The Joneses and Their Ancient Relatives

​These three books took me on a tour of Ancient Egypt this summer. Now I’d like to introduce you to a few members of Egyptian royalty that played key roles in the plot, and to the three amulets that made time travel possible for the Joneses.
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                If you'd like to read about each book, click on this link: Rinda Beach - Blog - Rinda Beach


PS - I checked with the author after I finished this post to make sure I kept the facts straight between the real royals, and her middle grade novels. She’s an Egyptologist, and I did! Best of all, I picked the best pictures of the royal family. YAY!   
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​An Ancient Egyptian Family Tree of the Joneses

Meet their relatives in the order they appeared in this series.
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​#1 – Princess Meritaten: Meet the Princess who plays a starring role in the series about the Joneses. Her name – Meritaten. This is a bust of the real princess from ancient Egypt.
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In the story Meritaten is the most talented magician the royal family has produced in centuries. Her time travel spell brings Jagger and Aria Jones back to ancient Egypt. The first thing Aria does is rename the princess. Tatia is easier on the tongue.

And Tatia, the first thing she does is tell the teenagers they’re related. Saving the royals will save them too. It’s the only way Jagger and Aria can go home again.

An evil general is killing the royal family one by one. When they’re dead and gone, he’ll make himself pharaoh. Her sister Meketaten/Mek, is the first target. In a fascinating twist – Tatia knows she can’t save her sister in this life, but she can in the next. With the help of two American teenagers.
                 Photo from - Meritaten - Wikipedia

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​#2 – Her Royal Sisters: Meet Meritaten’s family. Start on the left . . . under the canopy is Meketaten, the princess who’s dying. In this painting she’s dead. Her father is next, Pharaoh Akhenaten, and her mother, Nefertiti. If I understood the painting’s description, they’re all saying goodbye to Mek.

Behind them, her sisters in order of birth – Meritaten, Ankhesenpaaten, and Neferneferuaten Tasherit. Look at the next set of pictures to see two sisters who were too little to attend the funeral. You will only see her younger siblings in one scene from Book 1 – as children playing in a courtyard. They’re unnamed, except for Tut. That’s because he’s the only name Jagger and Aria would recognize. Ankhesenpaaten will return in Book 3, as royal wife to her brother, King Tut. (Scan down if you’d like to take a peek now.)                                                                                                      Photo from: Meketaten - Wikipedia
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These two paintings show Meritaten’s youngest sisters. You’ve already met one of them. The first image shows all three. From left to right, starting with the youngest - Setepenre, then Neferneferure, and Neferneferuaten Tasherit who you’ve already met. The youngest two die in Book 1, thanks to the wicked general. I think Setepenre dies first, then Neferneferure.

The second image is of Neferneferure, and Neferneferuaten Tasherit. They look a lot alike in the painting, and so do their names. Did you notice – the youngest two, the ones that die first, that their names don’t end in ‘aten.”                                                         Photos from: Neferneferuaten Tasherit - Wikipedia

                                Tomorrow – My guess for why ‘aten’ was dropped from the last two names.

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#3 – Her Parents: Meet Meritaten’s parents. Her father, the Pharaoh Akhenaten. Her mother, renowned beauty, and Great Royal Wife, Nefertiti. You can see both busts in museums. Her father is in Egypt, and her mother’s in Germany.

They’re barely mentioned in Book 1, but they’re both alive. Akhenaten is still ruling the country. This is the point in history when pharaoh makes a wrong turn. How?  Why?

Akhenaten has thrown away all the gods, but one – the Aten. That’s the sun god. If you’d like to see him, scan down to King Tut. The Aten is shone in front of his throne.
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By Book 2, Meritaten’s parents are both dead. Her little sisters and husband too. Look below to find out who she married. Meritaten is the new pharaoh, but she’s dying too. Read the story and find out how she saves Egypt. It’s incredible! Remember, its author is an Egyptologist. Her story is part fantasy and part historical fiction. All three books make for a fun, yet historic journey!
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                     Photo Sources: Link: Akhenaten - Wikipedia      &         Link: Nefertiti - Wikipedia

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#3 – Her Brother AND Husband:  EWWW! If you looked at Meritaten’s other brother by another mother, Tut, he had to marry his half-sister. Meritaten did too.

When Book 2 picks up, her parents are already dead. Her brother Smenkhkare became the next pharaoh, and she became his great royal wife. This image is thought to be them; although some people believe they’re Tutankhamun and Ankesenamun.  

The story picks up with Meritaten as pharaoh. Egypt is dying, and so is her family, all because of the Aten. The other gods have all disappeared. Book 2 is how Meritaten saves her country, meets the founder of the next dynasty, P Soup, and disappears. Scan down to meet him.                                                          Photo Source: Smenkhkare - Wikipedia

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​#4 - A Future Pharaoh: Look below for Paramessu. He enters the story as a teen in Book 2. Aria gave him a nickname – P Soup – as in #1 on the toilet. Gross! Through another strange twist of writing magic, he’s related to the Joneses, on their father’s side. P Soup is alo a future pharaoh, but many years in the future. And don’t worry! P Soup’s back in Book 3.

