Who is Nefertiti. Egyptian Queen Nefertiti
And a great reformer. His wife is the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. The reign of this couple fell on the Amarna period. What made Akhenaten and Nefertiti famous for the short period of their reign? Among all the great queens of Egypt, only the name of the most beautiful and revered ruler remained on hearing. Infrequently, the pharaohs allowed their wives to rule, but Nefertiti was not just a wife - she became a queen during her lifetime, whom they prayed for, whose mental abilities were extolled so highly. "Perfect" - that's what her contemporaries called her, extolled her merits and beauty.
Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton)
Akhenaten was not supposed to rule Egypt as he had an older brother. But Thutnos died during the reign of his father, so Amenhotep became the legitimate heir. In the last years of his life, the pharaoh was seriously ill, and the opinion of historians is that the youngest son was co-ruler at that time. However, for how long such a joint rule lasted could not be established.
After the death of his father, Amenhotep becomes pharaoh and begins to rule the country, which by this time has achieved great power and influence. Queen Teie, famous for her prudence and wisdom, helped her son in the early years. She skillfully directed his thoughts in the right direction and gave wise advice.
New religion
During the reign of the pharaoh, the cult of the Sun reached unprecedented heights. The previously not so popular Aten (the sun god) becomes the center of religion. A grandiose temple for the highest deity is being built using new technologies. Aten himself is depicted as a man with the head of a falcon. God was given the status of pharaoh, the border between Amenhotep and the sun was erased. To top it off, he changes his name to Akhenaten, which means "useful to the Aten." All members of the family, as well as the most important dignitaries, were also renamed.
In order to establish a new deity, a new city is being built. First of all, a huge palace was erected for the pharaoh. He did not wait for the completion of construction and moved along with the entire court from Thebes. The temple for the Aten was erected immediately after the palace. Residential quarters and other buildings for residents were built from inexpensive materials, while the palace and temple were made of white stone.
Pharaoh's wives. Nefertiti
Akhenaten's first wife was Nefertiti. They were married before his ascension to the throne. To the question of at what age girls were taken as wives by the pharaohs: they became brides from 12-15 years old. The future husband of Nefertiti was several years older than her. The girl was unusually pretty, her name literally translates as "the beauty has come." This may indicate that the first wife of the pharaoh was not an Egyptian. It has not yet been possible to find confirmation of its foreign origin. The wife supported Akhenaten in everything, she contributed to the elevation of Aten to the rank of the highest deity. On the walls of the temple there are much more of her images than of the pharaoh himself. The wife could not give him a son: during their marriage, she gave birth to six daughters.
Nefertiti raised the son of Akhenaten's sister. He would later become the husband of one of her daughters, Ankhesenpaaten, and rule Egypt under the name of Tutankhamun. The girl will change her name to Ankhesenamun. One of the daughters of the royal solar couple will die in childhood, the other will be given in marriage to her brother. The fate of the rest of the story is unknown.
Nefertiti and Akhenaten appeared everywhere together. Her greatness and significance can be judged by the fact that she was allowed to accompany her husband during the sacrifices. They prayed to her in the temples of the Aten, and all the actions were carried out exclusively in her presence. During her lifetime, she became a symbol of the prosperity of all of Egypt. There are many frescoes and statues of this beautiful woman. On the walls of the Akhenaten Palace there are many joint images of the pharaoh and his wife. They are captured at the moment of the kiss, with children on their knees, there are separate images of daughters. None of the wives of the pharaohs of Egypt was honored with such honors as this person.
Decline of the popularity of Queen Nefertiti
Now no one can say what caused her disappearance from the political arena and the family life of the pharaoh. Probably, after the death of the daughter, the relationship of the spouses to each other changed. Or Akhenaten could not forgive the beauty for the absence of an heir. Evidence of her life after the reign is a statue depicting Nefertiti in old age. Still beautiful, but already broken by years and hardships, the woman froze forever in a tight-fitting dress and light sandals. Undoubtedly, the rejection of her husband broke her, left her imprint on the royal face. The tomb of Nefertiti has not yet been discovered, which may confirm the assumption of her disgrace. Perhaps she outlived her husband, but they did not bury her with honors.
kiya
Queen Nefertiti was replaced by a not so beautiful and majestic Kiya. Presumably, she entered into marriage with the pharaoh in the fifth year of his reign. There is also no reliable information about its origin. One version says that the girl was the wife of Akhenaten's father and after death passed to the young pharaoh. There is no historical mention of her high position at court and any participation in the reign of the pharaoh. It is known that Kiya gave birth to a daughter. This is where the story of the Pharaoh's wife ends. Judging by the fact that her name was removed from the walls of the temple, the woman was disgraced. The burial of this wife of the pharaoh was not found. There are no conjectures and facts about the fate of her daughter either.
Taduhepa
This wife of the pharaoh also went to him by inheritance. The girl came to Egypt from Mitanni at the request of Amenhotep III. He chose her as his bride, but died shortly after her arrival. Akhenaten made Taduhepa his wife. Some scientists and researchers believe that Nefertiti or Kiya had this name before the reign, but no evidence of this theory has been found. A message from her father Tushratta to her future husband has been preserved, in which he negotiates the imminent marriage of his daughter. But this does not confirm the fact that the princess existed as a separate person. Historians also did not find any mention of joint children.
Death of the pharaoh
How Akhenaten died has not yet been established. There are murals depicting an attempt on the pharaoh with the help of poisoning. However, his mummy is required to establish the cause of death. Only a tomb was found in the family vault. There was no body inside, and she herself was practically destroyed. Scholars are still debating whether the man's mummy from tomb KV55 is Akhenaten.
Someone tried to keep it a secret by knocking off the name on the sarcophagus and tearing off the mask. DNA examination established that the body belongs to the close relatives of Tutankhamen. But it could be Smenkhkare, who was also of the same blood as the pharaohs. It is not yet possible to establish the exact origin of the mummy, but archaeologists do not lose hope of finding new tombs and regal bodies.
The most famous woman of Ancient Egypt is undoubtedly Nefertiti. This most beautiful woman managed to embody the image of ideal femininity, greatness and royalty. The image of this beauty, along with the Egyptian pyramids, became a symbol of the ancient Egyptian civilization. Revered by her contemporaries as a living goddess, forgotten and cursed by her descendants, today she "reigns" in our modern world. Her image resembles the eternal struggle of a person with time and makes the ideal of beauty unchanged.
Historical notes.
Not only was Nefertiti the queen, she was worshiped as a goddess. Not only famous, but also beautiful of all the wives of the pharaohs of Egypt, Nefertiti lived on the east bank of the Nile in the most luxurious palace with her crowned husband. Nefertiti became the wife of King Amenhotep IV during the lifetime of Amenhotep's parents. His parents were the sun pharaoh Amenhotep III and his mother, the great queen Teye, who was revered for wisdom, authority and an extraordinary mind.
Nefertiti was a queen and ruled with her husband Egypt for no more than 17 years. For the culture of the Ancient East, her reign was marked by a religious revolution that shook the established ancient Egyptian sacred traditions - the cult of Amun replaced the cult of Aten - the life-giving solar disk.
Her role in the events of that time embodied the life-giving power of the Sun, which gives life to everyone. In Thebes, where Nefertiti's youth passed, in the temples of the god Aton, prayers were always offered to her.
