Merneptah

Merneptah (or Merenptah) was the fourth ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. He ruled Egypt for almost ten years between late July or early August 1213 and May 2, 1203 BC, according to contemporary historical records. He was the thirteenth son of Ramesses II and only came to power because all his older brothers, including his full brother Khaemwaset or Khaemwase, had died. By the time he ascended to the throne he was almost sixty years old. His throne name was Ba-en-re Mery-netjeru, which means "The Soul of Ra, Beloved of the Gods".

Merneptah was probably the fourth child of Isetnofret, the second wife of Ramesses II, and he was married to Queen Isetnofret, his royal wife, who was likely his full sister bearing the name of their mother. It is presumed that Merneptah also was married to Queen Takhat and one of their sons would become the later Nineteenth Dynasty pharaoh, Seti II. They also were the parents of prince Merenptah and possibly the usurper, Amenmesse, and Queen Twosret, wife of Seti II and later pharaoh in her own right.

Merenptah (prince)

Merenptah was an ancient Egyptian prince during the 19th dynasty, likely to have been a son of Pharaoh Merenptah.

He is known from two statues of Senusret I usurped by Pharaoh Merenptah − found in Tanis and Alexandria, respectively − and from three statue fragments from Bubastis. Since he shares a name with Pharaoh Merenptah, also, his name is similar to that of the crown prince and eventual successor, Seti Merenptah, and he wears an uraeus usually worn by pharaohs only, it is a possibility that he is in fact the same as either of these two, but Prince Merenptah's titles slightly differ from those of the pharaoh and the crown prince, also, the Senusret statues were usurped by Merenptah when he was already a pharaoh. Also, Seti Merenptah used both his names as a prince and as a pharaoh. It is possible that Merenptah's use of a uraeus stems from the power struggle between Pharaoh Merenptah's heirs following his death.

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