The real Paramessu is chosen as pharaoh because he has a son, and a grandson. The first image is a stone carving of his head. It’s from a statue of him as a scribe. Later when he became pharaoh, his name changed to Ramesses I.
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The second image is a relief, a scene that was carved into a chapel built by his son, Seti I, the next pharaoh. Neither Seti nor his son were born princes. The grandson, Ramesses II or Ramesses the Great, was one of Egypt’s most successful pharaohs.                         Photos from - Ramesses I - Wikipedia
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#5 Her Brother & Future Pharaoh: Look below to meet Tutankhamun. He’s the youngest brother of Princess Meritaten, the main character of the Jagger Jones series. In Book 1, he’s a child, in one tiny scene. By Book 3, he’s become Pharaoh, but he never enters the story.

King Tut became Pharoah when he was 8. He reigned for about 10 years, until he was 18. The first image is Tut on his throne. The Aten, the Sun God, is pictured above him. BTW – the Aten is the villain that connects all three books.
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The second image (above now) is Tutankhamun getting flowers from his half-sister Ankhesenamun. She’s also his wife. Evidently Egyptian Pharaohs married their sisters, half ones too. Maybe that’s why this dynasty ended with Tut.

​Look below for two more images of Tutankhamun. The first, his funeral mask, a golden one! The second, a painted wooden figure of him. Scientists think Tutankhamun used it as a mannequin for his clothes.

      Photos from - Ankhesenamun - Wikipedia                         Photos from - Tutankhamun - Wikipedia  
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#6 - Her Grandmother:​ This is Meritaten and Tutankhamun’s grandmother. Her name, Tiye. She was a force to be reckoned with. She outlived her husband, her son, and most of her grandchildren.

Tiye enters the story because she has the seneb (cane) and the magical power to use it. She brings back Jagger, Aria, and her granddaughter Meritaten (Tatia) from Chicago. These are two different busts of Tiye.                                                                     Phots from: Tiye - Wikipedia
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​​​​#7 - And the Amulets:​ The three amulets from Jagger Jones – the ankh, wedja, and seneb. Put them together, and they’re a blessing that means, “May you have life, prosperity, and health.” I never really thought about them, as amulets or symbols, but I did when I put this post together. BTW, amulets were designed as an ornament or small piece of jewelry that was supposed to protect you against evil, danger, and/or disease. 
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Note from Malayna, the author: I chose these three signs because of the blessing (life, prosperity, health ... or possibly: be alive, be prosperous, be healthy). The books are sort of roughly organized around the themes.

​​The Ankh:​ Book 1s title – Jagger Jones & the Mummy’s Ankh. The mummy with the ankh is a princess. She’s still alive, but she’s dying in this life and in the next one. Her older sister, Tatia, borrows it to bring Jagger back to ancient Egypt. Aria is an unexpected bonus. Tatia can’t save her sister in this life, but she hopes to save her in the afterlife.

Note from Malayna: For example, the first book is about life -- Meketaten is dying but I shifted focus to more ancient Egyptian notions of death. They can't save her life, but might save her afterlife. 

An ankh has a T shape, like our capital T, but with a droplet on top. The first image shows it as a hieroglyphic, part of Egyptian picture writing. The ankh stands for life. The second image is an ankh medallion.

                                                                                     Source: Ankh - Wikipedia
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Note from Malayna: Great job, Rinda! You did awesome. Only one thing to flag. The wedja (prosperity) sign and the wedjat (horus eye) sign are different. (confusing, for sure!) Wedja means something like "to be whole."   OOPS! I thought it was the plural. Not! But I’m leaving it in because I really love that eye 😊

So although the wedjat (horus eye) symbol is a more powerful and common symbol, the title of book two is the wedja symbol, less common or powerful but used in the blessing I'm fond of. Hope that helps.   It does. Thank you, Malayna!

​The Wedja:  Book 2s title – Aria Jones & the Guardian’s Wedja. The wedja belongs to Tatia, who’s now pharaoh of Egypt. She uses it to bring Aria and Jagger back because she’s dying, and so is her family.

Note from Malayna: The second book has the family in financial straits, and it ends with more prosperity for them. 

Remember this isn't the wedja, but I think it's still interesting to read! The first image is the left wedjat eye. It’s the symbol for the Eye of Horus. Horus is an Egyptian god, and there’s a whole story about how both his eyes were torn out. OUCH! That’s why wedjas stand for healing, well-being, and protection.

The second one’s an amulet that once belonged to King Tut. The Eye of Horus is near the top. Underneath is a disk and crescent that represent the moon.

                                                              Source: Eye of Horus - Wikipedia
                                                             To learn more of the wedja’s story:
                      Wedjat Symbol (Eye of Horus) - History And Meaning - Symbols Archive
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​The Seneb:​ Book 3s title – The Joneses & the Princess’s Seneb. The seneb belongs to the youngest living princess, but she gave it to her grandmother for safekeeping. Grandma uses it to bring back the three Joneses . . . Jagger, Aria, and her oldest granddaughter, Tatia.

​Note from Malayna: And the final book deals a bit with family health.

I had trouble finding anything about senebs. I found a person named Seneb who was a dwarf. He lived an unusually healthy life. Another Seneb was a scribe, but neither of those made sense.

The first image is the only way I could find seneb – as part of the phrase ‘ankh, wedja, seneb.’ It looks like a cane with a handle that’s way too long. And the wedja, it’s totally different from yesterday’s. The second image is a real pendant. You can buy it on the internet, but I never found a seneb amulet all by itself. As a hieroglyph, seneb means sound, well, or healthy.

                                                                     Source: Ankh wedja seneb - Wikipedia
    Pendant Source: Brass Ankh Udja Seneb amulet | immortal-art-studios (immortalartstudios.com)