The mysterious image of Nefertiti disappears after the death of Maketaton, who was the middle daughter of the spouses. In her place, a secondary queen, Kiya, comes from Akhenaten's women's house, and a little later, her eldest daughter, Meritaton, comes to her place. From the second wife of Kiya, Tutankhamun was born, who later became the husband of the daughter of Nefertiti and Akhenaten.
Nefertiti was the mother of six daughters, and most likely this gave her a reason to be in disgrace and spend some time in one of the palaces of Akhetaton. In the workshop of that time, a statue of the sculptor Thutmose was discovered, which depicted Nefertiti in old age.
A big problem for the spouses was the absence of a son who could ensure the reliability of the continuation of the dynasty. Even entering into marriages with their daughters, they gave birth to their father Akhenaten, two more girls.
Biographical summary of Nefertiti.
Some information conveys to us that Nefertiti was from Mitannia. Her origin was from a noble family. The birth of this beauty dates back to 1370 BC. The real name of the future queen sounded like Taduchela. When she was 12 years old, her father, for a large amount of jewelry and gold, sent her to the harem of Amenhotep III. After the death of the pharaoh, according to the tradition of that time, all the wives were succeeded by the successor of the pharaoh Amekhontep IV. With her beauty, Nefertiti, or as she was also called Nefer-Nefer-Aton, was able to draw the attention of Amenhotep IV, who later received the name Akhenaten, to herself. At the same time, marriage bonds were concluded between them. Thus, this beauty, a former harem concubine, turned into a full-fledged mistress and co-ruler of Ancient Egypt.
Nefertiti.
Unable to give birth to her husband's son, Nefertiti was expelled. Some time later, her husband's son from her second marriage, Tutankhamen, was transferred to her upbringing. Unable to overcome the separation, the husband returns Nefertiti back. Their union was restored again. Literally some time later, the pharaoh was killed and the widow, the beauty of Egypt, at the age of 35, became the sovereign ruler of Egypt. She ruled under the name of Smenkhkare. Her reign ended in the fifth year with a tragic death. A beautiful woman pharaoh died at the hands of exiled priests. Her body was mutilated, and the tomb was destroyed and plundered by vandals.
Image of Nefertiti.
The appearance of Nefertiti is presented on the basis of preserved sculptures and images. Until her death, this woman retained her slender and petite figure, the elegance of which could not be spoiled by the birth of six children. She had a clear facial contour and a strong chin, which was considered not typical of the native Egyptians. Even women of our time can envy her beauty. She had black, well-shaped eyebrows, almond-shaped and very expressive eyes, full lips.
The psychological portrait of Nefertiti is not clear enough. According to some sources, she was a beauty with an obstinate and rebellious disposition, possessed a certain cruelty. Other information represents her as a faithful and submissive wife, who always supported her husband in everything. Perhaps, in contrast to these characters, the uniqueness of the Egyptian queen stands. Analyzing the data obtained about Nefertiti, psychologists suggested that this woman had qualities that were inherent in men. In addition, the assumption about the education of this great woman was confirmed, that for Ancient Egypt this was a rarity, since this quality was inherent mainly in men.
Unstated facts or myths about Nefertiti.
British scientists have recently found a mummy that matched the description of the Egyptian queen. If this idea finds its exact confirmation, then the proposal about the tragic and early death of Nefertiti is refuted.
Nefertiti was not a foreigner, according to some sources, she was related to Amenhotep IV, who was her brother and who later received the name Akhenaten. This fact can be attributed to the category of real facts, since marriages in ancient Egypt between relatives were considered quite legal and quite common. Their encouragement was based on excluding the fact of incest. But again, as history has shown, family marriages led to the extinction of more than one dynasty.
Since Nefertiti was unable to give birth to a son, her status dropped to a second wife, for which she was never able to forgive her husband. To keep her as little time as possible for lovemaking, she taught one of her daughters this art. Upon reaching the age of 11, the girl became a mistress for her father.
The marriage between the spouses was concluded solely for political reasons. The pharaoh was interested in the sharp mind of his wife, her cold prudence in any state issue. In addition, there are suggestions that the pharaoh had homosexual relationships, and his second wife was chosen only because she looked very much like a man in her appearance. Thus, there is no need to talk about any quivering feelings of Akhenaten for Nefertiti.
During the period of marriage, Akhenaten loved only Kiya. Nefertiti was never able to cope with her rival. And all the scenes that depict a happy family life are just a farce. After attempts were made to regain her husband, Nefertiti resigned herself to her position and found herself busy raising the son of Akhenaten and Kiya, who was later to become her daughter's husband.
Nefertiti did not belong to timid and submissive women. Also, she could not be attributed to obedient wives. She not only put constant pressure on the weak character of her husband, but also had a large number of concubines. In addition, the pride of the queen had no boundaries. In her desire, it could arise to destroy all family ties of a man who was able to evoke at least some emotions.
Of course, one should not treat these facts as proven for sure. Since they never found their 100% confirmation. But, nevertheless, the ancient Egyptian queen Nefertiti will remain in history for a long time. Another generation of scientists will come who will try to uncover the secrets of this extraordinary woman.
Conclusion
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For more than thirty centuries, the names of Nefertiti and Akhenaten did not find their mention. Not only were their names erased from the monuments, their statues were deprived of their faces, and the city was razed to the ground. Scientists, having deciphered some ancient manuscripts, found a mention of the pharaoh-prophet and his queen, whose beauty was difficult to describe.
For Akhenaten, his beloved Nefertiti was a delight for his heart. In Akhetaten, on one of the discovered reliefs, a kiss of the spouses was captured. It was the first love image in the history of art. Each scene is accompanied by the presence of the Aten - a sunny disk with a large number of hands holding out symbols of eternal life to the royal spouses. Nefertiti in translation sounds like "Beautiful Perfection of the Solar Disc."
From time immemorial, the beautiful eyes of Queen Nefertiti, captured in the famous sculptural portrait, look at us. What lies behind her incomprehensible gaze?
This woman has reached the pinnacle of power. Her husband, Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton), was one of the most mysterious personalities in the history of mankind. He was called the heretic pharaoh, the subversive pharaoh. Is it possible to be happy next to such a person? And if so, at what price is this happiness given?
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One can only be surprised at the unusual historical fate of Queen Nefertiti. For thirty-three centuries, her name was forgotten, and when the brilliant French scientist F. Champollion deciphered ancient Egyptian writings at the beginning of the last century, she was mentioned quite rarely and only in special academic works.
The 20th century, as if demonstrating the quirkiness of human memory, elevated Nefertiti to the pinnacle of glory. On the eve of the First World War, the German expedition, having completed excavations in Egypt, as usual presented the finds for verification to the inspectors of the Antiquities Service. (“Antiquities Service” is an agency founded in 1858 to control archaeological expeditions and protect monuments of the past.) Among the items allocated for German museums was an unremarkable plastered stone block.
When he was brought to Berlin, he turned into the head of Nefertiti. They say that archaeologists, who did not want to part with a wonderful work of art, wrapped the bust in silver paper and then covered it with plaster, correctly calculating that an inconspicuous architectural detail would not attract attention. When this was discovered, a scandal erupted. It was extinguished only by the beginning of the war, after which the German Egyptologists were deprived for some time of the right to conduct excavations in Egypt.
