Pharaoh Ramesses II married his own daughter, and Queen Cleopatra VII married her brother. How common were marriages among royal and common families?
Brother and Sister Marriages
It is often said that ancient Egyptian royalty married within their family, with pharaohs marrying their sisters and sometimes even their daughters. But is there any truth to this claim?
The temples at Abu Simbel honor Pharaoh Ramesses II and his queen, Nefertari. However, Ramesses II had many wives, including his daughter, Meritamen. (Photo: Michelle McMahon via Getty Images)
The answer is yes: people in ancient Egypt, both royal and common, married their blood relatives, but the specifics varied depending on the time period and social class.
Among the general populace, marriages between brothers and sisters occurred frequently during the Roman control of Egypt—from 30 BC to AD 395—but this phenomenon was rarer in earlier periods, according to ancient records. Meanwhile, ancient Egyptian royalty sometimes married their full siblings—a practice that may reflect religious beliefs—and pharaohs occasionally married their own daughters.
Marcelo Campagno, an independent scholar with a PhD in Egyptology, stated: “The question of incestuous marriages in ancient Egypt has been widely discussed.”
Examples of Egyptian rulers who married their siblings include Senwosret I (reigned circa 1961 BC to 1917 BC), who married his sister Neferu; Amenhotep I (reigned circa 1525 BC to 1504 BC), who married his sister Ahmose-Meritamun; and Cleopatra VII (reigned circa 51 BC to 30 BC), who married her brother Ptolemy XIV before he was murdered…
Many individuals in the Egyptian royal family engaged in sibling marriages to simulate the customs of Osiris and Isis, two Egyptian deities who were siblings married to each other.
Leire Olabaria, a lecturer in Egyptology at the University of Birmingham in the UK, noted: “Osiris is one of the most important gods in Egyptian religion. His consort, Isis, is also his sister in some ancient Egyptian cosmological views. Therefore, royal marriages emulate Osiris and Isis, while maintaining their image as gods on Earth.”
Campagno agrees that the Osiris-Isis marriage helps explain why sibling marriages were practiced by the Egyptian royalty.
Among the non-royal population, sibling marriages did not seem to become common until the Roman period.
Olabaria warns that it may be difficult to detect sibling marriages after the beginning of the New Kingdom (circa 1550 BC to 1070 BC) due to changes in the language used by Egyptians. For example: “The term ‘snt’ is often translated as ‘sister,’ but in the New Kingdom, it also began to be used for a wife or lover,” Olabaria explained.
Sabine Huebner, a professor of ancient civilizations at the University of Basel in Switzerland, has written that sibling marriages could indeed occur. Parents without sons might prefer this arrangement, as it meant the husband would move into their home instead of their daughter leaving.
Huebner writes: “This is very important for the financial stability of parents as they age. This formal custom of receiving a son-in-law also occurred in other ancient societies, including Greece.”
There are other interpretations that may explain why sibling marriages were common in Roman Egypt. Olabaria suggests that parents may have encouraged this to prevent their wealth and property from being divided upon their death. Campagno notes that this custom seems to have occurred largely within a segment of the Greek population, and Olabaria adds that sibling marriages may have been used as a marker of identity for native Greeks in Egypt.
Pharaohs Marrying Their Daughters
There are also instances where pharaohs married their daughters: Ramesses II (reigned circa 1279 BC to 1213 BC) married his daughter Meritamen as his wife.
Pharaohs in Egypt often had multiple wives and concubines, and these incestuous marriages sometimes resulted in offspring. Some scholars suggest that inbreeding may have caused health issues.
