Nefertiti

Nefertiti first appears on the scene when she becomes the Great Royal Wife of Akhenaten. Scolars still debate her origins, some believing that she was a princess from another land. Those believing her to be of Egyptian origin are also divided. One camp claims her as the daughter of Aye and Tiy, and the other claims her as the oldest daughter of Amenhotep III and another wife besides Tiye, possibly Sitamun. Whatever her parentage, Nefertiti was married to Akhenaten and while living in Memphis gave birth to six daughters. It is possible that she also had sons, although no record has been found of this. It was a practice in Egyptian art not to portray the male heirs as children, therefore it is possible that Tutankaten was her son. Nefertiti moved with her husband to Akhetaten and is shown there participating in all the religious ceremonies. It was only through the combined royal pair that the god Aten's full blessing could be bestowed. Nefertiti is displayed with a prominance that other Egyptian queens were not. Her name is enclosed in a royal cartouche, and there are in fact more statues and drawings of her than of Akhenaten. Some have even claimed that it was Nefertiti, not Akhenaten, who instigated the monotheistic religion of Aten. It is around Year 15 that Nefertiti mysteriously disappears from view. It could be that she died, although no indication of this exists to this date. Some scholars think that she was banished for some reason, and lived the rest of her years in the northern palace, raising Tutankaten. Reasons given for the banishment are two-fold. One, it could be that she disapproved of the slow return to the worship of Amun, which was taking place at that time, with Smenkhkare becoming co-regent and moving back to Thebes to reopen some temples. Or, perhaps she was of the opinion that Akhenaten was losing touch with his people and angering them by destroying all other gods besides his own. She could have been banished by Akhenaten for going against his beloved religion. Whatever the case, she is replaced by her oldest daughter, Meritaten, and we hear no more of her.

Akhenaten's Own Words at Describing Nefertiti:

• The Hereditary Princess, Great of Favor, Mistress of Happiness, Gay with the two feathers, at hearing whose voice one rejoices, Soothing the heart of the king at home, pleased at all that is said, the Great and Beloved Wife of the King, Lady of the Two Lands, Neferu-aten Nefertiti, living forever.

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Last revised: 29 January 1979