Dynasty 19th of Egypt Mother [R]uia | Father Raia Died 1258 BC, Thebes, Egypt Parents Raia | |
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Issue TiaRamesses IIHenutmire (possibly) Grandchildren Ramesses, Merneptah, Meritamen, Bintanath Children Ramesses II, Henutmire, Tia, Tua Similar | ||
Tuya queen
Tuya (also called Tuy or Mut-Tuya) was the wife of Pharaoh Seti I of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt and mother of Tia, Ramesses II, and perhaps Henutmire.
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She was the daughter of Raia who was a military officer based on his title of Lieutenant of the chariotry. Tuya's daughter, Princess Tia, was married to a high-ranking civil servant who was also called Tia.
As the mother of Ramesses II, she enjoyed a privileged existence of a respected king's mother and was allowed the opportunity to correspond with the Hittite royal court after the Year 21 peace treaty between Egypt and Hatti put in place by Ramesses II.
Monuments and Inscriptions
Death and Burial
Tuya likely died soon after Year 22 of Ramesses' reign and was buried in an impressive tomb in the Valley of the Queens (QV80). In her tomb, Tuya "was stripped of the first part of her name to become plain Tuya for eternity; the loss of the prefix Mut- suggests that her death had ended in an almost divine earthly status."
In popular culture
Queen Tuya has been first portrayed by actress Irene Martin in Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments, as one of Bithiah's maidservants famous for quoting "Bithiah could charm tears from a crocodile".
She also appears in The Prince of Egypt as the adoptive mother of Moses, voiced by Helen Mirren. She is portrayed by Sigourney Weaver in the 2014 Ridley Scott film Exodus: Gods and Kings; In 2015, the Brazilian television series, Os Dez Mandamentos , the Queen Tuya is played by actress Angelina Muniz.