Around 1300 BCE, King Sety I selected a group of “beauties” for his son, to marry and produce children. One of these was Nefertari (Nefret-Iry, “She Has Become Beautiful”). A girl of unknown origins (but some tantalising possibilites) who would rise to the rank of King’s Chief/Great Wife. Nefertari is world-famous, especially for her monuments. But the Queen herself is remarkably shadowy. We go in search of her tale…
Music: Keith Zizza (intro/outro); Luke Chaos (interludes); Tahya (sistrum).
Introduction
In 1300 BCE, give or take, a young woman appeared before Egypt’s pharaoh. Perhaps in a palace, at one of the royal residences; or a noble’s estate, in some provincial town. Wherever it was, the meeting was important. It would change the trajectory of this girl’s life.
The youngling was approximately thirteen years old. She likely wore a long dress of high-quality linen. Perhaps some jewellery, at the neck and wrists. Her hair, whether natural or a wig, was probably a long mass of black strands, perhaps bunched at the ends with metal caps. Around the eyes, thick black lines of kohl accentuated her appearance. A vision of beauty, according to the standards of the day.
Before the girl, Egypt’s pharaoh was an imposing sight. In his early forties, roughly, he stood tall, bedecked in his panoply. The King had prominent cheekbones and a strong jawline. We can only wonder how the girl responded to this image of royal power. Was she impressed, or nonchalant; enthusiastic or anxious, about the world she might be entering? However you imagine it, the appearance of Sety I, King of Egypt, would be a transformative moment in her life.
Soon, the pharaoh nodded his approval and gestured to someone in his entourage. After a moment, a young man stepped forth. Clad in a simple kilt, with a thick braid of hair down one side of his head, the prince Ramesses (Riamessesa) greeted the young girl. Himself barely thirteen or fourteen years old, the young heir was being tasked with a most important duty. To father children and continue the royal lineage.
This girl would be part of it.
The Life of Queen Nefertari
What about her name? What does that actually mean? While we say Nefertari, the name is written as Nfrt-iry. Nefret is quite a variable term. You can read it as “good,” “youthful,” “beautiful,” or even “perfect.” For Nfrt-iry, there are two possible translations. The classic one is “Beautiful Companion.” Recently, though, linguists have suggested it should be translated as “She Has Become Beautiful.”[1] The significance of that is unclear. Was Nefertari a plain-looking child who grew into a beautiful woman? Impossible to say. It might not even be her birth name, but one that she took as Queen. Either way, the official doctrine was clear: the princess was a beauty.
Once she became Queen (or more accurately, Wife of the King), Nefertari added an epithet to her official identity. In her cartouches, you will always find the name written as Nfrt-iry-Mry-Mwt.[2] This translates as “Nefertari, Beloved of Mut.” A simple name, connecting her with the great mother goddess Mut, Lady of Isheru (at Karnak). Ramesses used a similar epithet, his cartouche often calls him Ramesses Mery-Imn or “Beloved of Amun.” So, the new royal couple invoked the King of the Gods, and the personification of Motherhood, as their namesakes. That certainly sets the tone for their public relationship.
Nefertari probably met Ramesses when she was thirteen years old, give or take. Based on the historical record, the two were teenagers at least; and almost immediately after they met, Ramesses and Nefertari started making babies.
Children
By the time he became pharaoh, Ramesses had already fathered multiple children. It was Nefertari who produced the first boy. A young son came forth within a year or two of the couple’s meeting. They named him Amun-her-khopesh-ef “Amun is Upon his Sword.”
Other children would follow. Over the course of two-to-three decades, Nefertari would bear four boys and three girls, that we know for certain; and another prince and princess who might be hers, but unconfirmed.[3] So, chances are she bore Ramesses nine children in the course of her life. Nine times Nefertari went to the birthing chambers, to squat upon the magical bricks, and to bear a new royal offspring. That’s just the children whom she bore full term, and who lived long enough to appear in the written record. Presumably, there must have been others who did not make it that far. With that in mind, it’s quite likely Nefertari was pregnant (on average) every two years or so. I’ll leave it to you to imagine her feelings or experience on that.
