The True Love of Akhenaten – Nefertiti

Akhenaten, like every other pharaoh of ancient Egypt, had more than one wife throughout his 17 year reign; however it was always Nefertiti that was his one true love.

Busts that have been found in the remains of Akhenaten’s city depict Nefertiti as an incredibly beautiful and regal woman. From around year 3 of Akhenaten’s reign, Nefertiti is described as ‘the Great Royal Wife’ and is shown in virtually every relief with Akhenaten from then until she disappeared around year 12. Paintings of the royal couple show them as being alike in terms of size, which would suggest that Akhenaten regarded his wife as an equal rather than as a subordinate which was the norm for kings.

The parentage of Nefertiti is unknown, although many experts say that she was very probably connected to the royal family in some way. Family relationships were very complex in ancient Egypt and it may be that Nefertiti was in fact a blood relation to Akhenaten although distantly, possibly through their grandparents. Nefertiti’s parents are never mentioned in any of the writing found to mention her and so the mystery remains.

Pictures that depict Akhenaten, Nefertiti and their children show them as a close and happy family. Nefertiti bore Akhenaten at least 6 daughters although 2 of them died at a very young age. The children are regularly shown in both family and ceremonial murals dating from the Armana period which is another break with convention as the royal children were very rarely acknowledged in the art work of ancient Egypt.

Nefertiti however did not produce a son to carry on the royal line and so Akhenaten took a second wife, Kiya. It is thought that Kiya gave birth to at least one girl and very probably a boy, Tutankhamun, and so was given the title ‘greatly beloved wife of the king’. This does not mean to say that Kiya was the beloved of Akhenaten; she had simply given birth to royal children and so warranted a title to set her apart from the rest of the royal harem.

It is not known whether Nefertiti saw Kiya as a threat but around year 11 of Akhenaten’s reign Kiya was effectively erased from history. Not only did she disappear, she was removed from all monuments; her name was removed and replaced with the names of Nefertiti’s daughters and all representations of her were altered to resemble other people. Some experts believe that Kiya somehow fell from grace and was demoted back to the obscurity of the harem however others suggest a more sinister end for Kiya at the hands of Nefertiti. This is another mystery from the Amarna period that remains unsolved.

The biggest mystery surrounding Nefertiti however is exactly what happened to her. There are a number of theories regarding the fate of ‘the Great Royal Wife’ although as yet none have been proved with any certainty. Two of these theories seem to be more popular than the others and are thus outlined below.

Theory 1 – Nefertiti simply died. From wall paintings and hieroglyphics of the time it would seem that the last of Nefertiti’s children died shortly before she disappeared, possibly in childbirth or in very early life. It could be that Nefertiti had a medical problem during childbirth that she never recovered from. This, like any theory, is speculation and as yet there is very little evidence to support the theory.

Theory 2 – Nefertiti became co-regent with Akhenaten and changed her name to Neferneferuaten with the throne name Ankhkheperura. It was very uncommon for a pharaoh to appoint a co-regent and experts can see no reason for Akhenaten taking one other than to have a second person who could act as king outside of Amarna. It is suggested that opposition to his new way of life and religion was getting out of control, especially in Thebes, and so a co-regent could reside at Thebes to show the presence of the royal family. Even if this theory is true it still doesn’t explain what happened to Nefertiti.

Her body and her tomb have never been found although the wastelands that were Akhetaten have been thoroughly explored throughout the ages. This means that Egypt still holds the key to one of the most debated topics in its history.

For more information regarding Nefertiti and her role in Ancient Egypt I recommend Nefertiti