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Princess of
Amarna
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From the Author
I am a sculptor. I walk to stone and sit with it. Walk around it and touch it, stand back from it.. ..stare at it with my eyes until I see its spirit. Trapped in petrified form. Then I release its image. I have come to release spirit from stone.
mensa prima
I thank you for your visit and interest. The Princess/Queen Ankhesenpaaten/Ankhesenamun has always been special to me, and I cherish the path we have travelled. This website is my attempt to make available as much information on her life and destiny as is possible. Inherent in this effort are numerous pitfalls. Whenever one is investigating a figure whose historicity dates to antiquity, various interpretations can and do occur. The study of any ancient personality is a myriad challenge, for it is usually a body with indistinct outline and various appendages that are not always precisely defined or completely understood. For the record, I do not possess any degrees associated with the discipline of Egyptology and therefore I beg your indulgence for any errors in the presentation, either real or imagined. The opinions, theories, and conclusions reached here are my own; although they are shared by many others familiar with the Amarna Period. What is history? Is history what happened in the past, or is it what we think happened in the past? This is a complex question; for while we can know something of the past, we cannot know everything about it. If history is defined only by our perception of past events, then there is no history of the past without our interpretation of that past. If history is strictly the past itself, then those events occurred whether we perceive and interpret them or not and have no bearing on present circumstances. So then, what is the correct definition of history? History is the combined product of past events and the discovery and description of past events. In essence, history exists both inside and outside the minds of historians. There are two methods to arrive at a current perception and description of history. The first is by direct material evidence which by nature must be both obvious and unambiguous. The second method is by what is called a "convergence of evidence". This is inferential evidence, and requires a consilience of inductions. Historians must have more than one induction, more than just a single generalization drawn from specific paths to arrive at a valid perception. They must have multiple inductions that converge upon one another, independently, but in conjunction. When these inductions "jump together", it strengthens the validity of historical description and perception. In this condensed biography of Ankhesenamun, I have presented numerous lines of induction that exhibit a convergence of inferred evidence which leads to the conclusions arrived at by this author. The inferential and substantiative evidences of mayhem in the closing stages of the Amarna Period, considered in toto, lead me unalterably to the description and perception of ancient history as presented in these pages. The primal motivations behind this labor of love are subjective personal perceptions and an objective present-day reality. What began as a grand dream many years ago is now finally becoming a present day reality. This has been a slow and careful process, for I strive to present the information as accurately and sensibly as possible. I have attempted to accomplish this with a mix of historical fact and historical fiction (the text in italics), and I hope this blend has been successful. On writing, one of my dreams is to be able to write beautiful sentence following beautiful sentence, like fashion models coasting down a lighted Paris causeway. Hopefully, I'm getting better at it. On the technical side, this site was conceived and created with a purposeful eye towards cohesive minimalism. I believe topical content should always be the paramount presentation, therefore graphics have been kept to the aesthetic essential. This I envision as a long-term project which will continue to expand as new information is periodically added. I have also been blessed to have founded an organization called SIMba Events , which is in its early infancy. Its charter is to raise funding for the restoration and preservation of ancient artifacts in modern Egypt, and I sincerely thank all who donate their time and talents for this golden cause. I also thank the generous corporate sponsors who donate per visitor to this website.