Titles
Practical concerns aside, Nefertari’s success as a baby-maker gave her immense status. Specifically, the fact that she bore the first male child likely led to her becoming Ramesses’ principle wife. Once he ascended the throne, Nefertari took on the title Hmt-nswt-wrt, the “Great/Chief Wife of the King.”[4] Generally speaking, there was only one Great Wife at a time, with the title passing to others when each holder died. From the very beginning of the reign, Nefertari is recorded as Hmt-nswt-wrt. So, it seems to have been her who produced the first male child and secured the royal succession.
As her children multiplied, and her star rose, Nefertari acquired many titles. They appear on her monuments, including her tomb, and give a broad idea of the Queen’s duties and her privileges. There’s about twenty of these prominent titles. I won’t read all of them, but the major ones include:
King’s Great Wife (or Hmt-nswt-wrt), often with epithets like “His Beloved” (mryt.f).
Lady of the Two Lands (nbt tAwy).
Mistress of the Two Lands (Hnwt tAwy).
Mistress of the South and North (Hnwt rsy mHw).
Those titles are fairly standard for the great queens. But Nefertari has plenty of distinctive ones; not necessarily unique, but specific to her at this time. Some of them are quite musical. For example, Nefertari was known as:
The One Who Satisfies Horus with Her Voice (sHtp.t 1r(w) m xrw.s).
One Who Satisfies the Gods (sHtp.t nTrw).
Pleasing of Hand When Holding the Two Sistra (Rattles) (ant Dr.ty Xr sSSty).
Great One of the Khener of Horus, Lord of the Palace (wrt xnr n 1r, nb aH).
Apparently, Nefertari was a skilled and prominent musician. One who used the sistrum-rattle (or sSSt) to awaken the gods and draw their attention; one whose voice was pleasing to the divine beings; and the leader of the Khener of Horus, or the “Music House of the King.”[5] There are a couple layers to this. On the one hand, music is entertainment; a pleasant thing to have in the royal palace. Additionally, in the royal and temple context, music itself is a way of communicating with the gods. The deities enjoy music, and a song can equally be a hymn of praise. So, think of Nefertari as being the leader of pleasantries in her palace; but also one who communicated directly with the gods.
Finally, of course, there were the affectionate names. As a mark of pharaoh’s esteem, and perhaps his genuine adoration, Nefertari bore the epithets:
One Who is United with the Ruler (Xnm.t ity).
Radiant of Limbs (wbx awy).
Sweet of Love (bnr.t mrwt) and also Great of Love (aA.t mrwt).
She Causes Hearts to Rejoice (di.s ibw Hr rSwt).
All Good Things of Her Heart and of Her Words, One is Pleased Because of Them (bw nfr nb n ib.s mdwt.s hr.tw Hr.s).
That last one probably refers to the King, and the gods who hear her voice. As Queen, everything Nefertari said was an expression of royal and divine power (and skill). Naturally, she was the very best of wordsmiths.
We can only speculate how many of these titles are accurate to the Queen’s life and personality, and how many are honorifics, statements of status and influence. At any rate, Nefertari has a robust suite of titles. Quite an expansive one to. When you include all the small variations and epithets (beloved of this god or that), Nefertari can appear in public with dozens of distinctive labels, long strings of hieroglyphs preceding her name.
