Nefertiti
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Family background
Nefertiti is one of the most famous women of the ancient world, and was the chief wife of the "heretic" Pharaoh Akhenaten. It is unclear who Nefertiti´s parents were. They may have been of noble or common birth, and may even have been foreign nationals. It is sometimes suggested that Nefertiti was the daughter of Tiye and Amenhotep III (making her a sister or step-sister of Akhenaten). However, she is not referred to as the King´s Daughter, so this is unlikely. She may have been a descendant of Ahmose-Nefertari, who was not actually directly in line to the throne. She did not use the title "God's wife of Amun", but this may have been because of its association with the old gods.
A more widely accepted theory proposes that she was the daughter of Ay, the vizier who later became Pharaoh. This is supported by the fact that Ay called himself the "father of the God" (although strictly he would have been the father-in-law of the Pharaoh/God). Furthermore, Mutnodjme who is referred to as Nefertiti's sister, is mentioned a number of times in Ay's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Unfortunately, there are no inscriptions which actually confirm that Ay was her father. Even if he was, it is possible that Nefertiti was a half-sister of Mutnodjme or was adopted by the family (if she was in fact a foreign national). If Nefertiti was the daughter of Ay, it was probably not by his chief wife, Tey (or Tiy) who was never referred to as "Royal mother of the chief wife of the king". Instead Tey is known as the "nurse" or "governess" of the king's chief wife. It is proposed that Nefertiti´s mother died and Tey acted as a wet nurse or governess for the young girl.
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Some comentators have suggested that Nefertiti was in fact the famous Queen Jezebel from the Old Testement. Apparently, she left Israel on the death of her husband, King Ahab, and returned when Akhenaten rejected her for failing to provide him with a male heir. Proponents of this view further suggest that Jehu (who caused the death of Jezebel) was in fact the general Horemheb. He became Pharaoh after the death of Ay, and destroyed the monuments and inscriptions of the Atenist regime. However, the orthodox chronology would place 500 years between Nefertiti and Jezebel, and Jezebel was an avid defender of the Phonecian Goddess Astarte. This does not tie in too well with Atensim as Astarte was a war and fertility goddess while her consort Baal was a rain and storm god. It is tempting to see a similarity between Sekhmet and Astarte (because the later also took the form of a lion from time to time) as a connection between the Phonecian gods and Atensim, but where is the all powerful sun god described by Akhenaten himself? In any case, Jehu was the son of Jehoshaphat who became the tenth King of the northern kingdom of Israel, and the only one of the nineteen kings of Israel to receive glowing praise from Jehovah for his obedience. |
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Finally, it is suggest that Nefertiti was in fact the Tadukhipa, the daughter of Tushratta (also known as Dasharatha) King of the Mitanni, but most scholars consider it more likely that Tadukhipa was actually Queen Kiya.
Relationship with Akhenaten
Akhenaten and Nefertiti has six daughters Merytaten (born in year 2), Meketaten (born in year 3), Ankhesenpaaten (born in year 4), Neferneferuaten Tasherit (born in year 6), Neferneferure (born in year 9) and Setepenre (born in year 11). However, it seems that it was Queen Kiya who provided Akhenaten with his sons amd heirs Smenkhkare and Tutankhamun.
Although Nefertiti was not Akhenaten´s only wife, she was clearly greatly loved by the Pharaoh, and seems to have been given a very prominent role in the religious and political life of Egypt. Akhenaten is regularly depicted displaying affection for Nefertiti and her daughters in a unrestrained show of emotion which is pretty much unique to Egyptian art. In one inscription the king described his beloved queen as;
"the Mistress of Happiness, Endowed with Favors, at hearing whose voice the King rejoices, the Chief Wife of the King, his beloved, the Lady of the Two Lands, Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti, May she live for Ever and Always".
Some theorists suggest that Nefertiti was the author of the religious and cultural revolution initiated by her husband. While this may be an exaggeration, she was clearly important to the new theology as she represented the feminine aspect of the god. She and her husband were depicted as the archetypal couple who formed a bridge between the Aten and the people. Thus Nefertiti replaced Isis, Nephthys, Selket and Neith on the four corners of Akhenaten´s sarcophagus and she was regularly shown taking part in the daily worship of the Aten making similar offerings as the king. Furthermore, the queen was depicted smiting enemies , a role generally reserved for the Pharaoh alone, and many argue that she acted as co-regent with her husband.
