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{{Short description|Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten}}
{{about|the Ancient Egyptian queen, wife of Akhenaten|the wife of Ramsses|Nefertari|other individuals named Neferneferuaten|Neferneferuaten (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-move-indef}}
{{use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox royalty
| image        = Nofretete Neues Museum.jpg
| caption      = The [[Nefertiti Bust|bust of Nefertiti]] from the [[Egyptian Museum of Berlin]] collection, currently in the [[Neues Museum]]
| succession   = [[Great Royal Wife|Queen consort]] of [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]
| reign        = 1353–1336 BC<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9005276/Akhenaton|title=Akhenaton|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070526165648/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9005276/Akhenaton|archive-date=2007-05-26}}</ref> or <br />1351–1334 BC<ref name="beckerath190">{{cite book |author-link=Jürgen von Beckerath |last=von Beckerath |first=Jürgen |title=Chronologie des Pharaonischen Ägypten |publisher=Philipp von Zabern |location=Mainz |year=1997 |page=190}}</ref>
| succession1  = [[Pharaoh]]
| moretext1    = (as [[Neferneferuaten]], disputed)
| reign1       = {{circa|1334&ndash;1332 BC}}
| predecessor1 = unclear, [[Akhenaten]] or [[Smenkhkare]]
| successor1 = unclear, [[Smenkhkare]] or [[Tutankhamun]]
| reign-type1  = Reign
| birth_date   = {{Circa|1370 BC}}
| death_date   = {{Circa|1330 BC}}
| consort      = yes
| spouse       = [[Akhenaten]]
| issue        = {{plainlist|
*[[Meritaten]]
*[[Meketaten]]
*[[Ankhesenamun]]
*[[Neferneferuaten Tasherit]]
*[[Neferneferure]]
*[[Setepenre (princess)|Setepenre]]}}
| father       = [[Ay (pharaoh)|Ay]] <small>(possibly)</small>
| mother       = Iuy <small>(possibly)</small>
| religion     = [[Atenism]]
| dynasty      = [[Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt|18th of Egypt]]
| place of burial = 
}}
{{Infobox hieroglyphs
|title = Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti
|name = <hiero>X1:N35:N5-M17\-F35-F35-F35-F35-.-F35-M18-X1:Z4-B1</hiero>
|name transcription = Neferneferuaten Nefertiti <br /> ''Nfr nfrw itn Nfr.t jy.tj''
|name explanation = ''Beautiful are the Beauties of Aten, the Beautiful one has come''
|remarks = &nbsp; [[Great Royal Wife]] of [[Pharaoh]] [[Akhenaten]]
|}}
'''Nefertiti''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|n|ɛ|f|ər|ˈ|t|iː|t|i}}<ref name="Collins">{{cite web |url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/nefertiti |title=Nefertit |access-date=24 September 2014 |work=Collins Dictionary|date=n.d.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923230745/http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/nefertiti?showCookiePolicy=true|archive-date=23 September 2015}}</ref>) ({{circa|1370|1330 BC}}) was a queen of the [[Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt|18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt]], the [[Great Royal Wife|great royal wife]] of Pharaoh [[Akhenaten]]. Nefertiti and her husband were known for their radical overhaul of state religious policy, in which they promoted an [[religious exclusivism|exclusivist]] and possibly even [[monotheistic]] religion, [[Atenism]], centered on [[Aten|the sun disc]] and its direct connection to the royal household. With her husband, she reigned at what was arguably the wealthiest period of [[ancient Egypt]]ian history.<ref>{{cite book |first1=R. E. |last1=Freed |first2=S. |last2=D'Auria |first3=Y. J. |last3=Markowitz |year=1999 |title=Pharaohs of the Sun: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Tutankhamen |publisher=Museum of Fine Arts |location=Leiden}}</ref>

After her husband's death, some scholars believe that Nefertiti ruled briefly as the female [[pharaoh]] known by the throne name [[Neferneferuaten]], and before the ascension of [[Tutankhamun]], although this identification is [[Neferneferuaten#Nefertiti|a matter of ongoing debate]].<ref name="Dodson">{{cite book |last=Dodson |first=Aidan |url=https://ia800701.us.archive.org/7/items/AmarnaSunset/Amarna%20Sunset.pdf |title=Amarna Sunset: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian Counter-Reformation |publisher=The American University in Cairo Press |year=2009 |pages=36–38 |isbn=978-977-416-304-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Van de Perre |first=Athena |year=2014 |url=https://www.academia.edu/6682743 |title=The Year 16 graffito of Akhenaten in Dayr Abū Ḥinnis: A contribution to the study of the later years of Nefertiti |journal=Journal of Egyptian History |volume=7 |pages=67–108|doi=10.1163/18741665-12340014 }}</ref> If Nefertiti did rule as pharaoh, her reign was marked by the fall of [[Amarna]] and the relocation of the capital back to the traditional city of [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]] after her death.<ref>Nozomu Kawai in "The Time of Tutankhamun: What the new evidence reveals in [https://web.archive.org/web/20230524081942/https://arce.org/wp-content/uploads/files-imported/documents/Scribe%20Spring%2022_1.pdf SCRIBE: The Magazine of the American Research Center in Egypt, Unlocking Tutankhamun], Spring 2022, pp.46-47</ref>

In the 20th century, Nefertiti was made famous by the discovery and display of [[Nefertiti Bust|her ancient bust]], now in Berlin's [[Neues Museum]]. The bust is one of the most copied works of the [[art of ancient Egypt]]. It is attributed to the Egyptian sculptor [[Thutmose (sculptor)|Thutmose]], and was excavated from his buried studio complex in the early 20th century.<ref>{{cite book|last=Breger|first=Claudia|title=The Body of the Queen: Gender and Rule in the Courtly World, 1500–2000|editor=Regina Schulte|publisher=Berghahn Book|chapter=The 'Berlin' Nefertiti Bust|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vgXfYVT5KtQC&q=Nefertiti+bust&pg=PA281|isbn = 1-84545-159-7|year = 2006|page = 285}}</ref>