However, the priceless artistic merit of the bust was worth even these sacrifices. The star of Nefertiti rose so rapidly, as if this woman was not an ancient Egyptian queen, but a modern movie star. As if for many centuries, her beauty was waiting for recognition, and, finally, the times came, the aesthetic taste of which elevated Nefertiti to the pinnacle of success.
If you look at Egypt from a bird's eye view, then almost in the very center of the country, 300 kilometers south of Cairo, you can see a small Arab village called el-Amarna. It is here that the rocks, corroded by time, come close to the river, then begin to recede, forming an almost regular semicircle. Sands, the remains of the foundations of ancient structures and the greenery of palm groves - this is how the once luxurious ancient Egyptian city of Akhetaton, in which one of the most famous women in the world reigned, looks like now.
Nefertiti, whose name in translation means "The Come Beauty", was not the sister of her husband, Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, although for some reason this version was very widespread. The beautiful Egyptian came from a family of relatives of Queen Tiu - she was the daughter of a provincial priest. And although at that time Nefertiti received an excellent education in a special school, such a relationship annoyed the proud queen and Nefertiti's mother in many official documents was called her nurse.
But the rare beauty of a provincial girl melted the heart of the heir to the throne, and Nefertiti became his wife.
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By one of the “Sun Pharaoh” holidays, Amenhotep III presented his wife with a truly royal gift: a summer residence of stunning beauty and wealth - the Malkatta Palace, next to which there was a huge artificial lake planted with lotuses, with a boat for the queen's walks.
Naked Nefertiti sat in an armchair with lion's paws near a round golden mirror. Almond shaped eyes, straight nose, neck like a lotus stem. There was not a drop of foreign blood in her veins, as evidenced by the dark tone of her skin and a warm, fresh, even blush, somewhere between golden yellow and brownish bronze. "Beauty, mistress of joy, full of praises ... full of beauties," - this is how poets wrote about her. But the thirty-year-old queen was not happy with her reflection, as before. Fatigue and grief broke her, a fold of wrinkles lay from the wings of a beautiful nose to bold lips, like a seal.
A dark-skinned Nubian maid entered, carrying a large jug of fragrant bathing water.
Nefertiti stood up, as if waking up from her memories. But trusting in the skillful hands of Tadukippa, she again went into her thoughts.
How happy they were with Amenhotep on their wedding day. He is 16 years old, she is 15. They took power over the most powerful and richest country in the world. The thirty years of the reign of the previous pharaoh were not overshadowed by either disasters or wars. Syria and Palestine tremble before Egypt, Mitanni sends flattering letters, From the mines of Cush mountains of gold and incense are regularly sent.
Most importantly, they love each other. The son of King Amenhotep III and Queen Tiu is not very handsome: thin, narrow-shouldered. But when he looked at her, obsessed with love, and poems written for her broke from his large lips, she laughed with happiness. The future pharaoh ran after the young princess under the dark arches of the Theban palace, and she laughed and hid behind the columns.
On a richly decorated dressing table, the maid laid out the necessary supplies: golden boxes of ointments, spoons for ointments, antimony for the eyes, lipstick and other cosmetics, manicure tools and nail paint. Deftly grabbing a bronze razor, she began to carefully and respectfully shave the queen's head.
Nefertiti indifferently ran her finger over the golden scarab on a jar of rice powder and recalled how one day, even before the wedding, Amenhotep revealed his secret to her at sunset.
He stroked her slender fingers and, looking with sparkling eyes somewhere into the distance, said that Aton himself, the god of the solar disk, had appeared to him in a dream the day before, and spoke to him as to a brother:
- You know, Nefertiti. I see, I know that everything in the world is not the way we are all used to seeing it. The world is bright. It was created by Aton for happiness and joy. Why make sacrifices to all these numerous gods. Why worship beetles, hippos, birds, crocodiles, if they themselves, like us, are children of the Sun. Aton is the only true god!
Amenhotep's voice rang out. He said how beautiful and wonderful the world created by Aten was, and the prince himself was beautiful at that moment. Nefertiti listened to every word of her beloved and accepted his faith with all her heart.
Having received the title of pharaoh, Amenhotep IV first changed his name. "Amenhotep" means "Amon is pleased." He began to call himself "Akhenaton", that is, "Pleasant to the Aton."
How happy they were! People can't be that happy. Almost immediately, Akhenaten decided to build a new capital - Akhetaten, which means "horizon of the Aten." It was supposed to be the best city on earth. Everything will be different there. New happy life. Not the same as in gloomy Thebes. And the people there will all be happy, because they will live in truth and beauty.
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The heir's wife spent her youth in Thebes, the brilliant capital of Egypt in the New Kingdom era (XVI-XI centuries BC). Grandiose temples of the gods coexisted here with luxurious palaces, houses of the nobility, gardens of rare trees and artificial lakes. Gilded needles of obelisks, tops of painted pylons and colossal statues of kings pierced the sky. Through the lush greenery of tamarisks, sycamores and date palms, avenues of sphinxes lined with turquoise-green faience tiles and connecting temples looked through.
Egypt was at the peak of its heyday. The conquered peoples brought here, to Thebes, countless vessels with wine, leather, lapis lazuli, so beloved by the Egyptians, and all sorts of rare curiosities. From the distant regions of Africa came caravans loaded with ivory, ebony, incense and gold, countless gold, for which Egypt was so famous in ancient times. In everyday life there were the finest fabrics made of corrugated linen, magnificent wigs, stunning in their variety, rich jewelry and expensive ointments ...
All the Egyptian pharaohs had several wives and countless concubines - the East was then the East. But the "harem" in our understanding in Egypt never existed: the younger queens lived in separate residences near the palace, no one was particularly concerned with the conveniences of the concubines. Those whom the texts refer to as the “Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt”, “the great royal wife”, “the wife of God”, “the adornment of the king”, were primarily high priestesses who, together with the king, participated in temple services and rituals and supported by their actions Maat - world harmony.
For the ancient Egyptians, every new morning is a repetition of the original moment of the creation of the universe by God. The task of the queen participating in the divine service is to pacify and appease the deity with the beauty of her voice, the unique charm of her appearance, the sound of the sistra - a sacred musical instrument. The status of the “great royal wife”, inaccessible to most mortal women, who had great political power, was based precisely on religious foundations. The birth of children was a secondary matter, the younger queens and concubines did an excellent job with it.
Teia was an exception - she was so close to her husband that she shared a bed with him for many years and bore him several children. True, only the eldest son survived to adulthood, but the priests saw the providence of Heaven in this. How much they misinterpreted this fishery, they became aware much later.
Amenhotep IV ascended the throne in 1424 BC. And ... started a religious reform - a change of gods, an unheard of thing in Egypt.
The revered god Amon, whose worship increasingly strengthened the power of the priests, was by the will of the pharaoh replaced by another god, the god of the sun - Aten. Aten - "the visible solar disk", was depicted as a solar disk with rays-palms, bestowing blessings on people. The pharaoh's reforms were successful, at least for the period of his reign. A new capital was founded, many new temples and palaces were erected. Along with the ancient religious principles, the canonical rules of ancient Egyptian art also disappeared. Having gone through years of exaggerated realism, the art of the time of Akhenaten and Nefertiti gave birth to those masterpieces that were discovered by archaeologists millennia later ...
