Takhat (20th dynasty)

Takhat is a proposed but largely rejected name for an individual thought to be a pharaoh of the late 20th Dynasty of Egypt. The evidence for Takhat as a ruling pharaoh is extremely limited and highly circumstantial. The name appears in a few inscriptions and ostraca, most notably associated with the wife of Ramesses XI, Tentamun, and a son named Amenhotep.

The mainstream view is that Takhat was a queen consort, possibly a wife of Ramesses X or Ramesses XI, and mother to one of his sons. Some scholars in the past have proposed that Takhat could have been a queen regent during a period of instability in the late Ramesside Period, perhaps even ruling in her own right for a short time. However, this theory is not widely accepted.

The scarcity of conclusive evidence, such as a tomb attributed to Takhat with royal regalia or definitively royal inscriptions, makes it unlikely she held the full power and status of a pharaoh. Instead, most egyptologists interpret Takhat as a significant female figure, likely of royal blood, who played a role in the court during a politically turbulent time, rather than as an independent ruler of Egypt.

The study of Takhat and her place in the late 20th Dynasty continues, but definitive proof of her pharaonic status remains elusive.