== Names and titles ==
Nefertiti had many titles, including: 
* Neferneferuaten<ref>{{cite book |first=A. |last=Dodson |title=Nefertiti, Queen and Pharaoh of Egypt: Her Life and Afterlife |publisher=The American University in Cairo Press |year=2020 |pages=26}}</ref> (Beautiful is the beauty of [[Aten]]) [[wikt:nfr-nfrw-jtn|nfr-nfrw-jtn]]
* Hereditary Princess ([[Iry-pat|iryt-p`t]])
* Great of Praises (wrt-Hzwt)
* Lady of Grace (nebet-imat, [[wiktionary:nbt#Egyptian|nbt]]-[[wiktionary:jmꜣt#Egyptian|jmꜣt]])
* Sweet of Love (beneret-merut, [[wiktionary:bnr#Egyptian|bnr]][[wiktionary:-t#Egyptian|t]]-[[wiktionary:mrwt#Egyptian|mrwt]])
* Lady of The Two Lands (nebet-tawi, [[wiktionary:nbt#Egyptian|nbt]]-[[wiktionary:tꜣwj#Egyptian|tꜣwj]])
* Main King's Wife, his beloved (hemet-nesut-aat meretef, [[wiktionary:ḥmt-nswt#Egyptian|ḥmt-nswt]]-[[wiktionary:ꜥꜣt|ꜥꜣt]] [[wiktionary:mrt#Etymology_2|mrt]][[wiktionary:.f#Egyptian|.f]])
* Great King's Wife, his beloved (hemet-nesut-weret meretef, [[wiktionary:ḥmt-nswt-wrt#Egyptian|ḥmt-nswt-wrt]] [[wiktionary:mrt#Etymology_2|mrt]][[wiktionary:.f#Egyptian|.f]])
* Lady of All Women (henut-hemut-nebut, [[wiktionary:ḥnwt#Egyptian|ḥnwt]]-[[wiktionary:ḥmwt#Egyptian|ḥmwt]]-nbwt)
* Mistress of Upper & Lower Egypt (henut-shemau-mehu, [[wiktionary:ḥnwt#Egyptian|ḥnwt]]-šmꜣw-[[wiktionary:mḥw#Egyptian|mḥw]]).<ref>{{cite book |last=Grajetzki |first=Wolfram |title=Ancient Egyptian Queens: A Hieroglyphic Dictionary |publisher=Golden House Publications |location=London |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-9547218-9-3}}</ref>

While modern [[Egyptological]] pronunciation renders her name as ''N'''e'''fertiti'', her name was the sentence ''nfr.t jj.tj'' (or ''Nfr.t-jy.tj''{{sfnp|Dodson|2016|p=87}}), meaning "the beautiful one has come", and probably contemporarily pronounced ''Naftita'' from older ''Nafrat-ita'' or perhaps ''Nafert-yiti''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schenkel |first=W. |title=Zur Rekonstruktion deverbalen Nominalbildung des Ägyptischen |publisher=Harrasowitz |location=Wiesbaden |year=1983 |pages=212, 214,247}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Allen|first=James P.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cK-BAwAAQBAJ|title=Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs|date=2014-07-24|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-05364-9|language=en}}</ref>

==Family and early life==
{{see also|Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt family tree}}Almost nothing is known about Nefertiti's life before her marriage to [[Akhenaten]]. Scenes from the [[Tombs of the Nobles (Amarna)|tombs of the nobles]] in [[Amarna]] mention that Nefertiti had a sister, named [[Mutbenret]].<ref name="amarnaI&II">[[N. de Garis Davies|Norman De Garis Davies]], The rock tombs of el-Amarna, Parts I and II: Part 1 The tomb of Meryra & Part 2 The tombs of Panehesy and Meyra II, Egypt Exploration Society (2004)</ref><ref name="amarnaV&VI">Norman De Garis Davies, The rock tombs of el-Amarna, Parts V and VI: Part 5 Smaller tombs and boundary stelae & Part 6 Tombs of Parennefer, Tutu and Ay, Egypt Exploration Society (2004)</ref><ref name="PM">{{cite book |last1=Dodson |first1=Aidan |last2=Hilton |first2=Dyan |title=The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt |publisher=Thames & Hudson |year=2004 |isbn=0-500-05128-3}}</ref> Further, a woman named [[Tey]] carried the title of "Nurse of the Great Royal Wife."<ref name="Dijk 1996 31">{{cite journal |first=Jacobus |last=van Dijk |url=http://www.jacobusvandijk.nl/docs/BACE_7.pdf |title=Horemheb and the Struggle for the Throne of Tutankhamun |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304092253/http://www.jacobusvandijk.nl/docs/BACE_7.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-04 |journal=Bulletin of the Australian Centre for Egyptology |volume=7 |year=1996 |page=32}}</ref> In addition, Tey's husband [[Ay (pharaoh)|Ay]] carried the title "God's Father." Some Egyptologists believe that this title was used for a man whose daughter married the [[pharaoh]].<ref name="Dijk 1996 31-32">{{cite journal|last1=van Dijk|first1=J.|date=1996|title=Horemheb and the Struggle for the Throne of Tutankhamun|url=http://www.jacobusvandijk.nl/docs/BACE_7.pdf|journal=Bulletin of the Australian Centre for Egyptology|pages=31–32|access-date=15 September 2019}}</ref> Based on these titles, it has been proposed that [[Ay (pharaoh)|Ay]] was in fact Nefertiti's father.{{sfnp|Dodson|2016|p=87}} However, neither Ay nor Tey are explicitly referred to as Nefertiti's parents in the existing sources. At the same time, no sources exist that directly contradict Ay's fatherhood which is considered likely due to the great influence he wielded during Nefertiti's life and after her death.{{sfnp|Dodson|2016|p=87}} According to another theory, Nefertiti was the daughter of Ay and a woman besides Tey, but Ay's first wife died before Nefertiti's rise to the position of queen, whereupon Ay married Tey, making her Nefertiti's stepmother. Nevertheless, this entire proposal is based on speculation and conjecture.{{sfnp|Dodson|2016|p=87–88}}

It has also been proposed that Nefertiti was Akhenaten's full sister, though this is contradicted by her titles which do not include the title of "King's Daughter" or "King's Sister," usually used to indicate a relative of a pharaoh.{{sfnp|Dodson|2016|p=87}} Another theory about her parentage that gained some support identified Nefertiti with the [[Mitanni]] princess [[Tadukhipa]],<ref name="Tyldesley">{{cite book |last=Tyldesley |first=Joyce |title=Nefertiti: Egypt's Sun Queen |publisher=Penguin |year=1998 |isbn=0-670-86998-8}}</ref> partially based on Nefertiti's name ("The Beautiful Woman has Come") which has been interpreted by some scholars as signifying a foreign origin.{{sfnp|Dodson|2016|p=87}} However, Tadukhipa was already married to Akhenaten's father and there is no evidence for any reason why this woman would need to alter her name in a proposed marriage to Akhenaten, nor any hard evidence of a foreign non-Egyptian background for Nefertiti.

The exact dates when Nefertiti married Akhenaten and became the king's great royal wife are uncertain. They are known to have had at least six daughters together, including [[Meritaten]], [[Meketaten]], [[Ankhesenamun|Ankhesenpaaten]] (later called Ankhesenamun when she married Tutankhamun), [[Neferneferuaten Tasherit]], [[Neferneferure]], and [[Setepenre (princess)|Setepenre]].<ref name="PM" /><ref name="Tyldesley" /> She was once considered as a candidate for the mother of Tutankhamun, however a genetic study conducted on discovered mummies suggests that she was not.<ref name=":0" />

