Khamudi reigned from c. 1550 b. c.e. until his death. He is listed in the TURIN canon and was called Asseth by MANETHO, the Ptolemaic Period (304-30 b. c.e.) historian. In other lists he is named A’azekhre. Khamudi’s obelisk was discovered at the abandoned capital of avaris in the eastern Delta. He had the misfortune of ascending to power when ’ahmose (r. 1550-1525 b. c.e.) became the founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty at thebes. There was a period of comparative calm for the first decade of ’Ahmose’s reign, but upon reaching majority he renewed Thebes’s assault on the Hyksos, ultimately ousting them from power and forcing them to flee from Egypt.
Kharga Oasis A miniature jewel in the Libyan desert, called uakt-rest, the outer or southern oasis, Kharga was also part of “the oases route.” Located some 77 miles southwest of ASSIUT, Kharga contains temples and towns, including hibis. A temple to amun was established there in the reign of darius i (521-486 b. c.e.) and refurbished in later periods. This temple had an elaborate sacred lake and an avenue of sphinxes. other temples were built in honor of ISIS, mut, khons (2), and serapis. Kharga, the largest of the oases, was a vital trade outpost. With the other oases it served as an agricultural resource, a haven for fugitives, and in some historical periods, a place of exile for individuals banned by the pharaoh.
See also oases.
Kha’sekhemwy (Kheneres) (fl. c. 2640 b. c.e.) Final ruler of the Second Dynasty, the actual unifier of Egypt He reigned c. 2640 and was called Kheneres by manetho, the Ptolemaic historian. Kha’sekhemwy is credited with the actual completion of Egypt’s unification, changing his name from Kha’sekhem to Kha’sekhemwy as a result. His name after the unification meant “the Two Kingdoms Are at Peace in Him.”
The task was not an easy one, and his three-decade rule was turbulent. He might not have been the direct successor to peribsen. The names of the pharaohs Sendji, Neterka, and Neferkara appear as interlopers in some king lists, or they may have been the rebels subdued by Kha’sekhemwy. He is recorded as campaigning in den-DEREH, Minya, elkab, the faiyum, and in some northern regions that rebelled against his rule. The bases of his statuary announced that 47,209 rebels died in battle.
Another stone vase records: “Year of Fighting the Northern Enemy.”
Kha’sekhemwy’s consort was nima’athap (Hapnima’at or Nema’athop), and she was designated as “King Bearer,” being the mother probably of nebka and djoser. His mortuary complex at abydos is called shunet el-zabib, “the Storehouse of Dates.” A rectangular mud-brick structure surrounded by thick walls, the tomb was decorated with paneled walls. His second tomb in hierakonpolis was actually a fortress that was abandoned. The Abydos site has a central corridor opening onto 33 magazines on either side of a burial chamber of limestone. Vast quantities of tools, vessels, beads, sealings, and gold were discovered there. A scepter of gold and sard was also found there.
Khatru See ichneumon.
Khay An Egyptian term meaning “to shine forth,” khay was used to describe the appearance of the pharaoh, the god-king, at temple ceremonies and state affairs. The word was also used to depict the sun at the dawn of creation and was associated with the concepts of horizons and the use of the royal “window of appearances.”
Khedebneitheret (fl. sixth century b. c.e.) Royal woman of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty
The consort of amasis (r. 570-526 b. c.e.), she was possibly a daughter of apries, who was overthrown by Amasis. Khedebneitheret was buried in saqqara. She was not the ranking queen of Amasis.
Khemet See Egypt.
Khemsit (Khemsait, Kemsiyet) (fl. 21st century B. C.E.) Royal companion of the Eleventh Dynasty She was a member of the harem of montuhotep ii (r. 2061-2010 B. C.E.) of the Eleventh Dynasty Khemsit was buried in the king’s vast mortuary complex in deir el-BAHRI on the western shore of thebes. Her sarcophagus designated her as yet another “Sole Favorite of the King.”
Khendjer (Userkare) (fl. c. 1740 b. c.e.) Thirteenth Dynasty ruler
An obscure ruler of this relatively undocumented dynasty, he came to power c. 1740 b. c.e. Khendjer is listed in the TURIN CANON. He is famed for adorning the tomb of djer, the second pharaoh of the First Dynasty, at abydos. Djer’s tomb was thought to be the actual grave of the god OSIRIS. Khendjer’s act of piety in providing the tomb with an OSIRIS BED, a votive memorial, was recorded in his records. He also commissioned the cleaning and refurbishing of the temple of Osiris at Abydos. Ruling only about four years, Khendjer built his tomb in southern
SAQQARA. The pyramidal complex, made of a mud-brick core with a limestone facing, was graced with quartzite portcullises and corridors that led to a burial chamber, also made of black quartzite. The mortuary chapel of the tomb had palm columns. The limestone facing used on the complex structures of Khendjer was later removed by RAMESSES II (r. 1290-1224 b. c.e.) for his own monuments. There is evidence of robbery on the site, but Khendjer does not appear to have used the pyramid. His name was erased in some areas of the complex.
