402 TetiTeti (2)(fl. 16th century B.C.E.)Aristocratic official of
the Seventeenth Dynasty charged with treason
He was a count of KOPTOS, charged with treason by INY-
OTEF VII(r. c. 1570 B.C.E.) of THEBES. Teti was collaborat-
ing with the HYKSOS, contemporaries of the Seventeenth
Dynasty, who ruled the Delta regions. The KOPTOS
DECREE, attributed to Inyotef VII, announces the charges
against Teti and the loss of his titles, lands, and assets. An
individual named Neinemhet received the count’s rank
and estate.
Teti (Seheptawy)(d. 2291 B.C.E.) Founder of the Sixth
Dynasty
He ruled from 2323 B.C.E. until his death. The circum-
stances of his coming to power are not documented, but
Teti married IPUT, the daughter of UNIS, the last pharaoh
of the Fifth Dynasty. Court officials remained at their
posts when Unis died and served Teti.
Possibly a physician, Teti wrote texts that were avail-
able to MANETHOin the Ptolemaic Period (304–30 B.C.E.).
He was the first to promote the HATHORcult at DENDEREH,
and he is listed in the TURIN CANON. Teti commanded a
census in Egypt every one or two years, and he fostered
trade with BYBLOSin modern Lebanon and with PUNTand
NUBIA(modern Sudan). Devoted to OSIRISin his original
form KHENTIAMENTIU, Teti issued a decree exempting
Abydos, the deity’s cult center, from taxes.
Teti was married to KAWIT(1) and WERET-IMTES(1).
His son and heir was PEPI I, and he gave his daughter,
SESHESHET, to vizier MERERUKA. Reportedly, the members
of his own royal bodyguard assassinated Teti. They were
possibly allies of USERKARÉ, who succeeded him on the
throne.
Teti’s pyramid, called “the Prison” in modern times,
was erected in SAQQARAand was inscribed with the PYRA-
MID TEXTS.A SISTRUMwas discovered in the pyramid as
well as a statue of Teti, fashioned out of black and pink
mottled granite. Pyramids for his queens were also part of
the mortuary complex. Nobles of his reign built tombs
nearby. These officials included KAGEMNIand Mereruka.
Teti’s pyramid was designed with burial shafts and his
remains indicate a hasty embalming.
Tetiky (fl. 16th century B.C.E.) Urban official of the Eigh-
teenth Dynasty
Serving in the reign of ’AHMOSE (1550–1525 B.C.E.),
Tetiky was the mayor of THEBES. He was also involved in
the vast building programs instituted by ’Ahmose to
establish THEBESas the capital of Egypt and the chief resi-
dence of his dynasty.
Tetisheri (fl. 16th century B.C.E.)Royal woman of the
Seventeenth and Eighteenth Dynasties, called “the Mother of
the New Kingdom”
She was the consort of Senakhtenré TA’OI(r. c. 1500
B.C.E.) at THEBESand the mother of Sekenenré TA’OIIand
AH’HOTEP(1). Her grandsons were KAMOSEand ’AHMOSE,
founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty and the New Kingdom
(1550–1070 B.C.E.).
A commoner, Tetisheri was the daughter of a judge
named Tjenna and Lady Neferu. When Ta’o I died, Tetish-
eri installed her son and daughter on the throne and aided
the military efforts to oust the HYKSOS. She maintained her
leadership at the palace at DEIR EL-BALLAS, north of Thebes,
and lived to see Egypt free of the Asiatics, reaching the age
of 70. Decrees were issued by ’Ahmose (r. 1550–1525
B.C.E.) concerning her service to the nation.
A Theban tomb complex was erected for her, as well
as a CENOTAPHat ABYDOS, and estates and companies of
priests ensured continuing mortuary rituals on her
behalf. A statue of her is in the British Museum, but it is
now regarded as having been made long after her death.
Tetisheri is shown wearing the VULTURE headdress
reserved for the royal mothers of the heirs to the throne
in this monument. Her mummified remains were discov-
ered in a coffin dating to the reign of RAMESSES I (r.
1307–1306 B.C.E.), indicating her reburial, probably in
the Twenty-first Dynasty (1070–945 B.C.E.).tetu It was a fetish or cultic tree insignia, associated
with the god PTAH. The tetuis similar to OSIRIS’s DJEDpil-
lar, the sign of stability.Tety See KHA’BA.Tey(fl. 30th century B.C.E.)Royal woman of the First
Dynasty
A consort of AHA(r. 2920–? B.C.E.), she was depicted in a
temple relief in the shrine of the god MINin PANOPOLIS,
near AKHMIN. Tey was buried in ABYDOS.Thales(d. c. 545 B.C.E.)Ionian Greek philosopher of
Miletus who visited Egypt c. 580 B.C.E.
Thales studied NAUKRATISand other Egyptian cities and
expounded on his theories about water being the essence
of all matter. He also predicted an eclipse of the sun on
May28, 585 B.C.E., and he was listed as one of the leg-
endary Seven Wise Men, or Sages, of Greece. While in
Egypt, he measured a PYRAMIDby contrasting the length
of its shadow with that of his walking stick’s shadow and
then calculating the ratio. Thales also studied the NILE
floods and pursued astronomical and geometric gains
made on the Nile. None of his writings have survived. He
was welcomed to Egypt by APRIES(r. 589–570 B.C.E.).Thaneni(fl. 15th century B.C.E.)Court official in charge
of military inscriptions in the Eighteenth Dynasty
Thaneni served TUTHMOSIS III(r. 1479–1425 B.C.E.) as a
royal SCRIBEand had the role of supervisor of the KARNAK