368 Seti IIwith reliefs. Seti I also built a temple in ABYDOS, called
“the House of Millions of Years of Menma’atré, Joyful in
the Heart of Abydos.” He died before completing the
CENOTAPH, now called the OSIREION, and Ramesses II fin-
ished the temple, endowing it for continued rituals.
Seti I’s tomb in the VALLEY OF THE KINGSat Thebes is
the largest one constructed there, dug some 300 feet into
the cliffs. Passages and elaborate columns were designed
with painted reliefs, some using “the sun and shadow”
style. An alabaster coffin was inscribed with the text of
the Book of the Gates.An astronomical ceiling and more
than 700 SHABTIS figures, made of stone, wood, and
faience, were discovered in the tomb.
Seti I’s mummified remains were found in the cache
at DEIR EL-BAHRIin 1881. He was a handsome elderly
man, with good teeth and his heart still in his body. His
wife was Queen TUYA, and he had two sons. The eldest
died young, leaving the throne to Ramesses II. His daugh-
ters, HENUTMIRÉand TIA(1), survived him.
Seti II (Userkheprure’setepenré)(d. 1204 B.C.E.)
Fifth ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty
He reigned from 1214 B.C.E. until his death. Seti II was
the son of MERENPTAHand Queen ISETNOFRET(2) and he
married TAKHAT(1), a daughter of RAMESSES II. He also
married TWOSRETand possibly Tia’a. Seti II was the vic-
tim of a court plot and his throne was usurped tem-
porarily by a relative, AMENMESSES, who ruled only a
brief time. Seti II regained the throne and began build-
ing at KARNAK. He erected a sandstone station of the
gods and colossal statues before he died. He had two
sons, Seti-Merenptah, who predeceased him, and
Ramesses-Siptah.
Seti II’s tomb in the VALLEY OF THE KINGScontained
short passageways and a burial chamber with four pillars.
He was buried in a red granite sarcophagus but was
moved to the tomb of AMENHOTEP II, where he was dis-
covered in the cache of royal mummies. His remains dis-
played cropped hair, good teeth, and an arthritic hip.Setka(fl. 26th century B.C.E.)Prince of the Fourth
Dynasty
He was the son of RA’DJEDEF(r. 2528–2520 B.C.E.) and
probably Queen KHENTETKA. Presumably the heir to Ra’
djedef’s throne, Setka was put aside for KHAFRE, who was
crowned as the successor. Setka belonged to one side of
KHUFU’s family and was possibly viewed as a usurper.
Nothing is known of Setka after Ra’djedef’s death. A
statue of the prince, seated as a scribe, was found in Ra’
djedef’s pyramid in ABU ROWASH.Setna Khamwas (1)(fl. 13th century B.C.E.)Prince of
the Nineteenth Dynasty
He was a son of RAMESES II(r. 1290–1224 B.C.E.). Setna
Khamwas was the high priest of PTAHand not the heir to
the throne.Setna Khamwas (2) He was a remarkable fictional
character obviously based on the son of RAMESSES II,
SETNA KHAMWAS(1),a prince of the Nineteenth Dynasty.
This fictional prince was the hero of an Egyptian ghost
story discovered in a papyrus dating to the Ptolemaic
Period (340–30 B.C.E.). He supposedly sought the “Book
of Thoth,” the legendary repository of occult knowledge,
and found it in the tomb of another fictional character,
Prince Neferkaptah, in the Memphis necropolis.
When the book was recovered, Neferkaptah appeared
to Setna Khamwas with his wife and son, Ihwey. Setna
had to play a board game with Neferkaptah in order to
earn ownership of the book. Defeated three times and
pounded into the ground, Setna was freed by spells
uttered by his brother, Inaros. Setna dreamed of a female
demon named Tabubna as a result.
He and Prince Neferkaptah held lengthy discussions
about the “Book of Thoth.” Neferkaptah had hunted for
it during his lifetime and had found it at the bottom ofThe mummified head of Seti I, the second ruler of the
Nineteenth Dynasty, noted as a handsome warrior pharaoh.
(Hulton Archive.)