Seti I 367Setau(fl. 13th century B.C.E.)Viceroyal official of the
Nineteenth Dynasty
He served RAMESSES II(r. 1290–1224 B.C.E.) as the gover-
nor of NUBIA, the region below ASWAN(modern Sudan). A
mortuary stela commemorates Setau’s career and honors.
He began his service to the crown as a scribe and then
became a steward of the temple of AMUNand ultimately
the viceroy of Nubia. Setau was the official who rebuilt
part of the Ramessid temple in ABU SIMBELafter the earth-
quake that took place in the 31st year of Ramesses II’s
reign.
Sethirkhopshef (1)(fl. 13th century B.C.E.) Prince of
the Nineteenth Dynasty
He was an heir of RAMESSES II(r. 1290–1224 B.C.E.) who
died before taking the throne. He signed a letter to HAT-
TUSILIS III, the ruler of the HITTITES, congratulating him
on the peace treaty forged between the Hittites and
Egypt. Sethirkhopshef was buried in the VALLEY OF THE
QUEENS. He died in Ramesses II’s 21st regnal year. There
is some indication that he was originally named Amen-
hirkhopshef.
Sethirkhopshef (2)(fl. 12th century B.C.E.) Princely
victim of smallpox in the Twentieth Dynasty
A son of RAMESSES III(r. 1194–1163 B.C.E.), he was a char-
ioteer of the royal stables but died during a smallpox epi-
demic. Sethirkhopshef was buried in THEBES. His tomb
has corridors leading to a square chamber and a burial
site. Ramesses III is depicted in the reliefs of the tomb as
introducing Sethirkhopshef to the deities of Egypt’s world
beyond the grave. Sethirkhopshef was buried in the VA L-
LEY OF THE QUEENS.
Sethnakhte (Userkha’ure’meryamun)(d. 1194 B.C.E.)
Founder of the Twentieth Dynasty
He ruled from 1196 B.C.E. until his death. Little is known
of his background but it is possible that he was a grand-
son of RAMESSES II(r. 1290–1224 B.C.E.). Sethnakhte was
elderly when he founded the dynasty. He was married to
TIYE-MERENISETand had a son, RAMESSES III.
Sethnakhte took the throne of Egypt “to clear the
land of traitors,” a reference to the reign of TWOSRET
(1198–1196 B.C.E.), the queen who usurped power at the
close of the Nineteenth Dynasty with the help of an offi-
cial named BAY, also called Irsu. He was assuming the
throne to welcome back “the ready faces which had been
turned away.” These were officials and servants who had
fled the court during Twosret’s reign.
Restoring order, Sethnakhte opened temples and
started his own tomb. He was unable to complete it, how-
ever, and was placed in the usurped tomb of Twosret.
Some scenes and reliefs were altered for his burial while
Twosret’s cartouches were covered with plaster. Seth-
nakhte’s coffin was found in the mummy cache in the
tomb of AMENHOTEP II at Thebes. The unidentified
mummy discovered in Sethnakhte’s tomb may be his
royal remains. A granite sarcophagus was found there in
ruins.Seti(fl. 13th century B.C.E.) Prince of the Nineteenth
Dynasty
He was a son of RAMESSES II(r. 1290–1224 B.C.E.), the
ninth heir to the throne. His mother was Queen NEFER-
TARI-Merymut. He served as a court priest and as a mili-
tary commander. Temple reliefs at LUXORtemple show
him leading prisoners to his father in the Battle of
KADESH. Seti died before he could inherit the throne.Seti I (Menma’atré, Meryen-Ptah)(d. 1290 B.C.E.)
Second ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty
He reigned from 1306 B.C.E. until his death. Seti I’s reign
was heralded as a “Repeating of Births,” a term denoting
divine inspiration and used originally in the Twelfth
Dynasty (1991–1783 B.C.E.). He was the son of RAMESSES I
and Queen SITRÉ.
A commoner at birth, Seti I was raised in the military
commands of Egypt and came to the throne as a tough
campaigner bent on restoring Egypt’s empire. He marched
out of Tjel, a border FORTRESS, with three divisions and
overran Palestine, Syria, and the surrounding territories.
Seti I reoccupied strategic forts and garrisons on the
Mediterranean coast and returned to Egypt with prison-
ers and treasures. In the KARNAKtemple at THEBES(mod-
ern Luxor), Seti I had reliefs inscribed on the entire north
wall to commemorate this campaign. He is depicted
marching to Palestine and conducting battles. In subse-
quent campaigns he advanced on the Amorite coastlands,
captured the region of the Orontes River, and confronted
the HITTITES. He received the whole of Palestine and the
Syrian coastal regions as a result of his military efforts.
Seti I also met a Libyan invasion of the Delta with
equal vigor, and he fought two battles to rid the northern
area of the invaders. He led campaigns in NUBIA(modern
Sudan), founding AMARA and SHAAT-ER-REQAL between
the second and third cataracts. A site on SAL ISLAND, Shatt
became the administrative base for the viceroy of Nubia,
an individual named Amenemope. The Nubian cam-
paigns were conducted by Seti I to put down a revolt by
the Irem people. Seti I plundered the region as a result.
In Egypt he restarted reclamation of the natural
resources, digging wells in strategic places to benefit min-
ers and quarry workers. He administered the land from
MEMPHIS, AVARIS, and THEBESand restored temples dam-
aged in the ’AMARNAPeriod. At Karnak, Seti I completed
his father’s plan to convert the area between the second
and third pylons into a vast HYPOSTYLE HALL. His son,
RAMESSES II, was coruler at the time, and he aided his
father in the Karnak building. The vast hall arose with
the roof supported by 134 sandstone columns, inscribed