Читать книгу The Life and Times of Akhnaton, Pharaoh of Egypt онлайн

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There are several possibilities. Tuau may have had royal blood in her veins, and may have been, for instance, the granddaughter of Thothmes III., to whom she bears some likeness in face. Queen Tiy is often called “Royal Daughter” as well as “Royal Wife”; and it is possible that this is to be taken literally. In a letter sent by Dushratta, King of Mitanni, to Akhnaton, Tiy is called “my sister and thy mother”; and though it is possible that the word “sister” is here used to indicate the general cousinship of royalty, it is more probable that some real connection is meant, for other relationships, such as “daughter,” “wife,” and “father-in-law,” are precisely stated in the letter. Yuaa may have been indirectly of royal Egyptian blood, or he may have been, as we have seen, the offspring of some Syrian royal house, such as that of Mitanni, related by marriage with the Pharaoh; and thus Tiy may have had some distant claim to the throne, and Dushratta would have had reason for calling her his sister. Queen Tiy, however, has so often been called a foreigner for reasons which have now been shown to be quite erroneous that we must be cautious in adopting any of these possibilities. It has been stated that her face is North-Syrian in type,[12] and, as the portrait upon which this statement is based is, in all features except the nose, reminiscent of Yuaa, that noble would also resemble the people of that country; and in this connection it must be remembered that the marriage of Tiy and Amonhotep took place under the regency of Mutemua, herself probably a North-Syrian princess. Be this as it may, however, the two children, not yet in their ’teens, ruled Egypt together, and Yuaa and Tuau stood behind the throne to advise them.