Horemheb c. 1323–1295 BC
Commander of the army under Tutankhamun and Ay, then the last king of the 18th Dynasty. He put his own name over Tutankhamun's on many monuments, among them the Opet reliefs at Luxor Temple. His royal tomb is KV57 in the Valley of the Kings.
Throne name: Djeserkheperure Setepenre
ḏsr-ḫprw-rꜥ stp-n-rꜥ: “Holy are the forms of Ra, chosen of Ra”
Sign by sign
- Sun N5rꜥ The sun, the sun god Ra. Day.
- Arm with a wand D45ḏsr Holy, sacred, splendid.
- Scarab beetle L1ḫpr To become, to come into being.
- Plural strokes Z2 Marks a plural.
- Adze U21stp To choose (as in 'chosen of Ra').
- Ripple of water N35n The sound n. Also means 'of, to'.
Birth name: Horemheb Meryamun
ḥr-m-ḥb mry-imn: “Horus is in festival, beloved of Amun”
Sign by sign
- Flowering reed M17i The sound i.
- Game board Y5mn To remain, to endure (as in Amun).
- Ripple of water N35n The sound n. Also means 'of, to'.
- Hoe (variant) U6mr To love, as in mry-Jmn 'beloved of Amun'.
- Falcon G5ḥr The god Horus.
- Uncertain object Aa15jm The sound jm. Also m.
- Alabaster basin W3ḥb Festival.
Where to see Horemheb's name today
Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple shows how one temple collected the names of its builders: Amenhotep III's cartouches in the sun court, Tutankhamun's festival reliefs, Ramesses II's pylon and obelisk, and Alexander the Great written as a pharaoh.
MuseumISAC Museum, University of Chicago
The colossal statue in ISAC's Egyptian gallery shows Tutankhamun, but the names carved on it are Horemheb's, cut over those of Ay, who had taken it first. Around it the Grimshaw Egyptian Gallery holds coffins, stelae and papyri, among them the painted coffin of Meresamun, a singer in the temple of Amun.
MuseumRijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden
Leiden's National Museum of Antiquities has one of Europe's great Egyptian collections: reliefs from the Saqqara tomb of the general Horemheb, the Old Kingdom offering chapel of Hetepherakhty, and the tomb statues of the treasurer Maya and his wife Merit. The Temple of Taffeh stands in the central hall.
Read more about Horemheb
- Horemheb in hieroglyphs: the general who wrote his name over others Horemheb's name in hieroglyphics, read sign by sign: "Horus is in festival", the general who became king and carved his cartouche over Tutankhamun's.
- Pharaohs of Egypt in order: the best-known kings, dynasty by dynasty Pharaohs of Egypt in order: the best-known kings from Narmer to Cleopatra VII, period by period, with dates and what each one is remembered for.
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).