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5/19/2014

The Name of Thuya

Marianne Luban

Thuya, the wife of Yuya, and mother of Queen Tiye, is a woman of some mystery. e!ent"#$ testin% has re&ea'ed that Yuya was a re'ati&e of (in% $menhote) ***.1 +robab'y, then, Yuya wasthe %reatun!'e of the )haraoh, who married his !ousin, Tiye. The fa!t that Yuya bore the tit'e of -it

nTr- or -father of the %od- meant that he was a trusted ad&isor and mentor to the in%. e seems to

ha&e been a %reat fa&orite of the youn% monar!h.

Thuya, on the other hand, a))ears not to ha&e been a !'ose re'ati&e of $menhote) *** and wastherefore a !ommoner. Mysterious'y, howe&er, she and her husband both shared a b'ood ty)e with him,

whi!h is $2, a rare one in %y)t.2 +erha)s, if we e&er 'earn more about the "#$ and b'ood ty)es of

the ear'ier 1th "ynasty ru'ers, we !an %ain some insi%ht into that mystery.

oth Yuya and Thuya were e'der'y, whitehaired )eo)'e when they died. ut how o'd werethey3 *n a &i%nette on the funerary )a)yrus of Yuya, the 'atter is )ainted with white hair, but not

Thuya. er hair or wi% is sti'' b'a!. as this meant to indi!ate that she was !onsiderab'y youn%er

than her husband3 The teeth of both of the !ou)'e are bad, but so are those of $menhote) ***, their son

in'aw, and he !ant ha&e been any more than fifty when he died. $menhote) rei%ned for thirtyei%htyears but he was 6uite youn% when he su!!eeded to the in%shi). e had to be, as his father, Thutmose

*7, was on'y around thirty at the time of his own death.

Queen Tiye, dau%hter of Thuya, must ha&e been a !hi'd bride. Many %ir's were in an!ient and

e&en mu!h more modern %y)t. The teeth of her mummy are %ood, not mu!h worn by the %rit thate&ident'y %ot into e&en the bread the roya's ate, and if the henna dye in her hair !o&ers any %ray ones,

they wou'd not be &ery many. Tiyes hair %i&es the o&era'' im)ression of bein% sti'' dar. &en thou%hshe out'i&ed $menhote) *** by some years, the diminuti&e Queen Tiye was not an o'd woman by ourstandards when she )assed from 'ife. 7ery 'ie'y she was on'y 1012 years o'd when married to her

!ousin around his Year 2, but she !an ha&e been as youn% as nine. e!ause he was the in%,

$menhote)s !hoi!e of !andidates for his !hief wife was 'imited. The %ir' had to be around his own a%e

1 They ha&e si8 a''e'es in !ommon at ei%ht "#$ marers.

2 Tutanhamun and the (755 indi&idua' ha&e the same b'ood ty)e.

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and of nob'e birth. 7ery )ossib'y, his re'ationshi) with Yuya inf'uen!ed the youn% )haraohs !hoi!e or

his 'i&in% sisters or ha'fsisters were not suitab'e for some reason.

$'thou%h men are !a)ab'e of sirin% !hi'dren 'on% )ast the a%e of forty, the !hi'dbearin% years

of a woman are 'imited to around that time:usua''y. Therefore, when Tiye be!ame 6ueen of %y)t,her mother, Thuya, !an sti'' ha&e been 6uite youn%. ;n the other hand, she !an a'so ha&e been around

fifty:de)endin% u)on when Tiye was born. e now that Yuya and Thuya died sometime after one

of the so&erei%ns e'der dau%hters, Yuya? !an be a hy)o!orism for a forma' %y)tian name.

The same )ossibi'ities e8ist for the name of Thuya. *t is most'y written >Twiw? but, for some

reason, %y)to'o%y !a''s her >Thuya?, )erha)s to mat!h better to >Yuya?. $ %reat offi!ia' from thetime of Thutmose * down to the !ore%en!y of Thutmose *** and atshe)sut, named *neni, @had a wife

named >Twiw?. The forma' name of *nenis wife was $hhote), )resumab'y after the mother of in%

$hmose the Liberator, a mu!hhonored 'ady. Therefore, it is )ossib'e that $hhote) was a'so the %i&enname of the Thuya of (74@. $t any rate, in order to ha&e been married to e&en a minor )rin!e of the

;r it mi%ht ha&e been inf'uen!ed by the fa!t that his immediate )rede!essors did not marry on'y their sisters.

4 En'ess there is somethin% about these women we do not now.

5 &ery forma' %y)tian name is a !om)'ete )hrase.

@ The tomb of *neni is TT1, 'o!ated on


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Thutmosid dynasty, Thuya wou'd ha&e had to ha&e been we''!onne!ted, )robab'y the dau%hter of an

im)ortant man, an offi!ia' of the !rown.

From the &ery be%innin% of the 'on% rei%n of Thutmose *** to the end, ma'es from the same

fami'y ser&ed the in% in the !a)a!ity of his &i=ier. The first one of these men to ha&e been e'e&ated tothe )osition bore the name of $methu, but he was a'so !a''ed >$hmose?. +robab'y, this man was of

forei%n e8tra!tion and so was his wife, be!ause she was sim)'y nown as >Ta$methu?, the feminine

&ersion of one of her husbands names. *t !annot be )ro&ed at this time that Thuya was a member ofthis im)ortant fami'y and that she had been !a''ed >Ta$methu?, Bwritten >t$a$mTw?C as we'', afterher an!estress:yet it is )ossib'e. ut it seems that >Twiw? was 6uite a !ommon ni!name at this time

for that was the name of the wife of Eseramun, the son of $methu and Ta$methu, who su!!eeded his

father as &i=ier. For a'' we now, Thuya !an ha&e been a dau%hter of ehmire,G the 'ast &i=ier ofThutmose ***:or of #eferweben, a )re!edin% one. a ty)i!a' %y)tian woman?. The truth may be that both of them were of mi8ed

an!estry and neither was ty)i!a' in any fashion.

ere is the math behind the )ossib'e a%e at death of Thuya and when she was born:a!!ordin%

to the !hrono'o%y * fo''owH

$menhote) **Ibe%ins rei%n in 1450 for 2@ years. * do not be'ie&e in a !ore%en!y for him andThutmose ***.

Thutmose *7Ibe%ins rei%n in 1424 for 9 years

$menhote) ***Ibe%ins rei%n in 1415 for years

*f Thuya died around Year 0 of $menhote) *** at the a%e of G0, then 40 years of her 'ife mustha&e been s)ent in )re&ious rei%ns. hen Thutmose *7 be%an his in%shi), Thuya wou'd ha&e been 1

years o'd. hen $menhote) ** !ame to the throne, Thuya wou'd ha&e been 5 years o'd. That wou'd

mae her ha&in% been born in Year 49 of Thutmose ***.

Jan Yuya ha&e been the father of Mutemwia, the mother of $menhote) ***3 #ot nowin% theautosoma' "#$ of his father, Thutmose *7, * ha&e to a''ow its )ossib'e. ut he wou'd ha&e had to

ha&e been the father without Thuya or $menhote) wou'd ha&e had shared more than a sin%'e a''e'e

with Thuya.

G *t was not unnown in an!ient %y)t for a in% to marry the dau%hter of his &i=ier, so it wou'd not be sur)risin% for a

roya' )rin!e to do so.

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