Bintanath

Bintanath (or Bentanath) was the firstborn daughter and later Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses II.

Family

Bintanath was likely born during the reign of her grandfather Seti I. Her mother was Isetnofret, one of the two most prominent wives of Ramesses II. It is interesting to note that her name is Semitic, meaning Daughter of Anath, referring to the Canaanite goddess Anath. She had at least three brothers Ramesses, Khaemwaset and Merneptah and a sister who was named Isetnofret after their mother.

Bintanath had a daughter who appears on the paintings in her tomb in the Valley of the Queens. She is unnamed there but according to Joyce Tyldesley it is possible that her name was also Bintanath and she married the next pharaoh, Merneptah. According to Tyldesley, a statue of Merneptah in Luxor mentions "the Great Royal Wife Bintanath", who is, possibly, this daughter, since it is unlikely that the older Bintanath married Merneptah when both of them were well over sixty. However, it is entirely possible that Bintanath never married Merenptah and used the "Great Royal Wife" title only because she was entitled to it due to her first marriage.