mandym's review
4.0
Some interesting fact and theories.
The author presents the story as was believed at the time the tomb was discovered, and an alternative version using her knowledge and "evidence" to support her version.
I found I had to pay attention, for example Kings changing birth names once they became Kings, and the habit of naming children after predecessors. The book is filled with information regarding this period of Egyptian history explaining how some misunderstanding have occurred to due inaccurate interpretations of hieroglyphs. Truly fascinating, I would love to have seen more photographs in the book but it did not detract from the book.
The author presents the story as was believed at the time the tomb was discovered, and an alternative version using her knowledge and "evidence" to support her version.
I found I had to pay attention, for example Kings changing birth names once they became Kings, and the habit of naming children after predecessors. The book is filled with information regarding this period of Egyptian history explaining how some misunderstanding have occurred to due inaccurate interpretations of hieroglyphs. Truly fascinating, I would love to have seen more photographs in the book but it did not detract from the book.
morgandhu's review
4.0
No author who chooses to write about the 18th Dynasty, and in particular the Amarna period, can ignore three crucial questions: "whatever happened to Nefertiti," "just who the hell was Smenkhare," and "who were Tutankhamen's parents." Equally true, any speculations on these questions advanced prior to the 2010 announcement of the results of DNA testing on the remains of Tutankhamen and a number of other mummified remains, some previously identified (such the the mummy known as "the Older Lady, now identified as Tiye, wife of Amenhotep III) and some known only by the numbering of their burial chambres (such as KV55, often believed to have been Smenkhare) and KV35YL, also known as the Younger Lady), must be re-evaluated in light of scientific data unavailable when those speculations were originally made.
Christine El-Mahdy, writing before the DNA testing, proposes interesting, plausible, and, at least in part, still viable answers to the first two questions, and as many other Egyptologists had done, goes astray on the third. Through careful analysis of inscriptions dating back to Akhenaten's grandparents, El-Mahdy proposes a timeline consisting of a series of co-regnancies and intermarriages between the royal family and another powerful family of hereditary court officials which challenges many of the commonly-held perceptions of the politics of the Amarna period. Her elegant solution to the questions dealing with Nefertiti and Smenkhare (one also proposed by other Egyptologists) is that they are, in fact, the same person. Nefertiti disappears from inscriptions as Smenkhare, the mysterious figure chosen as co-ruler by Akhenaten himself, appears, they share many titles and epithets, and Nefertiti was a powerful queen who already shared many of the Pharoah's royal duties. Why did this change in her status, from Great Wife Nefertiti to co-ruler Smenkhare, occur, and why at just that time? El-Madhy, through analysis of regnal numbers and other time-sensitive data, concludes that Akhenaten, who was personally unsuited to kingship, a dreamer and philosopher, never actually ruled alone; that he was co-ruler with his father Amenhotep III for the first 12 years of his reign, and then co-ruler with Nefertiti/Smenkhare for the remainder of his reign, until his death. Nefertiti, having taken as a ceremonial Great Wife her own daughter Meritaten, then ruled alone for a few years following her husband's death, until both she and Meritaten disappear and Tutankhamen, now married to the last surviving daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, comes to the throne, a boy king who himself will not rule long.
Nothing in the DNA findings invalidates any of this. What it does invalidate is El-Mahdy's theory that when Nefertiti became co-rulet, taking a Great Wife of her own, Akhenaten chose as his new official consort a secondary wife known as Kiya (who El-Mahdy identifies with a Mittani princess originally intended to be a secondary wife of Amenhotep III, but who arrived in Egypt after the older king's death) who gave birth in the following year to Tutankamen.
We now know that Tutankhamen's parents were the two mummies known as KV55 and KV35YL, and that the most commonly advanced interpretation of the DNA results indicates that these two individuals were full brother and sister, both children of Amenhotep III and his wife Tiye. The age at death of KV55 has been debated, sone estimates place him as young as 20, some as old as 40. Amunhotep had two known sons, Thutmose, who died in late adolescence of unknown causes, and Akhenaten. Unless there was a third unmentioned son (perhaps the mysterious Smenkhare?), KV55 is Akhenaton, as Thutmose died long before Tutankhamen could have been conceived.
It should be noted that a minority interpretation of the DNA suggests that KV35YL could have been, not Akhenaten's sister, but Nefertiti, who is thought by some Egyptologists (including El-Mahdy) to have been Akhenaten's first cousin and the daughter of a bloodline that had provided three generations of wives to the 18th Dynasty kings - a situation which could statistically have produced a commonality of genetic material in the same range as a sibling relationship.
