Nefertiti is one of the most famous women of the ancient world, and was the chief wife of the heretic Pharaoh Akhenaten. It is unclear who Nefertiti´s parents were. They may have been of noble or common birth, and may even have been foreign nationals. It is sometimes suggested that Nefertiti was the daughter of Tiye and Amenhotep III (making her a sister or step-sister of Akhenaten). However, she is not referred to as the King´s Daughter, so this is unlikely. She may have been a descendant of Ahmose-Nefertari, who was not actually directly in line to the throne. She did not use the title Gods wife of Amun, but this may have been because of its association with the old gods. A more widely accepted theory proposes that she was the daughter of Ay, the vizier who later became Pharaoh. This is supported by the fact that Ay called himself the father of the God (although strictly he would have been the father-in-law of the Pharaoh/God). Furthermore, Mutnodjmet who is referred to as Nefertitis sister, is mentioned a number of times in Ays tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Unfortunately, there are no inscriptions which actually confirm that Ay was her father. Even if he was, it is possible that Nefertiti was a half-sister of Mutnodjme or was adopted by the family (if she was in fact a foreign national). If Nefertiti was the daughter of Ay, it was probably not by his chief wife, Tey (or Tiy) who was never referred to as Royal mother of the chief wife of the king. Instead Tey is known as the nurse or governess of the kings chief wife. It is proposed that Nefertiti´s mother died and Tey acted as a wet nurse or governess for the young girl. Nefertiti copyright Keith Schengili-Roberts Nefertiti copyright Keith Schengili-Roberts Some comentators have suggested that Nefertiti was in fact the famous Queen Jezebel from the Old Testement. Apparently, she left Israel on the death of her husband, King Ahab, and returned when Akhenaten rejected her for failing to provide him with a male heir. Proponents of this view further suggest that Jehu (who caused the death of Jezebel) was in fact the general Horemheb. He became Pharaoh after the death of Ay, and destroyed the monuments and inscriptions of the Atenist regime. However, the orthodox chronology would place 500 years between Nefertiti and Jezebel, and Jezebel was an avid defender of the Phonecian Goddess Astarte. This does not tie in too well with Atensim as Astarte was a war and fertility goddess while her consort Baal was a rain and storm god. It is tempting to see a similarity between Sekhmet and Astarte (because the later also took the form of a lion from time to time) as a connection between the Phonecian gods and Atensim, but where is the all powerful sun god described by Akhenaten himself? In any case, Jehu was the son of Jehoshaphat who became the tenth King of the northern kingdom of Israel, and the only one of the nineteen kings of Israel to receive glowing praise from Jehovah for his obedience. Finally, it is suggest that Nefertiti was in fact the Tadukhipa, the daughter of Tushratta (also known as Dasharatha) King of the Mitanni, but most scholars consider it more likely that Tadukhipa was actually Queen Kiya.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 14:29:24 +0000