In the winter of 1912, the German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt began to excavate the remains of another house in the ruined settlement. It soon became clear to archaeologists that they had found a sculpture workshop. Unfinished statues, plaster masks and accumulations of stones of various types - all this clearly defined the profession of the owner of a vast estate. And among the finds was a life-sized bust of a woman made of limestone and painted.
Flesh-colored nape, red ribbons descending along the neck, blue headdress. Delicate oval face, beautifully defined small mouth, straight nose, beautiful almond-shaped eyes, slightly covered by wide heavy eyelids. In the right eye, an insert made of rock crystal with an ebony pupil has been preserved. The high blue wig is entwined with a gold headband adorned with gems…
The enlightened world gasped - a beauty appeared to the world, who spent three thousand years in the darkness of oblivion. The beauty of Nefertiti turned out to be immortal. Millions of women envied her, millions of men dreamed of her. Alas, they did not know that they pay for immortality while still alive, and sometimes pay an exorbitant price.
Together with her husband Nefertiti ruled Egypt for about 20 years. The very two decades that were marked by an unprecedented religious revolution for the entire ancient Eastern culture, which shook the foundations of the ancient Egyptian sacred tradition and left a very ambiguous mark in the history of the country.
Nefertiti played an important role in the events of her time. She was the living embodiment of the life-giving power of the sun, giving life. In the large temples of the god Aton in Thebes, prayers were offered to her, none of the temple actions could take place without her - a guarantee of fertility and prosperity for the whole country. “She sends Aton to rest with a sweet voice and beautiful hands with sisters,- it is said about her in the inscriptions of the tombs of the nobles of her contemporaries - Everyone rejoices at the sound of her voice.
Having banned the cults of traditional gods and, above all, the universal Amun - the ruler of Thebes, Amenhotep IV, who changed his name to Akhenaten ("The Effective Spirit of the Aten"), and Nefertiti founded their new capital - Akhetaton. The amount of work was huge. At the same time, temples, palaces, buildings of official institutions, warehouses, houses of the nobility, dwellings and workshops were erected. Holes carved in the rocky soil were filled with soil, and then specially brought trees were planted in them - there was no time to wait until they grow here. As if by magic gardens grew among the rocks and sand, water splashed in ponds and lakes, the walls of the royal palace rose up in obedience to the royal order. Nefertiti lived here.
Both parts of the grandiose palace were surrounded by a brick wall and connected by a monumental covered bridge spanning the road. A large garden with a lake and pavilions adjoined the residential buildings of the royal family. The walls were decorated with paintings of bunches of lotuses and papyrus, swamp birds flying out of the reservoirs, scenes from the life of Akhenaten, Nefertiti and their six daughters. The floor painting imitated ponds with swimming fish and birds fluttering around. Gilding, inlay with faience tiles and semi-precious stones were widely used.
Never before in Egyptian art have there been works that so vividly demonstrate the feelings of the royal spouses Nefertiti and her husband are sitting with their children, Nefertiti dangles her legs, climbing on her husband's lap, and holding her little daughter with her hand. On each stage, there is always the Aton - a solar disk with numerous hands holding out the symbols of eternal life to the royal couple.
Along with intimate scenes in the palace gardens, in the tombs of the nobles of Akhetaton, other episodes of the family life of the king and queen have been preserved - unique images of royal lunches and dinners. Akhenaten and Nefertiti are sitting on chairs with lion paws, next to them is the widowed queen-mother Teye, who came on a visit. Around the feasting there are tables with dishes decorated with lotus flowers, vessels with wine The female choir and musicians entertain the feasters, the servants bustle about. Three eldest daughters - Meritaton, Maketaton and Ankhesenpa-Aton - are present at the celebration.
Pictures of those happy years Nefertiti tremblingly kept in her heart.
They were building a city. The best masters and artists of Egypt gathered in Akhetaten. The king preached among them his ideas of a new art. From now on, it was supposed to reflect the true beauty of the world, and not copy the ancient frozen forms. Portraits should have features of real people, and compositions should be lifelike.
One by one, their daughters were born. Akhenaten adored them all. For a long time he fiddled with the girls in front of the happy Nefertiti. He spoiled them and extolled them.
And in the evenings they rode in a chariot along the palm alleys of the city. He drove the horses, and she hugged him and joked merrily about the fact that he had a solid belly. Or they rode in a boat on the smooth surface of the Nile, among thickets of reeds and papyrus.
Their family dinners were full of carefree fun, when Akhenaten, with a piece of chop in his teeth, portrayed an angry Sobek, the crocodile god, and the girls and Nefertiti rolled with laughter.
They held services in the temple of the Aten. The deity was depicted in the sanctuary in the form of a golden disc, stretching out thousands of hands to people. The pharaoh was himself the high priest. And Nefertiti is the high priestess. Her voice and divine beauty bowed the people before the shining face of the true God.
While the maid was anointing the body of the queen with precious oil, which spread the smell of myrrh, juniper and cinnamon, Nefertiti recalled what the holiday was like in the city when Tiu, the mother of Akhenaten, came to visit her children and granddaughters in Akhetaton. The girls jumped around her and vying with each other amused her with their games and dances. She smiled and didn't know which one to listen to.
Akhenaten proudly showed his mother his new capital: palaces for the nobility, houses of artisans, warehouses, workshops and the main pride - the temple of Aten, which was supposed to surpass all existing in the world in size, splendor and magnificence, were laid.
- Altars in it will not be one, but several. And there will be no roof at all, so that the sacred rays of the Aten fill it with their grace, - he enthusiastically told his mother. Silently she listened to her only son. Tiu's intelligent, penetrating eyes looked sad. How could she explain that no one needed his efforts to make everyone happy. That he is not loved and respected as a sovereign, and only curses are rushing from everywhere. The beautiful city of the sun devastated the royal treasury in a few years. Yes, the city is beautiful and delightful, but it eats up all the income. And Akhenaten did not want to hear about economy.
And in the evenings, Tiu talked with her daughter-in-law for a long time, hoping at least through her to influence her son.
Ah, why, why, then she did not listen to the words of the wise Tiu!
But the personal happiness of the spouses did not last long ...
Everything began to crumble in the year when their eight-year-old daughter, the cheerful and sweet Meketaten, died. She went so suddenly to Osiris that it seemed as if the sun had ceased to shine.
At the memory of how she and her husband gave orders to the gravediggers and embalmers, sobs that had been suppressed for a long time burst out into a stream of tears. The maid with the jar of eyebrow paint stopped in confusion. The great queen managed to control herself in a minute and, swallowing her sobs, exhaled and straightened up: "Go on."
With the death of Meketaten, happiness in their palace ended. Disasters and sorrows followed in an endless series, as if the curses of the overthrown gods fell on their heads. Soon after the little princess, Tiu, the only person in the court who supported Akhenaten, went to the kingdom of the dead. With her death, there was no one left in Thebes except enemies. The widow of the mighty Amenhotep III alone restrained with her authority the fury of the offended priests of Amon. Under her, they did not dare to openly attack Akhenaten and Nefertiti.
