Nefertiti Biography

Neferneferuaten Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten during the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. Nefertiti and her husband were famous for starting a theological revolution in which they only worshipped one god, Aten, or the sun disc. She ruled with her husband at what was undoubtedly Ancient Egypt's wealthiest time. Although this identification is a matter of continuous discussion, some academics believe Nefertiti ruled briefly as Neferneferuaten following her husband's death and before Tutankhamun's ascension. 

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Who was Nefertiti?

Let us discuss the Nefertiti biography. Nefertiti, whose name means "a beautiful woman has come," was the queen of Egypt and the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten during the 14th century B.C. She and her husband established the worship of Aten, the sun deity, and cultivated Egyptian art beyond anything they had ever seen before. One of Egypt's most recognisable icons is a bust of Nefertiti. Nefertiti, also known as Neferneferuaten Nefertiti, was an important figure in the cult of the sun god Aton. 

Nefertiti's parents are unknown, but her name led early Egyptologists to believe she was a princess from Mitanni (Syria). However, there is strong evidence that she was the Egyptian-born daughter of Ay, Akhenaton's mother's brother and the courtier Ay. Despite the fact that little is known about Nefertiti's parents, she did have a younger sister named Mutnodjmet. Within ten years of her marriage, Nefertiti had six daughters, the elder three of whom were born at Thebes and the younger three in Akhenaton (Amarna). Two of her daughters went on to become Egyptian queens. 

Nefertiti Life History

Nefertiti makes her first appearance at Thebes. The new king Amenhotep IV is accompanied by a royal woman in the damaged tomb of the royal butler Parennefer, and this lady is supposed to be an early portrayal of Nefertiti. The Aten is worshipped by the king and queen. Nefertiti is depicted in the Window of Appearance in the tomb of the vizier Ramose, standing behind Amenhotep IV at the vizier's reward ceremony. Akhenaten (still known as Amenhotep IV) built several temples at Karnak during his early years in Thebes. 

The Mansion of the Benben (hwt-ben-ben) was one of the structures devoted to Nefertiti. She is shown with her daughter Meritaten, and the princess Meketaten also appears in several scenes. Nefertiti appears nearly twice as often as her husband in scenes found on the talatat. She is represented in situations that would ordinarily be the prerogative of the king, but she also appears behind her husband, the Pharaoh, in offering moments in the role of the queen supporting her husband. She is shown smiting the adversary, and her throne is decorated with captured adversaries.

Amenhotep IV decided to relocate the capital to Akhetaten in the fourth year of his reign (modern Amarna). Amenhotep IV officially changed his name to Akhenaten in his fifth year, and Nefertiti became Neferneferuaten Nefertiti. The name change was a reflection of the worship of the Aten's growing importance. It transformed Egypt's religion from polytheism to monolatry (the representation of a single god as an object of worship) or henotheism (one god, who is not the only god). Year 4 and 5 border stelae mark the new city's bounds, implying that the relocation to Akhetaten's new city took place around that time.

Several big open-air temples dedicated to the Aten might be found in the new metropolis. The Great Royal Palace in the city's centre, as well as the Northern Palace, would have been home to Nefertiti and her family. In the scenes at the palaces and in the graves of the nobility, Nefertiti and the rest of the royal family are prominent. During this time, Nefertiti's steward was an official named Meryre II. He would have been in charge of her household management.

Nefertiti Family Details

Although the exact ancestry of Nefertiti is unknown, one popular idea claims that she was the daughter of Ay, the future pharaoh. One major flaw in this argument is that in available records, neither Ay nor his wife Tey is clearly referred to as the father and mother of Nefertiti. Tey's only relationship with her was that she was the "nurse of the great queen" Nefertiti, an unusual designation for the mother of a queen. At the same time, no sources directly dispute Ay's fatherhood, which is thought to be the case because of his significant influence both during and after Nefertiti's existence.

To answer this dilemma, it has been argued that Ay had a second wife named Iuy before Tey, whose presence and connection to Ay is suggested by certain evidence. Nefertiti was the daughter of Ay and Tey, according to legend, but her mother died before she became queen, forcing Ay to marry Tey, who became Nefertiti's stepmother. Nonetheless, the entire plan is founded on assumption and speculation. It has also been suggested that Nefertiti was Akhenaten's complete sister, despite the fact that her titles do not contain those generally given to Pharaoh's daughters. 

Another theory linking Nefertiti to the Mitanni princess Tadukhipa acquired some traction, partly due to Nefertiti's name ("The Beautiful Woman Has Come"), which has been read by some researchers as implying a foreign origin. However, Tadukhipa was already married to Akhenaten's father, and there is no evidence that she had to change her name to marry Akhenaten, nor is there any clear proof that Nefertiti had non-Egyptian heritage. The queen's sister, Mutbenret, is mentioned in scenes in the tombs of the nobles in Amarna (previously read as Mutnodjemet). When Nefertiti married Akhenaten and became the king's Great Royal Wife, the exact dates are unknown.

The Bust of Nefertiti

An upside-down sculpture was discovered in the sandy rubble on the floor of the royal sculptor Thutmose's excavated workshop at Amarna on December 6, 1913, by a team led by German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt. The painted figure had a long neck, a well-proportioned face, and an unusual blue cylinder helmet that was only seen in Nefertiti's depictions. Borchardt's team had worked out a deal with the Egyptians to divide their artefacts, and the bust was sent as part of Germany's part. The bust was delivered to the expedition's sponsor, Jacques Simon, who displayed it at his private apartment for the following 11 years after a single, lousy photograph was published in an archaeological journal.

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Howard Carter, a British Egyptologist, uncovered King Tut's tomb in 1922. Tutankhamun's pure gold funerary mask became a global symbol of beauty, wealth, and power during a media frenzy. A year later, in Berlin, the bust of Nefertiti was unveiled, challenging the “English” Tut with a German appropriation of ancient magnificence. Throughout the twentieth century's upheavals, the bust remained in German hands.

How Did Nefertiti Die?

One of the princesses died shortly after Akhenaton's 12th regnal year, three others vanished (and are thought to have perished), and Nefertiti vanished. The most straightforward conclusion is that Nefertiti died as well, however, there is no evidence of her death or that she was ever buried in the Amarna royal tomb. Due to a misunderstanding of the literary evidence unearthed at the Maru-Aten sun temple at Amarna, early Egyptologists concluded that Nefertiti had divorced Akhenaton and moved to either the north palace at Amarna or Thebes. This notion has since been debunked. The remains of Nefertiti have never been found. It is unlikely that she would not have been buried in the Amarna royal tomb if she died there. However, the reinterment of at least one of the Amarna tombs in Thebes during Tutankhamen's reign is confirmed by the burial in the Valley of the Kings. As a result, Egyptologists have theorised that Nefertiti could be one of the unidentified bodies discovered in the Valley of the Kings' royal mummy caches.

If Nefertiti truly reigned as Pharaoh, the destruction of Amarna and the return of Egypt's capital to Thebes were major developments during her reign. Her bust, which is now on display at Berlin's Neues Museum, made her renowned. The bust is one of ancient Egypt's most imitated sculptures. It was discovered in the workshop of the sculptor Thutmose (as per Thutmose Sculptor biography) and attributed to him.