Appearance
Nefertiti generally wore a close fitting almost diaphanous sheath dress, but was also depicted naked. In part this related to her role in the fertility cult. During the early years of Akhenaten´s reign Nefertiti wore the crown of Hathor (cow horns and a sun disc, often including plumes) or the headdress of Mut (the vulture goddess). When the royal family moved to Armarna, Nefertiti favoured a flat-topped version of the blue war crown which she is most often associated with. This crown also linked the queen with the goddess Tefnut, a solar deity. In this she emulated the role of "Gods Wife of Amun", wearing the same close fitting robe tied with a red sash and Nubian wig with either a double uraei (royal cobra) or the double plumed crown with a sun disk. However, it may be that her power exceeded even that of Ahmose Nefertari (the foundress of the eighteenth dynasty).
Disappearance
Nefertiti vanished around year fourteen of Akhenaten´s reign. It has been suggested that she was disgraced and her place at the King´s side taken by her daughter Merytaten and the lesser wife Kiya (possibly the mother of Smenkhare and Tutankhamun). According to some commentators, Nefertiti´s name was removed from inscriptions and relaced with that of Merytaten. However, others have suggested that was Kiya´s name and images that were removed from monuments. Proponents of this view suggest that Nefertiti was jealous of Kiya because she had provided two sons for the king, and so she arranged for her disgrace. So far, no evidence has been recovered to support this highly speculative story. It is also possible that Nefertiti simply died, and her death was so painful for Akhenaten that he did not wish to be reminded of her publicly after she had gone.
Her disappearance also coincided with the appearance of Akhenaten´s co-regent Smenkhkare (who was married to Nefertiti´s daughter Meritaten). Some commentators have suggested that Smenkhkare replaced Nefertiti as Akhenaten's lover, but there is no evidence to support this view. Alternatively, Smenkhare was the same person as Nefertiti and that she simply wore male garb when acting as co-regent with her husband. It is proposed that while she acted as co-regent, her role as queen consort was taken over by her eldest daughter, Merytaten. Proponents of this view point to the fact that Nefertiti and Smenkhare used the name "Neferneferuaten" ("the beautiful beauty of the Aten"), but the idea is not generally accepted.
Another theory is that there were actually two co-regents, consisting of a male son named Smenkhkare, and Nefertiti under the name Neferneferuaten, both of whom adopted the prenomen, Ankhkheperure. Akhenaten and Smenkhare were succeeded by Tutankhamun, and some writers have suggested that Nefertiti was still alive during the first couple of years of his reign. However, Aldred noted that the convention of placing the phrase maet kheru (justified or true of voice) after the name of a deceased person was abandoned during Akhenaten´s reign and re-instated shortly after his death.
If he is correct, then the shawabti of Nefertiti (which does not include the phrase) suggests that she died during his reign. The shawbti gives her titles as "The Heiress, high and mighty in the palace, one trusted (of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Neferkheperure, Wa´enre), the son of Re (Akhenaten), Great in his Lifetime, the Chief Wife of the King, Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti, Living for Ever and Ever" and depicts Nefertiti as a queen regnant - not a co-regent in male attire. The last depiction of the queen is found in the burial scenes of Meketaten, during the thirteenth year of Akhenaten´s reign, and the latest date found on a lable from Nefertiti´s estate is from the fourteenth year. Thus many scholars conclude that she died shortly after.
Nefertiti rediscovered?
In 1898, the tomb of Amenhotep II was excavated and both the Pharaoh and eleven other mummies were also discovered in intact chambers. One of these mummies , known as the "Younger Lady" may be that of Nefertiti (although some suggest the body is that of Akhenaten´s sister, princess Sitamun).
Joanne Fletcher, an expert on mummification, is confident that the body is that of Nefertiti and has argued that the burial provided clues which confirm that she reigned as Smenkhare. The body had a shaved head but wore a Nubian wig (as did Nefertiti) and had a double piercing on each ear (which was fairly rare). Its face had been badly mutilated around the time of the burial, and an arm snapped off, but the fingers were still clasped in the position associated with a pharaoh holding a scepter. Archeologists also discovered a number of "nefer" beads with the burial, items strongly associated with Nefertiti.
Other commentators have suggested that the deceased was too young to be Nefertiti (the body is thought to have been about 30 years old). More controversially, Zahi Hawass (Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities) rejected the identification with a fairly personal attack on Fletcher (who he has now banned from working in Egypt), stating that the mummy is not even female! This is presumably based on the fact that the mummy´s arms are bent - usually associated with male burial, but possibly associated with the burial of a Pharaoh. Others reject the identification of Nefertiti while accepting that the body is indeed female, and suggest that it is a relative of Nefertiti rather than the lady herself. This mystery is unlikely to be solved in the near future as Hawass seems unwilling to allow any further testing.