Nefertiti pressed her fingers to her temples and shook her head. If only then she and her husband were more careful, more political, more cunning. If then Akhenaten had not expelled the priests from the old temples and had not forbidden people to pray to their gods ... If only ... But then it would not have been Akhenaten. It is not in his nature to compromise. All or nothing. He destroyed everything old obsessively and mercilessly. He was confident in his rightness and victory. He had no doubt that they would follow him ... But no one did. A bunch of philosophers, artists and artisans - that's his whole company.
She tried, repeatedly tried to talk to him, to open her eyes to the real essence of things. He only got angry and closed in on himself, spending more and more time with architects and sculptors.
Once again, when she approached him with a conversation about the fate of the dynasty, he shouted at her: “Than to get into my affairs, it would be better if I gave birth to a son!”
Nefertiti gave birth to six daughters to Akhenaten in twelve years. She was always by his side. His affairs and problems were always her affairs and problems. At all services in the temples of the Aten, she always stood next to him in the crown, ringing the sacred sisters. And she did not expect such an insult. She was pierced to the very heart. Silently, Nefertiti came out and, rustling her pleated skirt, retired to her chambers ...
Cat Bast entered the room with silent steps. A golden necklace flaunted around the neck of a graceful animal. Walking up to her mistress, Bast jumped on her knees and began to rub against her hands. Nefertiti smiled sadly. Warm, cozy animal. She pulled her tightly against her. Bast, with some instinct, always guessed when the hostess was ill and came to console her. Neferiti ran her hand over the soft light gray fur. Amber eyes with vertical pupils looked at the man wisely and condescendingly. “Everything will pass,” she seemed to say.
“You really are a goddess, Bast,” smiled the reassured Nefertiti. And the cat, majestically raising its tail, retired from the room, showing with its appearance that it had more important things to do.
The death of Maketaton, apparently, was a turning point in the life of Nefertiti. The one whom contemporaries called “beauty, beautiful in a diadem with two feathers, mistress of joy, full of praises full of beauty”, a rival appeared. And not just a temporary whim of the lord, but a woman who really ousted her wife from his heart - Kiya.
All Akhenaten's attention was focused on her. Even during the life of his father, the Mitannian princess Tadukheppa arrived in Egypt as a guarantee of political stability in interstate relations. It was for her, who traditionally adopted an Egyptian name, that Akhenaten built a luxurious suburban palace complex Maru-Aton. But the main thing is that she gave birth to two sons to the pharaoh, who later married their older half-sisters.
However, the triumph of Kiya, who bore sons to the king, was short-lived. She disappeared in the 16th year of her husband's reign. Having come to power, the eldest daughter of Nefertiti, Meritaten, destroyed not only the images, but almost all references to her mother's hated rival, replacing them with her own images and names. From the point of view of the ancient Egyptian tradition, such an act was the most terrible curse that could be carried out: not only the name of the deceased was erased from the memory of descendants, but also his soul was deprived of well-being in the afterlife.
Nefertiti was already finishing her vestments. The servant girl dressed her in a white dress made of the finest transparent white linen, fastened a wide breast decoration studded with gems. She put on a magnificent wig curled with small waves on her head. In her favorite blue headdress with red ribbons and a golden uraeus, she had not gone out for a long time.
Enter Aye, an old dignitary, former scribe at the court of Amenhotep III. He was "the bearer of the fan on the king's right hand, the chief of the king's friends" and "the father of God," as he was called in letters. Akhenaten and Nefertiti grew up in the palace before his eyes. He taught Akhenaten to read and write. His wife at one time was the nurse of the princess. And Nefertiti was like a daughter to him.
At the sight of Nefertiti, Eye's wrinkled face broke into a gentle smile:
- Hello, my girl! How do you?
- Don't ask, Aye. Good is not enough. You heard Akhenaten gave this upstart Kiya, a concubine from Mitanni, the palace of Maru-Aten. Everywhere appears with her. This creature already dares to put on the crown.
Aye frowned and sighed. The girl from the harem bore the king two sons. Everyone was just whispering about the crown princes Smenkhkare and Tutankhaten, not embarrassed by Nefertiti.
The princes were still small children, but their fate had already been decided: they would become the husbands of Akhenaten's eldest daughters. The royal family must continue. The blood of the pharaohs of the XVIII dynasty from the great Ahmes flowed in their veins.
- Well, what's new in Thebes? What do they write from the provinces? - the queen courageously prepared to listen to the heavy news.
- No good, queen. Thebes are buzzing like a swarm of bees. The priests have achieved that the name of Akhenaten is cursed at every corner. There is still this drought. All to one. The king of Mitanni Duhratta demands gold again. From the northern provinces are asked to send an army to protect against nomads. And the king ordered everyone to refuse. - Ey shrugged his shoulders. - It's a shame to watch. We worked so hard to gain influence in these lands, and now we lose them so easily. Discontent is everywhere. I told Akhenaten about this, but he does not want to hear anything about the war. He is annoyed only by the fact that the deadlines for the delivery of marble and ebony are broken. And yet, queen, beware of Horemheb. He very quickly finds a common language with your influential enemies, he knows with whom to be friends.
After Aye left, the queen sat alone for a long time. The sun was going down. Nifertiti went out onto the balcony of the palace. The huge cloudless dome of the sky on the horizon blazed with a white flame that surrounded the fiery disk. Warm rays tinted the ocher peaks of the mountains on the horizon a soft orange and reflected in the waters of the Nile. Evening birds sang in the lush greenery of the tamarisks, sycamores and date palms that lined the palace. From the desert pulled evening coolness and anxiety.
How long Nefertiti lived after this sunset is not known. The date of her death has not been revealed by historians and the queen's grave has not been found. In essence, it doesn't matter. Her love and happiness - her whole life - went into oblivion along with hopes and dreams of the New World.
Prince Smekhkara did not live long at all and died under Akhenaten. After the death of the pharaoh-reformer, the ten-year-old Tutankhaton assumed power. Under pressure from the priests of Amon, the boy-pharaoh left the city of the Sun and changed his name. Tutankhaton ("Living likeness of Aton") was henceforth called Tutankhamun ("Living likeness of Amon"), but did not live long. There are no successors of Akhenaten's cause, his spiritual and cultural revolution. The capital returned to Thebes.
The new king Horemheb did everything to erase even the memory of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. The city of their dreams was destroyed to the ground. Their names were carefully erased in all records, in tombs, on all columns and walls. And from now on, it was everywhere indicated that after Amenhotep III, power passed to Horemheb. Only in some places, by chance, were reminders of the "criminal from Akhetaten." A hundred years later, everyone forgot about the king and his wife, who, 1369 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, preached faith in one God.
For three thousand four hundred years, the sand rushed over the place where there was once a beautiful city, until one day the inhabitants of a neighboring village began to find beautiful shards and fragments. Fans of antiquity showed them to specialists, and they read on them the names of the king and queen unknown in the history of Egypt. Some time later, a cache of rotten chests was discovered, which were filled with clay letters. The history of the tragedy that had befallen Akhetaten was gradually becoming clearer. The figures of the pharaoh and his beautiful wife emerged from the darkness. Expeditions of archaeologists reached out to Amarna (as this place was now called).
