Horemheb
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| Horemheb in hieroglyphs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Era: New Kingdom (1550–1069 BC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Horemheb was the last Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's 18th Dynasty.
Horemheb came from Herakleopolis Magna near the entrance to the Fayum. His parentage is unknown but he is universally believed to be a commoner. Horemheb's birth name and epithet was Horemheb Meryamun, meaning "Horus is in Jubilation, Beloved of Amun". His name is sometimes spelled Horemhab or Haremhab. Technically, this name is transliterated as ḥr-m-ḥb mry-ỉmn, which is written in Egyptian hieroglyphs to the right.
He became commander of the army, and advisor to the pharaoh under Tutankhamun, who died while still a teenager and was succeeded by Ay. Ay died after a brief reign of 4 Years and, and then Horemheb became ruler. His throne name was Djeserkheperure Setepenre, meaning "Holy are the Manifestations of Re, Chosen of Re". This name is transliterated dsr-ḫprw-r‘ stp-n-r‘, which is also written in hieroglyphs to the right.
Upon his accession, Horemheb initiated an entire series of reforms to curb the abuse of power and priveleges that had occured under state officials who had accumulated enormous authority over Egy[t's wealth under Akhenaten. He also reformed the Army. Because of his unexpected rise to the throne, Horemheb had 2 tombs constructed for him: one when he was a mere nobleman (at Saqqara near Memphis), and the other in the Valley of the Kings, in Thebes, Egypt, in tomb KV57. His 27th Year is believed to be attested on a badly fragmented statue at his mortuary temple in Thebes and he is thought to have died after a reign of 27 or 28 Years. However, his tomb was still unfinished at his death.
He appointed his Vizier Paramesse to succeed him after his death. Paramesse assumed the name Ramses I upon his kingship and founded the 19th Dynasty.