Uraeus The insignia of the rulers of ancient Egypt, worn on crowns and headdresses to denote rank, the uraeus was composed of symbols of the cobra and the VULTURE, sometimes the cobra alone. The reptile represented WADJET, the protectoress of Lower Egypt and the vulture was nekhebet, the vulture goddess who served Upper Egypt. Wadjet was always shown with its hood extended, threatening the enemies of Egypt as the serpent threatened the foes of the god re. The cobra was sometimes depicted in the cults of the deities horus and OSIRIS.
Ur-heka It was the instrument traditionally used in mortuary RITUALS by the attending priest during the ceremony of the Opening of the Mouth, the ceremony restoring the human senses of the deceased in the eternal realms, and in other cultic rites. This instrument ensured that the deceased would have control of his or her vital senses beyond the grave. amulets and other funerary pieces included spells that safeguarded the integrity of the human form while undergoing the transformations of death.
Ur-hiya (fl. 13th century b. c.e.) Military official of the Nineteenth Dynasty
He served seti i (r. 1306-1290 b. c.e.) as a military commander. Ur-hiya was apparently a Canaanite or Hurrian who had risen through the ranks of the army, probably coming to Seti I’s attention before he took the throne. The presence of aliens in Egypt’s military forces was unique to the New Kingdom Period (1550-1070 b. c.e.), although mercenary units were used in some campaigns in the earliest dynasties. Each foreigner on the Nile was given the opportunity to serve his adopted land by performing military or state duties to prove his worth. Such aliens were not treated as mercenaries but considered as citizens of the Nile.
Uronarti It was a site near the second cataract of the Nile in nubia (modern Sudan), where senwosret iii (1878-1841 B. C.E.) erected a fortress to control traffic on the river. Uronarti fortress, large, fortified, and garrisoned, was built on an island south of the strategic stronghold of semna. Triangular in design, Uronarti also served amenhotep i (r. 1525-1504 b. c.e.) during the New Kingdom Period conquest of Nubia.
Userhet (1) (fl. 15th century b. c.e.) Official of the Eighteenth Dynasty
He served amenhotep ii (r. 1427-1401 b. c.e.) as a royal SCRIBE. Userhet also carried the rank of a “Child of the Nursery,” belonging to the “kap” The Kap was a term used to indicate that Userhet was raised and educated with the royal children in the palace. Userhet’s tomb at KHOKHA on the western shore of the Nile at Thebes has scenes of everyday life. A stela and a statue of Userhet were found in the tomb.
Userhet (2) (fl. 14th century b. c.e.) Official of the Eighteenth Dynasty
Userhet served amenhotep iii (r. 1391-1353 b. c.e.) as a royal scribe and as a tutor for akhenaten, the heir to the throne. He was buried on the western shore of Thebes, in a small cruciform tomb that carried descriptions of his honors and years of dedicated service to the throne.
Userhet (3) (fl. 13th century b. c.e.) Temple official of the Nineteenth Dynasty
Userhet served as a high priest of the cult of tuthmosis i during the reign of ramesses ii (1290-1224 b. c.e.). The cult of Tuthmosis i remained popular following his death in 1492 B. C.E. Userhet was one of the many priests who maintained the mortuary rituals and schedules of offerings in the resting place of this great military pharaoh.
The tomb of Userhet at khokha, on the western shore of Thebes, contains scenes of the endless tributes paid daily to the memory of Tuthmosis i. other scenes depict Userhet and his family in their own mortuary ceremonies and in eternal paradises in the tuat, or Underworld.
Userhet-amun This was the name of the Egyptian bark presented to karnak by ’ahmose (r. 1550-1525 B. C.E.) to celebrate Egypt’s expulsion of the hyksos and their allies, and the unification of the Two Kingdoms. The bark was called “Mighty of Brow Is amun.” Such barks of the gods of Egypt were sometimes large enough to be used as true vessels on water. others were designed to be carried in street processions as miniature representations. The bark presented to Karnak by ’Ahmose started the custom among the pharaohs of commemorating events or favors with such demonstrations of piety and fervor.
Userkare (fl. 24th century b. c.e.) Obscure ruler of the Sixth Dynasty
He was the successor to teti (r. 2323-2291 b. c.e.). Userkare’s name was translated as “the ka of Re is Powerful.” He was listed in the TURIN canon and at abydos. possibly a usurper, he ruled only three years. it is conceivable that he was a nominal ruler, overseeing Queen Iput’s regency for the true heir, pepi i. He started a tomb in an area south of assiut, and this construction is documented. His name was also discovered at qaw el-kebir.
