* M. de Rouge was the first to bring this fact to light in his Becherches sur les monuments qu’on peut attribuer aux six premieres dynasties de Manethon, pp. 36-38.  Mirtittefsi also lived in the harem of Khephren, but the title which connects her with this king—­Amahhit, the vassal—­proves that she was then merely a nominal wife; she was probably by that time, as M. de Rouge says, of too advanced an age to remain the favourite of a third Pharaoh.

** The title of “divine spouse” is not, so far as we know at present, met with prior to the XVIIIth dynasty.  It was given to the wife of a living monarch, and was retained by her after his death; the divinity to whom it referred was no other than the king himself.

*** This was probably so in the case of the Pharaoh Ramses II., more than one hundred and fifty of whose children, boys and girls, are known to us, and who certainly had others besides of whom we know nothing.

[Illustration:  THE QUEEN SHAKES THE SISTKUJU WHILE THE KING OFFERS THE SACRIFICE]

     Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a bas-relief in the temple of
     Ibsambul:  Nofritari shakes behind Ramses II. two sistra, on
     which are representations of the head of Hathor.

The origin and rank of their mothers greatly influenced the condition of the children.  No doubt the divine blood which they took from a common father raised them all above the vulgar herd but those connected with the solar line on the maternal side occupied a decidedly much higher position than the rest:  as long as one of these was living, none of his less nobly-born brothers might aspire to the crown.*

* Proof of this fact is furnished us, in so far as the XVIIIth dynasty is concerned, by the history of the immediate successors of Thutmosis I., the Pharaohs Thutmosis IL, Thutmosis III., Queen Hatshopsitu, Queen Mutnofrit, and Isis, concubine of Thutmosis IL and mother of Thutmosis III.

Those princesses who did not attain to the rank of queen by marriage, were given in early youth to some well-to-do relative, or to some courtier of high descent whom Pharaoh wished to honour; they filled the office of priestesses to the goddesses Nit or Hathor, and bore in their households titles which they transmitted to their children, with such rights to the crown as belonged to them.  The most favoured of the princes married an heiress rich in fiefs, settled on her domain, and founded a race of feudal lords.  Most of the royal sons remained at court, at first in their father’s service and subsequently in that of their brothers’ or nephews’:  the most difficult and best remunerated functions of the administration were assigned to them, the superintendence of public works, the important offices of the priesthood, the command of the army.  It could have been no easy matter to manage without friction this multitude of relations