==Life==
{{multiple image|align=left
|image1=Alabaster sunken relief depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and daughter Meritaten. Early Aten cartouches on king's arm and chest. From Amarna, Egypt. 18th Dynasty. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg
|width1=200
|caption1=Alabaster sunken relief depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and their daughter Meritaten. Early Aten cartouches on king's arm and chest. From Amarna, Egypt. 18th Dynasty. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London
|image2=NefertitiRelief SmitingSceneOnBoat-CloseUp.png
|width2=200
|caption2=Close-up of a limestone relief depicting Nefertiti smiting a female captive on a royal barge. On display at the [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]].
}}
Nefertiti first appears in scenes in [[Thebes (Egypt)|Thebes]]. In the damaged tomb ([[TT188]]) of the royal butler [[Parennefer]], the new king [[Amenhotep IV]] is accompanied by a royal woman, and this lady is thought to be an early depiction of Nefertiti. The king and queen are shown worshiping the [[Aten]]. In the tomb of the vizier [[Ramose (TT55)|Ramose]], Nefertiti is shown standing behind [[Amenhotep IV]] in the Window of Appearance during the reward ceremony for the vizier.<ref name="Tyldesley" />

[[File:Nefertiti Standing-striding Berlin.jpg|thumb|210px|left|A standing/striding figure of Nefertiti made of limestone. Originally from Amarna, part of the [[Ägyptisches Museum Berlin]] collection.]]
During the early years in Thebes, Akhenaten (still known as Amenhotep IV) had several temples erected at [[Karnak]]. One of the structures, the [[Temple of Amenhotep IV|Mansion of the Benben]] (hwt-ben-ben), was dedicated to Nefertiti. She is depicted with her daughter [[Meritaten]] and in some scenes the princess [[Meketaten]] participates as well. In scenes found on the [[talatat]], Nefertiti appears almost twice as often as her husband. She is shown appearing behind her husband the pharaoh in offering scenes in the role of the queen supporting her husband, but she is also depicted in scenes that would have normally been the prerogative of the king. She is shown smiting the enemy, and captive enemies decorate her throne.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eF5_QgAACAAJ |title = Akhenaten, the Heretic King|isbn = 9780691002170|last1 = Redford|first1 = Donald B.|year = 1987| publisher=Princeton University Press }}</ref>

In the fourth year of his reign, Amenhotep IV decided to move the capital to [[Akhetaten]] (modern Amarna). In his fifth year, Amenhotep IV officially changed his name to Akhenaten, and Nefertiti was henceforth known as Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti. The name change was a sign of the ever-increasing importance of the cult of the [[Aten]]. It changed Egypt's religion from a [[polytheism|polytheistic]] religion to a religion which may have been better described as a [[monolatrism|monolatry]] (the depiction of a single god as an object for worship) or [[henotheism]] (one god, who is not the only god).<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Dominic Montserrat |first=Dominic |last=Montserrat |title=Akhenaten: History, Fantasy and Ancient Egypt |publisher=Psychology Press |year=2003}}</ref>

The [[Boundary Stelae of Akhenaten|boundary stelae]] of years 4 and 5 mark the boundaries of the new city and suggest that the move to the new city of [[Akhetaten]] occurred around that time. The new city contained several large open-air temples dedicated to the [[Aten]]. Nefertiti and her family would have resided in the Great Royal Palace in the centre of the city and possibly at the [[Northern Palace (Amarna)|Northern Palace]] as well. Nefertiti and the rest of the royal family feature prominently in the scenes at the palaces and in the [[Tombs of the Nobles (Amarna)|tombs of the nobles]]. Nefertiti's steward during this time was an official named [[Meryre II]]. He would have been in charge of running her household.<ref name="Dodson"/><ref name="Tyldesley"/>
 
Inscriptions in the tombs of [[Huya (Noble)|Huya]] and [[Meryre II]] dated to Year 12, 2nd month of Peret, Day 8 show a large foreign tribute. The people of Kharu (the north) and Kush (the south) are shown bringing gifts of gold and precious items to Akhenaten and Nefertiti. In the tomb of Meryre II, Nefertiti's steward, the royal couple is shown seated in a kiosk with their six daughters in attendance.<ref name="Dodson"/><ref name="Tyldesley"/> This is one of the last times princess [[Meketaten]] is shown alive.

Two representations of Nefertiti that were excavated by [[Flinders Petrie]] appear to show Nefertiti in the middle to later part of Akhenaten's reign 'after the exaggerated style of the early years had relaxed somewhat'.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Trope |first1=B. |last2=Quirke |first2=S. |last3=Lacovara |first3=P. |title=Excavating Egypt. Great Discoveries from the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology |year=2005 |publisher=Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University |isbn=1-928917-06-2}}</ref> One is a small piece on limestone and is a preliminary sketch of Nefertiti wearing her distinctive tall crown with carving begun around the mouth, chin, ear and tab of the crown. Another is a small inlay head (Petrie Museum Number UC103) modeled from reddish-brown quartzite that was clearly intended to fit into a larger composition.

Meketaten may have died in year 13 or 14. Nefertiti, Akhenaten, and three princesses are shown mourning her.<ref>{{cite book |last=Murnane |first=William J. |title=Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt |publisher=Society of Biblical Literature |year=1995 |isbn=1-55540-966-0}}</ref> The last dated inscription naming Nefertiti and Akhenaten comes from a building inscription in the limestone quarry at [[Deir Abu Hinnis]]. It dates to year 16 of the king's reign and is also the last dated inscription naming the king.{{sfn|van der Perre|2014}} Akhenaten is known to have died in his 17th year at Amarna.<ref>David Aston, [https://web.archive.org/web/20251104144357/https://austriaca.at/0xc1aa5572%200x00308d5a.pdf RADIOCARBON, WINE JARS AND NEW KINGDOM CHRONOLOGY*], Ägypten und Levante/Egypt and the Levant 22, 2012, pp.293-294</ref><ref>Aidan Dodson, “The Royal Tomb at Amarna Revisited” p.53 in [https://web.archive.org/web/20251111135858/https://news.thessea.org/images/SSEA_assets/journals/JSSEA_45.pdf THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITIES] (ed: Sarah L. Ketchley and Edmund S. Meltzer), VOLUME XLV, Toronto Canada,  2018-2019</ref>

=== Possible reign as a Pharaoh ===
[[File:Limestone column fragment showing a cartouche of Nefertiti. Reign of Akhenaten. From Amarna, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg|thumb|189x189px|Limestone column fragment showing a cartouche of Nefertiti. Reign of Akhenaten. From Amarna, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London]]Many scholars believe Nefertiti had a role elevated from that of great royal wife, and was promoted to [[Coregency|co-regent]] by her husband Pharaoh Akhenaten before his death.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/nefertiti|title=Nefertiti - Ancient History - HISTORY.com|website=HISTORY.com|access-date=2017-10-26}}</ref> She is depicted in many [[archaeological]] sites as equal in stature to a King, smiting Egypt's enemies, riding a [[chariot]], and worshipping the [[Aten]] in the manner of a pharaoh.<ref>{{Citation|last=AncientHistory|title=Nefertiti's Odyssey - National Geographic Documentary|date=2017-04-28|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyYurJrSiRA| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106174348/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyYurJrSiRA&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=2019-11-06 | url-status=dead|access-date=2017-10-26}}</ref> When Nefertiti's name disappears from historical records, it is replaced by that of a co-regent named [[Neferneferuaten]], who became a female Pharaoh.<ref name="Deep Blue" /> It seems likely that Nefertiti, in a similar fashion to the previous female Pharaoh [[Hatshepsut]], assumed the kingship under the name Pharaoh Neferneferuaten after her husband's death. She was then succeeded by Tutankhamun.{{sfn|van der Perre|2014}}
It seems less possible that Nefertiti disguised herself as a male and assumed the male [[alter ego]] of [[Smenkhkare]]. According to Van Der Perre, Smenkhkare is thought to be a co-regent of Akhenaten who died before Neferneferuaten assumed the kingship.{{sfn|van der Perre|2014}}

