Neskhons

Queen reign of Pinudjem II, 985-969 BC.

    It was during the Twenty-first Dynasty that the High-priests of Amun at Thebes came to exert great influence in the south, and at this time their wives also became very powerful. Neskhons was the wife of the Theban High-priest *Pinudjem II. She held a string of titles and religious offices and enjoyed great wealth and prestige. In an oracle, the god Amun decreed that she would be deified after her death but also warned her not to undertake evil actions nor to prematurely terminate the lives of her husband or relatives.

    Her mummy and coffin were amongst those discovered in 1881 in the cache of royal and priestly remains at Deir Bahri.

BIBL. Kitchen, K.A. 3rd Int. pp. 65-6; Cerny, J. Studies in the chronology of the Twenty-first Dynasty. JEA 32 (1946) pp. 25-6, 30.

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

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   The wife of Pinudjem II, high priest of Amun at Thebes. Possibly a daughter of the high priest Nesbanebdjed and so niece of her husband. She was buried in the royal cache at Thebes. She bore the title of viceroy of Kush, which must have been purely nominal and was used for the last time by her.

   See also DYNASTY 21.

Historical Dictionary Of Ancient Egypt by Morris L. Bierbrier