Diplomacy
Through all of this, we get hints of Nefertari’s public image; but very little of her personality. Sadly, that is the case for most of Egypt’s queens (and their kings for that matter). Nefertari leaves a slightly larger record, thanks to her participation in diplomatic affairs. In a recent episode we witnessed Nefertari writing to the Queen of the Hittites, a lady called Puduhepa.[6] A clay tablet, excavated in the Hittite capital city, records a message from Nefertari. She said:
“Thus speaks( Nefertari) Great Queen… of the Land of Egypt, to Puduhepa, Great Queen… of the Land of Hatti… For me, your sister, all is well… For you, my sister, may all be well… May the Sun God and the Storm God praise you, and may the Sun God cause peace to flourish… I also am at peace, and in a state of sisterhood with you, my sister…
Unfortunately, the diplomatic messages often follow a formula: introductions, pleasantries, well-wishing, and the exchange of gifts. Nefertari was quite generous in with her presents, sending Puduhepa high-quality linen and a gold necklace, of incredible value. I spoke more about that in episode 223, if you’re interested.
The letters don’t tell us much about Nefertari’s personality, except that she followed the conventions and treated her Hittite counterpart with great respect. One thing the messages do reveal is the likely pronunciation of Nefertari’s name. Unlike Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Akkadian cuneiform (which was the diplomatic language) includes more vowels in its script. As a result, it appears that Nefertari wrote her name (in Akkadian) as Naptera. That might be how it was pronounced, or possibly a “translation” for her foreign audience. Either way, it’s the one genuine piece of biographical information we get from her letters to the Hittites.
Origins
Where did she come from? That one’s tricky. Considering her fame, Nefertari’s origins and background are remarkably murky. We have one clue.
The first comes from her tomb. It’s a surprising one. Among the wreckage and ruins of Nefertari’s burial goods, there was a small faience knob.[7] It originally formed the handle for a wooden box; similar designs showed up in the tomb of Tutankhamun. This knob is quite pretty. Glazed, a deep blue, it bears a lone symbol: a cartouche, surmounted by ostrich feathers and guarded by serpents who wear crowns. Beneath, the hieroglyph nbw (gold) provides a base. Within the cartouche, there is a royal name: Kheper-kheperu-Ra iry-ma’at. That is the throne name of King Ay.[8]
Ay, the immediate successor of Tut’ankhamun, had been a prominent courtier before reaching the Kingship. In that position, he might have produced a daughter (or more likely a granddaughter) who could eventually marry a prince.[9] Unfortunately, that is completely speculative. There is no record that Ay had a daughter or grandchildren; and the possible connection with Nefertari is entirely based on this random piece of furniture.[10] But that may not mean anything; perhaps someone put it in the tomb as a way of “filling out” the burial. Or maybe the knob wasn’t even original to the funeral of the Queen. It may have found its way there via robbers.
If we indulge in speculation for just a moment… let’s say that Nefertari was a granddaughter, or some relative, of King Ay. If that is true, why would Sety I choose this girl for his son to marry? If there’s one thing we know about Sety, politically, it’s that he didn’t care for the Amarna rulers. His king list at Abydos completely omits these monarchs (Akhenaten, Smenkhkara, Neferneferuaten, Tutankhamun, and Ay) from the record. With that in mind, why on earth would he “re-legitimise” the family of Ay, by adopting a female descendant? It doesn’t add up. On the other hand, the fall of a royal dynasty did not “obliterate” the families that had produced those rulers. Once Ay was gone, and Horemheb had started rewriting the past, the cousins and descendants of Ay’s family may have got on board. For survival if nothing else. The winds of political fortune can change, rapidly. It’s not impossible that, a generation or two later, things had calmed down a bit. And whatever his attitude to the Kings, maybe Sety was still willing to placate a powerful family. Taking a young girl, to add to Ramesses’ household, might keep the nobility in line.
Again, that is 100% speculation. Just because we can imagine a scenario where Ay’s granddaughter (or whoever) might find herself joining the royal house, doesn’t mean that’s what happened. Ultimately, this is all based on a knob, from a box, that turned up in her tomb. The idea of Nefertari being Ay’s granddaughter (or some kind of relative) remains entirely conjectural.
The other clue is equally vague, but for different reasons. At the beginning of his reign, Ramesses II made a grand proclamation at his father’s temple in Abydos. Here, a hieroglyph text (usually called the Great Dedicatory Inscription), describes Ramesses’ pre-royal life and career. Within that autobiography, Ramesses describes (in a roundabout way) the origin of his wives. Speaking of his father, King Sety, Ramesses said the following:
“He gave me a “house of women” from the Royal Apartments; they were comparable with the beautiful ones of the King’s House.
