Horemakhet1, count and prince, god's father, beloved of the god, prophet of Ptah, sDm, wr hAw, nDm stj, xa-rA, prophet of the gods Euergetai, Philopatores and Epiphaneis, prophet of Ptah and of the goddess Philadelphos of every fifth phyle of the gods Euergetai, master of the secrets of the temple of Ptah, master of the secrets of Rosetau, prophet of the window of appearance, prophet of Horus of the window of appearance and of the gods of the window of appearance, phylarch for 15 days of each fifth phyle in the temple of Memphis as well as the temple of Arsinoe Philadelphus, which is at Memphis, serving for 15 days in each first phyle, Chief of Artificers (High Priest of Memphis)2, son of Anemhor II3 by Herankh4, born in or after 2665, probably became a priest between 246 and 2386, probably suceeded to the pontificate 23 Mecheir year 24 of Ptolemy III = 8 April 2237, married to Nefertiti8, by whom he had Nesisti9, Nefertiti10, and probably Psherenptah I11, probably identical to Horemakhet HPM married to Nebetudjai12, by whom he had Tareru13, died between 194/3 and 18014.
[1] PP III 5358. Gr: Harmachis. Horemakhet is his "beautiful name" but is the only one used on the several documents that name him: stelae BM 391, Vienna 155 and Saqqara, statues Alexandria 17533 and 17534 and coffin AMT 3. E. A. E. Reymond, From the Records of a Priestly Family of Memphis 92, identifies stele Vienna 155 as "Vienna 125"; J. D. Ray, JEA 66 (1980) 170, makes a passing reference to "Vienna 52". On the extraordinary proposal of E. A. E. Reymond, Or 46 (1977) 1, 9 that Horemakhet HPM was also the rebel king Horwennefer see discussion under Horwennefer. Ý
[2] PP IX 5358. Although each of these titles may be found in stelae Vienna 155 and BM 391 and coffin AMT 3, as translated by E. A. E. Reymond, From the Records of a Priestly Family of Memphis 94-102, AMT 3 as translated by J. Quaegebeur, JNES 30 (1971) 239, 249f., and statues Alexandria 17533 and 17534 as translated by J. Quaegebeur in D. J. Crawford et al., Studies on Ptolemaic Memphis 55f., this exact sequence does not seem to appear in any of these sources. Ý
[3] Stelae BM 391, Vienna 155; coffin AMT 3. The demotic subscription to BM 391, now lost, was published by J. D. Ray, JEA 66 (1980) 170 for a copy made in the early 19th century. It additionally names his grandfather as the HPM Nesisti, i.e. Nesisti-Pedubast, as does the demotic subscription to Vienna 155. His name was presumably once present in stele Vienna 82 as the son of Anemhor II and father of Psherenptah I, but is now lost. Ý
[4] Stelae BM 391, Vienna 155; coffin AMT 3. Ý
[5] I.e. that he was younger than Djedhor, his predecessor as HPM. Ý
[6] J. Quaegebeur, JNES 30 (1971) 239, 250, points out that the fifth phyle was established in the Canopus Decree (OGIS 56) in 238 by recruiting all priests inducted since the accession of Ptolemy III, and that phyle membership was ordinarily hereditary. Hence he proposes that Horemakhet, as a member of the phyle, must have become a member at this time. Ý
[7] I.e. on the death of his brother Djedhor. Ý
[8] Stelae BM 391, Saqqara (G. Daressy, RT 14 (1893) 184 LXXXII).Ý
[9] Stele BM 391. Ý
[10] Stele Saqqara -- G. Daressy, RT 14 (1893) 184 LXXXII. Ý
[11] Statues Alexandria 17533 and 17534. For maternity see discussion under Psherenptah I. Ý
[12] Stele IM 77. The identity of Horemakhet HPM named as her husband with this Horemakhet HPM is unproved. However, her husband lived three generations before Padiptah, who lived in the 120s, hence lived probably in the 190s or 180s. Also, the fathers of the two Horemakhets have the same name, Anemhor. In addition to the provisional translation of stele IM 77 provided here, see the preliminary announcement in D. Devauchelle, EVO 17 (1994) 95, 98.
That being said, the possibility of a second Horemakhet HPM cannot be ruled out. Since we have no chronological data for the HPMs between Nesisti and Psherenptah II, the completeness of the sequence of HPMs is not certain, and it is possible that a second Horemakhet may lie in this interval. Ý
[14] Since he was a priest of the gods Epiphaneis he died after the marriage of Ptolemy V to Cleopatra I in 194/3 -- see J. Quaegebeur, JNES 30 (1971) 239, 250. Since he was not a priest of the god Philometor he almost certainly died before the accession of Ptolemy VI in 180 -- see E. A. E. Reymond, Or 46 (1977) 1, 9. Ý
Update Notes:
23 March 2002: Created pagec
20 May 2002: Corrected Egyptian date equations as necessary
31 Dec 2002: Updated to reflect Devauchelle's
preliminary translation of IM 77.
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