If Nefertiti did rule Egypt as a Pharaoh, it has been theorized that she would have attempted damage control and may have re-instated the [[ancient Egyptian religion]] and the [[Amun]] priests. She would have raised [[Tutankhamun]] in the worship of the traditional gods.<ref>{{cite AV media |via=YouTube |last=AncientHistory|title='Queen Nefertiti' The Most Beautiful Face of Egypt (Discovery Channel)|date=2014-12-16|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Kht878XLsg| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308132614/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Kht878XLsg&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=2017-03-08 | url-status=dead|access-date=2017-10-26}}</ref>

Archaeologist and Egyptologist Dr. [[Zahi Hawass]] theorized that Nefertiti returned to [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]] from Amarna to rule as a Pharaoh, based on [[ushabti]] and other feminine evidence of a female pharaoh found in [[KV62|Tutankhamun's tomb]], as well as evidence of Nefertiti smiting Egypt's enemies which was a duty reserved to kings.<ref>{{cite AV media |via=YouTube |last=Badger Utopia|title=Nefertiti - Mummy Queen of Mystery|date=2017-08-11|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czSww5m39q4|access-date=2017-10-26}}</ref>

[[File:Queen Nefertiti, Limestone relief.jpg|thumb|right|160px|Nefertiti worshipping the Aten. She is given the title of ''Mistress of the Two Lands''. On display at the [[Ashmolean Museum]], Oxford.]]

===Old theories about Nefertiti's career===
[[File:Fragment with cartouche of Akhenaten, which is followed by epithet Great in his Lifespan and the title of Nefertiti Great King's Wife. Reign of Akhenaten. From Amarna, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg|thumb|Fragment with cartouche of Akhenaten, which is followed by epithet Great in his Lifespan and the title of Nefertiti Great King's Wife. Reign of Akhenaten. From Amarna, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London]]
Pre-2012 Egyptological theories assumed that Nefertiti vanished from the historical record around Year 12 of Akhenaten's reign, with no word of her existence thereafter. The conjectured causes of her death and disappearance included injury, a plague that was sweeping through the city, and a natural cause. This theory was based on the discovery of several [[ushabti]] fragments inscribed for Nefertiti (now located in the Louvre and the Brooklyn Museum).

A previous theory that she fell into disgrace was discredited when deliberate erasures of monuments belonging to a queen of Akhenaten were shown to refer to [[Kiya]] instead.<ref name="PM" />

During Akhenaten's reign (and perhaps after), Nefertiti enjoyed unprecedented power. By the twelfth year of his reign, there is evidence she may have been elevated to the status of co-regent:<ref>Reeves, Nicholas. <cite>''Akhenaten: Egypt's False Prophet''</cite>. p.172 Thames & Hudson. 2005. {{ISBN|0-500-28552-7}}</ref> equal in status to the pharaoh, as may be depicted on the [[Coregency Stela]].

===New theories about Nefertiti's career as a Pharaoh===
In 2012, the discovery of an inscription dated to Year 16, month 3 of [[Season of the Inundation|Akhet]], day 15 of the reign of Akhenaten was announced.<ref name="Van der Perre 2012">{{cite book |last=Van der Perre |first=Athena |editor-last=Seyfried |editor-first=Friederike| title=In the Light of Amarna: 100 Years of the Nefertiti discovery |publisher=Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin |date=2012 |isbn=978-3-86568-848-4}}</ref>{{rp|196–197}} It was discovered within Quarry 320 in the largest wadi of the limestone quarry project at [[Deir Abu Hinnis|Dayr Abū Ḥinnis]].{{sfn|van der Perre|2014|p=68}} The five-line inscription, written in red ochre ink, mentions the presence of the "Great Royal Wife, His Beloved, Mistress of the Two Lands, Neferneferuaten Nefertiti".<ref name="Van der Perre 2012"/>{{rp|197}}{{sfn|van der Perre|2014|p=73}} The final line of the inscription refers to ongoing building work being carried out under the authority of the king's scribe [[Penthu]] on the [[Small Aten Temple]] in Amarna.{{sfn|van der Perre|2014|p=76}} The Year 16 ink inscription was translated as:
:"Regnal year 16, first month of the [[Season of the Inundation|inundation season]], day 15. May the King of Upper and Lower Egypt live, he who lives of Maat, the Lord of the Two Lands Neferkheperure Waenre, l.p.h. the Son of Re, who lives of Maat, the Lord of the Crowns Akhenaten, l.p.h., whose life span is long, living forever and ever, the King's Great Wife, his beloved, the lady of the two lands Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti, living forever and ever. Beloved of Re, the ruler of the two horizons, who rejoices in the horizon in his name of Re ///, who comes as the Aten. the /// the work of the Mansion of the Aten, under the authority of the king’s scribe [[Penthu]], under the authority of overseer of work///."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Van der Perre |first1=Athena |title=The Year 16 Graffito of Akhenaten in Dayr Abu Hinnis. A Contribution to the Study of the Later Years of Nefertiti |journal=Journal of Egyptian History |date=2014 |volume=7 |issue=1 |page=72-73|url=https://www.academia.edu/6682743 |access-date=22 November 2023}}</ref>

Van der Perre stresses that:

{{Quote|This inscription offers incontrovertible evidence that both Akhenaten and Nefertiti were still alive in the 16th year of his [Akhenaten's] reign and, more importantly, that they were still holding the same positions as at the start of their reign. This makes it necessary to rethink the final years of the Amarna Period.{{sfn|van der Perre|2014|p=77}}}}

This means that Nefertiti was alive in the second to last year of Akhenaten's reign, and demonstrates that Akhenaten still ruled alone, with his wife by his side. Therefore, the rule of the female Amarna pharaoh known as [[Neferneferuaten]] must be placed between the death of Akhenaten and the accession of Tutankhamun. Neferneferuaten, the female pharaoh, specifically used the epithet 'Effective for her husband' in one of her cartouches,<ref name="Deep Blue">{{cite book |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012051415/http://cassian.memphis.edu/history/murnane/M_Gabolde.pdf |chapter-url=http://cassian.memphis.edu/history/murnane/M_Gabolde.pdf |chapter=Under a Deep Blue Starry Sky |editor-first=P. |editor-last=Brand |title=Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane |pages=17–21 |archive-date=12 October 2013 |access-date=11 August 2022 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> which means she was either Nefertiti or her daughter Meritaten (who was married to king [[Smenkhkare]]). Moreover, unlike Meritaten, Nefertiti had already used the title "Neferneferuaten" by Year 5 of Akhenaten's reign in her own cartouches.<ref>Aidan Dodson, Nefertiti, Queen and Pharaoh of Egypt_ Her Life and Afterlife, The American University in Cairo Press (2020), p.26</ref>