“He chose for me wives throughout the land, taking the ‘secluded ones’ for me… the [royal apartment] was welcoming.”[11]
Ramesses describes, generally, the creation of a new royal household. For him, there would be women (how many is unclear), and they would live in the apartments of the King’s palaces. Alas, the King is rather vague about their origins. He says that his women came from the Royal Apartments but that’s it. And he doesn’t mention Nefertari by name. So, we must assume these women came from the general population. Some of them may have been commoners, chosen for their beauty (Ramesses does explicitly compare them to the ”beauties of the palace” (nfr(w).t aH).[12] Others may have been nobles, the daughters of prominent and powerful families. Some may very well have been foreign; women sent to Egypt by foreign rulers; or brought back from campaigns. Such “diplomatic marriages” were quite common in the 18th Dynasty; and Ramesses himself would revive that practice in future. At any rate, the wives whom Sety chose, from “throughout the land” could have been commoners, nobles, or foreigners. Alas, Ramesses does not give any more details than that.
Put those things together, the faience knob of King Ay, and the vague references from the Great Dedicatory Inscription, and that’s all we can say about Nefertari’s origins. Not much to go on, is it?
[1] Brand, Ultimate Pharaoh, 241 n. 99.
[2] Brand, Ultimate Pharaoh, 217.
[3] Brand, Ultimate Pharaoh, 256—257.
[4] For titles of Nefertari see Troy, Patterns of Kingship, 169.
[5] Roth, S. (2012). Harem. UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, pp. 4—5. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1k3663r3
[6] Edel, Die ägyptisch-hethitische Korrespondenz, 40—43; Brand, Ultimate Pharaoh, 320—321.
[7] Turin Suppl. 5162. Online.
[8] Names of King Ay available at https://pharaoh.se/ancient-egypt/pharaoh/ay/.
[9] See Leblanc, C. (1994). Isis-Nofret, grande épouse de Ramsès II. La reine, sa famille et Nofretari. Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale, 93, 313–333. https://www.ifao.egnet.net/bifao/93/
[10] Brand, Ultimate Pharaoh, 215—216; Obsomer, Ramses II, 232—233.
[11] KRI, II, 323:1—336:15; KRITA, II, 162—174; KRITANC, II, 191—197.
[12] KRI, II, 328:5.
Monuments of Nefertari
On the plus side, we do have monuments. Like her famous predecessors, Tiye and Nefertiti, Queen Nefertari has her own temples. One is extremely well-known, the “Small Temple” at Abu Simbel.
Abu Simbel Small Temple
This sanctuary was devoted to Nefertari herself, and a local manifestation of Hat-Hor.[1] Its most visible feature is the façade, where colossal images of Nefertari herself stand alongside images of Ramesses. The queen wears a long dress, of fine linen, moulded to her body. Her right hand rests at her side; her left hand reaches up over her stomach and breasts, clutching a sistrum rattle (the sesheshet). Nefertari wears a long wig over her shoulders, and her crown is quite distinctive. A flat cap, with a pair of cow horns atop, a sun disc between them, and two palm fronds filling out the gap. This crown is common to Nefertari, but the cow horns (and the sistrum) connect her explicitly with the goddess Hat-Hor. So, on the façade of this temple, the Queen appears as an incarnation of that great deity. The King appears as well, since he is the primary representative of the gods on earth. And between the two monarchs you can also smaller figures of their children. By Nefertari and Ramesses’ legs, there are images of their sons: Amunherkhopeshef; Pa-Ra-her-wenemef; Mery-Ra; and Mery-Atum; and their daughters, Merty-Amun, and Henut-Tawy.
