Mentuemhat or Montuemhat (c. 700 BCE – c. 650 BCE) was a rich and powerful Theban official from ancient Egypt who lived during the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt and Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt. He was the Fourth Priest of Amun in Thebes. He is known from many statues and was buried in tomb TT34 of the Theban Necropolis. History Mentuemhat's father likely served as Mayor of Thebes during the reign of Shebitku. Montuemhat's father Nesptah passed on the position of Mayor of Thebes to his nephew Remmakheru and later to Mentuemhat himself. Mentuemhat served during the reigns of Taharqa and Psamtik I, which cover parts of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt and Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt. When Tantamani came to power he attempted to regain lost territories in Lower Egypt, which he attacked, seizing Memphis and killing the Assyrian vassal Necho I in the process. Subsequently, Assurbanipal attacked Egypt, defeating Tantamani near Memphis, who then fled to Thebes, but the Assyrians pursued him there. Tantamani fled further south, while the Assyrians looted Thebes. After this episode Thebes became a more or less independent entity under the rule of the Mayor Mentuemhat. Thebes would have been ruled by Mentuemhat and the God's Wife Shepenupet II. When Psamtik I came to the throne he negotiated a deal in year 9 where Shepenupet II adopted Psamtik's daughter Nitocris I. This negotiation would have been overseen by Montuemhat. These events were commemorated in a series of reliefs in the Temple of Mut. The Adoption Stela of Nitocris lists offerings made by Mentuemhat, his son Nesptah and his wife Wadjerenes. Portraiture Mentuemhet was a rich and powerful mayor and priest of Thebes and Governor of Upper Egypt who rebuilt the city after the Assyrians destroyed it. Mentuemhet’s power over Thebes likely is what inspired him to portray himself as a pharaoh in his statuary, like he was king of Egypt—and in the case of Upper Egypt, he de facto was. The Egyptian kings needed to appear as both a ruler and a god and were charged with maintaining stability within the kingdom. Thus Egyptian kings were almost always portrayed as cool and calm, like the Nile, and so Mentuemhet adopted such a motif into his own portraiture. All of Mentuemhet's statues were done in the style of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Family Mentuemhat was the son of Nesptah (A), the third Prophet of Amun