Nefertiti was the wife of Akhenaten , the Pharoah of Egypt. He gave her the name Nefertiti which means "the beautiful one has come". She was one of the powerful women who have ever ruled the earth.

1. WOMAN OF DISTINCTION
LIFE OF A GORGEOUS
QUEEN AN UNSOLVED
MYSTERY

19. One of the most famous royal
women of the Eighteenth
Dynasty.
She was the consort of
AKHENATEN (r. 1353–1335
B.C.E.) and a leading figure at
'AMARNA.

20. Queen Nefertiti is
often referred to
in history as "The
Most Beautiful
Woman in the
World.", is
indeed, the most
famous depiction
of Queen
Nefertiti.

43. SPOUSE

44. AKHENATAN , KING OF EGYPT
In his book Akhenaten, King of
Egypt, the author Cyril Aldred
quotes an eulogy of Nefertiti's found
on the boundary stelae of
Akhetaten. The inscription reads:
And the Heiress, Great in the
Palace, Fair of Face, Adorned
with the Double Plumes,
Mistress of Happiness, Endowed
with Favours, at hearing whose
voice the King rejoices, the
Chief Wife of the King, his
beloved, the Lady of the Two
Lands, Neferneferuaten-
Nefertiti, May she live for Ever
and Always.

46. WEDDING

48. AKHENATEN and NEFERTITI

55. POWERFUL COUPLE
For nearly thirty centuries, Akhenaten
and Nefertiti remained completely
forgotten even in the legendary
history without any trace. Chisels
removed their names off monuments,
and even defaced their faces from the
statues.
Their city was razed to the ground, its
very bricks stolen and carried off. But,
with the increasing successes in
deciphering of hieroglyphics, a very
faint picture of a king (either a saint
/a criminal) and a queen who was too
beautiful to describe began to appear.

56. Neferneferuaten Nefertiti lived
from 1370 BC until 1340 BC. She
was married to the Egyptian
Pharaoh Akhenaten, who gave her
many titles, including: Great Royal
Wife, Hereditary Princess, Great of
Praises, Lady of Grace, Sweet of
Love, Lady of The Two Lands, Great
King’s Wife, Lady of all Women,
and Mistress of Upper and Lower
Egypt. Nefertiti was known for
being very beautiful, and her name
means “the beautiful one has
come.”

59. Akhenaten and
Nefertiti weren't
just king and
queen. They
ruled side by
side at equal
levels. Nefertiti
even taking roles
that only a
Pharaoh would.

61. GLOBAL ICON OF FEMININE BEAUTY AND POWER
Nefertiti was considered to be one of the
most mysterious and powerful women in
ancient Egypt. As a queen alongside
Pharaoh Akhenaten from 1353 to 1336
B.C she may have ruled the New
Kingdom outright after her husband’s
death. Her reign was a time of
tremendous cultural upheaval, as
Akhenaten reoriented Egypt’s religious
and political structure around the
worship of the sun god Aten. Nefertiti is
best known for her painted sandstone
bust, which was rediscovered in 1913
and became a global icon of feminine
beauty and power.

63. NEFERTITI’S COSTUME

66. EXAMINING A LOST QUEEN

76. Nefertiti, whose name
means "the beautiful one
has come," was the queen
of Egypt and wife of
Pharaoh Akhenaten during
the 14th century B.C. She
and her husband found the
cult of Aten, the sun god,
and promoted Egyptian
artwork that was radically
different from its
predecessors. A bust of
Nefertiti is one of the most
iconic symbols of Egypt.

77. SYMBOL OF HER COUNTRY’S HISTORY
Her beauty is marked by the
graceful curve of the long neck,
the arched eyebrow, and the hint
of a smile on the queen's sensual
full lips is a far cry from the
symmetrical frozen immobility of
the traditional Egyptian statuary
making her the most recognizable
queen of ancient Egypt and a
symbol of her country's history.

79. FROM A MYSTERIOUS ORIGIN
Although Little is known about the
origins of Nefertiti, but her legacy
of beauty and power continue to
intrigue scholars today. Her name
is Egyptian and means "the
beautiful one has come." Some
evidence suggests that she hailed
from the town Akhmim and is the
daughter or niece of a high official
named Ay. Other theories suggest
that she was born in a foreign
country

80. TIMELESS BEAUTY
The beauty of Nefertiti was
timeless as it surpassed
everything, time and space.
She has come to be known as
one of the best in history, and
her bust, which the German
team smuggled out
of Egypt to Berlin , had been
disguised as broken pieces of
pottery, is the most copied and
admired in the world.

