THE PHARAOH Tawosret

The double cartouches of Queen Tawosret, from her mortuary temple at Thebes. In the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.

Her story might be one of ambition and regicide, or one of a woman manipulated by an evil puppetmaster – or it might be both! Travel with us back in time 3000 years, where our guest, renowned Egyptologist Kara Cooney, introduces us to that most enigmatic (and overlooked) New Kingdom pharaoh, Tawosret.

A complete transcript of this episode is available here.

The tomb of Tawosret/Twosret and Sethnakht — The tomb of Tawosret and Sethnakht showing descending corridor
public domain

Foundation plaques of Queen Tawosret (Twosret) — Foundation plaque bearing the double cartouches of Queen Twosret.
Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London

A gold necklace belonging to Tawosret the female pharaoh — Necklace in Gold Filagree of Pharaoh Tawosret
image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Relief of Horus and Geb from Tawosret's tomb KV14 — Relief of Horus and Geb from Tawosret’s tomb (later taken over by Sethnakht
public domain

A statue of Tawosret's husband, Seti II — Tawosret’s husband, Seti II
public domain

A statue of Tawosret's predecessor, Siptah — Statue of the boy-king Siptah
photo by John D Croft

A sketch of an engraving of Tawosret's successor, Sethnakht — Sethnakht sketch from relief by Karl Richard Lepsius, 1810
public domain

Dr. Kathlyn (Kara) Cooney is a professor of Egyptian Art and Architecture at UCLA. In her latest book, The Good Kings, she turns to five ancient Egyptian pharaohs – Khufu, Senwosret III, Akenhaten, Ramses II, and Taharqa – to understand why many so often give up power to the few, and what it can mean for our future. She is also the author of The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut’s Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt and When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt, exploring the lives of six remarkable female pharaohs. Cooney also produced Out of Egypt, a comparative archaeology series which aired in 2009 on the Discovery Channel.

Music featured in this episode includes

Your purchases help support the podcast!

One Comment