Ancient Fact File: Nerfertiti
By Sofia Lambis, Second Year English
Perhaps best known for her striking statue, which has captivated the world since its discovery, Nefertiti was an ancient Egyptian queen whose life and fate still divides Egyptologists.
Little is known about Nefertiti’s early life. It is known that she had a younger sister called Mutnodjmet, though there is no record of her parentage. Most Egyptologists believe Nefertiti was a princess from Mitanni (the north of modern-day Syria) because her name translates as ‘a beautiful woman has come.’ However, circumstantial evidence suggests she could have been the daughter of Ay, a courtier and brother to Tiy, Akhenaton’s mother.
Marrying Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (later known as Akhenaton) Nefertiti became Queen of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. This occurred around the mid 14th century BCE, a time known as the Amarna Period. Despite a large amount of data, Egyptologists have found it difficult to create a full picture of this era. Surviving evidence known as the Amarna Letters detail a period of chaos and upheaval. During Amenhotep’s rule, he and Nefertiti radically changed Egypt’s religious persuasion. Both were involved in the Cult of Aten (meaning sun-disc), worshipping the god Aten. This was a departure from the traditional Egyptian polytheism, which worshipped a pantheon of gods that included Osiris and Ra.
In year four of her husbands’ rule, he moved Egypt’s capital from Thebes to the purpose built Akhetaten. The city’s name means ‘the horizon of the Aten,’ implying the growing significance of Atenism, or the Cult of Aten. The Pharaoh changed his name to Akhenaten, and Nefertiti became known as Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti. Old temples were closed, signifying that Aten had become the dominant national god.
Nefertiti played an important role in this shift, as she is depicted worshipping Aten in the manner of a pharaoh. A surviving stela details a celebration of Nefertiti’s arrival in the valley , where a courtier called out to her:
‘The great crown princess in the palace, the beautiful and magnificent one [...] to whom whatever she speaks is granted; his beloved royal wife, the mistress of both lands Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti, eternal life!’
This points to the queen’s elevated status during her lifetime. Nefertiti and Akhenaten are often depicted together, and similarly in monuments, leading many Egyptologists to believe they formed a kind of divine triad with the Aten. One monument depicts the Queen offering images of herself to the Aten, similarly to how past pharaohs gave the god images of the goddess Maat. Nefertiti and Akhenaten also appear on non-royal tomb walls and on devotional monuments.
The Queen had six daughters in ten years. The first three were born in Thebes, and the last three in Akhetaten. Two of her daughters became queens of Egypt. Some Egyptologists believe Nefertiti was also the mother of Tutankhamun.
Unfortunately, there is no written evidence which confirms Nefertiti’s political status. While it’s clear she had a prominent role in the Amarna religious overhaul, and it's agreed that Nefertiti had an unusual amount of influence, some Egyptologists have gone further than this. As her iconography developed, it began to resemble the Pharaoh's. She’s often depicted similarly to the Pharaoh, riding war chariots, striking Egypt’s enemies and worshipping the Aten. In view of this, it’s been suggested that Nefertiti was not merely the Pharaoh's consort, but his co-regent.
Yet, the mystery only deepens. Around the twelfth year of her husband’s reign, Nefertiti disappears from all records. This apparent vanishing has led to several theories about her status and eventual fate. Some believed Nefertiti outlived her husband and ruled alone under the name Smenkhkare, eventually giving the throne to Tutankhamun. However, in the 20th century a body was discovered in the Valley of the Kings and identified as Tutankhamun’s brother, casting doubt on the idea that Nefertiti and Smenkhkare were really the same person. Frustratingly, a damaged monument of Nefertiti obscures if she was wearing a pharaoh's crown.
Others have suggested that after Akhenaten’s death, Nefertiti ruled Egypt with the full authority of a Pharaoh, with the name Pharaoh Neferneferuaten. Previously, Hatshepsut had ruled Egypt in a similar fashion. Neferneferuaten’s name only appears when Nefertiti’s vanishes, and Egyptologists know that it referred to a queen regnant.
Her body has never been recovered. It’s speculated that she may be among the unidentified mummies found in the Valley of the Kings, but this raises the question of why she wasn’t buried in the Amarna royal tomb. Shortly after Akhenaten's demise the city of Akhetaten was abandoned and Thebes restored as the capital. It appears that the actions of Nefertiti and Akhenaten were disliked after their deaths, as monuments depicting them were destroyed, and their names were wiped from what was left. Consequently, archaeologists only began putting evidence together in the 19th century.
In 1912 Nefertiti’s portrait bust was pulled from the ruins of a sculptor’s workshop. Now located in a Berlin museum, the statue has reached iconic status, and continues to strike people with its beauty, colour and unfinished eye. But the life of the real queen, and what became of her, may not become so visible.