Tiye c. 1390–1352 BC

Queen, wife of Amenhotep III

Born outside the royal family, Tiye became Amenhotep III's Great Royal Wife and was named beside him on monuments and in letters from foreign kings. She was Akhenaten's mother and Tutankhamun's grandmother; a small ebony head of her in Berlin shows a stern, clever face.

Name: Tiye

tiy

Sign by sign

Bread loaf X1t The sound t; also the feminine ending.
Flowering reed M17i The sound i.
Flowering reed M17i The sound i.

Now draw this cartouche yourself

Names of gods (Ra, Amun, Ptah) are written first out of respect, even when they are read later. Dates are approximate; we follow Ian Shaw (ed.), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000).