Difference between revisions of "Nefertiti"
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In Year 15 or 16, Nefertiti was named regent with the reign name Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten.<ref>Egyptian regnal names are generally based on preregnal personal names, and Nefertiti's case is typical in this regard. "Neferneferuaten" is also the name of a daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. J.P. Allen suggests that the regent was this daughter, not Nefertiti. The Year 16 inscription, discovered since Allen's work was published, makes it clear that Nefertiti was still alive at the end of Akhenaten’s reign. It is unlikely that she would have been passed over for a child who was probably around 10 at this time.</ref> Meritaten served as Neferneferuaten's queen. (Even a female ruler needed a queen to preside with her at temple ceremonies.) | In Year 15 or 16, Nefertiti was named regent with the reign name Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten.<ref>Egyptian regnal names are generally based on preregnal personal names, and Nefertiti's case is typical in this regard. "Neferneferuaten" is also the name of a daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. J.P. Allen suggests that the regent was this daughter, not Nefertiti. The Year 16 inscription, discovered since Allen's work was published, makes it clear that Nefertiti was still alive at the end of Akhenaten’s reign. It is unlikely that she would have been passed over for a child who was probably around 10 at this time.</ref> Meritaten served as Neferneferuaten's queen. (Even a female ruler needed a queen to preside with her at temple ceremonies.) | ||
| − | The cartouches for Neferneferuaten generally include one of several epithets describing her link to Akhenaten. Cartouche epithets | + | The cartouches for Neferneferuaten generally include one of several epithets describing her link to Akhenaten. Cartouche epithets usually consist of a title stated unapologetically, so these cartouches are something of an oddity. The Neferneferuaten cartouches have been grouped into three types. In some, she was described as "desired of Akhenaten." In others, she was "effective for her husband." In a few late inscriptions, she was "Akhenaten-less." This last group of inscriptions suggest that she was Egypt's sole ruler, at least for a brief period. All three types of inscriptions suggest that she was anxious to assert the legitimacy of her rule, which was presumably being challenged.<ref name=Allen>Allen, James P., "[https://web.archive.org/web/20120301142642/http://cassian.memphis.edu/history/murnane/Allen.pdf The Amarna Succession]," ''Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane,'' University of Memphis, 2007.</ref> |
==Struggle for succession== | ==Struggle for succession== | ||
Revision as of 23:27, January 1, 2016
Neferneferuaten Nefertiti ("Beautiful are the beauties of Aten, the beautiful one has come") was the consort of Akhenaten, the "heretic pharaoh" who briefly replaced Egypt's traditional pantheon of gods with a cult of Sun-worship. On the basis of her having worn crowns normally reserved for the pharaoh, it is believed she was the most powerful consort of any pharaoh. Her cap crown was composed of four main colors: red, which shows power; green, which shows fertility and strength; gold, which shows superiority, preciousness and wealth; and blue, which was the main color used by Egyptians to show virtue, faith and truth.
Nothing is known of Nefertiti's natal family except that she had a sister named Mutbenret. Nefertiti was about 17 when she married Akhenaten. They had six daughters together. The "Early Proclamation" issued in the fifth year of Akhenaten's reign lists only Meritatan, the eldest. The "Later Proclamation" of Year 6 gives two daughters, Meritatan and Meketaten. It is thought that children were proclaimed after weaning. According to an inscription discovered in 2012, Nefertiti was present at a ceremony in Amarna in Year 16, near the end of Akhenaten's reign.[1]
In Year 15 or 16, Nefertiti was named regent with the reign name Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten.[2] Meritaten served as Neferneferuaten's queen. (Even a female ruler needed a queen to preside with her at temple ceremonies.)
The cartouches for Neferneferuaten generally include one of several epithets describing her link to Akhenaten. Cartouche epithets usually consist of a title stated unapologetically, so these cartouches are something of an oddity. The Neferneferuaten cartouches have been grouped into three types. In some, she was described as "desired of Akhenaten." In others, she was "effective for her husband." In a few late inscriptions, she was "Akhenaten-less." This last group of inscriptions suggest that she was Egypt's sole ruler, at least for a brief period. All three types of inscriptions suggest that she was anxious to assert the legitimacy of her rule, which was presumably being challenged.[3]
Struggle for succession
Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten was succeeded by Ankhkheperure Smenkhkare, a brother of Akhenaten and the father of Tutankhamun. It was highly unusual for two pharaohs to use the same prenomen. This situation suggests that Smenkhkare did not recognize the legitimacy of Neferneferuaten's reign. Some writers argue that Neferneferuaten and Smenkhkare were the same person using two different reign names. But Neferneferuaten was female while Smenkhkare was male, so this is unlikely. Meritaten continued to serve as queen. Burial goods prepared for Neferneferuaten's funeral were found in Tut's tomb. This suggests that a pharaonic burial was prepared for her, but then denied. The unused burial goods were then repurposed for Tut's tomb. Unable to accept the female pharaoh, Smenkhkare may have demoted Nefertiti to queen.
Various authors have argued that mummy KV35YL ("The Younger Lady") is Nefertiti. Genetic testing has shown that the Younger Lady is Tut's mother, so this is unlikely. If Tut had been a son of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, he would have been Akhenaten's heir. A head wound on the Younger Lady, who was most likely the wife and sister of Smenkhkare, shows that she died a violent death. So perhaps she was a victim of the Nerfertiti/Smenkhkare succession struggle.
A bust of Nefertiti, on display at the Egyptian Museum in Berlin, is a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian art.
References
- ↑ A. Van Der Perre, "Nefertiti's last documented reference [for now]," in F. Seyfried (ed.) In the Light of Amarna. 100 Years of the Nefertiti Discovery, (Berlin, 2012), 195-197.
- ↑ Egyptian regnal names are generally based on preregnal personal names, and Nefertiti's case is typical in this regard. "Neferneferuaten" is also the name of a daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. J.P. Allen suggests that the regent was this daughter, not Nefertiti. The Year 16 inscription, discovered since Allen's work was published, makes it clear that Nefertiti was still alive at the end of Akhenaten’s reign. It is unlikely that she would have been passed over for a child who was probably around 10 at this time.
- ↑ Allen, James P., "The Amarna Succession," Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane, University of Memphis, 2007.
