Udjahorresnet

Udjaḥorresnet (or Wedjaḥorresnet, and many other variants) was an ancient Egyptian high official who lived between the end of the 26th Dynasty and the beginning of the 27th Dynasty. He is mainly known for his efforts in promoting the Egyptian customs to the early Achaemenid kings of the 27th Dynasty.

Much of what we know about his career comes from his autobiography, inscribed on a statue depicting him; the statue, commonly called Naoforo vaticano (Italian for "Vatican naos-carrier"), was originally placed in the temple of Neith at Sais likely in Year 3 of Darius I (c. 519 BCE), but is now exhibited inside the Vatican Museums (more precisely in the Museo Gregoriano Egizio) of Rome.

Biography Early in his career, during the reigns of pharaohs Amasis II and Psamtik III, Udjahorresnet was a commander of ships (admiral), a physician and a priest of Neith in Sais. He was probably the Commander of the Egyptian Fleet under Amasis II, as one of his title on the inscription of his statue is "Commander of the King's fleet". According to the inscription, he was:

After the defeat at Pelusium in 525 BCE and the subsequent conquest of Egypt by Cambyses II, he eventually was relieved from his military duties.

After Cambyses' death (522 BCE), Udjahorresnet's mission continued with Darius I: in fact, he even escorted Darius on his return to Susa

Udjahorresnet probably died later during Darius' reign. His huge shaft tomb at Abusir was excavated between 1980 and 1993, and found looted in antiquity. It is still a matter of debate if Udjahorresnet was indeed buried here or not;