Even after more
than 3,000 years, the mystery surrounding
Egypt's Queen Nefertiti still fascinate archaeologists
and history buffs alike. The reign of Nefertiti and her
husband, Amenhotep the Fourth, was a turbulent time
in Egyptian history. The couple tossed
out the old gods and set up a new
religion that gave them absolute power over
all their subjects which didn't go over too well. Known as the mistress
of Lower and Upper Egypt she was a Queen, a
priestess, a wife, a mother, a political revolutionary,
a beauty icon, and maybe even a pharaoh. Today, we're going to take a
look at the mysterious life and death of Egypt's
Queen Nefertiti. But before we get started,
be sure to subscribe to the Weird History Channel. And let us know in the
comments below what other powerful historical women
you would like to hear about. OK, let's go back to
the Egyptian revolution. [MUSIC PLAYING] While no one knows who
Nefertiti's parents were there are several theories. The most commonly
accepted holds that she was the daughter of a top
Egyptian advisor named Ay, who himself would
go on to become pharaoh after the death of King Tut. Another less accepted take
holds that she may have been Akhenaton's sister or cousin. Indeed, like many of
history's royal families it wasn't uncommon
for Egyptian rulers to marry their siblings or
extended family members. Yet, another theory holds
that Nefertiti was a Mitanni princess named Tadukhipa. The name Nefertiti means "the
beautiful woman has come," which might suggest
a foreign origin. Like the others, however,
this theory can't be proven and raises as many
questions as it answers. [MUSIC PLAYING] While the exact date of
their wedding is unknown, Nefertiti and
Amenhotep are believed to have been married when
she was only 15-years-old. Amenhotep was not yet a
pharaoh when they were wed. But he ascended soon
enough and the two are believed to have ruled as
equals from 1353 to 1336 BC. They would also have six
daughters, Meritaten, Meketaten, Setepenre,
Ankhesenpaaten, Ankhesenamun, Neferneferure, and
Neferneferuaten Tasherit. They also, possibly,
had one son. The royal families lived in
various palaces and complexes in Karnak. One of the most impressive was
a temple called the Gempaaten, which was devoted to Nefertiti. Records suggest that the couple
threw an elaborate festival in the temple during the
third year of their reign. One depiction shows
Nefertiti and Amenhotep along with their daughters
and the royal court viewing the crowds at this
festival from a special spot at their palace. Artwork of the era
generally depicts the couple as inseparable and even
shows them kissing in public. Oh, scandalous. This has led some to believe
that the two may have been genuinely in love, a
quality not often depicted among the ancient
pharaohs and their wives. Nefertiti is believed to have
been faithful to her husband despite the fact that he is
known to have fathered children with other women
including, quite possibly, the future King Tutankhamen. [MUSIC PLAYING] During her reign,
Nefertiti held many titles. Hereditary Princess, Great
of Praises, Lady of Grace, Sweet of Love, Lady
of the Two Lands, and Mistress of Upper and
Lower Egypt just to name a few. Inscriptions about her describe
a queen who was in charge of and heavily involved in all
aspects of the royal court. She also held the
rank of high priestess which meant that the
faithful could gain access to the god, Aten, through her. This made her central to
religious practices as well. But one of the most unique
and interesting facts about Nefertiti is that
contemporary art depicted her wearing a pharaoh's crown. This has led some
archaeologists to theorize that she may have had
the powers of a pharaoh and been seen as an actual
equal to her husband. In fact, it's possible that
after the death of Akhenaten, and prior to the reign
of Tutankhamun, Nefertiti herself ruled as a sole pharaoh
under the name Neferneferuaten. Interestingly,
Nefertiti may have bring a hands-on kind of boss. Among the countless
illustrations of the famous queen that appear
on the walls of ancient tombs is one that depicts her about
to strike a foreign prisoner with some kind of weapon. This raises the possibility that
one of the most powerful women in Egypt, the co-pharaoh, and
direct female conduit to Aten may have also acted
as a royal enforcer. Of course, it's also
conceivable that she just enjoyed beating up prisoners. Hm. [MUSIC PLAYING] When Amenhotep the
Fourth became pharaoh he inherited a kingdom that
was prosperous and powerful. But together with
Nefertiti he would change Egypt in dramatic ways. The most substantial of
which was switching the state religion to worship of the sun. The god Amen was
replaced with a god Aten. And a new capital
called Aket-aten was created over 200 miles
North of the previous one. The old gods were slowly
removed from society. Their temples were shut down. And their priests were
forced to convert. The pharaoh even
had the entire city of Tell el-Amarna
built to worship Aten and demanded the
faithful move there. To underscore the importance
of the new religion the ruling couple even
changed their own names. Amenhotep became Akhenaten. And Nefertiti became
Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti which meant "beautiful are
the beauties of Aten, a beautiful woman has come." Finally, to shore
up their own power they designated themselves
the only two priests of Aten. None of this is believed
to have been very popular with the people of Egypt. But defying the
