Quick questions on Hatshepsut's officials and the court: HSC Ancient History

Senenmut came from a non-elite Theban family. His parents Ramose and Hatnefer were buried in a small but well-preserved tomb (TT 71); the burial preserved his mother's mummified body and personal items, providing unusual evidence of a non-royal Egyptian family of the period.

Senenmut held an exceptional accumulation of offices: Chief Steward of Amun (managing the temple estates and revenues at Karnak), Chief Steward of Hatshepsut (managing the royal household), Overseer of Works (responsible for royal construction), Overseer of the Granary, and Tutor to the princess Neferure. A statue of Senenmut holding the young Neferure (one of around 25 surviving statues of him) is in the Cairo Museum.

Senenmut is credited with the architectural design of Hatshepsut's mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri. The attribution rests on: inscriptions naming him in the temple precinct, small statues of him incorporated into the temple decoration, and his unusual second tomb (TT 353), an unfinished shaft tomb dug beneath the temple precinct.

Senenmut's unusual prominence has prompted speculation about a romantic relationship with Hatshepsut. Evidence cited: a graffito at Deir el-Bahri showing a sexual scene between two figures sometimes identified as Hatshepsut and Senenmut; his unique royal favour; his unfinished tomb beneath the queen's funerary precinct.

Senenmut disappears from the record around year 16 of Thutmose III, several years before Hatshepsut's death. His tombs were defaced; some damage may predate the wider proscription, suggesting a falling-out before death. The cause is unknown.

Second prophet of Amun under Hatshepsut, with substantial influence in the Karnak temple administration.

Treasurer, recorded in inscriptions for the Punt expedition.

Steward of the God's Wife of Amun, supporting the office's administration.