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Nefertiti

Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten

Tutankhamun

Pharaoh of ancient Egypt (18th Dynasty)

Nefertiti

This article is about the Ancient Egyptian queen. For other uses, see Nefertiti (disambiguation).

Tutankhamun

"King Tut" redirects here. For other uses, see King Tut (disambiguation).

Nefertiti

For other individuals named Neferneferuaten, see Neferneferuaten (disambiguation).

Tutankhamun

TutankhamunTutankhaten, Tutankhamen[1]Tutankhamun's golden funerary maskPharaohReignc. 1332 – 1323 BC, New KingdomPredecessorNeferneferuatenSuccessorAy (granduncle/grandfather-in-law)Royal titulary

Nefertiti

NefertitiThe bust of Nefertiti from the Egyptian Museum of Berlin collection, presently in the Neues MuseumQueen consort of EgyptTenure1353–1336 BC[1] or 1351–1334 BC[2]Pharaoh (as Neferneferuaten, disputed) Reignc. 1334–1332 BCPredecessorSmenkhkareSuccessorTutankhamunBornc. 1370 BCThebes, EgyptDiedc. 1330 BCSpouseAkhenatenIssue

Tutankhamun

Horus name

Nefertiti

Meritaten

Tutankhamun

Ka nakht tut mesut[2][3] Victorious bull, the (very) image of (re)birth.[4]

Nefertiti

Meketaten

Tutankhamun

Nebty name

Nefertiti

Ankhesenamun

Tutankhamun

Nefer hepu, segereh tawy[2][3] Perfect of laws, who has quieted down the Two Lands.[5]

Nefertiti

Neferneferuaten Tasherit

Tutankhamun

Golden Horus

Nefertiti

Neferneferure

Tutankhamun

Wetjes khau, sehetep netjeru[2][3] Elevated of appearances, who has satisfied the gods.[5]

Nefertiti

Setepenre

Tutankhamun

Prenomen  (Praenomen)

Nefertiti

NamesNefertitiDynasty18th of EgyptFatherAy (possibly)MotherIuy (possibly)ReligionAtenism

Tutankhamun

Neb-kheperu-re[2][3] The possessor of the manifestation of Re.[5]

Nefertiti

Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti in hieroglyphs   Neferneferuaten Nefertiti Nfr nfrw itn Nfr.t jy.tjBeautiful are the Beauties of Aten, the Beautiful one has come

Tutankhamun

Nomen

Nefertiti

Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten

Tutankhamun

Tut-ankh-imen, heqa iunu shemau[2][5] The living image of Amun, Ruler of Southern Heliopolis.[5]

Nefertiti

Nefertiti (/ˌnɛfərˈtiːti/[3]) (c. 1370 – c. 1330 BC) was a queen of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for their radical overhaul of state religious policy, in which they promoted the earliest known form of monotheism, Atenism, centered on the sun disc and its direct connection to the royal household. With her husband, she reigned at what was arguably the wealthiest period of ancient Egyptian history.[4] Some scholars believe that Nefertiti ruled briefly as Neferneferuaten after her husband's death and before the ascension of Tutankhamun, although this identification is a matter of ongoing debate.[5][6] If Nefertiti did rule as Pharaoh, her reign was marked by the fall of Amarna and relocation of the capital back to the traditional city of Thebes.[7]

Tutankhamun

ConsortAnkhesenamun (half-sister)Children2FatherKV55 mummy,[6] identified as most likely AkhenatenMotherThe Younger LadyBornc. 1341 BCDiedc. 1323 BC (aged c. 18–19)BurialKV62Dynasty18th Dynasty

Nefertiti

She was made famous by her bust, now in Berlin's Neues Museum. The bust is one of the most copied works of art of ancient Egypt. It was attributed to the sculptor Thutmose, and it was found in his workshop.

Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun (/ˌtuːtənkɑːˈmuːn/ TOO-tən-kah-MOON),[7] Tutankhamon or Tutankhamen[a] (/ˌtuːtənˈkɑːmən, -mɛn/ TOO-tən-KAH-mən, -⁠men;[7] c. 1341 BC – c. 1323 BC), also known as Tutankhaten,[1] was the antepenultimate pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. His death marked the end of the dynasty's royal line.[8]

Nefertiti

Names and titles[edit]

Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun ascended to the throne around the age of nine and reigned until his death around the age of nineteen. The preeminent action of his reign is the countermanding of the religiopolitical changes enacted by his predecessor, Akhenaten, during the Amarna Period: he restored the traditional polytheistic form of ancient Egyptian religion, undoing the religious shift known as Atenism, and moved the royal court away from Akhenaten's capital, Amarna. Also, Tutankhamun was one of few kings worshipped as a deity during his lifetime; this was usually done posthumously for most pharaohs.[9] In popular culture today, Tutankhamun is known for his vastly opulent wealth found during the 1922 discovery of his tomb, KV62, the only such tomb to date to have been found in near-intact condition.[10] The discovery of his tomb is widely considered one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time.[11][12] Since then he has been referred to colloquially as "King Tut".[13]

Nefertiti

Nefertiti had many titles, including:

Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun acquired kingship during a tumultuous time period. Akhenaten's Atenism had engendered nationwide destabilization, and his successor, likely Tutankhamun's paternal older half-brother, Smenkhare, had an abruptly short reign. This was followed by another abruptly short reign of Neferneferuaten, likely Smenkhare's widow, Meritaten. It was under these tenuous circumstances that after Neferneferuaten's death, Tutankhamun inherited the throne and expounded the reversal of Atenism, which involved extensive reconstruction and the reconsecration of the traditional cults and clergymen, as evidenced most eminently by the artifact known as the Restoration Stela.[14] During this time, the traditional cult of the god Amun was reestablished, and the king subsequently retitled himself from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun. In accordance with this, his wife also retitled herself from Ankhesenpaaten to Ankhesenamun.[15]

Nefertiti

Hereditary Princess (iryt-p`t)

Tutankhamun

Following Tutankhamun's untimely death after a decade reign, his vizier, and perhaps granduncle, Ay, assumed the throne, likely marrying Ankhesenamun, despite Tutankhamun's commander-in-chief, Horemheb, being designated by Tutankhamun as heir. Ay's reign was abruptly short, and Horemheb became pharaoh next, also possibly briefly marrying Ankhesenamun until her untimely death a couple years into Horemheb's lengthy reign. Horemheb was able to secure the throne due to the death of Ay's designated heir, generalissimo Nakhtmin, toward the end of Ay's reign.[16] It was Horemheb who saw to it that the restoration of the traditional ancient Egyptian religion was completed, restabilizing the nation. In due course, Horemheb had selected then civilian military officer, Ramesses I, as heir to the throne, who already had a grandson, Ramesses II, who would then go on to become the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth dynasty.[17]

Nefertiti

Great of Praises (wrt-Hzwt)

Tutankhamun

Family

Nefertiti

Lady of Grace (nebet-imat, nbt-jmꜣt)

Tutankhamun

See also: Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt family tree

Nefertiti

Sweet of Love (beneret-merut, bnrt-mrwt)

Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun and his queen, Ankhesenamun

Nefertiti

Lady of The Two Lands (nebet-tawi, nbt-tꜣwj)

Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun, whose original name was Tutankhaten or Tutankhuaten, was born during the reign of Akhenaten, during the late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt.[18] Akhenaten's reign was characterized by a dramatic shift in ancient Egyptian religion, known as Atenism, and the relocation of the capital to the site of Amarna, which gave its name to the modern term for this era, the Amarna Period.[19] Toward the end of the Amarna Period, two other pharaohs appear in the record who were apparently Akhenaten's co-regents: Neferneferuaten, a female ruler who may have been Akhenaten's wife Nefertiti or his daughter Meritaten; and Smenkhkare, whom some Egyptologists believe was the same person as Neferneferuaten but most regard as a distinct figure.[20] It is uncertain whether Smenkhkare's reign outlasted Akhenaten's, whereas Neferneferuaten is now thought to have become co-regent shortly before Akhenaten's death and to have reigned for some time after it.[21]

Nefertiti

Main King's Wife, his beloved (hemet-nesut-aat meretef, ḥmt-nswt-ꜥꜣt mrt.f)

Tutankhamun

His names — Tutankhaten and Tutankhamun — are thought to have meant "living image of Aten" and "living image of Amun" in the ancient Egyptian language, with the god Aten having been replaced by the god Amun after Akhenaten's death.