Userkhaf (d. 2458 b. c.e.) Founder of the Fifth Dynasty He reigned from 2465 b. c.e. until his death. Userkhaf was probably the son of Princess neferhetepes (1), the daughter of ra’djedef (r. 2528-2520 b. c.e.) and possibly het-EPHERES (2). The WESTCAR PAPYRUS foretold his coming, associating him with the legends of Princess khentakawes. His father may have been Sa’khebu, a priest of re. He reigned a comparatively short time but he was a vigorous monarch, stressing the traditions of ma’at. His throne name, Iry-ma’at, meant “He who puts ma’at into practice.” Userkhaf is listed in the TURIN canon and at abydos.
Userkhaf enlarged a temple of montu at Tod, south of Thebes. He also started trade with the city-state in the Aegean. He married Khentakawes, a daughter of men-kaure, and she was reportedly the mother of sahure, Userkhaf’s heir.
His MORTUARY TEMPLE was erected in the northeast corner of the step pyramid in saqqara and was called “Pure are the places of Userkhaf.” Built of limestone and faced with Tureh stone, the tomb pyramid had a mortuary TEMPLE on the southern side. Temple reliefs depict birds, and a pink granite head of Userkhaf was uncovered in the courtyard. The site was surrounded by a wall and had a paved causeway and a portico with red granite columns. A queen’s pyramid and a subsidiary pyramid were erected on the western side of the mortuary temple.
Userkhaf also built a solar temple at ABU ghurob, made of mud brick and faced with limestone. A wall encloses this monument, and an obelisk with a BENBEN was fashioned on a podium as part of the design. The shrine contained a sun altar and a causeway to the valley TEMPLE. Another head of Userkhaf, made of schist, was discovered here. In the southern section, a bark of re was fashioned out of bricks.
Ushabtis See shabtis.
Ushanahuru (fl. seventh century b. c.e.) Prince of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty
He was the son of taharqa (r. 690-664 b. c.e.) and Queen amun-dyek’het and was at MEMPHIS with the queen when the ASSYRIANS, led by essarhaddon, entered the capital. Taharqa fled south to nubia, abandoning his queen and heir. Both Amun-dyek’het and Ushanahuru were taken to nineveh and made slaves. They were never seen again in Egypt.
Valley Festival It was a unique celebration held annually on the western shore of thebes, and also called “the Beautiful Feast of the Valley.” The celebration had its origin in the Middle Kingdom Period (2040-1640 b. c.e.) rituals, probably beginning as a festival honoring the goddess HATHOR. It was normally held in the second month of shomu, the time of harvest on the Nile, corresponding to the modern month of May or June.
The sacred barks of amun, mut, and khons (1), the Theban triad, were taken across the Nile to the necropolis area during the celebration, docking at deir el-bahri. The living Egyptians visited the tombs of their dead, and priests blessed the gravesites. Processions, music, flowers, and incense marked the spirit of the festival. Families spent the night beside the tombs of their ancestors, serenaded while they held picnics and entertained by wandering bands of temple musicians and chanters.
Valley of the Gilded Mummies This is a Greco-Roman (304 B. C.E.-336 c. e.) necropolis at baharia oasis, containing 100 identified burial sites. Several thousand mummies appear to have been buried on the site. The remains being recovered in the graves of the valley have elaborately gilded cartonnage masks and most were buried in groups. Some were covered in gold entirely, while other mummies had painted scenes and designs on their plain cartonnage. still others were buried in ceramic anthropoid coffins.
Tombs containing the remains have entrance chambers and separate burial compartments. The entrance chambers were also used as sites for mortuary rituals. some burial rooms have niches and shafts. These tombs are located near the Temple of Alexander iii the great (r. 332-323 b. c.e.) at Baharia. The necropolis was in use until the fourth century c. E.
Valley of the Kings It is called Biban el-Muluk in Arabic, the most intriguing burial site in the world, dating to the New Kingdom Period (1550-1070 b. c.e.) of Egypt. The Valley of the Kings is located on the western shore of thebes. The area is a dried river valley that is dominated by a high peak, naturally shaped as a pyramid, and contains the tombs of the most celebrated pharaohs of Egypt.
The Eighteenth Dynasty (1550-1307 b. c.e.), founded after ’ahmose (r. 1550-1525 b. c.e.) ousted the hyksos, or Asiatics, from the Delta, began to fashion elaborate mortuary complexes on the western shore of Thebes. ’Ahmose’s heir, amenhotep i (r. 1525-1504 b. c.e.), seeing the extent of robberies and vandalism of royal resting places, separated his burial site from his mortuary temple in order to protect his remains. His successor, tuth-MOSIS I (r. 1504-1492 b. c.e.), following Amenhotep I’s example, was the first ruler to have his royal tomb carved out of the expanse of the Valley of the Kings.
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