with two burial shafts. Some paintings in this tomb have
survived.
Mai (Maiy)(fl. 14th century B.C.E.) Military official of
the Eighteenth Dynasty
He served AKHENATEN(r. 1353–1335 B.C.E.) as a military
commander at ’AMARNA. Mai was a hereditary NOMARCH
aristocrat and also served as the overseer of the Royal
Palace. His tomb was fashioned out of the cliffs overlook-
ing ’Amarna. A magnificent carved portrait of Mai, seated
with his wife, Werel, was also discovered in the tomb of
RAMOSE(1) in THEBES.
Maia See MAYA.
Malik(fl. first century B.C.E.)Ruler of Nabataea, modern
Jordan, in the reign of Cleopatra VII
Malik’s personal fisheries were given to CLEOPATRA VII(r.
51–30 B.C.E.) by Marc ANTONY. In 36 B.C.E., Cleopatra
VII, knowing the pride of the Nabataeans, leased the fish-
eries on the Red Sea to Malik for 200 talents per year,
approximately $400,000. In 32 B.C.E., Malik refused to
pay, and she roused the neighboring ruler, Herod, to
launch punitive raids against the Nabataeans. Herod lost
the Battle of Qanawat in this campaign.
In retaliation, Malik’s troops reportedly set fire to
Cleopatra’s galleys during her battle as an ally of Marc
Antony at ACTIUM. Cleopatra and Marc Antony were sub-
sequently defeated in this naval engagement by Octavian
(AUGUSTUS) of Rome, and Egypt lost its independence.
Malkata A pleasure palace site on the western shore of
Medinet Habu, the migdolcomplex of Ramesses III at Thebes
AMENHOTEP III(r. 1391–1353 B.C.E.), the original name for
the site may have been Djarukha, “the Search for Evening”
or “the Delight of Evening.” Malkata is translated as “the
Place Where Things Are Picked Up” in Arabic.
A miniature royal city, Malkata was founded as part
of Amenhotep III’s first HEB-SEDfestival, commemorating
his 30th regnal year. Several palace compounds com-
posed the site, with administrative buildings, magazines,
A cenotaph temple honoring the deity Osiris and eternity
court officials were lavish, and all of the structures were
vividly decorated. An artificial lake, the Habu (Birket
Habu), and a harbor were constructed for the region,
connected to the Nile and built within a matter of weeks.
A T-shaped harbor remains visible in modern times. The
ruler and his courtiers sailed on a barge dedicated to the
god ATENwhen he visited Malkata, which in time became
his royal residence. He built a palace there for his harem
and constructed others for Queen TIYE (1) and for
AKHENATEN(Amenhotep IV), his heir.
All of the royal residences were elaborately painted
and decorated by local artists. The entire complex, built
out of sun-dried bricks, was linked to a nearby funerary
temple by a causeway dedicated to the god Amun, who
was honored in this shrine. The extravagant suites of the
palace and temples were whitewashed and painted with
scenes of daily life. Malkata was enlarged for the celebra-
tion of Amenhotep III’s additional sedfestivals. A second
lake was also fashioned on the eastern shore, and the site
covered more than 80 acres. Malkata was called “the
House of Rejoicing” during festivals.Mallawi This was a site near el-Minya that served as a
necropolis for that area in the Old Kingdom Period
(2575–2134 B.C.E.). The cemetery is now called SHEIKH
SAID. Some 90 graves were discovered there, dating to the
early dynastic eras.mammisi Birth houses used from the Late Period
(712–332 B.C.E.) through the Roman Period in temple
compounds and earlier in some regions of the Nile Valley,
these structures were associated with religious celebra-
tions and pageants concerning the births of deities and
pharaohs. Originally the legends of supernatural births,
such as the one claimed by Queen-Pharaoh HATSHEPSUT
(r. 1473–1458 B.C.E.), were recorded on their stelae or on
temple walls. In later eras the mammisiprovided perma-
nent stages for such mysteries. The Greeks named the
buildings during their eras on the Nile, mainly in the
Ptolemaic Period (304–30 B.C.E.), but the original struc-
tures were Egyptian in origin.Mandet The sacred bark used by the god RÉto ascend
as the sun each morning, this mythological vessel had a
counterpart, the MESEKET, which carried the deity back to
earth each evening. The solar deities had several such
miraculous vessels.
See also BARKS OF THE GODS.Mandulis A god from NUBIA(modern Sudan), probably
associated with the MEDJAYand other Nubians in the ser-
vice of Egypt, Mandulis was adopted and worshiped as a
god by the Egyptians, probably during the reign of TUTH-
MOSIS III(1479–1425 B.C.E.). The pharaohs of the Eigh-
teenth Dynasty honored the Nubian gods as rewards for
the loyalty of the mercenaries from the area below ASWAN.Man E See “PRINCE UNKNOWN.”Manetho(fl. third century B.C.E.)Egyptian historian of
the Ptolemaic Period
He served PTOLEMY II PHILADELPHUS(r. 285–246 B.C.E.).
Manetho was born in SEBENNYTOS (Tjeb-Neter), now
Samannud in the Delta. Manetho was a priest at HELIOPO-
LISand started writing his history, Aegypticae,at the tem-
ple at Sebennytos. The three-volume work, in Greek, wasManetho 225