Nefertiti

Summary Since the discovery of Queen Nefertiti’s bust, she was resurfaced from the ancient world and become today’s most legendary Egyptian queen.

She was the king’s most preferred wife, and even though she only bore him daughters, she still managed to remain on top of the helm ruling as co-pharaoh alongside with her husband. The authors of Queen Nefertiti, from Birth to Her Death Bed say that after she rose into power, “She was not all natural; she soon picked tricks up to give herself more beauty, such as dying her hair, bathing in sea salt and massaging the oils of aroma into her skin. She would dress her hair ith wigs and braids, and wear shear linen dresses and glamorous jewelry” (“Queen Nefertiti, from Birth to Her Death Bed”, n.d.). This beauty must have played a part in how she managed to be that influential to the pharaoh.

Nefertiti was brought up in a religion that worshiped the sun, and she influenced her husband to sever his former religion and follow her faith. The king moved the royal family from the Egyptian capital of Thebes to a place which was known as Tell- el-Amarna. The pharaoh named this city that he constructed Akhetaten which means, “Horizon of Aten” (Aldred, 1988). Her prominence in the politics and religion of Egyypt reflect the influence that she had on the pharaoh. Nefertiti changed her name in the course of her religious life which means “the beautiful one has come” to Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti or “the Aten is radiant of radiance because the beautiful one has come”.

This might have led to Amenhotep changing his name during his reign to Akhenaten (Aldred, 1988). All this influence on the king might have led her gain the power that she had. By being able to establish the new religion as the sole religion of Egypt during their reign with her husband, she leaves a legacy of being also the most influential queen of ancient Egypt.