The number of Egyptologists who today agree that the female pharaoh [[Neferneferuaten]] was Nefertiti include [[Chris Naunton]]<ref>[https://x.com/chrisnaunton/status/1222159639372083207 January 28, 2020 Twitter/X post]</ref>, [[Aidan Dodson]]<ref> in Guardian of Ancient Egypt Studies in Honor of [[Zahi Hawass]], edited by Janice Kamrin, Miroslav Bárta, Salima Ikram, Mark Lehner & Mohamed Megahed, [[Prague]], Charles University, Faculty of Arts, Volume 1, 2020, pp.357-365</ref>, Athena van der Perre<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/6682743/VAN_DER_PERRE_A_The_Year_16_Graffito_of_Akhenaten_in_Dayr_Abu_Hinnis_JEgH_07_01_2014_67_108 The Year 16 graffito of Akhenaten in Dayr Abū Ḥinnis. A Contribution to the Study of the Later Years of Nefertiti], Journal of Egyptian History 7 (2014), pp.95-96</ref>, Nozomu Kawai<ref>Nozomu Kawai, "Neferneferuaten from the Tomb of Tutankhamun Revisited" in Wonderful Things Essays in Honor of Nicholas Reeves, Lockwood Press, (2023), p. 121</ref><ref>Nozomu Kawai in "The Time of Tutankhamun: What the new evidence reveals in [https://web.archive.org/web/20230524081942/https://arce.org/wp-content/uploads/files-imported/documents/Scribe%20Spring%2022_1.pdf SCRIBE: The Magazine of the American Research Center in Egypt, Unlocking Tutankhamun], Spring 2022, pp.46-47</ref> and [[James Peter Allen]] since 2016 in a [[Göttinger Miszellen]] article.<ref>James P. Allen, “The Amarna Succession Revised,” [[Göttinger Miszellen|GM]] 249 (2016), pp.10-11</ref>

In his updated 2016 paper, [[James Peter Allen|James P. Allen]] now also identifies the female pharaoh as Neferneferuaten Nefertiti, and not Akhenaten's daughter who was named [[Neferneferuaten Tasherit]] (the younger) as he had previously suggested in a 2009 paper in memory of the late [[William J. Murnane]]. Allen states: 
: "The evidence indicates [[Smenkhkare]] ruled only about a year at most....Smenkhkare's premature death probably no later than Akhenaten's Regnal Year 14 left only the one-to-four year old heir Tutankhuaten as putative heir....Tutankhamun must have been considered too young to be named coregent in his father's stead....To safeguard Tutankhamun's accession, Akhenaten also appointed a female coregent Ankheperure [[Neferneferuaten]], to oversee the transition and probably to instruct him in the new religion. In 2009, I argued that this coregent was Akhenaten's fourth daughter, Neferneferuaten, both because it seemed a logical progression in his attempts to produce a son within each of his daughters as they reached puberty, and because evidence was lacking that the other Neferneferuaten, Nefertiti, was still alive in Akhenaten's final years. The Year 16 inscription noted [for the existence of Akhenaten's chief queen] at the beginning of this article solves the latter problem, and I (and my students) now think it likeliest that the coregent was in fact, Nefertiti. The arguments for this are more compelling than they are for the daughter.....Since Nefertiti was still chief queen in Regnal Year 16 [of Akhenaten], her Year 3 as pharaoh must have occured two years after Akhenaten's death, and it was within those two years that the first steps towards reconciliation with [[Amun]] occurred. While little is known about the daughter other than her existence, Nefertiti had assumed pharaonic roles and prerogatives throughout Akhenaten’s reign, and the occasional epithet in her nomen ''Akhet-en-hyes'' “Beneficial for her husband,” both reflects a relationship that had already existed and mirrors Akhenaten's own nomen [''Akh-en-Iten'' or 'The one who is beneficial to the Aten']<ref>Ronald J. Leprohon, "The Great Name: Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary", SBL Press. 2013. ISBN 978-1-58983-736-2. pp.104-105</ref>, which described his relationship not only with his god but also with his predecessor, the ''Tjehen-Aten'' “dazzling Aten,” [[Amenhotep III]]. Moreover, if as now seems probable, the appointment of a female coregent was intended not to ensure her own succession but that of the young Tutankhuaten, then it is far more likely that Akhenaten would have turned to the older more experienced woman who had served as his virtual co-ruler than to a young daughter who had just reached [[puberty]] barely three to six years older than the heir she was intended to safeguard.”<ref>James P. Allen, “The Amarna Succession Revised,” [[Göttinger Miszellen|GM]] 249 (2016), pp.10-11</ref>

==Death and burial==
{{Further|Amarna succession}}
If, as seems likely that Nefertiti was the female pharaoh ruler named Neferneferuaten, she outlived her husband Akhenaten and held great influence over the royal family. If this is the case, that influence and presumably Nefertiti's own life would have ended by Year 3 of Tutankhaten's reign when she died and the Boy King succeeded her. (1331 BC). In that year, Tutankhaten changed his name to Tutankhamun which is interpreted as evidence of his return to the official worship of [[Amun]], and abandoned Amarna to return the capital to Memphis and Thebes according to [[Aidan Dodson]].<ref name="Dodson"/>

Other Egyptologists such as Athena van der Perre and Nozomu Kawai conclude that Nefertiti had an independent or sole rule and was not Tutankhamun's senior co-regent on the throne. Kawai states below: 
: "The fact that a number of objects found in Tutankhamun's tomb had been made for the burial of Neferneferuaten [Nefertiti here], adapted and reinscribed for Tutankhamun's use, implies that Tutankhaten and his entourage did not want to recognize the preceding reign. Neferneferaten had assumed sole reign despite the fact that Tutankhaten, the crown prince, was the legitimate successor [to Akhenaten]. Instead of giving up her kingship to a young boy, Neferneferuaten may have wished to continue her sole rule not only because she was already reigning, but also because Tutankhaten was just a boy between five and 10 years old. Although Neferneferuaten began restoring the cults of Amun and other deities she also simultaneously maintained the cult of Aten at Amarna, resulting in a dissatisfied faction of [royal] officials [such as [[Ay (pharaoh)|Ay]] and [[Horemheb]]] and priests who advocated a quick return to orthodoxy." <ref>Nozomu Kawai in "The Time of Tutankhamun: What the new evidence reveals" in [https://web.archive.org/web/20230524081942/https://arce.org/wp-content/uploads/files-imported/documents/Scribe%20Spring%2022_1.pdf SCRIBE: The Magazine of the American Research Center in Egypt, Unlocking Tutankhamun], Spring 2022, pp.46-47</ref>