pharaoh was a quick way of getting oneself killed. So most went along with it. Over time, however,
Akhenaten became intolerant of old religions
and other beliefs and began a long, expensive
campaign to destroy them. The kingdom sank into
debt and turmoil. Things probably would have
gotten a lot worse but luckily for the people Akhenaten
died before things spun completely out of control. [MUSIC PLAYING] After 16 years of ruling
Egypt alongside her husband Nefertiti disappears from
the historical record. No one knows why, but
there are several theories. Akhenaten and Nefertiti
caused a substantial amount of political turmoil
during their reign. So their successors made every
effort to erase their legacy. Records and artifacts
were destroyed. And the end of Nefertiti's
story may have simply been destroyed along with them. On the other hand,
some archeologists believe Nefertiti vanished from
the record because she died. Supporting this
theory is the fact that the couple's
daughter, Meritaten, is known to have served at
court as the Great Royal Wife during the final years
of Akhenaten's reign. This might suggest
that Meritaten replaced her dead mother
as Akhenaten's consort. Still others theorize that
she became co-regent and ruled under the name Smenkhare. These historians hold that
Nefertiti was co-pharaoh in her husband's later
years and then continued to rule after his
death until Tut was able to assume the throne. Interestingly, Nefertiti's
daughter, Meritaten, was Smenkhare's consort as well. [MUSIC PLAYING] When the tomb of King
Amenhotep the Second was excavated in 1898
three mysterious mummies were discovered
behind a hidden wall. Located in the
Valley of the Kings, the tomb was found to
contain the mummy of the kind well as a young lady
who archaeologists suspected of being Nefertiti. Over a century later
in 2010, Zahi Hawass, who is Egypt's Minister of
State for Antiquities Affairs, announced the results
of a series of DNA tests that he said prove the mummy,
known as the younger lady, was actually Akhenaten's sister. But that wasn't all. The tests also showed
the younger lady was the mother of King Tut. The matter seemed
settled until 2013 when French egyptologist,
Mark Gabolde, disputed Hawass's conclusions. Gabolde claimed the
mummy of the younger lady was, in fact, Nefertiti. If correct, this would mean
that Tut was Nefertiti's son. [MUSIC PLAYING] One of the most intractable
mysteries of Nefertiti concerns a famous bust that
depicts the queen with one blank. It's a strange artistic
choice for a sculpture of a person whose name
literally refers to her beauty. And its meaning has been
debated since the bust was first discovered. One theory is that the
queen may have possessed a natural fold of skin over
her eye, something that was not uncommon in Egypt at the time. Alternatively, the
blank eye could have been meant as an
insult, or might even be nothing more than
accidental damage to a bust that
once had both eyes. The most romantic
theory, however, concerns the sculptor
whose name was, Thutmose. Some believe that he fell
in love with Nefertiti. But after she refused
him he decided to leave the eye blank as
a symbol of her inability to see the nature of his love. [MUSIC PLAYING] Nefertiti is famous
for her beauty. All known busts and
paintings of her depict a person
with features that would have been highly
sought after at the time. But some researchers
are beginning to think this image
may not be so accurate. Using CT scans of the famous
3,400 year old Thutmose bust of Nefertiti,
scientists were able to get a look at the
original mask of the queen that was hidden beneath
all the layers. Differences noted include a
bump on the ridge of the nose, wrinkles on the cheeks and
near the corners of the mouth, and less depth at the
corners of the eyelids. This has led some
experts to conclude that the royal sculptor used
his vast skills to create an idealized version
of the queen. Equally plausible is
that Akhenaten himself insisted that his wife be
portrayed as more physically beautiful than she
was in real life. Whatever may have
occurred, the face we know as Nefertiti
today did not likely match the reality of her appearance. [MUSIC PLAYING] In 1912 German archaeologists
excavated the famous Thutmose bust of Nefertiti and took
it with them back to Germany under a license from
the Egyptian government. How they got that license is
a bit of a mystery though. At the time, the country was
dominated by the Ottoman Empire but was under British rule. Complicating the
matter even further was that Egypt's Antiquities
Department was being headed up by the French. Whatever the case,
by 1913 the bust was being displayed at the
Noyes Museum in Berlin. After the Nazis took power
they seized the bust, along with numerous other
priceless works of art, and hid them away. When asked about the bust of
Nefertiti Hitler himself said, I will never relinquish
the head of the queen. After Hitler's death, however,
American troops finally located the bust in a
salt mine and placed it in a museum in West Berlin. In 2009 it was returned
to the Noyes Museum which had finally been rebuilt
after being bombed in World War II. The government of
Egypt, for its part, considers the statue looted
property and disputes Germany's claim to any
kind of legal ownership. So what do you think? What is the most intriguing
part of Nefertiti's story? Let us know in the
comments below. And while you're at it, check
out some of these other videos from our Weird History.