Khenemsu (Khentikhety-hotep) (fl. 19th century B. C.E.) Official and mining leader of the Twelfth Dynasty He served senwosret iii (r. 1878-1841 b. c.e.) as the royal treasurer and the leader of the various mining expeditions conducted in that era. The utilization of Egypt’s natural resources was a vital aspect of senwosret iii’s reign. Khen-emsu was in charge of the sinai territory and had to defend Egypt’s holdings from bedouin (bedwi) raids while mining copper and malachite. While inspecting the wadi MAGHARA, Khenemsu was accompanied on his tours by Ameniseneb, Sitra, and Sebeko, also officials. A stela erected by a subordinate, Harnakht, confirms the expedition and the unusual manner of travel, by boat. Khenemsu is also listed as Khentikhety-hotep in some records.
See also Egyptian natural resources.
Khensuhotep (fl. c. 14th century b. c.e.) Author of the Maxims
The Maxims were a religious literary text of the Eighteenth Dynasty (1550-1307 b. c.e.). Khensuhotep addressed his fellow Egyptians and urged them to remember that the gods honored silent prayer and decreed right behavior (ma’at) in all creatures. The Maxims were popular throughout the Nile Valley
Khentakawes (1) (fl. 25th century b. c.e.) Royal woman of the Fourth and Fifth Dynasties She was the daughter of Prince djedefhor’, or Menkaure, heirs to the throne of khufu (Cheops). Khentakawes married SHEPSESKHAF (r. 2472-2467 b. c.e.) and became the mother of sahure and kakai (Neferirkare). She also may have been the mother of djedefptah (Thamptis), who is listed in the TURIN canon and mentioned by manetho, the ptolemaic historian, as ruling Egypt for two years. Her daughter was khama’at, who married ptahshepses (1), the high priest of Memphis. Khentakawes was honored with two tombs—one at giza and one at abusir. Her tomb at Giza shows her with a royal beard and a uraeus. She was possibly regent when shepseskhaf died.
Khentakawes (2) (fl. 25th century b. c.e.) Royal woman of the Fifth Dynasty
She was the consort of kakai (Neferirkare) (r. 24462426 B. C.E.) and the mother of neferefre and niuserre.
Khentakawes was depicted as wearing the pharaonic symbol of the uraeus and carrying a scepter, perhaps serving as regent for a time.
Khentemsemti (fl. 19th century b. c.e.) Mining and royal treasury official of the Twelfth Dynasty He served amenemhet ii (r. 1929-1892 b. c.e.) as a royal treasurer and a leader of expeditions to mines and quarries. Khentemsemti left an inscription about one such expedition on elephantine Island at ASWAN.
Khentetka (fl. 26th century b. c.e.) Royal woman of the Fourth Dynasty
She was a secondary queen of ra’djedef (r. 2528-2520 b. c.e.). a statue of Khentetka was recovered from the unfinished pyramid of Ra’djedef in ABU rowash. Her remains have not been found, but a newly discovered pyramid on the site may be her tomb.
Kheper (Khepri, Khepere) He was a divine being of Egypt. A creator deity, Kheper was associated with the daily cycle of the sun and symbolized the sun at dawn. Having a cult center at Heliopolis, Kheper was a manifestation of the god RE. He is depicted as a man with a SCARAB pushing the sun across the sky In PETOSiRis’s tomb at TUNA el-gebel, dating to the Ptolemaic Period (304-30 b. c.e.), Kheper is shown wearing an Atef CROWN. He was also mentioned in the pyramid texts. Self-created, Kheper was associated with atum.
See also gods and goddesses; solar cults.
Khepesh (khopresh) The sickle-shaped sword used by the Egyptians in military campaigns in the New Kingdom (1550-1070 b. c.e.), the weapon was hyksos in origin, introduced by the Asiatic invaders.
Khephresh See crowns.
Khentiamentiu He was a divine being of Egypt, the forerunner of the god osiris, dating to Predynastic Periods (before 3,000 b. c.e.). Called “the Foremost of the Westerners,” he was depicted as a jackal. The title indicates that Khentiamentiu was associated with the mortuary RITUALS as a guardian of the dead, who went to “the West.” Normally the necropolis areas were located on the western shore of the Nile. sometimes addressed as Ophis, Khentiamentiu was a warrior deity and the navigator for the sun’s nightly voyage in the tuat, or Underworld. His cultic shrines were in abydos and assiut, and he was sometimes associated with wep-wawet, the wolf deity. His cult was popular in the First Dynasty (2920-2770 b. c.e.). The pyramid texts of the Fourth Dynasty (2575-2465 b. c.e.) associated Khentiamentiu with Osiris. Soon after, Osiris became “the Foremost of the Westerners,” and the Khentiamentiu cult disappeared.
World History