[[File:Unfinished portrait head of queen Nefertiti with sketches 01.jpg|left|thumb|Limestone trial piece showing head of Nefertiti.]]
[[File:Heads of Akhenaten and Nefertiti.jpg|left|thumb|370x370px|Heads of Akhenaten and Nefertiti 18th Dynasty Egypt]]
Nefertiti's burial was intended to be made within the [[Royal Tomb of Akhenaten|Royal Tomb]] as laid out in the [[Boundary Stelae of Akhenaten|Boundary Stelae]].<ref name="Murnane 1995 p.78">{{cite book |last1=Murnane |first1=William J. |title=Texts from the Amarna period in Egypt |date=1995 |publisher=Scholars Press |location=United States of America |isbn=1-55540-966-0 |page=78}}</ref> It is possible that the unfinished annex of the Royal Tomb was intended for her use.<ref name="Dodson 2018 p.18">{{cite book |last1=Dodson |first1=Aidan |title=Amarna sunset : Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian counter-reformation |date=2018 |publisher=The American University in Cairo Press |location=Cairo |isbn=978-977-416-859-8 |page=18 |edition=Revised}}</ref> However, given that Akhenaten appears to have predeceased her it is highly unlikely she was ever buried there. One [[Ushabti|shabti]] is known to have been made for her.<ref name="Kemp 2014 p.255">{{cite book |last1=Kemp |first1=Barry |title=The city of Akhenaten and Nefertiti : Amarna and its people |date=2014 |publisher=Thames & Hudson |location=New York |isbn=978-0-500-29120-7 |page=255}}</ref> The unfinished Tomb 29, which would have been of very similar dimensions to the Royal Tomb had it been finished, is the most likely candidate for a tomb begun for Nefertiti's exclusive use.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kemp |first1=Barry |title=The Amarna Royal Tombs at Amarna |page=6 |url=http://amarnaproject.com/documents/pdf/Amarna-Royal-Tombs.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://amarnaproject.com/documents/pdf/Amarna-Royal-Tombs.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |access-date=1 July 2019}}</ref> Given that it lacks a burial chamber, she was not interred there either.

In 1898, French archeologist [[Victor Loret]] found two female mummies among those cached inside the tomb of [[Amenhotep II]] in [[KV35]] in the [[Valley of the Kings]]. These two mummies, known as '[[The Elder Lady]]' and '[[The Younger Lady (mummy)|The Younger Lady]]', were identified as likely candidates of her remains.

An article in ''[[Kmt (magazine)|KMT]]'' magazine in 2001 suggested that the Elder Lady might be Nefertiti.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Susan E. |last=James |title=Who is Mummy Elder Lady? |magazine=KMT |volume=12 |number=2 |date=Summer 2001 }}</ref> However, it was subsequently shown that the 'Elder Lady' is in fact [[Tiye]], mother of Akhenaten. A lock of hair found in a coffinette bearing an inscription naming Queen Tiye proved a near perfect match to the hair of the 'Elder Lady'.<ref name="Harris et al 1978 p.1151">{{cite journal |last1=Harris |first1=James E. |last2=Wente |first2=Edward F. |last3=Cox |first3=Charles F. |last4=El Nawaway |first4=Ibrahim |last5=Kowalski |first5=Charles J. |last6=Storey |first6=Arthur T. |last7=Russell |first7=William R. |last8=Ponitz |first8=Paul V. |last9=Walker |first9=Geoffrey F. |title=Mummy of the "Elder Lady" in the Tomb of Amenhotep II: Egyptian Museum Catalog Number 61070 |journal=Science |date=1978 |volume=200 |issue=4346 |pages=1149–51 |jstor=1746491 |bibcode=1978Sci...200.1149H |doi=10.1126/science.349693 |pmid=349693 }}</ref> DNA analysis confirmed that she was the daughter of Tiye's parents [[Yuya]] and [[Thuya]].<ref name="640-641">{{cite journal |pmid = 20159872|year = 2010|last1 = Hawass|first1 = Z.|title = Ancestry and pathology in King Tutankhamun's family|journal = JAMA|volume = 303|issue = 7|pages = 638–47|last2 = Gad|first2 = Y. Z.|last3 = Ismail|first3 = S.|last4 = Khairat|first4 = R.|last5 = Fathalla|first5 = D.|last6 = Hasan|first6 = N.|last7 = Ahmed|first7 = A.|last8 = Elleithy|first8 = H.|last9 = Ball|first9 = M.|last10 = Gaballah|first10 = F.|last11 = Wasef|first11 = S.|last12 = Fateen|first12 = M.|last13 = Amer|first13 = H.|last14 = Gostner|first14 = P.|last15 = Selim|first15 = A.|last16 = Zink|first16 = A.|last17 = Pusch|first17 = C. M.|doi = 10.1001/jama.2010.121|doi-access = }}</ref>

On 9 June 2003 archaeologist [[Joann Fletcher]], a specialist in ancient hair from the [[University of York]] in England, announced that Nefertiti's mummy may have been the Younger Lady. This theory was criticised by [[Zahi Hawass]] and several other Egyptologists.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zahihawass.com/wc_no_discrimination.htm |title=Weekly Column - Dr. Zahi Hawass |date=27 September 2007 |access-date=8 June 2016 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927131223/http://www.zahihawass.com/wc_no_discrimination.htm |archive-date=September 27, 2007 }}</ref> In a subsequent research project led by Hawass, the mummy was put through [[CT scan]] analysis and [[DNA]] analysis. Researchers concluded that she was Tutankhamun's biological mother, an unnamed daughter of [[Amenhotep III]] and Tiye, not Nefertiti.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Hawas |first1=Zahi |last2=Saleem |first2=Sahar N. |title=Scanning the Pharaohs: CT Imaging of the New Kingdom Royal Mummies |date=2016 |publisher=The American University in Cairo Press |location=New York |isbn=978-977-416-673-0 |page=123}}</ref>

In 2015, English archaeologist [[Nicholas Reeves]] announced that high resolution scans revealed voids behind the walls of [[KV62|Tutankhamun's tomb]] which he proposed to be the burial chamber of Nefertiti,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/archaeologist-believes-hidden-passageway-tomb-tutankhamun-leads-resting-place-nefertiti-1514990 |title=Archaeologist believes hidden passageway in tomb of Tutankhamun leads to resting place of Nefertiti |first=Sean |last=Martin |work=International Business Times |date=August 11, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Radar Scans in King Tut's Tomb Suggest Hidden Chambers |url=https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/151128-tut-tomb-scans-hidden-chambers/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151130100141/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/151128-tut-tomb-scans-hidden-chambers/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 30, 2015 |website=National Geographic News |access-date=30 June 2019 |date=28 November 2015}}</ref> but subsequent radar scans showed that there are no hidden chambers.<ref name="Sambuelli et al 2019 p.8">{{cite journal |last1=Sambuelli |first1=Luigi |last2=Comina |first2=Cesare |last3=Catanzariti |first3=Gianluca |last4=Barsuglia |first4=Filippo |last5=Morelli |first5=Gianfranco |last6=Porcelli |first6=Francesco |title=The third KV62 radar scan: Searching for hidden chambers adjacent to Tutankhamun's tomb |journal=Journal of Cultural Heritage |volume=39 |date=May 2019 |page=8 |doi=10.1016/j.culher.2019.04.001 |s2cid=164859865 }}</ref><ref name="Sambuelli et al 2019 p.9">{{cite journal |last1=Sambuelli |first1=Luigi |last2=Comina |first2=Cesare |last3=Catanzariti |first3=Gianluca |last4=Barsuglia |first4=Filippo |last5=Morelli |first5=Gianfranco |last6=Porcelli |first6=Francesco |title=The third KV62 radar scan: Searching for hidden chambers adjacent to Tutankhamun's tomb |journal=Journal of Cultural Heritage |volume=39 |date=May 2019 |page=9 |doi=10.1016/j.culher.2019.04.001 |s2cid=164859865 }}</ref>

