General Notes

Ruled Egypt as Queen Between 1341-1337 BC. Continued as the effective
Queen until 1327 BC, when Tutankhamum died.
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Nefertiti, 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 1350 to 1334 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 honor of Aton,
Akhenaton changed his name to mean "beneficial 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 favor 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.
Contributed By:
Leonard H. Lesko
Source: "Nefertiti," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 98Encyclopedia. (c)
1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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Nefertiti was the wife of Akhenaten. Nefertiti, which means "the
beautiful woman has come" is one of the most famous and beloved of all
ancient Egyptians. One of the best known Egyptian treasures is a bust of
her that can be found in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin. Not much is known
about where she came from or who she was, but there has been much
speculation about this. Sheappeared with Akhenaten during his fourth
year at el-'Amarna, which was Akhenaten's new city. The city was
dedicated to the god Aten. In the sixth year of his reign, her name was
changed to Nefernefruaten, which means "Beautiful in beauty is Aten".
They lived in 'Amarna and held religious ceremonies celebrating Aten.
They raised six daughters but no sons at 'Amarna. One of their daughters,
Meket-Aten, died. Their mourning was shown on wall paintings. After the
death of their daughter, Nefertiti disappeared from the court. Some
evidence shows that she stayed in 'Amarna, but lived in a villa called
Hataten. Her daughter took over her place as Akhenaten's Queen. Her body
has never beenfound.
Source: www.touregypt.net