Nefertiti


Nefertiti was a queen of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for their radical overhaul of state religious policy, in which they promoted an exclusivist and possibly even monotheistic religion, Atenism, centered on the sun disc and its direct connection to the royal household. With her husband, she reigned at what was arguably the wealthiest period of ancient Egyptian history.
After her husband's death, some scholars believe that Nefertiti ruled briefly as the female pharaoh known by the throne name Neferneferuaten just before the ascension of Tutankhamun, although this identification is a matter of ongoing debate. If Nefertiti did rule as pharaoh, her reign was marked by the fall of Amarna and the relocation of the capital back to the traditional city of Memphis after her death.
In the 20th century, Nefertiti was made famous by the discovery and display of her ancient bust, now in Berlin's Neues Museum. The bust is one of the most copied works of the art of ancient Egypt. It is attributed to the Egyptian sculptor Thutmose, and was excavated from his buried studio complex in the early 20th century.

Names and titles

Nefertiti had many titles, including:
While modern Egyptological pronunciation renders her name as Nefertiti, her name was the sentence nfr.t jj.tj, meaning "the beautiful one has come", and probably contemporarily pronounced Naftita from older Nafrat-ita or perhaps Nafert-yiti.

Family and early life

Almost nothing is known about Nefertiti's life before her marriage to Akhenaten. Scenes from the tombs of the nobles in Amarna mention that Nefertiti had a sister, named Mutbenret. Further, a woman named Tey carried the title of "Nurse of the Great Royal Wife." In addition, Tey's husband Ay carried the title "God's Father." Some Egyptologists believe that this title was used for a man whose daughter married the pharaoh. Based on these titles, it has been proposed that Ay was in fact Nefertiti's father. However, neither Ay nor Tey are explicitly referred to as Nefertiti's parents in the existing sources. At the same time, no sources exist that directly contradict Ay's fatherhood which is considered likely due to the great influence he wielded during Nefertiti's life and after her death. According to another theory, Nefertiti was the daughter of Ay and a woman besides Tey, but Ay's first wife died before Nefertiti's rise to the position of queen, whereupon Ay married Tey, making her Nefertiti's stepmother. Nevertheless, this entire proposal is based on speculation and conjecture.
It has also been proposed that Nefertiti was Akhenaten's full sister, though this is contradicted by her titles which do not include the title of "King's Daughter" or "King's Sister," usually used to indicate a relative of a pharaoh. Another theory about her parentage that gained some support identified Nefertiti with the Mitanni princess Tadukhipa, partially based on Nefertiti's name which has been interpreted by some scholars as signifying a foreign origin. However, Tadukhipa was already married to Akhenaten's father and there is no evidence for any reason why this woman would need to alter her name in a proposed marriage to Akhenaten, nor any hard evidence of a foreign non-Egyptian background for Nefertiti.
The exact dates when Nefertiti married Akhenaten and became the king's great royal wife are uncertain. They are known to have had at least six daughters together, including Meritaten, Meketaten, Ankhesenpaaten, Neferneferuaten Tasherit, Neferneferure, and Setepenre. She was once considered as a candidate for the mother of Tutankhamun, however a genetic study conducted on discovered mummies suggests that she was not.

