Recent Discoveries in Egypt - Essay Example

The exact dates of Nefertiti’s life are open to debate, but she was definitely a significant part of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt, and the dates of her six daughters are estimated to range between the years of 1348-1339 B.C. Part of the difficulty ascertaining her lifetime is related to the possibility that she bore a different name prior to her marriage to Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, who himself changed his name to Akhenaten when he began to worship Aten in 1346. There is little doubt that Nefertiti wielded unprecedented influence for a queen, at some point being named co-regent, and the images depicting her beside her husband show her of similar size as his portrayal… implying an almost equal status.

Although Nefertiti bore Akhenaten six daughters, it was a minor wife named Kiya who bore him his son and future heir, Tutankhaten (meaning “the Living Image of the Aten”) who was later to become the pharaoh Tutankhamun. Kiya promptly disappeared from all records, possibly due to Nefertiti feeling threatened, although Nefertiti herself would disappear from any historical reference by the year 1336. Speculation begins here, for this is the same year that Smenkhkare became co-ruler with Akhenaten, actually surviving him by two years.

Many suspicions abound Smenkhkare, whose feminine image closely resembled depictions of Nefetiti, and whose regal name, Nefernefruaten, is so similar to Nefertiti that some theories conclude that it is simply Nefertiti by a different name as she continued to rise in power.