The assassination of a king, a royal coup, and an infamous trial; these themes have prevailed throughout human history and continue to be topics of entertainment and intrigue. However, the Harem Conspiracy is no mere story but is instead one of ancient Egypt’s most well-known murder plots as it involves one of Egypt’s greatest kings, Pharaoh Ramesses III, his second wife Tiye, and his sons Pentawer and Ramesses IV. With the help of modern technology and the ancient court documents of The Judicial Papyrus of Turin, the details surrounding the assassination of Ramesses III are revealed.
Ramesses III
Considered one of the last great monarchs of the New Kingdom (1570 - 1069 BCE), Ramessess III was the second pharaoh of the 20th Dynasty (1189 - 1077 BCE) reigning for 31 years before his untimely death at the age of 62. Though Ramesses III was considered a “warrior pharaoh” after defending Egypt from “the Sea Peoples” (a hypothesized seafaring confederation who sailed around the eastern Mediterranean invading places like Antolia, Syria, and Cyprus) and ultimately saving Egypt from collapse, it was a woman that ultimately sealed his fate.
The Assassination and Aftermath
Almost 10 years before the death of Ramesses III, his second wife Tiye sought to place her son, Pentawer, upon the throne of Kemet (ancient Egypt) after the king’s first born son, crown prince Amenherkhepshef, died at the age of 15 in 1164 BCE. However, Ramesses III granted succession to his second son Ramesses IV, who was born to Ramesses III’s first wife Tyti. Infuriated at what Tiye saw as an injustice to her son, she set a plan into motion that would end as one of ancient Egypt’s most infamous court cases known today.
The year was 1155 BCE in Thebes (modern day Luxor) during the Beautiful Festival of the Valley (see MENAM’s previous Instagram post on 25 March 2022 for more information). Tiye, along with various conspirators - from officials to administrators to even servants, used the commotion of the festival to conceal their actions as the assailants moved to their positions using a royal pass to enter the harem located in the fortified gate house in the temple Medinet Habu, Thebes, unnoticed. During this time, Ramesses III found himself within the West Tower of the Royal Harem unaware of his soon to be assassins lurking in the shadows. What happened next was what Agatha Christie would have called “a murder most foul.”
[Content Warning: What is written next contains graphic details regarding the murder of Ramesses III]
Though the court documents of The Judicial Papyrus of Turin which outline the king’s murder lack details regarding what exactly happened during Ramesssess III assassination, modern CT scans have revealed the gruesome details of the kings final moments. Initial analysis of Ramesses III’s mummy discovered that the cause of death was a knife wound which severed the trachea (windpipe) and esophagus causing death almost instantaneously. However, a further look at the king’s mummy revealed that he also suffered from a partial amputation of his big toe from a weapon un-identical to the one used to slit his throat. This has led researchers to hypothesize that Ramesses III was outnumbered during his final moments as they were attacked by multiple assailants brandishing various weapons.
Though the exact details of Ramesses III’s death may never be known, what is certain is that Tiye’s murderous plot succeeded but her desire to assert her son on the throne never came to fruition. The Judicial Papyrus of Turin reveals that Tiye and the rest of her conspirators - along with those who knew of the plot but did not report it - were apprehended not too long after the assassination and were brought to trial. The trials of the accused were overseen by 12 magistrates who were appointed by Ramessess III’s son Ramesses IV.
[Content Warning: What is written next contains graphic details regarding the punishments for the conspirators]
Lasting through five separate trials, 28 people were executed (this included harem and army officials), four people had their ears and noses cut off as punishment for cavorting with the accused harem women (this included two judges and the captain of the police), and Tiye’s son Pentawer was allowed to take his own life - the punishment for Tiye was not recorded. Recent DNA analysis of a mummy known as “Unknown Man E” (found in the Deir el-Bahri cache) have revealed that this is the remains of Pentawer and that their cause of death was suffocation/ strangulation. What is even more revealing is that this mummy was not embalmed but instead ritually wrapped in goatskin (a sign of impurity) and placed within an uninscribed coffin (a means to erase their name from the afterlife). Though this may not be the burial punishment we all think of when we think of ancient Egypt (thank you The Mummy 1999), it does show the level of care and importance placed on proper burials and how steps could be taken to ensure the deceased was not granted a restful afterlife.
Conclusion A mother’s love, a desire for power, and a need for change were essential in the motives behind Tiye and her ability to rally those behind her to assassinate one of ancient Egypt’s greatest kings. Though the plot behind the Harem Conspiracy did not see Pentawer succeed the throne, it did leave behind extraordinary evidence surrounding the political and judicial nature of ancient Egypt and how complex its system truly was. With the help of modern technology and ancient documents and accounts, not only is the assassination of Ramesses III brought to light but perhaps other ancient true crime stories will soon be revealed the more we delve deeper into our ancient past. Text: Megan Kumorek. MENAM Archaeology. Copyright 2022.
Further Reading:
Cifola, B. 1988 “Ramses III and the Sea Peoples: A Structural Analysis of the Medinet Habu Inscriptions”, NOVA SERIES, Vol. 57, No. 3, pp. 275–306. de Buck, A., 1937. “The Judicial Papyrus of Turin”. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 23, No 2. pp.152. Hawass, Z., Ismail, S., et al. 2012 "Revisiting the Harem Conspiracy and Death of Ramesses III: Anthropological, Forensic, Radiological, and Genetic Study" BMJ. BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. Hawass, Z., Saleem, N. 2016 Scanning the Pharaohs : CT Imaging of the New Kingdom Royal Mummies. New York: The American University in Cairo Press. Images:
Relief from the Sanctuary of Khonsu Temple depicting Rameses III Author Asavaa. Wikimedia commons.
Fortified Gate, where the Harem was, Medinet Habu. Anna Sunneborn Gudnadottir.
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