The Most Hated Female Pharaoh | Nefertiti | Ancient Egypt Documentary

During the 14th century BC, Ancient Egypt underwent radical religious reforms under the reign of the heretical Pharaoh Akhenaten. His great royal wife and Queen of Egypt, Nefertiti, was a powerful and influential figure during this time of profound cultural upheaval and even rose to the rank of co-pharaoh and eventually sole pharaoh of Egypt. Her beautiful and elegant limestone bust has one of the most iconic and legendary figures from the ancient world. Nefertiti is believed to have been born in 1370 BC, but her parentage is still somewhat of a mystery. One theory asserts that she is the daughter of a top advisor named Ai, who went on to become pharaoh following Tutankhamen's reign. A major flaw in this theory is that neither Ai nor his wife Tei are ever clearly referred to as the parents of Nefertiti. Tei's only documented relationship to Nefertiti was that of a nurse of the great queen, which is an unusual designation for the mother of an Egyptian queen. Another theory proposes that she was the daughter of Amenhotep III, thereby making her the full sister of her husband Akhenaten. This is also unlikely because none of Nefertiti's known titles are among those generally given to the daughter of a pharaoh. The newest theory to some traction among Egyptologists links Nefertiti to a Mitanni princess named Taduqipa, who was initially married to Akhenaten's father, Amenhotep III. This is due in part to the meaning behind Nefertiti's name, the beautiful woman has come, which has been speculated to imply a foreign origin. Nefertiti married Prince Amenhotep IV when she was 15 years old, several years before he became pharaoh and changed his name to Akhenaten. Despite the pharaoh having multiple wives, records show that Nefertiti and Akhenaten shared a close and intimate relationship, having six daughters together, but no sons. Their daughters' names were Meritaten, Meketaten, Anksenamun, Neferneferaten Tasheret, Neferneferah, and Setepenre. Nefertiti held many titles throughout her life, including Hereditary Princess, Great of Praises, Lady of Grace, Sweet of Love, Lady of the Two Lands, Great King's Wife, Lady of All Women, and perhaps most importantly, High Priestess of Aten. Akhenaten and Nefertiti were the primary driving forces behind the religious revolution during this period, forcing the people of Egypt to abandon their pantheon of gods in favor of worshipping a single deity named Aten. Aten is best described as being the disc of the sun that was originally an aspect of the sun god Ra. Artistically, Aten is depicted as a solar disc emitting rays with small hands on the ends. The famous stele of Akhenaten appears to show the royal family being touched by the rays of Aten. Worship of Aten was nothing new, and even the previous pharaoh Amenhotep III and Queen Tieh had revered Aten above all other gods, but never to the same fanatical extent as Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Queen Nefertiti wielded much greater influence over the empire than previous Egyptian queens, and eventually rose from the rank of consort to that of co-pharaoh alongside Akhenaten. Nefertiti is depicted beside her husband in art more often than any other Egyptian queen in history. She is frequently presented in positions of strength and authority, such as conducting worship of Aten, driving a chariot, and smiting enemies of the empire. Nefertiti's sexuality, as evidenced by her exaggeratedly feminine body shape and her fertility as observed through the six princesses' repeated presence in art, suggest that she was regarded as a living fertility goddess. Nefertiti designed a commanding, tall-flat, topped-blue crown for herself that is theorized to represent a female version of the kapresh, which was a war-crown popularized by Pharaoh Thutmose III a century earlier. By their ninth year in power, Akhenaten and Nefertiti had declared Aten to not only be They ordered that temples dedicated to Amun be vandalized or destroyed, and that images containing any god other than Aten be banned. Akhenaten and Nefertiti eventually declared that they were Aten's only messengers, altogether supplanting priests and other religious leaders. The aristocracy viewed this sudden shift towards monotheism as a significant threat to the empire, but largely went along with the royal couple's reforms. Many priests of Amun hid texts and artifacts, saving them from Akhenaten and Nefertiti's wrath. Towards the end of his reign, Akhenaten went as far as to declare himself and Nefertiti actual gods, and demanded that they be worshipped as such. Nefertiti was eventually elevated to the position of Egypt's sole pharaoh after the death of her husband, and subsequently changed her name to Neferneferuaten, meaning beautiful is the beauty of Aten. It's theorized that she might have masqueraded as a male pharaoh named Smenkare as well. As pharaoh of Egypt, Nefertiti undoubtedly became the most powerful woman on earth. Nefertiti holds the distinction of being the second New Kingdom female pharaoh after Hatshepsut, and the fifth of a total of seven women to ever become pharaoh during Ancient Egypt's 3,000-year history. Hesitant to relinquish the throne to her nine-year-old stepson Tutankhamen, Nefertiti wrote to the king of the Hittites, Seppiluliuma I, 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 was an extraordinarily desperate proposition because New Kingdom Egyptian royal women never married foreign royalty. Awestruck by Nefertiti's request, Seppiluliuma responded by sending his son, Prince Sinansa, but the marriage never happened because the prince was assassinated en route to Egypt. This attempt to marry a foreigner was likely viewed as treasonous in the eyes of the Egyptian elite, and some have speculated that she was murdered shortly afterwards because Nefertiti soon disappeared from the historical record forever. It's a mystery as to whether Nefertiti died at this time or simply surrendered her throne to Tutankhamen, who married her daughter, Angsenamun. Upon ascending the throne, his advisors convinced the young pharaoh to reject Artinism and restore the traditional worship of Amun and the old gods. He also abandoned his parent city of Amarna and re-established Thebes as Egypt's capital. Tutankhamen's successors, particularly Horemheb, demolished many of Akhenaten and Nefertiti's constructions and used the rubble for their own building projects. Ironically, Akhenaten and Nefertiti are now two of the most notable figures from all of ancient Egyptian history, while most of their detractors have forever vanished into obscurity. In 1912, a German archaeological team led by Ludwig Borchardt unearthed the portrait bust of Nefertiti at the ruins of an Amarna workshop owned by a royal sculptor. The bust was first shown in a Berlin museum in the 1920s and it quickly gained international notice, rendering Nefertiti one of the most recognizable and beautiful female figures from antiquity. German dictator Adolf Hitler was particularly proud to have Nefertiti's bust in Germany's possession, describing it as a unique masterpiece, an ornament, a true treasure. One of Hitler's top officials, Hermann Göring, considered returning the bust to Egypt as a political gesture, but Hitler strongly disagreed, saying, I will never relinquish the head of the queen. The bust was hidden away in a German salt mine during the 1945 Allied bombings of Berlin and was discovered by American soldiers near the end of the war. Egypt requested that the United States return the bust to its motherland, but they refused and advised Egypt to take the matter up with the new German government. The bust is currently housed in the Naez Museum in Berlin, where it had been on display prior to World War II. The location of Nefertiti's tomb remains one of the biggest mysteries in the field of Egyptian archaeology. Many Egyptologists believe that finding the legendary queen's tomb will be the most significant discovery since Howard Carter's famous unearthing of Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922. Through her incredible beauty and unparalleled influence, Nefertiti has captivated the world and become one of the most recognizable and legendary figures of the ancient world. Consider liking, commenting, subscribing, and clicking the bell icon below for more videos like this. Also, please consider using the links below to visit the History Explained Merchandise Shop and Patreon page to help in the creation of new videos. Thank you.