82. THE BUST OF NEFERTITI
On December 6, 1913, a team led by German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt discovered
a sculpture buried upside-down in the sandy rubble on the floor of the excavated
workshop of the royal sculptor Thutmose in Amarna. The painted figure featured a
slender neck, gracefully proportioned face and a curious blue cylindrical headpiece of a
style only seen in images of Nefertiti. Borchardt’s team had an agreement to split its
artefacts with the Egyptian government, so the bust was shipped as part of Germany’s
portion. A single, poor photograph was published in an archaeological journal and the
bust was given to the expedition’s funder, Jacques Simon, who displayed it for the next 11
years in his private residence.
In 1922 British Egyptologist Howard Carter discovered King Tut’s tomb. A flurry of
international attention followed, and the image of Tut’s solid gold funerary mask was
soon a global symbol of beauty, wealth and power.
A year later the Nefertiti bust was put on display in Berlin, countering the “English” Tut
with a German appropriation of ancient glamour. Throughout the 20th century’s
upheavals, the bust remained in German hands. It was revered by Hitler (who said, “I will
never relinquish the head of the Queen”), hidden from Allied bombs in a salt mine and
coveted by East Germany throughout the Cold War. Today it draws more than 500,000
visitors annually to Berlin’s Neues Museum.

83. The statue of Queen Nefertiti seen during a press preview at the 'Neues Museum' (New
Museum) building in Berlin October 15, 2009. As of January 24, 2011, Egypt has formally
requested the return of the famous 3,400-year-old bust, which is part of a permanent
Egyptian exhibition on display at the museum in Berlin. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)

84. AMBASSADOR OF EGYPT
A German foundation rejected an Egyptian request to return the 3,400-year-old bust of Queen
Nefertiti, a sculpture which draws over one million viewers annually to a Berlin museum.
Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) sent the request to the Prussian Cultural Heritage
Foundation which runs the Neues Museum in the German capital where the bust is kept.
The foundation president Professor Hermann Parzinger said in a statement that their position of the
custody of her statue remains unchanged. He said, "She is and remains the ambassador of
Egypt in Berlin.“
Egypt's antiquities chief, Zahi Hawass, appealed to the foundation seeking the return of the bust,
famed for its almond-shaped eyes and swan-like neck. However, the foundation said it did not
consider the letter an official state request as it had not been signed by Egyptian Prime
Minister Ahmed Nazif.
German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt discovered the bust about 275 km south of Cairo in 1912,
and it was taken to Germany the following year.
Hawass, who sent a similar letter in 2009, has said in the past that documents presented by the
Neues Museum confirmed Borchardt tried to pass the bust off as a less significant find to secure it
for Berlin. The museum has said it was acquired lawfully and Egypt had no legal claim to it.

85. LIFE AS A CONSORT TO AKHENATEN
It was believed that she was only 15 when she married
Amenhotep IV. They apparently ruled together from
1353 to 1336 B.C. and had six daughters, with
speculation that they may have also had a son. Artwork
from the day depicts the couple and their daughters in
an unusually naturalistic and individualistic style, more
so than from earlier eras. The king and his head queen
seem to be inseparable in reliefs, often shown riding in
chariots together and even kissing in public. It has been
stated that the couple may have had a genuine
romantic connection, a dynamic not generally seen in
ancient pharaoh depiction.
The royal family resided in a constructed city meant to
honor their god, also called Akhenaten in what is now
known as el-Amarna. There were several open-air
temples in the city, and at the center stood the palace.

86. DEPICTION IN EGYPTIAN ART

87. PAINTING

92. WORSHIP OF SUN GOD
Nefertiti and the pharaoh played an
active role in establishing the Aten cult, a
religious mythology which defined Aten,
the sun, as the most important god and
only one worthy of worship in Egypt's
polytheistic canon. Amenhotep IV
changed his name to Akhenaten (also
seen as "Akenhaten" in some references)
to honor the deity.
It was believed that the king and queen
were priests and it was only through
them ordinary citizens obtained access to
Aten.

93. REIGN
During her regime, Egypt went through a radical and religious
metamorphosis. Hundred years of polytheistic worship was
exchanged for a new cult called Monotheism. As a result, old
gods were disregarded and temples were closed, priests were
forced to give up their ways. As believed by the Historians this
transition could not have been adopted by the priests or citizens
so easily.
Her reign with Akhenaten was quite different than the
traditional ways Egypt had witnessed. She was more than a
typical queen in Adopting the Pharoh’s views.
Though her reign lasted for 12 years yet was probably one of
the most powerful women to have ever ruled. In support of her
husband’s beliefs she even changed her bame to
Neferneferunaten-Nefertiti which means, “ the Aten is radiant
of radiance because the beautiful one has come.” Her
importance was greatly valued by Akhenaten that he went to
great lengths to show her as his counterpart.
She assumed powerful roles and showed her supremacy in
ways only Egyptian Kings did.