Nefertiti

Great King's Wife, his beloved (hemet-nesut-weret meretef, ḥmt-nswt-wrt mrt.f)

Tutankhamun

Some Egyptologists, including Battiscombe Gunn, have claimed that the translation may be incorrect, instead being closer to "the-life-of-Aten-is-pleasing" or "one-perfect-of-life-is-Aten" (the latter translation by Gerhard Fecht).

Nefertiti

Lady of All Women (henut-hemut-nebut, ḥnwt-ḥmwt-nbwt)

Tutankhamun

His parentage is debated, as they are not attested in surviving inscriptions. DNA testing has identified his father as the mummy within tomb KV55, thought to be the pharaoh Akhenaten. His mother was identified as a mummy from tomb KV35, which was also his aunt, informally referred to as "The Younger Lady" but is otherwise unknown.[22]

Nefertiti

Mistress of Upper & Lower Egypt (henut-shemau-mehu, ḥnwt-šmꜣw-mḥw).[8]

Tutankhamun

An inscription from Hermopolis refers to "Tutankhuaten" as a "king's son", and he is generally thought to have been the son of Akhenaten,[23] although some suggest instead that Smenkhkare was his father.[24] Inscriptions from Tutankhamun's reign treat him as a son of Akhenaten's father, Amenhotep III, but that is only possible if Akhenaten's 17-year reign included a long co-regency with his father,[25] a possibility that many Egyptologists once supported but is now being abandoned.[26]

Nefertiti

While modern Egyptological pronunciation renders her name as Nefertiti, her name was the sentence nfr.t jj.tj “the beautiful one has come” and probably contemporarily pronounced Naftita from older Nafrat-ita or perhaps Nafert-yiti.[9][10] Nefertiti's name, Egyptian Nfr.t-jy.tj, can be translated as "The Beautiful Woman has Come".[11]

Tutankhamun

While some suggestions have been made that Tutankhamun's mother was Meketaten, the second daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, based on a relief from the Royal Tomb at Amarna,[b] this possibility has been deemed unlikely given that she was about 10 years old at the time of her death.[28] Another interpretation of the relief names Nefertiti as his mother.[c][30] Meritaten has also been put forward as his mother based on a re-examination of a box lid and coronation tunic found in his tomb.[31] Tutankhamun was wet nursed by a woman named Maia, known from her tomb at Saqqara.[32][33]

Nefertiti

Family and early life[edit]

Tutankhamun

In 2008, genetic analysis was carried out on the mummified remains of Tutankhamun and others thought or known to be New Kingdom royalty by a team from University of Cairo. The results indicated that his father was the mummy from tomb KV55, identified as Akhenaten, and that his mother was the mummy from tomb KV35, known as the "Younger Lady", who was found to be a full sister of her husband.[34] The team reported it was over 99.99 percent certain that Amenhotep III was the father of the individual in KV55, who was in turn the father of Tutankhamun.[35] More recent genetic analysis, published in 2020, revealed Tutankhamun shared his Y-haplogroup with his father, the KV55 mummy (Akhenaten), and grandfather, Amenhotep III, and his mtDNA haplogroup with his mother, The Younger Lady, his grandmother, Tiye, and his great-grandmother, Thuya, upholding the results of the earlier genetic study.[36]