===KV21B mummy===
{{Main|KV21#KV21B}}
One of the two female mummies found in [[KV21]] has been suggested as the body of Nefertiti. DNA analysis did not yield enough data to make a definitive identification but confirmed she was a member of the [[Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Eighteenth Dynasty royal line]].<ref name="Hawass et al">{{cite journal |last1=Hawass |first1=Zahi |author-link1=Zahi Hawass |last2=Gad |first2=Yehia Z. |last3=Somaia |first3=Ismail |last4=Khairat |first4=Rabab |last5=Fathalla |first5=Dina |last6=Hasan |first6=Naglaa |last7=Ahmed |first7=Amal |last8=Elleithy |first8=Hisham |last9=Ball |first9=Markus |last10=Gaballah |first10=Fawzi |last11=Wasef |first11=Sally |last12=Fateen |first12=Mohamed |last13=Amer |first13=Hany |last14=Gostner |first14=Paul |last15=Selim |first15=Ashraf |last16=Zink |first16=Albert |last17=Pusch |first17=Carsten M. |date=February 17, 2010 |title=Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun's Family |url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/185393 |access-date=May 24, 2020 |url-access=limited |journal=Journal of the American Medical Association |publisher=American Medical Association |location=Chicago, Illinois |volume=303 |issue=7 |pages=638–647 |doi=10.1001/jama.2010.121 |issn=1538-3598 |pmid=20159872|doi-access= }}</ref> CT-scanning revealed she was about 45 at the time of her death; her left arm had been bent over her chest in the 'queenly' pose. The possible identification is based on her association with the mummy tentatively identified as Ankhesenamun. It is suggested that just as a mother and daughter (Tiye and the Younger Lady) were found lying together in KV35, the same was true of these mummies.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hawass |first1=Zahi |last2=Saleem |first2=Sahar N. |title=Scanning the Pharaohs: CT Imaging of the New Kingdom Royal Mummies |date=2016 |publisher=American University in Cairo Press |location=New York |isbn=978-977-416-673-0 |pages=132–142}}</ref>

==Hittite letters==
A document was found in the ancient Hittite capital of [[Hattusa]] which dates to the Amarna period. The document is part of the so-called ''Deeds'' of [[Suppiluliuma I]]. While laying siege to [[Karkemish]], the Hittite ruler receives a letter from the Egyptian queen. The letter reads:<ref name="Guterbock 1956">{{cite journal |last1=Güterbock |first1=Hans Gustav |title=The Deeds of Suppiluliuma as Told by His Son, Mursili II (Continued) |journal=Journal of Cuneiform Studies |date=June 1956 |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=75–98 |doi=10.2307/1359312|jstor=1359312 |s2cid=163670780 }}</ref>

{{quote|My husband has died and I have no son. They say about you that you have many sons. You might give me one of your sons to become my husband. I would not wish to take one of my subjects as a husband... I am afraid.}}

This proposal is considered extraordinary as New Kingdom royal women never married foreign royalty.<ref name="Schulman 1979 p.179-180">{{cite journal |last1=Schulman |first1=Alan R. |title=Diplomatic Marriage in the Egyptian New Kingdom |journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies |date=1979 |volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=179–180 |doi=10.1086/372739 |jstor=544713 |s2cid=161228521 }}</ref> [[Šuppiluliuma I|Suppiluliuma I]] was understandably surprised and exclaimed to his courtiers:<ref name="Guterbock 1956"/>
{{Quote|Nothing like this has happened to me in my entire life!}}

Understandably, he was wary, and had an envoy investigate the situation, but by so doing, he missed his chance to bring Egypt into his empire.<ref name="Guterbock 1956"/> He eventually did send one of his sons, [[Zannanza]], but the prince died, perhaps murdered, en route.<ref name="Guterbock 1956 107">{{cite journal |last1=Güterbock |first1=Hans Gustav |title=The Deeds of Suppiluliuma as Told by His Son, Mursili II |journal=Journal of Cuneiform Studies |date=September 1956 |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=107–130 |doi=10.2307/1359585|jstor=1359585 |s2cid=224824543 }}</ref><ref name="kuhrt252">{{cite book|pages=254|author=Amelie Kuhrt|title=The Ancient Middle East c. 3000 &ndash; 330 BC|volume=1|year=1997|publisher=Routledge|location=London}}</ref>

The identity of the queen who wrote the letter is uncertain. She is called [[Dakhamunzu]] in the Hittite annals, a translation of the Egyptian title ''Ta hemet nesu'' (The King's Wife).<ref name="Lloyd">{{cite book |last1=Lloyd |first1=Alan B. |title=A Companion to Ancient Egypt |date=6 May 2010 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-2006-0 |page=14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RK2pLin2sPAC&dq=Dakhamunzu&pg=PA114 |access-date=19 April 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Darnell">{{cite book |last1=Darnell |first1=John Coleman |author1-link=John Coleman Darnell |last2=Manassa |first2=Colleen| author2-link= Colleen Darnell |title=Tutankhamun's Armies: Battle and Conquest During Ancient Egypt's Late Eighteenth Dynasty |date=3 August 2007 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-471-74358-3 |page=186 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7MvtJ2LbKgwC&dq=Dakhamunzu&pg=PA185 |access-date=19 April 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="APE">{{cite book |editor1-last=Matthews |editor1-first=Roger |editor2-last=Roemer |editor2-first=Cornelia |title=Ancient Perspectives on Egypt |date=16 September 2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-43491-9 |page=98 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I7AYDQAAQBAJ&dq=Dakhamunzu&pg=PT163 |access-date=19 April 2022 |language=en}}</ref> The possible candidates are Nefertiti, [[Meritaten]],<ref name="Grajetzki64">{{cite book|title=Ancient Egyptian Queens; a hieroglyphic dictionary|first=Wolfram|last=Grajetzki|year=2000|location=London|publisher=Golden House|pages=64}}</ref> and [[Ankhesenamun]]. Ankhesenamun once seemed the likeliest, since there were no candidates for the throne on the death of her husband, Tutankhamun, whereas Akhenaten had at least two legitimate successors. But this was based on the assumption of a 27-year reign for the last 18th Dynasty pharaoh, [[Horemheb]], who is now accepted to have had a shorter reign of only 14 years. This makes the deceased Egyptian king appear to be Akhenaten instead, rather than Tutankhamun.{{Citation needed|date=December 2019}} Furthermore, the phrase regarding marriage to 'one of my subjects' (translated by some as 'servants') is possibly either a reference to the Grand Vizier [[Ay (pharaoh)|Ay]] or a secondary member of the Egyptian royal family line. Since Nefertiti was depicted as being as powerful as her husband in official monuments smiting Egypt's enemies, she might be the [[Dakhamunzu]] in the Amarna correspondence, as [[Nicholas Reeves]] believes.<ref>Nicholas Reeves,[https://www.academia.edu/7415055/Tutankhamuns_Mask_Reconsidered_in_press_corrected_proof_2015_ Tutankhamun's Mask Reconsidered] BES 19 (2014), pp.523</ref>