Within, you can find beautiful images of Nefertari before various beings. She joins Sakhmet, Ma’at, Mut, and her son Khonsu. She also worships gods of northern Nubia, like Khnum, Satet, and Anuket. But the main focus is the goddess Hathor, lady of the temple; and a goddess who was becoming increasingly connected with Hathor, the great lady Ise(t)/Isis. In one scene, we actually find Iset and Hathor standing either side of Nefertari, and reaching up to place (or secure) the crown upon her head. Notably, the two goddesses look basically identical in this scene. They both wear the same garments, and the same crown of cow horns. It’s a whole thing about Iset; by the later New Kingdom, artists often gave her the symbols and clothing of Hathor. As a result, the only way to tell them apart is the hieroglyphs that list their names. In the middle, Nefertari-Beloved-of-Mut, receives the divine blessing and the expression of her rule. The crown, given by Hathor and Iset, upon her head.
The Small Temple is lovely. Often overlooked, in documentaries and books, but well worth a visit. Most of the time, it’s a lot quieter than Ramesses’ Great Temple; so if you don’t like the crowds, go spend some time with Nefertari and Hathor. I’m sure they would appreciate it.
That’s the most famous of Nefertari’s shrines, and the best preserved. She does have another, though, at a similarly famous temple which thousands visit annually.
Ramesseum Chapel
In Waset (modern Luxor), on the West Bank of the Nile, you can find the picturesque ruins of the Ramesseum. The King’s Memorial Temple (one of several), and home to the colossal, seated statue that we know as Ozymandias. Today, the Ramesseum is largely ruined: just its core sanctuaries, bits of the courts and pylons, and some of the outlying buildings are preserved. But originally, it did have an extra shrine, one devoted to Nefertari.
On the northern side of the Ramesseum (just outside the courtyard where the Ozymandias has fallen) you can see the faint outlines of a miniature temple. It’s not much to look at, just some floor paving and bits of columns. But once upon a time, this was a beautiful little shrine. Excavations show the chapel was devoted to Nefertari, and to Ramesses’ mother, the dowager Queen Tuya. Inside, there were images of the Queens before deities like Hathor, Nut (the sky goddess). The complex may have been a kind of temple called a mammisi (a Greek word) relating to the birth of gods and rulers.[2] If so, that may give us an idea of Nefertari (and Tuya’s) religious position. Above all, they were mothers to future Kings. The ones who secured the royal succession.
[1] Arnold, D. (2009). The Monuments of Egypt: An A—Z Companion to Ancient Egyptian Architecture, p. 2; PM VII, 111—117.
[2] Leblanc, C. (2019). Ramsès II et le Ramesseum: De la splendeur au déclin d’un temple de millions d’années, 281—289.
The Queen’s Death
As far as status goes, Nefertari’s public image was second-to-none. In the inscriptions and art, Nefertari clearly stands head-and-shoulders above the other wives and consorts. Her monuments are larger (or at least, more fully preserved). Her social standing is better recorded and seems to have been immense, with magnificent temples and chapels devoted to her as a divine ruler. Politically, we get glimpses of her power – in diplomacy and the public image of rule. But the substance of that power, and its origins, remain frustratingly vague. Did she enjoy her prominent status based on her relationship with Ramesses; her personality and abilities as a queen; her success as a child-bearer for the royal lineage, or some other intangible quality? We can only speculate today.
Nonetheless, the name Nefertari has become one of the “greats” in the lineage of Egyptian queenship. Across the twenty-five years or so, in which she was Great King’s Wife, she enjoyed immense social prestige, wealth, and privilege.
Eventually, however, all things would come to an end. And before the third decade of Ramesses’ reign was up, Queen Nefertari was dead.