Nefertiti

See also: Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt family treeAlmost nothing is known about Nefertiti's life prior to her marriage to Akhenaten. Scenes from the tombs of the nobles in Amarna mention that Nefertiti had a sister, named Mutbenret.[12][13][14] Further, a woman named Tey carried the title of "Nurse of the Great Royal Wife."[15] In addition, Tey's husband Ay carried the title "God's Father." Some Egyptologists believe that this title was used for a man whose daughter married the pharaoh.[16] Based on these titles, it has been proposed that Ay was in fact Nefertiti's father.[11] However, neither Ay nor Tey are explicitly referred to as Nefertiti's parents in the existing sources. At the same time, no sources exist that directly contradict Ay's fatherhood which is considered likely due to the great influence he wielded during Nefertiti's life and after her death.[11] According to another theory, Nefertiti was the daughter of Ay and a woman besides Tey, but Ay's first wife died before Nefertiti's rise to the position of queen, whereupon Ay married Tey, making her Nefertiti's stepmother. Nevertheless, this entire proposal is based on speculation and conjecture.[17]

Tutankhamun

The identity of The Younger Lady is unknown but she cannot be Nefertiti, as she was not known to be a sister of Akhenaten.[37] However, researchers such as Marc Gabolde and Aidan Dodson claim that Nefertiti was indeed Tutankhamun's mother. In this interpretation of the DNA results, the genetic closeness is not due to a brother-sister pairing but the result of three generations of first-cousin marriage, making Nefertiti a first cousin of Akhenaten.[38] The validity and reliability of the genetic data from mummified remains has been questioned due to possible degradation due to decay.[39]

Nefertiti

It has also been proposed that Nefertiti was Akhenaten's full sister, though this is contradicted by her titles which do not include the title of "King's Daughter" or "King's Sister," usually used to indicate a relative of a pharaoh.[11] Another theory about her parentage that gained some support identified Nefertiti with the Mitanni princess Tadukhipa,[18] partially based on Nefertiti's name ("The Beautiful Woman has Come") which has been interpreted by some scholars as signifying a foreign origin.[11] However, Tadukhipa was already married to Akhenaten's father and there is no evidence for any reason why this woman would need to alter her name in a proposed marriage to Akhenaten, nor any hard evidence of a foreign non-Egyptian background for Nefertiti.

Tutankhamun

Within tomb KV21, the mummy KV21A was identified as having been the biological mother of Tutankhamun's two daughters — it is therefore speculated that this mummy is of his only known wife, Ankhesenamun, who was his paternal half-sister. Their two daughters were identified as the 317a and 317b mummies; daughter 317a was born prematurely at 5–6 months of pregnancy while daughter 317b was born at full-term, though both died in infancy.[40]

Nefertiti

The exact dates when Nefertiti married Akhenaten and became the king's great royal wife are uncertain. They are known to have had at least six daughters together, including Meritaten, Meketaten, Ankhesenpaaten (later called Ankhesenamun when she married Tutankhamun), Neferneferuaten Tasherit, Neferneferure, and Setepenre.[14][18] She was once considered as a candidate for the mother of Tutankhamun, however a genetic study conducted on discovered mummies suggests that she was not.[19]

Tutankhamun

When Tutankhaten became king, he married Ankhesenpaaten, one of Akhenaten's daughters, who later changed her name to Ankhesenamun.[41] They had two daughters, neither of whom survived infancy.[34] While only an incomplete genetic profile was obtained from the two mummified foetuses, it was enough to confirm that Tutankhamun was their father.[34] Likewise, only partial data for the two female mummies from KV21 has been obtained so far. KV21A has been suggested as the mother of the foetuses but the data is not statistically significant enough to allow her to be securely identified as Ankhesenamun.[34] Computed tomography studies published in 2011 revealed that one daughter was born prematurely at 5–6 months of pregnancy and the other at full-term, 9 months.[40] Tutankhamun's death marked the end of the royal bloodline of the 18th Dynasty.[8]

Nefertiti

Life[edit]

Tutankhamun

Reign

Nefertiti

Alabaster sunken relief depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and daughter Meritaten. Early Aten cartouches on king's arm and chest. From Amarna, Egypt. 18th Dynasty. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, LondonClose-up of a limestone relief depicting Nefertiti smiting a female captive on a royal barge. On display at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Tutankhamun

The throne of Tutankhamun, the Aten depicted above

Nefertiti

Nefertiti first appears in scenes in Thebes. In the damaged tomb (TT188) of the royal butler Parennefer, the new king Amenhotep IV is accompanied by a royal woman, and this lady is thought to be an early depiction of Nefertiti. The king and queen are shown worshiping the Aten. In the tomb of the vizier Ramose, Nefertiti is shown standing behind Amenhotep IV in the Window of Appearance during the reward ceremony for the vizier.[18]

Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun was between eight and nine years of age when he ascended the throne and became pharaoh,[42] taking the throne name Nebkheperure.[43] He reigned for about nine years.[44] During Tutankhamun's reign the position of Vizier was split between Upper and Lower Egypt. The principal vizier for Upper Egypt was Usermontu. Another figure named Pentju was also vizier but it is unclear of which lands. It is not entirely known if Ay, Tutankhamun's successor, actually held this position. A gold foil fragment from KV58 seems to indicate, but not certainly, that Ay was referred to as a Priest of Maat along with an epithet of "vizier, doer of maat." The epithet does not fit the usual description used by the regular vizier but might indicate an informal title. It might be that Ay used the title of vizier in an unprecedented manner.[45]

Nefertiti

A standing/striding figure of Nefertiti made of limestone. Originally from Amarna, part of the Ägyptisches Museum Berlin collection.

Tutankhamun

An Egyptian priest named Manetho wrote a comprehensive history of ancient Egypt where he refers to a king named Orus, who ruled for 36 years and had a daughter named Acencheres who reigned twelve years and her brother Rathotis who ruled for only nine years.[46][47] The Amarna rulers are central in the list but which name corresponds with which historic figure is not agreed upon by researchers. Orus and Acencheres have been identified with Horemheb and Akhenaten and Rathotis with Tutankhamun. The names are also associated with Smenkhkare, Amenhotep III, Ay and the others in differing order.[48]

Nefertiti

During the early years in Thebes, Akhenaten (still known as Amenhotep IV) had several temples erected at Karnak. One of the structures, the Mansion of the Benben (hwt-ben-ben), was dedicated to Nefertiti. She is depicted with her daughter Meritaten and in some scenes the princess Meketaten participates as well. In scenes found on the talatat, Nefertiti appears almost twice as often as her husband. She is shown appearing behind her husband the pharaoh in offering scenes in the role of the queen supporting her husband, but she is also depicted in scenes that would have normally been the prerogative of the king. She is shown smiting the enemy, and captive enemies decorate her throne.[20]

Tutankhamun

Kings were venerated after their deaths through mortuary cults and associated temples. Tutankhamun was one of the few kings worshiped in this manner during his lifetime.[9] A stela discovered at Karnak and dedicated to Amun-Ra and Tutankhamun indicates that the king could be appealed to in his deified state for forgiveness and to free the petitioner from an ailment caused by sin. Temples of his cult were built as far away as in Kawa and Faras in Nubia. The title of the sister of the Viceroy of Kush included a reference to the deified king, indicative of the universality of his cult.[49]

Nefertiti

In the fourth year of his reign, Amenhotep IV decided to move the capital to Akhetaten (modern Amarna). In his fifth year, Amenhotep IV officially changed his name to Akhenaten, and Nefertiti was henceforth known as Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti. The name change was a sign of the ever-increasing importance of the cult of the Aten. It changed Egypt's religion from a polytheistic religion to a religion which may have been better described as a monolatry (the depiction of a single god as an object for worship) or henotheism (one god, who is not the only god).[21]

Tutankhamun

Cartouche left: Nomen "Tutankhamun, ruler of Upper Heliopolis".[50][51] Right: Prenomen "Nebkheperura".[51]

Nefertiti

The boundary stelae of years 4 and 5 mark the boundaries of the new city and suggest that the move to the new city of Akhetaten occurred around that time. The new city contained several large open-air temples dedicated to the Aten. Nefertiti and her family would have resided in the Great Royal Palace in the centre of the city and possibly at the Northern Palace as well. Nefertiti and the rest of the royal family feature prominently in the scenes at the palaces and in the tombs of the nobles. Nefertiti's steward during this time was an official named Meryre II. He would have been in charge of running her household.[5][18]