Life

Nefertiti first appears in scenes in Thebes. In the damaged tomb of the royal butler Parennefer, the new king Amenhotep IV is accompanied by a royal woman, and this lady is thought to be an early depiction of Nefertiti. The king and queen are shown worshiping the Aten. In the tomb of the vizier Ramose, Nefertiti is shown standing behind Amenhotep IV in the Window of Appearance during the reward ceremony for the vizier.
During the early years in Thebes, Akhenaten had several temples erected at Karnak. One of the structures, the Mansion of the Benben, was dedicated to Nefertiti. She is depicted with her daughter Meritaten and in some scenes the princess Meketaten participates as well. From all the scenes preserved on talatat that can be dated to the first five years of Akhenaten’s reign, Nefertiti is depicted almost twice as frequently as her husband, indicating her exceptionally high visibility during this period and demonstrating her political importance. She is shown appearing behind her husband the pharaoh in offering scenes in the role of the queen supporting her husband, but she is also depicted in scenes that would have normally been the prerogative of the king. She is shown smiting the enemy, and captive enemies decorate her throne.
In the fourth year of his reign, Amenhotep IV decided to move the capital to Akhetaten. In his fifth year, Amenhotep IV officially changed his name to Akhenaten, and Nefertiti was henceforth known as Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti. The name change was a sign of the ever-increasing importance of the cult of the Aten. It changed Egypt's religion from a polytheistic religion to a religion which may have been better described as a monolatry or henotheism.
The boundary stelae of years 4 and 5 mark the boundaries of the new city and suggest that the move to the new city of Akhetaten occurred around that time. The new city contained several large open-air temples dedicated to the Aten. Nefertiti and her family would have resided in the Great Royal Palace in the centre of the city and possibly at the Northern Palace as well. Nefertiti and the rest of the royal family feature prominently in the scenes at the palaces and in the tombs of the nobles. Nefertiti's steward during this time was an official named Meryre II. He would have been in charge of running her household.
Inscriptions in the tombs of Huya and Meryre II dated to Year 12, 2nd month of Peret, Day 8 show a large foreign tribute. The people of Kharu and Kush are shown bringing gifts of gold and precious items to Akhenaten and Nefertiti. In the tomb of Meryre II, Nefertiti's steward, the royal couple is shown seated in a kiosk with their six daughters in attendance. This is one of the last times princess Meketaten is shown alive.
Two representations of Nefertiti that were excavated by Flinders Petrie appear to show Nefertiti in the middle to later part of Akhenaten's reign 'after the exaggerated style of the early years had relaxed somewhat'. One is a small piece on limestone and is a preliminary sketch of Nefertiti wearing her distinctive tall crown with carving begun around the mouth, chin, ear and tab of the crown. Another is a small inlay head modeled from reddish-brown quartzite that was clearly intended to fit into a larger composition.
Meketaten may have died in year 13 or 14. Nefertiti, Akhenaten, and three princesses are shown mourning her. The last dated inscription naming Nefertiti and Akhenaten comes from a building inscription in the limestone quarry at Deir Abu Hinnis. It dates to year 16 of the king's reign and is also the last dated inscription naming the king. Akhenaten is known to have died in his 17th year at Amarna.

Possible reign as a Pharaoh

Many scholars believe Nefertiti had a role elevated from that of great royal wife, and was promoted to co-regent by her husband Pharaoh Akhenaten before his death. She is depicted in many archaeological sites as equal in stature to a King, smiting Egypt's enemies, riding a chariot, and worshipping the Aten in the manner of a pharaoh. When Nefertiti's name disappears from historical records, it is replaced by that of a co-regent named Neferneferuaten, who became a female Pharaoh. It seems likely that Nefertiti, in a similar fashion to the previous female Pharaoh Hatshepsut, assumed the kingship under the name Pharaoh Neferneferuaten after her husband's death. She was then succeeded by Tutankhamun.
It seems less possible that Nefertiti disguised herself as a male and assumed the male alter ego of Smenkhkare. According to Van Der Perre, Smenkhkare is thought to be a co-regent of Akhenaten who died before Neferneferuaten assumed the kingship.
If Nefertiti did rule Egypt as a Pharaoh, it has been theorized that she would have attempted damage control and may have re-instated the ancient Egyptian religion and the Amun priests. She would have raised Tutankhamun in the worship of the traditional gods.
Archaeologist and Egyptologist Dr. Zahi Hawass theorized that Nefertiti returned to Thebes from Amarna to rule as a Pharaoh, based on ushabti and other feminine evidence of a female pharaoh found in Tutankhamun's tomb, as well as evidence of Nefertiti smiting Egypt's enemies which was a duty reserved to kings.

Old theories about Nefertiti's career

Pre-2012 Egyptological theories assumed that Nefertiti vanished from the historical record around Year 12 of Akhenaten's reign, with no word of her existence thereafter. The conjectured causes of her death and disappearance included injury, a plague that was sweeping through the city, and a natural cause. This theory was based on the discovery of several ushabti fragments inscribed for Nefertiti.
A previous theory that she fell into disgrace was discredited when deliberate erasures of monuments belonging to a queen of Akhenaten were shown to refer to Kiya instead.
During Akhenaten's reign, Nefertiti enjoyed unprecedented power. By the twelfth year of his reign, there is evidence she may have been elevated to the status of co-regent: equal in status to the pharaoh, as may be depicted on the Coregency Stela.