On December 6, 1912, in the ruins of the workshop of the ancient sculptor Thutmes, the trembling hands of Professor Ludwig Borchard brought to light an almost intact bust of Nefertiti. He was so beautiful and perfect that it seemed that the queen's Ka (soul) exhausted by sufferings returned to the world to tell about herself.
For a long, long time, an elderly professor, the leader of the German expedition, looked at this beauty, which was so unrealistic for many hundreds and thousands of years, and thought a lot, but the only thing he could write in his diary: "It is pointless to describe - look!".
Powerful pharaohs, majestic pyramids, the silent Sphinx personify the distant and mysterious Ancient Egypt. Queen Nefertiti is no less mysterious and famous royal beauty of antiquity. Her name, covered with a halo of legends and fiction, has become a symbol of all that is beautiful. Who was exalted and identified with the most mysterious and "perfect" woman of Ancient Egypt, the mention of which at one moment disappeared, like herself?
The Egyptian Queen Nefertiti ruled together with Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, better known in history as Akhenaten, more than three millennia ago. The sands of time swallowed up that long period of history, turned everything that surrounded the queen into dust. But the glory of Nefertiti survived the centuries, extracted from non-existence, she again rules over the world.
In 1912, while in Egypt, Ludwig Borchardt, a German archaeologist, discovered the workshop of the sculptor Thutmes, which was clearly evidenced by accumulations of stones of various rocks, plaster masks, unfinished statues, a fragment of a casket with the name of the sculptor Akhetaton. A life-size bust of a woman made of limestone was found in one of the rooms. Borchardt tricked him out of Egypt. In 1920, the bust was donated to Mysteries, and they tried to uncover mysteries about the life of the queen with the help of various hypotheses. We can say that since then her name has been covered with worldwide fame, which has not faded to this day. Interest in the fate of the queen also increased. For a long time there were only a few mentions of it, not much information can be found even now.
There are many versions about the origin of Nefertiti. The meager information gleaned from the mentions on the walls of the tombs, the inscriptions on the cuneiform tablets of the Amarna archive, became the basis for the development of many versions about the origin of the queen. The "perfect", as she was called, was an Egyptian, but there are versions that claim that she was a foreign princess. Egyptologists have built several hypotheses about its origin. Some researchers believe that she is the daughter of Tushratta, the king of Mitanni. She changed her real name Taduhippa when she married Amenhotep III. Nefertiti became a widow early, and after the death of her husband, she was declared the wife of his son Amenhotep IV. Nefertiti conquered the young pharaoh with her incredible beauty. They said that beauty had not yet generated, soon she became the "main" wife of the ruler. This kind of confirmed the version of her Egyptian origin, because Egyptians of royal blood usually became. It is likely that this could be the daughter of the pharaoh. It was also assumed that Nefertiti was the daughter of one of Akhenaten's court associates.
The queen amazed not only with her extraordinary beauty, but also with infinite mercy. She gave peace to people, her sunny soul was sung in poems and legends. She was easily given power over people, she was worshiped by Egypt. Queen Nefertiti had a strong will and the ability to inspire awe.
Ancient Egyptian papyri, drawings, bas-reliefs testify that her marriage to Amenhotep IV was perfect, was a symbol of respect, love and cooperation. The omnipotent pharaoh went down in history as a religious reformer. He was an outstanding man who declared war on the caste of priests. He called himself Akhenaten, "pleasing to God", transferred the capital from Thebes to Akhetaton, raised new temples, crowned them with sculptural colossi of the new Aten-Ra. In carrying out this policy, the ruler needed a reliable ally, and Nefertiti became one. A smart and strong wife helped the pharaoh to refract the consciousness of the whole country and win such a dangerous war with the mysterious clergy who subjugated Egypt. Queen Nefertiti attended diplomatic receptions. Pharaoh consulted with his wife in public. Sometimes she replaced his high-ranking advisers. Nefertiti was worshiped, her majestic statues could be seen in almost every Egyptian city. Most often, she was depicted in a headdress, which was a high blue wig, which was entwined with gold ribbons and a uraeus, symbolically emphasizing her power and connection with the gods.
There were also envy and intrigue. But no one dared to openly oppose the wife of the ruler; rather, on the contrary, offerings and gifts of petitioners rained down on Nefertiti. However, the wise queen helped only those who, in her opinion, could justify and earn the trust of the pharaoh.
But fate, being the most unsurpassed director in a person's life, did not endlessly favor Nefertiti either. The gods did not grant her an heir to power. The queen only gave the pharaoh 6 daughters. It was then, not without the help of envious people, that a replacement for the reigning wife was found, power over the heart of the pharaoh passed to the beautiful concubine Kia. She did not manage to keep the pharaoh near her for a long time, and it was difficult for him to choose between two women. From the side of the former queen, a warm welcome always awaited him, but the ostentatious courtesy did not deceive the pharaoh. The former relationship between the strong-willed and proud Nefertiti and Akhenaten was no more. But she managed to keep power over him. There are versions that it was Nefertiti, demonstrating her statesmanship, who offered Ankhesenamon, their joint third daughter, as a wife to Akhenaten, according to other versions, this was the eldest daughter of Meritaten.
After the death of Akhenaten, their daughter was married to Tutankhamun, who moved the capital to Thebes. Egypt again began to worship Amun-ra and everything returned to normal. Only Nefertiti remained in Akhenaton, faithful to her husband's ideas. She spent the rest of her life in exile. After the death of the queen, at her request, she was buried in the tomb of Akhenaten, but her mummy was never found. And the exact place of her burial is unknown.
However, her name, meaning "The Beautiful One Has Come", is still the personification of all that is beautiful. A sculptural portrait of Queen Nefertiti, found in Amarna in 1912, as well as other subtle and poetic sketches created by Thutmes, the ancient master of Akhenaton, are kept in the museums of Berlin and Cairo. In 1995, a sensational exhibition was held in Berlin, uniting the Egyptian collection, the center of which was Nefertiti and Akhenaten, who met again.
Nefertiti became one of the most famous characters in the history of art, the personification of grace and tenderness, who discovered the emotional side of art during the reign of Akhenaten. The charm of the most beautiful queen gave the artists an incredible opportunity to combine the beauty of art and life in one image.
The Queen of Ancient Egypt left behind many mysteries and secrets related to her life, which someone else has yet to reveal.
Author - XP0H0METP. This is a quote from this post.
Myths and Legends * NefertitiNefertiti
Bust of Queen Nefertiti. Berlin Museum
Wikipedia
Nefertiti(Nefer-Neferu-Aton Nefertiti, other Egyptian. Nfr-nfr.w-Jtn-Nfr.t-jty, “The most beautiful beauty of the Aten, the Beauty Has Come”) is the “main wife” of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the XVIII dynasty Akhenaten (c. 1351-1334 BC), whose reign was marked by a large-scale religious reform. The role of the queen herself in carrying out the “solar-worshiping coup” is debatable.
Origin
Legends say that never before has Egypt produced such a beauty. She was called "Perfect"; her face adorned temples all over the country.