94. NEFERTITI AS A QUEEN
Akenaten valued her so much,
that he also allowed her to
practice the art of priesthood and
she too was allowed to make
worship offering to Aten.

97. As illustrated in the picture she was often shown with the crown of a Pharaoh or was
depicted in scenes of battle fighting her enemies.

98. On the walls of tombs and
temples built during
Akhenaten’s reign Nefertiti is
depicted alongside her husband
with a frequency seen for no
other Egyptian queen. In many
cases she is shown in positions
of power and authority—
leading worship of Aten, driving
a chariot or smiting an enemy.

99. DISAPPEARANCE
In several reliefs she is shown wearing the crown of
a pharaoh or smiting her enemies in battle. Despite
her great power, Nefertiti disappears from all
depictions after 12 years. The reason for her
disappearance is unknown. Some scholars believe
that she died, while others speculate she was
elevated to the status of co-regent, equal in status
to the pharaoh, and dressed herself as a man.
Some say she became known as Pharaoh
Smenkhkare, ruling Egypt after her husband’s
death. Others suggest she was exiled when the
worship of the deity Amen-Ra came back into
vogue. Her mummy has not been found.

100. NEFERTITI AS A POSSIBLE RULER
Nefertiti disappears from the historical record around the 12th
year of Akhenaten’s 17-year reign. She may have died at that
point, but it is possible she became her husband’s official co-
regent under the name Neferneferuaten. Akhenaten was
followed as pharaoh by Smenkhkare, who some historians
suggest may have been another name for Nefertiti.
This would not have been without precedent: In the 15th
century B.C. the female pharaoh Hatshepsut ruled Egypt in
the guise of a man, complete with a ceremonial false beard.
If Nefertiti kept power during and beyond Akhenaten’s last
years, it is possible she began the reversal of her husband’s
religious polices that would reach fruition during the reign of
King Tut. At one point Neferneferuaten employed a scribe to
make divine offerings to Amun, pleading for him to return
and dispel the kingdom’s darkness.

101. PROMINENT ROLE IN ROYAL RULE
Nefertiti's prominent role in Egyptian royal rule and religious
worship reflects her influence in the public sphere.

102. Some believe she was the power behind the
throne and thus responsible for the changes
during the rule of Akhenaten until being
dismissed from her position and banished to
the North Palace at Amarna.
This would mean there was a conflict
within the royal family, with Nefertiti
favoring the continued worship of Aten
while Akhenaten and his son-in-
law Tutankhamen (c. 1370–c. 1352 B.C.E. )
supported a return to the worship of Amen-
Ra.

104. WIPED OUT OF THE MEMORY
Akhenatan came to be considered as one of the greatest
kings of Egypt. He was a pharaoh, who was too brave,
or crazy enough to throw away one of the most enduring
pillars of the establishments. Defying the priests of
Amun, he started a new ethic-based monotheistic
religion, and erected a beautiful city 300 miles north
ofThebes .
However, within a few years of Akhenatan’s death, his
successors reacted in a swift and complete manner to
his rebellion, leaving nothing of his religion or his city.
Even his name and that of his queen were obliterated
from the memory of men.
A wife, loved by her husband Akhenaten, a mother
adored by her family, a monotheist blessed by the sun
god, and a queen worshiped by her people, Nefertiti
suddenly and completely vanished from the record.

108. REFERENCES
1.www.kingtutone.com
2.www.biography.com
3. Freed, Rita E., Yvonne J. Markowitz, and Sue H. D'Auria,
eds. Pharaohs of the Sun. Boston: Little, Brown, 1999.
4. Tyldesley, Joyce A. Nefertiti: Egypt's Sun Queen. New York:
Viking, 1998.
5. www.alshindagah.com

110. PRESENTER

111. Ms. Dayamani Surya holds Master’s Degree in the English Literature from Osmania
University, Hyderabad, Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching of English from CIEFL, Post
Graduate Diploma in Teaching of English from CIEFL, Bachelor’s degree in Science and
Bachelor’s degree in Education.
She holds online professional certifications:
•Project Management
•Human Resource Management
•Financial Accounting
• Management and Accounting
• Business Process Outsourcing
•Advance Learning Certificate in English Literature Analysis from Ireland.
As a Research Associate in the District Centre for English Scheme, Department of Training
and Development, The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad since 1 May
2007, her work focuses on administration, curriculum development and teaching in the
International Training Programme for Foreign Students at the University.
At the personal level, she works online as a Free lance writer, mentor, helps the scholars in
their project work, compilation of articles and papers, contributes to the publication of
articles and journals. She is interested in writing diaries, blogs and short stories. Her topics
of interest are World History, Biographies, Art and photos, Journalism etc.