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Biography
Although Nefertari’s origins are unknown, discoveries from her tomb, including a cartouche of Pharaoh Ay, suggest she may have been related to the 18th Dynasty, which included King Tut, Nefertiti, Akhenaten and Ay. At age thirteen Nefertari married Ramesses, only fifteen, before he ascended the throne, and remained the most important of his eight wives in Upper Egypt for at least the next twenty years. By the 1240s BC her prominence appears to wane, and her images by the Pharaoh's side become scarce.
Nefertari had at least four sons and two daughters, although none of these children succeeded the throne. Ramesses’ heir was Prince Merneptah, his 13th son by another wife, Isetnofret. Ramesses sired at least forty-eight to fifty sons during his long reign. She died sometime during the Regnal Year 25 of Ramesses' reign, and Isetnofret became his new principal wife.
Status
Nefertari was quite probably the only Egyptian royal wife, other than Queen Tiy, to be deified during her lifetime. Ramesses' temple at Abu Simbel also has a smaller temple nearby dedicated to Nefertari and the goddess Hathor—a very unusual act, as temples were usually dedicated to deities, not mortals.
Her status is confirmed by the fact that she was depicted as part of her husband’s entourage, even during important voyages such as a trip to Nubia to commission a new temple built at Abu Simbel. Nefertari is also depicted as being equal in size to Ramesses, a rarity indicating her importance to the pharaoh.
Her prominence is further supported by cuneiform tablets from the Hittite city of Hattusas (today Boghazkoy, Turkey), containing Nefertari's correspondence with the king Hattusilis and his wife Pudukhepa. She appears to have been instrumental in maintaining peace between Egyptians and Hittites, which eventually led to Ramesses' marriage to a Hittite princess.
Ramesses’ unusual affection for his wife, as written on her tomb's walls, shows that some Egyptian marriages were not simply matters of convenience or means to accumulate greater power and alliances, but were based around emotional attachment. Poetry written by Ramesses about his dead wife is featured on some of the walls of her burial chamber. ("My love is unique—no one can rival her, for she is the most beautiful woman alive. Just by passing, she has stolen away my heart.")
Titles
| Queen Nefertari— Wife of Ramesses II –(Tomb of Nefertari) in hieroglyphs |
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Nefertari's full range of titles were wrt ḥswt (great of praise), bnrt mrwt (sweet of love), ḥmt nswt wrt (Great Royal Wife), nbt im3t (lady of charm), ḥmt nswt wrt mryt.f (Great Royal Wife, his beloved), nbt t3wy (lady of the two lands), ḥnwt t3w nbw (lady of all lands), ḥmt k3 nẖt (wife of the strong bull), ḥmt-nṯr (god's wife) ḥnwt šmḥw mẖw (lady of Upper and Lower Egypt). Ramesses referred to his beloved wife as "the one for whom the sun shines." She was also often referred to as Nefertari Merit-en-Mut, meaning "the Lovely One, Beloved of Mut."
Nefertari's Children
Ramesses II fathered at least 50 children during his lifetime. Not all of their names are known, and in many cases their mothers are difficult to establish with any kind of certainty. These children of Ramesses have been attributed to Nefertari by various authors; however, the list is by no means conclusive.
- Prince Amun-her-khepeshef, Crown Prince, Commander of the Troops
- Prince Pareherwenemef
- Prince Meriatum, High Priest of Heliopolis
- Prince Meryre
- Princess Meritamen, Singer of Amun and Priestess of Hathor
- Princess Henuttawy
- Princess Beketmut (?)
- Princess Nefertari (?)
- Princess Nebettawy (?)
In Popular Culture
- Nefertari was portrayed in The Ten Commandments as Queen Nefretiri, and was played by Anne Baxter. In the film, Nefertiri is deeply, head-over-heels in love with Moses, and hates Ramesses (or Rameses, as he is called in the film). She turns against Moses after he returns from exile and tells her, "The Moses who loved you was another man", and hates him after her firstborn child dies as a result of one of the Ten Plagues of Egypt although she saved Moses' son Gershom.
- She features prominently in the Ramses series of novels by Christian Jacq.
- In the anime and manga One Piece, the character Nefertari Vivi features prominently in the Little Garden and Alabasta arcs.
External links
References
- Nos ancêtres de l'Antiquité, 1991, Christian Settipani, p. 176
- Grajetzki, Wolfram (2005) Ancient Egyptian Queens – a hieroglyphic dictionary
- Reeves, N et al, (1996) The Complete Valley of the Kings
- Rosalie David, (1998) Handbook to Life in Ancient Egypt
- Shaw, Ian (2000), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt
- Shaw, Ian (1995), The British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt
- Siliotti, A. (2002), Egypt: Splendours of an Ancient Civilisation. Italy: Thames & Hudson.
- Bradley, P. (1999), Ancient Egypt: Reconstructing the Past. United Kingdom: Cambridge.
- Hagen,R&R. (2003), Egypt: People, Gods, Pharaohs. Maat & cartouche of Nefertari, pg 41.
- Leblanc, C. (2001). Osiris.net [internet]. [place of publication unknown]. [publisher unknown]. Available from: <http://www.osirisnet.net/tombes/pharaons/nefertari/e_nefertari.htm>[27/02/2005].
- "Women in power B.C. 4500-1000 from Guide2womenleaders.com, URL accessed 03/21/06
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