Page 177 [177]
the possibility, of course, of her being an actual sister. However, the most reasonable
solution for defining Ptahpatener’s family relationships is the concept discussed above,
i.e. having two wives, yet without any information on their temporal relation.
III.31. Horemheb
Date: early 19" dynasty (based on the stylistic criteria of the stele)
Genealogy: unknown
Tomb: unknown
Remains: — stele fragment, Paris, Musée du Louvre, E 8402
Functional titles: wb3 nswt
‚Jmj-r3 hnwtj n nb B.wj
Honorific titles: hsjj 3 n ntr nfr
tsw wd3.t?
Horemheb can also be dated to the early 19" dynasty, based on the stylistic features of his
stele now in Paris (E 8402).° Only the upper part of the round topped stele remained, with
an offering scene in the field. The owner presents a burnt offering before Osiris sitting on
a throne and Isis standing behind him. The inscription above Horemheb names him,
together with two of his functional titles, wb} nswt ‘royal wb?’ and jmj-r3 Shnwtj n nb B.wj
‘chamberlain of the lord of the Two Lands’, as well as an honorific title Asjj 3 n ntr nfr
‘greatly favoured of the good god’. Both of the functional titles place Horemheb into the
royal household, acting in the personal service of the king, and the honorific title supports
his close connection with the ruler. In addition, he is represented with the Gold of Honour
around his neck,*° which also confirms his privileged position and importance in the royal
court, as well as in society. The lower part of the stele contained thirteen columns of inscrip¬
tion, probably figural decoration as well, but now only the very beginning of them can be
seen. This is the only source we know of Horemheb, its provenance is not known, nor is
there any information on his origin®” or family, his place of office or his burial.
©4 Gessler-Löhr, 1989, 32. I would hereby like to thank Dr Susanne Binder, who provided me the photo
of the stele, for her kind help.
° For a detailed discussion on the title, see Qema on p. 168.
6 Binder, 2008, 246, 332. She dates Horemheb slightly earlier, from the post-Amarna to the early 19"
dynasty.
°7 Gessler-Lohr suggests that the provenance of the stele might be the area of Abydos, based on the
epithet of Osiris, lord of Abydos. This argument, however, is not substantiated at all, as there are some
monuments even only in this corpus, on which the same epithet appears by Osiris and the provenance