==Gallery==

<gallery>

File:Headless bust of Akhenaten or Nefertiti. Part of a composite red quartzite statue. Intentional damage. Four pairs of early Aten cartouches. Reign of Akhenaten. From Amarna, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg|Headless bust of Akhenaten or Nefertiti. Part of a composite red quartzite statue. Intentional damage. Four pairs of early Aten cartouches. Reign of Akhenaten. From [[Amarna|Amarna, Egypt]]. The [[Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology]], London
File:Limestone statuette of Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and a princess. Reign of Akhenaten. From Amarna, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg|Limestone statuette of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, or Amenhotep III and Tiye,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=W. Raymond |title=Amenhotep III and Amarna: Some New Considerations |journal=The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology |date=1996 |volume=82 |page=76 |doi=10.1177/030751339608200112 |jstor=3822115 |s2cid=193461821 }}</ref> and a princess. Reign of Akhenaten. From Amarna, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London
File:Limestone relief fragment. A princess holding sistrum behind Nefertiti, who is partially seen. Reign of Akhenaten. From Amarna, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg|Limestone relief fragment. A princess holding sistrum behind Nefertiti, who is partially seen. Reign of Akhenaten. From Amarna, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London
File:Siliceous limestone fragment relief of Nefertiti. Extreme style of portrait. Reign of Akhenaten, probably early Amarna Period. From Amarna, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg|Siliceous limestone fragment relief of Nefertiti. Extreme style of portrait. Reign of Akhenaten, probably early Amarna Period. From Amarna, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London
File:StatueHeadOfNefertiti01.png|Granite head statue of Nefertiti. The securing post at head apex allows for different hairstyles to adorn the head. [[Altes Museum]], Berlin.
File:Portraitkopf der Nofretete (Berlin 21352).JPG|Head statue of Nefertiti, [[Altes Museum]], Berlin.
File:GD-EG-Caire-Musée066.JPG|[[Akhenaten]], Nefertiti and their daughters before the [[Aten]]. [[Stela of Akhenaten and his family]], [[Egyptian Museum]], Cairo.
File:WLA brooklynmuseum Nefertiti ca 1352-1336 BCE.jpg|Nefertiti offering oil to the [[Aten]]. [[Brooklyn Museum]].
File:ReliefFragmentOfNefertitiWithSunDiskOfAten.png|[[Talatat]] showing Nefertiti worshipping the [[Aten]]. [[Altes Museum]].
File:WLA brooklynmuseum sandstone Nefertiti.jpg|Relief fragment with Nefertiti, [[Brooklyn Museum]].
File:Akhenathon and Nefertiti E15593 mp3h8771.jpg|[[Akhenaten]] and Nefertiti. [[Louvre|Louvre Museum]], Paris.
File:ParapetFragment-NefertitiPresentsMaatToAten BrooklynMuseum.png|Nefertiti presenting an image of the goddess [[Maat]] to the [[Aten]]. [[Brooklyn Museum]].
File:AmarnaEra-NefertitAndAkhenatenWorshippingAten-ROM.png|[[Talatat]] representing Nefertiti and Akhenaten worshipping the [[Aten]]. [[Royal Ontario Museum]].
File:Queen Nefert-iti and Princess Meket-Aten on boundary stela, Tell el-Amarna, 18th Dynasty, 1353-1336 BCE - Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art - DSC08150.JPG|Boundary stele of [[Amarna]] with Nefertiti and her daughter, princess [[Meketaten]], [[Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art]].
File:WLA brooklynmuseum Relief of Nefertiti Kissing one of her daughters.jpg|Limestone relief of Nefertiti kissing one of her daughters, [[Brooklyn Museum]].
File:AmarnaRelief-Nefertiti-LateReliefImage BrooklynMuseum.png|[[Talatat]] with an aged Nefertiti, [[Brooklyn Museum]].
</gallery>

==Cultural depictions==
* Nefertiti was portrayed by [[Geraldine Chaplin]] in ''[[Nefertiti y Aquenatos|Nefertiti and Akhenaton]]'' (1973), Mexican short film by [[Raúl Araiza (director)|Raul Araiza.]]
* Nefertiti was portrayed again by [[Riann Steele]] in ''[[Doctor Who]]'' (2012), in the episode [[Dinosaurs on a Spaceship]].
* Nefertiti (presented as the same person as [[Neferneferuaten]]) is a key part of the archaeological topics in Jacqueline Benson's 2024 historical fantasy novel, ''Tomb of the Sun King''.

==References==
{{reflist}}

=== Works cited ===
*Aidan Dodson, "Nefertiti, Queen and Pharaoh of Egypt, Her Life and Afterlife", The American University in Cairo Press (2020)
*{{cite book 
|last= Dodson
|first= Aidan
|author-link=Aidan Dodson
|orig-year=2014
|year= 2016
|title= Amarna Sunrise: Egypt from Golden Age to Age of Heresy
|publisher= [[American University in Cairo Press]]
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hOPfBgAAQBAJ
|isbn=9781617975608
}}
* {{cite journal |first=Athena |last=van der Perre |url=https://www.academia.edu/6682743 |title=The Year 16 graffito of Akhenaten in Dayr Abū Ḥinnis. A Contribution to the Study of the Later Years of Nefertiti |journal=Journal of Egyptian History |volume=7 |issue=1 |year=2014 |pages=67–106|doi=10.1163/18741665-12340014 }}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|auto=yes}}
* {{YouTube|aGLXuK0ojdM|The Disappearance of Queen Nefertiti: Egypt’s Greatest Mystery — by historian Tamara Eidelman}}
* [http://www.smb.spk-berlin.de/smb/sammlungen/details.php?lang=en&objectId=2 Staatliche Museen zu Berlin: Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100702044305/http://www.smb.spk-berlin.de/smb/sammlungen/details.php?lang=en&objectId=2 |date=2010-07-02 }}
* [https://www.academia.edu/14406398/The_Burial_of_Nefertiti_2015_ C. Nicholas Reeves: The Burial of Nefertiti?]
* [https://www.academia.edu/16769699/Who_else_might_be_in_Pharaoh_Tutankhamun_s_tomb_KV_62_c._1325_BC_ Habicht M. et al: Who else might be in Pharaoh Tutankhamun's tomb (KV 62, c. 1325 BC)?]
* [https://sketchfab.com/models/0de77041bfb74f259b313cf9ed81fbaa A 3D model of a bust of Nefertiti]

{{Queens of Ancient Egypt}}
{{Amarna Period Navigator}}
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[[Category:Nefertiti| ]]
[[Category:14th-century BC Egyptian women]]
[[Category:Atenism]]
[[Category:Wives of Akhenaten]]
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[[Category:Queens consort of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt]]
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