Tutankhamun

In order for the pharaoh, who held divine office, to be linked to the people and the gods, special epithets were created for them at their accession to the throne. The ancient Egyptian titulary also served to demonstrate one's qualities and link them to the terrestrial realm. The five names were developed over the centuries beginning with the Horus name.[d][52][53] Tutankhamun's[e] original nomen, Tutankhaten,[54] did not have a Nebty name[f] or a Gold Falcon name[g] associated with it[55] as nothing has been found with the full five-name protocol.[h] Tutankhaten was believed to mean "Living-image-of-Aten" as far back as 1877; however, not all Egyptologists agree with this interpretation. English Egyptologist Battiscombe Gunn believed that the older interpretation did not fit with Akhenaten's theology. Gunn believed that such a name would have been blasphemous. He saw tut as a verb and not a noun and gave his translation in 1926 as The-life-of-Aten-is-pleasing. Professor Gerhard Fecht also believed the word tut was a verb. He noted that Akhenaten used tit as a word for 'image', not tut. Fecht translated the verb tut as "To be perfect/complete". Using Aten as the subject, Fecht's full translation was "One-perfect-of-life-is-Aten". The Hermopolis Block (two carved block fragments discovered in Ashmunein) has a unique spelling of the first nomen written as Tutankhuaten; it uses ankh as a verb, which does support the older translation of Living-image-of-Aten.[55]

Nefertiti

Inscriptions in the tombs of Huya and Meryre II dated to Year 12, 2nd month of Peret, Day 8 show a large foreign tribute. The people of Kharu (the north) and Kush (the south) are shown bringing gifts of gold and precious items to Akhenaten and Nefertiti. In the tomb of Meryre II, Nefertiti's steward, the royal couple is shown seated in a kiosk with their six daughters in attendance.[5][18] This is one of the last times princess Meketaten is shown alive.

Tutankhamun

End of Amarna period

Nefertiti

Two representations of Nefertiti that were excavated by Flinders Petrie appear to show Nefertiti in the middle to later part of Akhenaten's reign 'after the exaggerated style of the early years had relaxed somewhat'.[22] One is a small piece on limestone and is a preliminary sketch of Nefertiti wearing her distinctive tall crown with carving began around the mouth, chin, ear and tab of the crown. Another is a small inlay head (Petrie Museum Number UC103) modeled from reddish-brown quartzite that was clearly intended to fit into a larger composition.

Tutankhamun

Egyptian art of the Amarna period

Nefertiti

Meketaten may have died in year 13 or 14. Nefertiti, Akhenaten, and three princesses are shown mourning her.[23] The last dated inscription naming her and Akhenaten comes from a building inscription in the limestone quarry at Dayr Abū Ḥinnis. It dates to year 16 of the king's reign and is also the last dated inscription naming the king.[24]

Tutankhamun

At the beginning of Tutankhaten's reign, the royal court was still located at Amarna, and evidence from his tomb shows that the Aten was still acknowledged.[56] But several pieces of evidence suggest that his court was trying to reconcile Atenism with the traditional religion,[57][58][59] and activity at Amarna decreased during the first four years of his reign.[60]

Nefertiti

Possible reign as Pharaoh[edit]

Tutankhamun

These years saw dramatic reversals of Akhenaten's policies, which, given the king's young age, must have been instigated by his advisors.[61] In the third year of Tutankhaten's reign, his name was changed to "Tutankhamun", and that of his queen to "Akhesenamun".[62][63] The Restoration Stela, which probably dates to Year 4 of Tutankhamun's reign, characterizes the Amarna Period as a time of disaster, saying "temples and the estates of the gods and goddesses from Elephantine to the marshes of the Delta had fallen into ruin… If you asked a god for advice, he would not attend; and if one spoke to a goddess likewise she would not attend."[64] The stela proclaims the rebuilding of the traditional cults;[65] priests and other members of temple staffs were restored to their former positions.[66]

Nefertiti

Many scholars believe Nefertiti had a role elevated from that of great royal wife, and was promoted to co-regent by her husband Pharaoh Akhenaten before his death.[25] She is depicted in many archaeological sites as equal in stature to a King, smiting Egypt's enemies, riding a chariot, and worshipping the Aten in the manner of a pharaoh.[26] When Nefertiti's name disappears from historical records, it is replaced by that of a co-regent named Neferneferuaten, who became a female Pharaoh.[27] It seems likely that Nefertiti, in a similar fashion to the previous female Pharaoh Hatshepsut, assumed the kingship under the name Pharaoh Neferneferuaten after her husband's death. It is also possible that, in a similar fashion to Hatshepsut, Nefertiti disguised herself as a male and assumed the male alter-ego of Smenkhkare; in this instance she could have elevated her daughter Meritaten to the role of great royal wife.