From the beginning of research and excavations in the ruins of Akhetaton (modern Tel el-Amarna) in the 80s of the 19th century, no clear evidence of the origin of Nefertiti has been found to date. Only mentions on the walls of the tombs of the pharaoh's family and nobles give some information about her. It was the inscriptions in the tombs and the cuneiform tablets of the Amarna archive that helped Egyptologists build several hypotheses about where the queen was born. There are several versions in modern Egyptology, each of which claims to be true, but is not sufficiently confirmed by sources to take a leading position.
In general, the views of Egyptologists can be divided into 2 versions: some consider Nefertiti an Egyptian, others - a foreign princess. The hypothesis that the queen was not of noble birth and accidentally appeared at the throne is now rejected by most Egyptologists.
Nefertiti - a foreign princess
Supporters of the foreign origin of Nefertiti have two versions, supported by several arguments. It is believed that Nefertiti is a Mitannian princess sent to the court of Akhenaten's father, Pharaoh Amenhotep III. The then king of Mitanni Tushratta (c. 1370 - c. 1350 BC) had 2 daughters: Giluhepa (Giluhippa) and Taduhepa (English) (Taduhippa), both were sent to the court of the pharaoh. Some sources mention that the younger sister Nefertiti later became the wife of one of the subsequent pharaohs (perhaps Horemheb became her husband).
Giluhepa arrived in Egypt during the life of Amenhotep III and was given in marriage to him. The version that Gilukhepa could be Nefertiti is currently refuted by evidence of her age.
Taduhepa's younger sister arrived early in the reign of Amenhotep IV Akhenaten. In defense of their hypothesis, scientists cite the meaning of the name Nefertiti “The Beautiful Came”, clearly indicating a foreign origin. It is believed that Princess Taduhepa, having arrived in Egypt, adopted a new name, as all foreign brides did. She was considered the daughter of the goddess of beauty.
Version of the Egyptian origin
Initially, Egyptologists followed a simple logical chain. If Nefertiti is the "chief wife of the pharaoh", she must be an Egyptian, moreover, an Egyptian of royal blood. Therefore, it was initially believed that the queen was one of the daughters of Amenhotep III. But none of the lists of the daughters of this pharaoh contains any mention of a princess with that name. Among his 6 daughters there is no sister of Nefertiti - Princess Mut-Nodzhemet (Benre-Mut).
Possibly the daughter of the nobleman Aye, one of Akhenaten's associates, later pharaoh, and probably Akhenaten's cousin.
daughters
From Akhenaten she gave birth to six daughters.
Daughters of Nefertiti
Meritaten ("beloved by Aten"): before the wedding or immediately after. (1356 BC). After the removal from power, Nefertiti became the main wife of Akhenaten.
Maketaton: year 1-3 (1349 BC).
Ankhesenpaaten (later changed her name to Ankhesenamun), married Tutankhamun, later became the wife of Eye.
Neferneferuaten-tasherite (English) Russian: year 6 (1344 BC)
Neferneferre (English) Russian: year 9 (1341 BC).
Setepenra (English) Russian: year 11 (1339 BC).
Reign and the art of her era
The absence of a son from the queen, the heir to the royal throne, could have affected the deterioration of relations within the royal family. The love of the royal couple has become one of the main subjects for the artists of Akhenaten, the capital of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Never before in Egyptian art have there been works that so vividly demonstrate the feelings of the royal spouses.
Nefertiti, beauty, beautiful in a diadem with two feathers, mistress of joy, full of praises ... full of beauties» with a spouse sit with children; Nefertiti dangles her legs, climbing onto her husband's lap and holding her little daughter with her hand. One of the reliefs discovered in Akhetaten depicts the climax of this idyll - the kiss of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. On each scene, there is always the Aten - a solar disk with numerous hands, holding out symbols of eternal life to the royal couple of ankhs.
Nefertiti played an extremely important role in the religious life of Egypt at that time, accompanying her husband during sacrifices, rituals and religious festivities. She was a living embodiment of the life-giving power of the sun, giving life. In Gempaaten and Khutbenben, the great temples of the god Aten in Thebes, prayers were offered to her; none of the temple activities could take place without her, the guarantee of fertility and prosperity of the whole country. " She sends Aten to rest with a sweet voice and beautiful hands with sisters, - it is said about her in the inscriptions of the tombs of contemporary nobles, - at the sound of her voice rejoice". The walls of the hall erected by Akhenaten in the 6th year of his reign in his capital to celebrate the Sed ceremony were decorated with colossal sculptural images of Nefertiti, identified with the goddess Tefnut, the goddess of moisture, the daughter of the Sun-Ra, standing on the maintenance of world harmony and divine law. In this hypostasis, Nefertiti could be depicted as a sphinx striking the enemies of Egypt with a club.
Possessing great power and authority, the queen was most often depicted in her favorite headdress - a high blue wig entwined with gold ribbons and a uraeus, which symbolically emphasized her connection with the formidable goddesses, the daughters of the Sun.
In the 12th year of the reign of Akhenaten, the middle daughter of the royal couple, Princess Maketaton, dies, and soon Nefertiti herself disappears from the historical arena, possibly falling into disgrace; her place was taken by the secondary queen from the female house of Akhenaten - Kiya, and later - the eldest daughter of Nefertiti - Meritaton.
By the 14th year of the reign of Akhenaten (1336 BC), all mention of the queen disappears. One of the statues discovered in the workshop of the sculptor Thutmose shows Nefertiti in her declining years. Before us is the same face, still beautiful, but time has already left its mark on it, leaving traces of weariness over the years, fatigue, even brokenness. The walking queen is dressed in a tight dress, with sandals on her feet. The figure, which has lost the freshness of youth, no longer belongs to a dazzling beauty, but to the mother of three daughters, who has seen and experienced a lot in her life.
In 1912, the German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt discovered a unique bust of Queen Nefertiti in the workshop of the sculptor Thutmose in el-Amarna, which has since become one of the symbols of beauty and sophistication of ancient Egyptian culture.
Initially, her bust was discovered by the team of the Egyptologist L. Borchard and taken to Germany (where it is now stored); to hide it from the Egyptian customs, it was specially smeared with plaster. In his archaeological diary, opposite the sketch of the monument, Borchardt wrote only one phrase: "It is pointless to describe - you have to look." Taken to Germany in 1913, the unique bust of the queen is kept in the collection of the Egyptian Museum in Berlin. Later in 1933, the Egyptian Ministry of Culture demanded it back to Egypt, but Germany refused to return it, then the German Egyptologists were prohibited from excavating. The Second World War and the persecution of Borchard's wife because of her Jewish origin prevented the archaeologist from continuing his research in full. Egypt officially demands the return of the exported bust of Nefertiti from Germany.
It was recently discovered that the bust of the beautiful Nefertiti has a late "plastic surgery" with plaster. Initially molded with a “potato” nose, etc., it was later corrected and began to be considered the standard of Egyptian beauty. It is not yet known whether the original image of Nefertiti was closer to the original and later embellished, or vice versa, the subsequent completion improved the inaccuracies of the original work ... Only a study of the mummy of Nefertiti herself, if it is discovered, can prove this.
Tomb
The mummy of Nefertiti was not discovered or identified among the mummies already found.
Prior to genetic research in February 2010, Egyptologists speculated that Nefertiti's mummy could be one of two female mummies found in tomb KV35, such as the KV35YL mummy. However, in the light of new information, this hypothesis is rejected.
