Nefertiti
18th
Dynasty
Nefertiti was the wife of Akhenaten.
Nefertiti, which means "the beautiful woman has
come" is one of the most famous and beloved of all
ancient Egyptians. One of the best known Egyptian
treasures is a bust of her that can be found in the
Egyptian Museum in Berlin. Not much is known about where
she came from or who she was, but there has been much
speculation about this. She appeared with Akhenaten
during his fourth year at el-'Amarna, which was
Akhenaten's new city. The city was dedicated to the god
Aten. In the sixth year of his reign, her name was
changed to Nefernefruaten, which means "Beautiful in
beauty is Aten". They lived in 'Amarna and held
religious ceremonies celebrating Aten.
They raised six daughters but no sons at 'Amarna. One
of their daughters, Meket-Aten,
died. Their mourning was shown on wall paintings. After
the death of their daughter, Nefertiti disappeared from
the court. Some evidence shows that she stayed in
'Amarna, but lived in a villa called Hataten. Her
daughter took over her place as Akhenaten's Queen. Her
body has never been found.
|