Tutankhamun

Around this time, the royal court abandoned Amarna.[67] Memphis became the main seat of royal administration,[67] continuing a trend that dated back to Akhenaten's predecessors, toward administering the country from that central location rather than the more outlying site of Thebes.[68] With Amun restored as Egypt's preeminent deity, Thebes once again became its greatest center of religious activity.[67]

Nefertiti

If Nefertiti did rule Egypt as Pharaoh, it has been theorized that she would have attempted damage control and may have re-instated the ancient Egyptian religion and the Amun priests, and had Tutankhamun raised in with the traditional gods.[28]

Tutankhamun

Military campaigns, monuments, and construction

Nefertiti

Archaeologist and Egyptologist Dr. Zahi Hawass theorized that Nefertiti returned to Thebes from Amarna to rule as Pharaoh, based on ushabti and other feminine evidence of a female pharaoh found in Tutankhamun's tomb, as well as evidence of Nefertiti smiting Egypt's enemies which was a duty reserved to kings.[29]

Tutankhamun

Military campaigns

Nefertiti

Death[edit]

Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun charging enemies, 18th dynasty

Nefertiti

Further information: Amarna succession

Tutankhamun

The country was economically weak and in turmoil following the reign of Akhenaten. Diplomatic relations with other kingdoms had been neglected, and Tutankhamun sought to restore them, in particular with the Mitanni. Evidence of his success is suggested by the gifts from various countries found in his tomb. Despite his efforts for improved relations, battles with Nubians and Asiatics were recorded in his mortuary temple at Thebes, both victories for Egypt.[69] Also, as far as is known, Tutankhamun's military reign was undefeated, and is one of several other undefeated reigns in ancient Egypt's history.

Nefertiti

Nefertiti worshipping the Aten. She is given the title of Mistress of the Two Lands. On display at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Tutankhamun

The extent to which Tutankhamun participated in battles is an open question and has yet to reach consensus among researchers. On one hand, his tomb contained extensive military armament, such as bows, Khepesh Swords, daggers, wristguards, maces, shields and a club, suggesting he had extensive weaponry training. Some imagery, while likely figurative, does depict Tutankhamun as directly participatory in warfare, such as the graphic battle depictions on the painted treasure chest in his tomb. Other artifacts, such as the Nine Bows footstool, walking sticks and sandals depicting enemies, and a gold leaf picture of him during chariot archery against enemies, also suggest that he was actively engaged in Egypt's international conflict.[70] Egyptologist Bob Brier has argued leaning towards Tutankhamun being an actively participating warrior in his later years.[71]

Nefertiti

Old theories[edit]

Tutankhamun

On the other hand, given Tutankhamun's youth and hypothesized physical disabilities, like a speculated cane handicap, some historians are skeptical that he participated in these battles.[22] Yet some experts, such as Sofia Aziz, Campbell Price and Raksha Dave have taken the position that the speculations of Tutankhamun's physical frailty are overestimated, arguing that mummy damage has led to misdiagnosis. Instead, they argue that the more rigorous, scientific view is that he was physically active, and perhaps militarily participatory.[72] Egyptologist Charlotte Booth states that Tutankhamun participated in at least two battles (one Nubian battle, and one Asiatic battle), nevertheless noting that other researchers suggest that he may have only accompanied the army to the battlefield for moral support, as opposed to actively participating.[73]

Nefertiti

Fragment with cartouche of Akhenaten, which is followed by epithet Great in his Lifespan and the title of Nefertiti Great King's Wife. Reign of Akhenaten. From Amarna, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London

Tutankhamun

Monuments and construction