Nefertiti and her disappearance: What happened to the great queen of ancient Egypt?

After approximately 14 years as queen of #Egypt, Nefertiti disappeared from the historical record. She just disappeared, with no clear reason why.

Nefertiti is considered one of the most beautiful queens of ancient Egypt. He lived in the year 1300 BC. C., and the Queen of the Nile was known.

His face is still preserved thanks to the bust that Thutmose carved in 1345 BC. C., which remains intact to this day. However, this woman is surrounded by mysteries .

The queen loved and hated

It is believed that he was born in the year 1370 BC. C. , in Thebes. His father, Ay, was an advisor to several pharaohs. However, this story is not entirely clear . In fact, some experts suggest that she was a Syrian princess from the kingdom of Mitanni.

At the age of 16, she married a pharaoh; Amunhotep IV, who after achieving power in Egypt, destroyed all religious traditions to worship only Aten, the god of the Sun. Many claim that by orders of Nefertiti.

Amunhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten, after the religion became widespread. His name meant “living spirit of Aten”, thus, the royal couple broke all the customs of Egypt, even creating a new capital; Amarna.

Nefertiti provoked mixed opinions among her subjects. Some thought highly of her, others hated her. She was adored mainly for her beauty, style and elegance . In turn, she was despised for her strong influence on people to worship only Aton.

Despite everything, the queen won at least 10 honors throughout her life. One of these led to her name change: she was renamed Neferneferauten Nefertiti , which means “Beautiful are the beauties of Aten, a beautiful woman has arrived.”

In addition, it is recognized that, during his reign, the wealth of Egypt was at one of its highest points in history.

RECOMMENDED READING: Akhenaten and his Revolution: the pharaoh who eliminated thousands of gods and declared the Sun the only god

The Mystery of Nefertiti

Artwork about Nefertiti shows that she had 6 daughters and that her marriage was happy. She is also represented as a strong woman, who drove chariots, presided over important rituals, and was even capable of murdering her rivals.

But here the strange thing begins; The queen was never able to give birth to a male child . Although this information does not seem to be relevant, some historians claim that this is one of the causes of its disappearance .

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What happened to Nefertiti? His disappearance in history

After the twelfth year of Akhenaten’s reign, he would disappear from the annals of history. It was never mentioned again in any record, as if it had ceased to exist .

The popular belief is that she died of natural causes , but that does not explain why she was not named in any other record, or why she was not depicted in another work of art. It is not even known where she was buried, since Queen Amarna’s chamber is completely empty.

Other experts suggest that Akhenaten expelled her for not being able to bear a male child. This could be consistent with the fact that Tutankhamun, the king’s son, was fathered by one of the inferior consorts.

Even so, Tutankhamun married his half-sister, daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti . Additionally, 2 other of his daughters were queens and Ankhesenamun was the wife of “King Tut”.

Many people believe that she disguised herself as her man to reign as one of her husband. Although there is no evidence of this, it would not be the first time it has happened; Pharaoh Hatshepsut took charge of Egypt during the 15th century BC. C. posing as a man.

Thus, it could be that Smenkhkare was actually Nefertiti, who dressed as a man to replace her husband.

Others believe that she committed suicide due to depression from not being able to have a son or from having lost one of her daughters during childbirth.

What happened to the Queen? Where is his body? Some experts have some idea of where he is, but his life after Akhenaten’s twelfth year in office is a total enigma that continues millennia later.

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