameses II. There is no consensus about the nature of this tomb. Some (Aldred) thought this was the tomb of a daughter of Seti II and Tawosret, but others (Maspero) thought this was a cache of objects originally belonging with the tomb of Tawosret herself.

After her husband's death, she became first regent to Seti's heir Siptah jointly with Chancellor Bay, whom some have identified as the Irsu mentioned in the Harris Papyrus. Siptah was likely a stepson of Twosret since his mother is now known to be a certain Sutailja or Shoteraja from Louvre Relief E 26901. When Siptah died, Twosret officially assumed the throne for herself, as the "Daughter of Re, Lady of Ta-merit, Twosret of Mut", and assumed the role of a Pharaoh.