One of the archaeologists, who for a number of years led the excavations in Akhetaton, writes about the legend of the locals. Allegedly, at the end of the 19th century, a group of people descended from the mountains, carrying a golden coffin; soon after that, several gold items with the name of Nefertiti appeared in antiquaries. This information could not be verified.
Busts and figures of Nefertiti, Berlin, Egyptian Museum
Reign of Nefertiti
early 14th century BC
To this day, through all the centuries there has been a legend about the most beautiful and happiest Egyptian queen, the beloved and only wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. But the excavations of the 20th century led to the fact that the legends around the name of Nefertiti and her royal spouses grew. However, there is also reliable information about her life, love and death.
Nefertiti is not an Egyptian, as is commonly believed. She came from the Mesopotamian state of Mitanni, the country of the Aryans. We can say that she came to Egypt from the Sun itself. Aryans - the people of Nefertiti - worshiped the sun. And with the advent of a 15-year-old princess named Taduchepa on Egyptian soil, a new god, Aten, also came. The marriage of Nefertiti with Pharaoh Amenhotep III was purely political. The young beauty was exchanged for a ton of jewelry, gold, silver and ivory and brought to the Egyptian city of Thebes. There they called her the new name of Nefertiti and gave her to the harem of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. After the death of his father, young Amenhotep IV received a foreign beauty by inheritance. Pharaoh's love did not flare up immediately, but it flared up. As a result, the young pharaoh dissolved his father's huge harem and declared his wife his co-ruler. Receiving foreign ambassadors and concluding important agreements, he swore by the spirit of the sun god and love for his wife.
Temple of Nefertiti (Egypt)
Nefertiti's husband entered the history of Egypt as one of the most humane rulers. Sometimes Amenhotep is portrayed as a weak, strange, sickly young man, obsessed with the ideas of general equality, peace and friendship between people and different peoples. However, it was Amenhotep IV who carried out a bold religious reform. None of the 350 rulers who occupied the Egyptian throne had dared to do this before him.
A huge temple of the Aten was built of white stone. Construction began on the new capital of Egypt - the city of Akhetaten ("Horizon of the Aten"). It was founded in a picturesque valley between Thebes and Memphis. The inspirer of the new plans was the wife of the pharaoh. Now the pharaoh himself was called Akhenaten, which means "Pleasant to the Aten", and Nefertiti - "Nefer-Nefer-Aton". This name is translated very poetically and symbolically - the beautiful beauty of Aten, or, in other words, the face is similar to the sun.
Nefertiti
French archaeologists have restored the appearance of the Egyptian queen: black eyebrows, strong-willed chin, full, gracefully curved lips. Her figure - fragile, miniature, but beautifully built - is compared with a carved statuette. The queen wore expensive clothes, most often they were white transparent dresses made of thin linen. According to legend and according to many deciphered hieroglyphs, the sunny beauty of Nefertiti extended to her soul. She was sung as a gentle beauty, the favorite of the Sun, who pacified everyone with her mercy. Hieroglyphic inscriptions praise not only the beauty of the queen, but also her divine ability to command respect. Nefertiti was called the "mistress of amenities", "pacifying heaven and earth with a sweet voice and kindness."
Nefertiti
Akhenaten himself called his wife "the delight of his heart" and wished her to live "forever and ever". In the papyrus, where the teaching about the family of the wise pharaoh is recorded, it tells about the ideal family happiness of the royal couple until death. This myth wandered in time from the ancient Greeks to the Romans and became worldwide. The cordial relationship between the king and the queen was captured in dozens and hundreds of drawings and bas-reliefs. On one of the frescoes there is even one extremely bold and frank painting, which we can quite call erotic. Akhenaten gently embraces and kisses Nefertiti on the lips. This is the first depiction of love in the history of art.
Nefertiti and Akhenaten
But meticulous archaeologists got to the bottom of the tragedy, without which, it turns out, the life of the sun-like and happy Nefertiti could not do. And she had a rival in ancient Egypt with a loving and wise husband.
All the same hieroglyphs and images on stone slabs helped archaeologists to find out this secret. The king and queen were usually depicted as an inseparable couple. They were symbols of mutual respect and state concerns. The couple met noble guests together, prayed together to the disk of the Sun, distributed gifts to their subjects.
But in 1931, in Amarna, the French found tablets with hieroglyphs, on which someone carefully scraped off the name Nefer-Nefer-Aton, leaving only the name of the pharaoh. More surprising finds followed. The limestone figure of the daughter of Nefertiti with the mother's name destroyed, the profile of the queen herself with the royal headdress plastered with paint. This could only be done by order of the pharaoh. Egyptologists have come to the conclusion that a drama took place in the happy home of the pharaohs. A few years before the death of Akhenaten, the family broke up. Nefertiti was expelled from the palace, she now lived in a country house and raised a boy intended as the husband of her daughter, the future pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Kia. That was the name of Nefertiti's rival
Under the images of the royal couple, another female name appeared, inscribed instead of Nefertiti. This name is Kiya. That was the name of Nefertiti's rival. The ceramic vessel with the names of Akhenaten and his new wife Kiya also confirmed the guess. Nefertiti was no longer listed there. Later, in 1957, they found an image of the new queen - a young face, wide cheekbones, regular arches of the eyebrows, and a calm look. Features that are attractive only by the charm of youth... This woman could not become a legend, although she replaced a legendary woman and a loving wife in the arms of Akhenaten. She not only won the heart of the pharaoh. In the last years of his reign, he made Kiya the second (youngest) pharaoh. A golden, luxuriously inlaid coffin was even made for her. But a year before his death, Akhenaten also alienated his second wife.
Nefertiti lived in disgrace until the accession to the throne of Tutankhamun. She died in Thebes. After the death of Akhenaten, the priests of Egypt returned to the old god. Together with the god of the Sun - Aton, the name of the sun-like Nefer-Nefer-Aton was cursed. Therefore, it was not included in the annals. The burial of Nefertiti remains a mystery, apparently, it was modest. But the image of the queen remained alive in the fairy tales and legends of her people. The people left in them only beauty, harmony and happiness.
Nefertiti (Arthur Braginsky)
There is another, no less plausible version of the life story of Nefertiti, where the queen appears before us in a completely different way. This is an experienced in love, voluptuous and hard-hearted organizer of orgies, constantly looking for more and more new victims. This Nefertiti told a fable about a woman who did not want to be "contemptible" in love with her, an unfortunate young man. Therefore, for her love, she demanded that her lover give her everything he had, drive his wife away, kill the children and throw their bodies to the dogs. He even had to give away the grave of his elderly parents and the right to embalm their bodies after death and funeral rituals. The queen not only told, she herself embodied the plot of the fable and, in the end, drove the unfortunate man away, rewarding him with cold intercourse, and not with the fiery heat of her beautiful body.
This Nefertiti was no longer a victim of palace intrigues, but she herself fanned the fire of enmity in her wife Akhenaten, hated him, wished him death. This Nefertiti is the royal hetaira of Egypt, wearing small sandals adorned with precious stones. Every year she gave the pharaoh daughters, accusing him of the fact that he could not have a son. She had a body virginally young and beautiful, insatiable and vicious.
These two Nefertiti are still arguing with each other. However, the Valley of the Kings still keeps its beautiful and terrible secrets.
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