TEWOSRET

Tewosret was the chief queen of Sethos II and bore the heir apparent, but this son died prematurely and it was the child of another queen, Tio, who succeeded Sethos II on the throne. The young king (named Ramesses-Siptah) was probably chosen by Chancellor Bay, the Syrian courtier who wielded great influence, and he may have forced this decision on Queen Tewosret, for she and Bay briefly acted as regents for *Siptah.

By Year 6 of his reign, *Siptah was dead, and Tewosret seized power for herself, assuming the full kingly titles. She was only the fourth woman in Egypt's history to take control of the country as a queen regnant.She ruled briefly for two years and left a funerary monument to the south of the Ramesseum at Thebes; she was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes, an honour previously bestowed on only one woman—Queen *Hatshepsut. Her successor Setnakht (whose origins are unknown) apparently seized her tomb and destroyed the queen's mummy, although her funerary jewellery had already been removed to a place of safety, where it was discovered by Theodore Davis.

When Tewosret's reign ended, the line of direct descendants of *Ramesses II ceased to rule Egypt.

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(reigned c. 1190–189 BC)

Throne nameSitre. Wife of Sety II and stepmother of his successor, Siptah. She remained a powerful figure at court and may have benefited from the execution of the king’s protector, Bay. Upon the death of the king, she took the throne and counted her regnal years from the death of her husband. She was apparently overthrown by Sethnakhte. She prepared tomb KV14 in the Valley of the Kings for her burial, but it was taken over by Sethnakhte. Her mummy has not been securely identified. Her mortuary temple at Thebes, excavated by Flinders Petriein 1896,has not been preserved apart from some foundation deposits. In 2006, an American expedition began a reinvestigation of the site.