El-Mahdy, while proven wrong in some of her conclusions by the DNA evidence, provides some interesting insights and theories about many of the other mysteries of the late 18th Dynasty. Her writing is accessible to a general readership and she explains many of the complexities associated with the questions surrounding the Amarna period with clarity. The book itself is a fascinating look at the processes historians and archeologists must go through in sorting through often conflicting theories and inconclusive evidence in an attempt to discover "what really happened" in any eta.
Christine El-Mahdy, writing before the DNA testing, proposes interesting, plausible, and, at least in part, still viable answers to the first two questions, and as many other Egyptologists had done, goes astray on the third. Through careful analysis of inscriptions dating back to Akhenaten's grandparents, El-Mahdy proposes a timeline consisting of a series of co-regnancies and intermarriages between the royal family and another powerful family of hereditary court officials which challenges many of the commonly-held perceptions of the politics of the Amarna period. Her elegant solution to the questions dealing with Nefertiti and Smenkhare (one also proposed by other Egyptologists) is that they are, in fact, the same person. Nefertiti disappears from inscriptions as Smenkhare, the mysterious figure chosen as co-ruler by Akhenaten himself, appears, they share many titles and epithets, and Nefertiti was a powerful queen who already shared many of the Pharoah's royal duties. Why did this change in her status, from Great Wife Nefertiti to co-ruler Smenkhare, occur, and why at just that time? El-Madhy, through analysis of regnal numbers and other time-sensitive data, concludes that Akhenaten, who was personally unsuited to kingship, a dreamer and philosopher, never actually ruled alone; that he was co-ruler with his father Amenhotep III for the first 12 years of his reign, and then co-ruler with Nefertiti/Smenkhare for the remainder of his reign, until his death. Nefertiti, having taken as a ceremonial Great Wife her own daughter Meritaten, then ruled alone for a few years following her husband's death, until both she and Meritaten disappear and Tutankhamen, now married to the last surviving daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, comes to the throne, a boy king who himself will not rule long.
Nothing in the DNA findings invalidates any of this. What it does invalidate is El-Mahdy's theory that when Nefertiti became co-rulet, taking a Great Wife of her own, Akhenaten chose as his new official consort a secondary wife known as Kiya (who El-Mahdy identifies with a Mittani princess originally intended to be a secondary wife of Amenhotep III, but who arrived in Egypt after the older king's death) who gave birth in the following year to Tutankamen.
We now know that Tutankhamen's parents were the two mummies known as KV55 and KV35YL, and that the most commonly advanced interpretation of the DNA results indicates that these two individuals were full brother and sister, both children of Amenhotep III and his wife Tiye. The age at death of KV55 has been debated, sone estimates place him as young as 20, some as old as 40. Amunhotep had two known sons, Thutmose, who died in late adolescence of unknown causes, and Akhenaten. Unless there was a third unmentioned son (perhaps the mysterious Smenkhare?), KV55 is Akhenaton, as Thutmose died long before Tutankhamen could have been conceived.
It should be noted that a minority interpretation of the DNA suggests that KV35YL could have been, not Akhenaten's sister, but Nefertiti, who is thought by some Egyptologists (including El-Mahdy) to have been Akhenaten's first cousin and the daughter of a bloodline that had provided three generations of wives to the 18th Dynasty kings - a situation which could statistically have produced a commonality of genetic material in the same range as a sibling relationship.
El-Mahdy, while proven wrong in some of her conclusions by the DNA evidence, provides some interesting insights and theories about many of the other mysteries of the late 18th Dynasty. Her writing is accessible to a general readership and she explains many of the complexities associated with the questions surrounding the Amarna period with clarity. The book itself is a fascinating look at the processes historians and archeologists must go through in sorting through often conflicting theories and inconclusive evidence in an attempt to discover "what really happened" in any eta.
justabridge's review
4.0
Tackling the ever present mystery of Tutankamen, Christine El Mahdy seeks to resolve the questions surrounding the strange end of the 18th dynasty and its subsequent attempted removal from history. While heavy in archaeology and academic, Mahdy's arguments remain accessible and she communicates the concepts and difficulties of interpreting the story of the tombs well.
While her theories are very interesting and well constructed, it has to be pointed out that a lot of them, especially concerning Tutankamen's death and parentage, are now out of date in light of new findings. But if you bear that in mind going in, I would highly recommend giving this a read; if anything it's a comprehensive introduction to the debate and is a good place to start for those that want to look into the subject.
While her theories are very interesting and well constructed, it has to be pointed out that a lot of them, especially concerning Tutankamen's death and parentage, are now out of date in light of new findings. But if you bear that in mind going in, I would highly recommend giving this a read; if anything it's a comprehensive introduction to the debate and is a good place to start for those that want to look into the subject.
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