Did Vizier Ahmose Ametju and His Wife Bear Non-Egyptian Names?

Abstract

This paper challenges the commonly held view that the names of the early 18^th Dynasty vizier Ahmose Ametju (ʿmṯ) and his wife (Tȝ-ʿmṯ), spelled in group writing, were non-Egyptian, and questions the validity of claims about the foreign origins of the couple, who were ancestors of a powerful Theban family. The paper argues that the non-Egyptian explanation of the names is no more convincing than the alternative interpretation that they are contracted forms of the name Ahmose (in a masculine and a feminine variant). It is further argued that the evidence for the parents of Ahmose Ametju, discovered by Sheila Whale but disregarded in subsequent studies, makes it less likely that Ahmose Ametju was an early generation immigrant to Egypt.