Nefertiti: The Mysterious Beauty of Ancient Egypt (Part 1)

Nefertiti, The Beauty that had baffled the historians for ages

Whenever we talk about women of the ancient world, the first name that comes to our mind is inevitably “Nefertiti”. Certainly no other women of antiquity could be more famous that this Egyptian Queen who was claimed to possess unsurpassed beauty (of course, we mustn’t forget our Helen of Troy and Cleopatra!). Despite her undoubted universal fame, our knowledge of Nefertiti, on the contrary, is ironically scant. How much do we really know about her? Well, we do know she was the royal wife of the heretic Pharaoh Akhenaten. But as for her birth, her life at court and her death, we have but meagre details. Indeed, Nefertiti is a figure who was constantly bedeviled by that shadow of mystery that has vexed and perplexed Egyptologists. Her mummy was never found or identified! In a way, this mystery, far from lessening the people’s fascination for her, only serves to give her a more alluring, charming and mystical aura that forever immortalises her name.

An artwork believed to depict Akhenaten and Nefertiti
or Smenkhare and Merytaten

Nefertiti’s beginning was as obscure as her later life towards the end of her husband’s reign. Her parents were never truly identified. They may have been of noble or common birth, and may not have been Egyptians! Some suggested that she was a daughter of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye, thereby making her Akhenaten’s sibling. However, given she was not referred to as the King’s Daughter, this is extremely unlikely. Another hypothesis is that she was a descendant of Ahmose-Nefertari, the first Queen of the 18^th Dynasty but not directly in line to the throne. Another theory is that she was the daughter of Ay, the Vizier who later became Pharaoh. This is because in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings, AY referred to himself as the “Father of the God”, who was in turn referred to as Nefertiti’s sister. Whatever the truth may be, we will never know for certain.  

  

Her name has also posed a problem. Nefertiti means the “The Beautiful One is Here”, which may suggest foreign birth. Her other possible is "Nefernefruaten", suggesting that she acted as the co-regent of Akhenaten under this throne name, though this again was never proven.

Nefertiti and Akhenaten

Nefertiti and Akhenaten had six daughters: Merytaten, Meketaten, Ankhesenpaaten (wife of Tutankhamen), Neferneferuaten Tasherit, Neferneferure, and Setepenre. It was Akhenaten’s lesser Queen, Kiya, who provided her husband with a male heir, Tutankhamen. Evidence suggested that Nefertiti was greatly loved and favoured by Akhenaten. She was accorded great political and religious influence which rivaled that of Akhenaten himself. Akhenaten was regularly depicted showing affection for Nefertiti and his daughters in artwork from the Amarna period, something which was never before experimented in Egyptian art. In one inscription, Akhenaten was found to describe 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".

Nefertiti and one of her daughters

Given her influential position within the Kingdom, she was generally credited with authoring the religious revolution carried out by her husband. While perhaps a mere outlandish exaggeration, there was no doubt she was vital to this new religious scheme as the feminine aspect of Aten. Together with her husband, the couple acted as a bridge connection their Kingdom with the new Sun God through which Aten’s power could be fully channeled. She was regularly portrayed taking part in daily worship and offering to Aten alongside Akhenaten, and replaced Isis, Nephthys, Selket (Serqet) and Neith on the four corners of Akhenaten's sarcophagus. This again demonstrated the magnitude and extent of her power and influence as a divine being on Earth. Interestingly, Nefertiti was also depicted smiting Egypt’s enemies in battle, a role traditionally reserved for the Pharaoh only. This is a piece of evidence that shows she may have acted as co-regent with Akhenaten.

Despite her enormous influence, Nefertiti mysteriously vanished from history around the twelfth year of her husband’s reign. Whatever happened next would have generations of historians baffled and caused controversy among them for a few decades.

To be continued….