Up to this moment, this personal author's note has been a credible pro-forma genuflection; but at this time I wish to speak plainly and deliberately to all who have a care to read on. The civilization of ancient Egypt is well renowned for its various accomplishments and unmatched longevity. However, it is usually conceived by the great preponderance of casual admirers as to have been a society obsessed with death, and thus stigmatized as a morbid culture. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. The ancient Egyptians were obsessed not with death, but with life. Eternal life. It is obvious to all that the great majority of surviving remnants of this misunderstood civilization... is dedicated to funerary texts, ritual objects, burial artifacts, and the necropolis tombs themselves. However, this overwhelming extant evidence must also be considered in the proper cultural context. It was believed by this innovative and intuitive people that this life was merely a temporal state, and so they invested little in the art of salvaging mere temporal momentos for posterity. Their homes, public places, and even the royal palaces were constructed of simple earthen mudbrick, which they realistically understood would never survive the ravages of time. Their preparations for eternal life were however, a distinctly different matter. No other civilization has ever invested more thought, time, effort, money, and resources to ensure and secure their place in the afterlife. Nothing was spared in this endeavor, and no shortcuts were taken in their approach to eternal bliss. This denominator is as obvious in a common tomb as it is in the monumental resting place of king and queen. It convincingly convey's the fact that they conceived of this life as a great opportunity to prepare their spirit for the journey everlasting. Indeed, most of the artifacts that remain with us today exist as mute but binding testament to their belief that what is intended for eternity should last for eternity. The ancient Egyptians loved this life to such an extent, that their conception of the afterlife was as a neverending extension of this temporal one. In their tombs they tell us who they are and their mortal accomplishments. They beautifully decorated their tomb walls with colorful artworks depicting loved ones, favorite activities, and treasured moments in life. They also included for passage the cherished personal possessions they dearly wished to enjoy for all eternity. In the strictest sense, they truly believed the ancient adage "Ye Shall Reap What Ye Sow" to be their destined eternity; for their afterlife would be endless days of all the best this life could offer. I can think of no other theology as simplistic, and yet as exquisite as this. The ancient Egyptians were never obsessed with death, but with eternal happiness. We would all do well... to as honestly accept our own mortality, and strive privately and collectively to emulate this beautiful and ancient dedication to the perpetual soul.
On a deeply personal note... I strongly believe that each one of us, from king on high to vagabond on low has been here before. Life, after life, after life. This continual rebirth is very apparent to some of us, and marked with vivid remembrance. Ancient Egypt has been with me always, always I have been with it, and I pray it will always remain thus. This website is a personal affirmation of love to this forever embrace. In closing, I thank you again and hope that you become a frequent visitor. My intention and wish is that all of you enjoy your visit and are blessed to learn, or perhaps remember something along the way. Lastly, may the Netjer smile upon your eternal ka, and may your circle of life always be outlined in symmetry and symphony. Hetep hama Meren (Peace and Love), Standing In Motion / AnkhKaAnkhesenamun ("who causes the ka of Ankhesenamun to live")
mensa secunda
Egyptology, the pursuit and study of ancient Egypt, is a relatively young academic discipline. Even so, the amount and character of artifacts and information unearthed and interpreted by Egyptologists in such a short span of time, stuns the mind and staggers the imagination. With unmatched brilliance, these men and women pioneers have commingled applied logic with a personal love, and have returned to mankind the lost gifts bestowed upon us all by this ancient and creative civilization. Paradoxically, these scholars who unravel the mysteries of time are also subject to its capricious whims. The time allotted to the current Egyptologists of the baby-boom generation is finite, and sadly coming to an end. In their stead, must now come a new generation of brilliance, one coupled and blessed with the remarkable tools of modern technological wizardry. In this light, I direct an appeal to all of you born in the closing decades of the last millenium; for it is to you that the torch will now pass. Egyptology is a unique challenge that binds academic intelligence and the power of deduction... with personal passion and love. It is not for everyone, and far too few answer its lovely whispered song. However, if you are one of the fortunate young who love this particular melody, I personally urge you to consider adding your passionate voice to this beautiful ancient composition. Please begin this quest at the earliest possible moment, for tomorrow comes all too soon.
As
you are no doubt aware of by now, I am an amateur student of dynastic Egyptian
history with a deep interest in Ankhesenpaaten/Ankhesenamun and the Amarna
Period. In addition, I am also genuinely interested in the phenomena of
reincarnation belief /dream regression to this ancient time and place. Without
doubt, the Amarna Period is the crown jewel of modern Egyptology. Beyond
that, it is also recognized by many in a metaphysical sense as a period of
unique mysticism... an entity that has spiritually and inexplicably regenerated
itself throughout the ages. To this end, many people experience an unexplained
attraction to Amarna and feel compelled to explore their kindred connection
to it. I welcome all factual Ankhesenamun historical information, additional
Amarna resource references, topical personal insights, site improvement
suggestions, Amarna past life remembrances, and viable Amarna web links.
"Reflections of passion are best viewed within the heart"
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