Paatonemheb

Biography Paatenemheb made his way into the ranks of the military to become commander-in-chief of Akhenaten’s army.

His tomb is among those of the nobles in Amarna (TA24). It was barely started, and even the descending stairs were roughly hewn. The few inscriptions from the entrance are no longer visible, but these were recorded at the time of the discovery and reported the titles he had in life: Royal Scribe, Overseer of the soldiery of the Lord of the Two Lands, Steward of the Lord of the Two Lands, and Overseer of porters in Akhetaten.

Identification with Horemheb It is still uncertain if Paatenemheb was none other than pharaoh Horemheb in his early career — before adopting a name more appropriate to the post-Amarnan religious restoration — or if they were two separate individuals. Toby Wilkinson even contemplates the chance that Paatenhemeb may have switched his name twice: born as Horemheb, changed to Paatenemheb during Akhenaten’s reign, and conveniently reverted to Horemheb after Akenaten’s death. Conversely, Nicolas Grimal argued that the two apparently were two different persons.