Born: 1330—Died: 1370,
Nefertiti was an ancient Egyptian queen who was the chief wife of Akhenaton, the pharaoh of Egypt, with whom she initiated many religious, artistic, and cultural changes. Nefertiti may have exercised the priestly office, a position normally reserved for kings.
Akhenaton, who reigned from about 1353 to 1335 BC, was the first pharaoh to establish worship of one god. He directed exclusive worship of the sun god, Aton, of which Nefertiti was a devout follower. In honour of Aton, Akhenaton changed his name to mean “He who is devoted to Aton” (he was originally called Amenhotep IV) and established the capital Akhetaton (now the site of Tall al ‘Amarinah). In the 12th year of Ahkenaton’s reign, Nefertiti apparently fell from favour and was replaced by Meritaten, one of her six daughters.
A painted limestone bust of Nefertiti is one of the great works of art surviving from ancient Egypt and is now in the Staatliche Museum in Berlin, Germany. The Amarna letters, which are inscribed cuneiform tablets from the period of Akhenaton’s reign, along with other inscriptions and reliefs, also indicate Nefertiti’s fame.
