Nefertiti, one of ancient Egypt’s most mysterious and powerful women, reigned with Pharaoh Akhenaten from 1353 to 1336 B.C. and may have controlled the New Kingdom entirely following her husband’s death.
Her reign was marked by significant cultural change, as Akhenaten reorganized Egypt’s religious and political structures around the worship of the sun deity Aten. Nefertiti is best known for her painted sandstone bust, which was found in 1913 and has since become a global symbol of feminine beauty and strength.
Nefertiti as Queen
Nefertiti was possibly the daughter of Ay, a top adviser who ascended to the throne after King Tut’s death in 1323 B.C. Another theory holds that she was a princess of the Mittani dynasty in northern Syria. When her husband, Amenhotep IV, ascended to the throne at Thebes, she was his Great Royal Wife (preferred consort). In the fifth year of his reign, he replaced Egypt’s principal god Amon with Aten, relocated the capital to Amarna, and changed his name to Akhenaten, with Nefertiti adopting the additional name “Neferneferuten”—her full name meaning “Beautiful are the beauties of Aten, a Beautiful Woman has come.”
The reform of religion driven by Akhenaten brought about profound alterations in artistic norms. In contrast to earlier pharaohs, Akhenaten is sometimes represented with feminine hips and exaggerated features. Early depictions of Nefertiti show her as a traditional young woman, while later depictions show her as a near mirror image of Akhenaten. Her final representations show a regal but genuine figure.
Nefertiti is pictured with her husband on the walls of tombs and temples built during Akhenaten’s reign with a frequency not found in any other Egyptian queen. In several cases, she is depicted in positions of power and authority, such as leading Aten worship, driving a chariot, or smiting an opponent.
After Nefertiti had six children, her husband began taking other spouses, including his own sister, with whom he had the future King Tut (Tutankhamen). Ankhesenpaaten, Nefertiti’s third daughter, would eventually become Tutankhamen’s queen.
Nefertiti as a Potential Ruler
Around the 12th year of Akhenaten’s 17-year reign, Nefertiti vanishes from history. She may have died at that point, but she may have become her husband’s official co-regent under the name Neferneferuaten. Smenkhkare, who some historians believe was another name for Nefertiti, succeeded Akhenaten as pharaoh. This would not have been unheard of: in the 15th century B.C., the female pharaoh Hatshepsut ruled Egypt as a man, replete with a ceremonial artificial beard.
If Nefertiti remained in power during and after Akhenaten’s death, it is probable that she initiated the reversal of her husband’s religious policies, which would come to conclusion during King Tut’s reign. At one time, Neferneferuaten enlisted the help of a scribe to make heavenly gifts to Amun, pleading with him to return and dispel the kingdom’s gloom.
Nefertiti’s Bust
On December 6, 1913, a team led by German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt unearthed a sculpture upside-down in the sandy rubble on the floor of the royal sculptor Thutmose’s excavated workshop at Amarna.
The painted figure had a slender neck, a finely proportioned face, and a strange blue cylinder helmet that was only seen in Nefertiti’s representations. Borchardt’s team had reached a deal with the Egyptian authorities to split their artifacts, thus the bust was transported as part of Germany’s share. The bust was delivered to the expedition’s sponsor, Jacques Simon, who displayed it in his private apartment for the following 11 years after a single, lousy photograph was published in an archaeological journal.
Howard Carter, a British Egyptologist, uncovered King Tut’s tomb in 1922. Tut’s pure gold funeral mask became a global emblem of beauty, riches, and power after a rush of media interest.
The bust of Nefertiti was unveiled in Berlin a year later, challenging the “English” Tut with a German appropriation of ancient glitz. The bust remained in German hands throughout the twentieth century’s upheavals. It was wanted by East Germany during the Cold War and cherished by Hitler (who stated, “I will never relinquish the head of the Queen”). It was hidden from Allied bombers in a salt mine. The Neues Museum in Berlin now attracts over 500,000 visitors each year.
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