Iset Ta-Hemdjert

Iset Ta-Hemdjert or Isis Ta-Hemdjert, simply called Isis in her tomb, was an ancient Egyptian queen of the Twentieth Dynasty; the Great Royal Wife of Ramesses III and the Royal Mother of Ramesses VI.

She was probably of Asian origin; her mother's name Hemdjert (or Habadjilat or Hebnerdjent) is not an Egyptian name but a Syrian one. One of her children is known to us, Ramesses VI, who succeeded his nephew Ramesses V, the short-lived son of Ramesses IV. Other than Ramesses V, the grandchildren of Iset Ta-Hemdjert include Ramesses VII, the God's Wife of Amun Iset, and princes Amunherkhopsef and Panebenkemyt; these are all the children of Ramesses VI.

Apart from the Great Royal Wife designation, she also held the titles of God's Wife, and, during the reign of her sons, "King's Mother". She is shown on a statue of Ramesses III in the Mut temple at Karnak.

Tomb QV51

Corridor from the tomb of Queen Isis (QV51). Schiaparelli excavations, 1904. Photographic archive Museo Egizio, Turin.

Isis Ta-Hemdjert was buried in the Valley of the Queens, in tomb QV51.

The tomb consists of a corridor ending in a main hall with two side chambers. The corridor is decorated with scenes showing the queen before a variety of divinities including Ptah-Sokar, Atum and Osiris.

The outer jambs for the main hall contain a text by Ramesses VI.