Time to read real royal names. Everything you have learned comes together: sound signs (The Alphabet V: t ṯ d ḏ), biliterals and triliterals, determinatives, and above all honorific transposition, which turns up in most names that contain a god (Cartouches and Their Titles).
Key idea
Read a cartouche sign by sign, then check for a god’s name written first. In twt-ꜥnḫ-jmn Tutankhamun, Amun’s name is written first but read last; in jmn-ḥtp Amenhotep it is read first, because it belongs first.
| Name | Written order | Read | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Khufu | ḫ w f w | ḫwfw | (a shortened name; its full form invoked Khnum) |
| Khafre | rꜥ ḫꜥ f | ḫꜥ=f-rꜥ | a name with Ra |
| Menkaure | rꜥ mn kꜣ kꜣ kꜣ | mn-kꜣw-rꜥ | a name with Ra (three kas = the plural kꜣw) |
| Amenhotep | jmn ḥtp | jmn-ḥtp | “Amun is content” |
| Thutmose | ḏḥwtj ms | ḏḥwtj-ms | “Thoth is born” |
| Ramesses | rꜥ ms s | rꜥ-ms-sw | “Ra is the one who bore him” |
| Tutankhamun | jmn twt ꜥnḫ | twt-ꜥnḫ-jmn | “living image of Amun” |
Greek names
Under the Ptolemies, Greek names were spelled out with one-consonant signs, and a few signs took on new values: the lion 𓃭 writes l, the lasso 𓍯 an o-like sound. ptwlmys is Ptolemy and qljwpꜣdrꜣt Cleopatra. These were the names Young and Champollion used to start the decipherment.
Why it works
Why is the god sometimes read last? Many royal names are short sentences or phrases about a god: “living image of Amun”, “enduring is the form of Ra”. Grammar puts the god at the end (“image of Amun”), but honor puts him at the front of the writing. When the god is the subject of the sentence (“Amun is content”), he comes first in both.
Common mistake
Reading the god’s name first because it is written first: “Amun-tut-ankh”. Translate the name: if the god is the possessor or comes after a verb or adjective in the meaning, he is read last. Check with a known name: Tutankhamun, not Amuntutankh.
Worked example: Read it
A cartouche has the sun, then 𓈍 ḫꜥ and the viper f. Read it.
- Signs: rꜥ, ḫꜥ, f.
- Ra is written first out of honor, read last.
Answer: ḫꜥ=f-rꜥ, Khafre
Worked example: No transposition
Why is ḏḥwtj-ms read in written order?
- The name means “Thoth is born”.
- Thoth is the subject and belongs first.
Answer: the god is first in the meaning too