Tadukhepa

Mitannian princess reign of Amenophis III, 1417-1379 BC.

    In the correspondence (preserved in the Amarna archive) between King *Tushratta of *Mitanni and *Amenophis III, there are several letters which are concerned with the protracted negotiations over the dispatch of Princess *Tadukhepa to become the wife of *Amenophis III. He had earlier received another royal wife (*Ghilukhepa, *Tushratta's sister) from *Mitanni, but *Tushratta now insisted that his daughter Tadukhepa should not only become *Amenophis III's wife but that she should also be 'Mistress of Egypt'. Eventually, she arrived in Egypt with a great assortment of costly gifts, but *Amenophis III was probably old and sick by then and Tadukhepa was ultimately transferred to the harem of his son, *Akhenaten (Amenophis IV), who was addressed as Napkhuria by the *Mitannians.

    At one time it was suggested that *Akhenaten's famous queen, *Nefertiti, was the re-named Tadukhepa; the famous head of *Nefertiti in Berlin, it was argued, represented a woman of non-Egyptian and possibly Indo-Aryan origin. Evidence that relates to other members of *Nefertiti's family would indicate that she was of Egyptian, although unknown, parentage.

BIBL. Mercer, S.A.B. The Tell el Amarna Tablets, (two vols) Toronto: 1939.

Biographical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt by Rosalie and Antony E. David

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(fl. 1350 BC)

   A princess from Mitanni. Daughter of King Tushratta, who was married to Amenhotep III toward the end of his reign and possibly married his successor, Akhenaten. She has sometimes been identified with the lady Kiya, but there is no evidence for this.

   See also Gilukhepa.

Historical Dictionary Of Ancient Egypt by Morris L. Bierbrier