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Yuya in hieroglyphs

Yuya (sometimes transliterated as Iouiya) was a powerful Egyptian courtier of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt (circa 1400 BCE). While all references outside of his tomb refer to him as Yuya, in his tomb he was also addressed as Yaa, Ya, Yiya, Yayi, Yu, Yuyu, Yaya, Yiay, Yia, Yuy. His name was previously transliterated as Yuaa, due to the fact that the "i" (a reed leaf) is pronounced "ah" (like the "o" in "shot") at the beginning of an Egyptian word, however, not in the middle of a word, where it is pronounced like an "i" or "y". The error has only been corrected by more modern scholarship.

Career

Yuya served as a key adviser for Pharaoh Amenhotep III (father of Akhenaten), who married Yuya's daughter Tiye. Amenhotep III probably knew Yuya and his family well, as Yuya was likely appointed to his position under Amenhotep's father, Thutmose IV. Yuya is the only person in Egyptian history known to have been granted the title "Beloved Father of Pharaoh".

Yuya married Tjuyu, an Egyptian noblewoman and was the father of Tiye, who became Amenhotep's Great Royal Wife. Some scholars speculate that they also may have been the parents of AyCite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).. It is believed by some that he was a son of Yey, another ancient official. However, there is not enough time between the time Yey could have had a child and the time that Yuya became official, as that would mean Yuya became vizier at a very young age, and it would mean that he died much younger than his mummy suggests. Also, it is also though by some that Yey was just some sort of nickname for Amenhotep II, though this theory is uncommon.

Together with his wife, Yuya was buried in the Valley of the Kings, in KV46, where their largely unpillaged remains were found in 1905.

Yuya and Joseph

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Yuya's facial features, as observed on his mummy, have led some archaeologists to postulate that he was actually Asiatic in origin (usually thought to be Semitic, Canaanite, or Mitannian). Some scholars have gone so far as to connect Yuya with the biblical story of Joseph, a son of Jacob and Rachel.

The Egyptian Language has the sounds "j" (if hard), "s", and "f". It however lacks the "o" sound, our only evidence that Egyptian ever had this sound is from the Greeks, and the "e" traditionally placed between consonants, and turning "w"s to "u"s is genereally associated with Western linguistics.

This view is opposed by Biblical literalists who note that the book of Exodus in the Torah states that the Israelites brought Joseph's bones out of Egypt. Thus, since Yuya's body was found in Egypt in the Valley of the Kings, they claim that it is impossible that he is indeed Joseph. Those who do not accept the total historical accuracy of the Bible, such as Charles N. Pope, respond that Joseph may have been a composite of more than one individual, while Ahmed Osman responds that the part about his body's removal to Canaan may have been a later insertion, perhaps evidenced by the name for God (Elohim) used in all verses refering to Josephs removal from Egypt being different from the name used in the surrounding verses (YHWH). This is also supported by the fact that Joseph's burial in the Book of Joshua seems very out of place.

Some Egyptologists argue that what we know of Yuya's family suggests that they did not come from Asia, but from the regional nobility of Akhmim, in Upper Egypt, as it is odd how strongly connected to the town he seems to be, though most give him a Mitannian origin because of strong ties between the Kingdoms of Egypt and Mitanni, another possibility for his Semitic appearance.

The claim about the hieroglyphs in Yuya's name being misread is also rejected by many archaeologists. The "ya" in his name is, in fact, two hieroglyphs, not one; and there is no single hieroglyph for "sef" in Egyptian. Hieroglyphs for "set" or "seth" look like a throne seat and a shoulder knot respectively, and do not in any way resemble a combination of a reed leaf and a vulture used for "ya". The hieroglyphs for "sef', "sep", "sf", and "sp" in Egyptian only vaguely represent the hieroglyps for "ya", and it is not likely that they are meant to.

Interestingly enough, "Yuya" has no translation in ancient Egyptian, while in Hebrew, it means "He is of God" or "He who is of God."

The late Sheikh Abdallah Shehata has anounced that a special mausoleum would be built for Yuya on behalf of Ahmed Osman, the first to publish a theory discussing that there may be a connection between Joseph and Yuya. Whether or not this mausoleum will still be built since Sheikh Shehata's death is uncertain.

Footnotes

1. (Osman p. 113)
2. Michael Rice, Who's Who in Ancient Egypt, p.222
3. (Osman pp. 49-50)
4. Michael Rice, Who's Who in Ancient Egypt, p.207
5. "KV46 (Yuya and Thuyu)". Theban Mapping website. Retrieved Sept 23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
6. (Collier and Manley p. 3)
7. (Collier and Manley p. 4)
8. http://www.domainofman.com/book/chap-15.html
9. (Osman p. 3)
10. http://amscresearch.com/_wsn/page4.html
11. Faulkner, Raymond O., A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Griffith Institute, Oxford, 1962
12. http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/672/profile.htm

References

• Collier, Mark and Manley, Bill. How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs: Revised Edition. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1998.
• Osman, Ahmed. The Hebrew Pharaohs of Egypt. Rochester: Bear and Company, 1987.
• Winsten, Joseph. Moses Meets Israel: The Origins of One God. Rumford Inc., 1999.
• Faulkner, Raymond O. A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian. Griffith Institute, 1962

External links

• "An account of the discovery of Yuya's tomb". Tour Egypt. Retrieved March 2. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "Yuya and Tjuyu tomb gallery". Tour Egypt. Retrieved March 2. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "Discussion and images of the mummies of Yuya and Tjuyu". Tripod homepage. Retrieved March 2. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "Ahmed Osman attempts to prove that Yuya was Joseph". Ahmed Osman. Retrieved March 2. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "Rise of Vizier Yuya in 18th Dynasty". Retrieved May 19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

See also

• Ancient Egypt
• Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
• Joseph
• Tiye
• Tjuyu

• Ancient Egyptians
• Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
• Judaism