We don’t know the exact date of her passing, but it was probably around Year 25. That’s based on a couple factors. Firstly, records of Ramesses’ grand jubilee (his Sed Festival) in Year 30 show a series of grand celebrations, with several members of the royal family involved. The surviving records of that Sed Festival do not feature Nefertari. She is nowhere to be found. Secondly, the fragmentary remains of her body, discovered in her tomb, belong to a woman approximately forty years of age. If she was in her early teens when she met Ramesses, as a prince, and then reigned as Queen for approximately twenty-five years, that would put her around that age at death. It’s not a firm date, by any means; the Queen may have lived slightly longer than Year 25, or shorter. But this ballpark figure is a reasonable estimate on the current evidence.
The last (known) record of Nefertari comes from Abu Simbel. Sometime after Year 21, the magnificent temples here neared completion. They would undergo revisions, in future; but the main work was finished shortly after Year 21. That’s based on the spelling of Ramesses’ name, which changed over the years. In one record, we might get a last glimpse of Nefertari towards the end of her life. To the south of the Great Temple (on your left when you’re facing it directly) there is a rock carving, left by a royal official. It shows Ramesses making offerings to a trio of gods: Amun-Ra, Ra-Horakhty, and Ramesses himself as a living deity.[1] Naturally, the King makes these offerings in tandem with a queenly figure. She wears a long dress, and a tall crown in the style of Nefertari’s. But this royal woman is not Nefertari herself. Instead, it is one of the couple’s daughters, a girl named Meryt-Amun. The princess appears in her role as sAt-nswt, or “King’s Daughter” (no other titles). But she clearly stands in the position of a queen, acting as the support role for Ramesses making offerings.
Just below these figures, there is another layer to the scene, in which Nefertari does appear. This time, the Queen is seated upon a throne receiving prayers from the Viceroy himself. So, she is present but not participating in the offerings.
Why?
It’s easy to imagine a variety of scenarios. Perhaps the scene commemorates the dedication or opening of Abu Simbel; a ceremony which Nefertari attended but did not participate. Maybe she was ill, no longer physically capable of performing her public duties.[2] Or maybe the princess Meryt-Amun was taking a greater role in religious affairs as part of her education and career. Or… this may be an illusion caused by an artistic choice. The Viceroy, commissioning this scene, may have wanted to honour Nefertari individually by giving her a separate, special section to herself.[3] Alas, the hieroglyphs give no clue either way. They identify Nefertari as “King’s Great Wife, Mother of the God… Beloved of Mut.” But there are no other captions for her, or descriptions of her presence. It’s the last roughly datable inscription for the queen and it tells us almost nothing.
At any rate, Nefertari probably died around Year 25, give or take. In religious and symbolic terms, it was a moment of great loss. The primary wife, living avatar of divine femininity, was gone. She left behind at least seven children, a mourning husband, and potentially a power vacuum. That would be filled, in time. But in the days and weeks after she died, the royal house must have been in some turmoil.
Lying in state, the Queen’s body soon came into the care of the embalmers. By this point in history, mummification was a well-developed craft.[4] Nefertari’s treatment probably followed a template. The chief embalmer (or wt, “bandager”) stepped forward, probably wearing a mask in the shape of Anpu (Anubis). They inserted a metal rod into the queen’s nose, to scramble and remove the brain. They poured hot melted resin into the skull cavity, and stopped it with a linen plug. Then, the moment of violation. A sharp blade, perhaps flint, cut into the queen’s abdomen. The embalmer’s removed many of her internal organs (though not all of them). They washed the cavity with wine and inserted spices. Subsequently, they immersed the body in natron (either in a saline solution or dried salt). For days and weeks she lay within that mixture, her body slowly desiccating. Then, at last, the priests removed Nefertari from the natron. They rubbed oil along her limbs, to restore some flexibility. Then, they wrapped her in bandages, adding amulets among the layers to protect her body. Finally, a set of golden bands along the body; jewellery at the wrists and neck; and a mask, depicting the queen in her lifelike state. With thick black bands around the eyes, simulating makeup, and a stylised wig hanging to her shoulders… the mask protected her visage and gave her wrapped body the image of life once more.
Then, the funeral. King Ramesses led the procession as his wife went to her rest. The cortege began on the west bank of the Nile, probably at the great Ramesseum temple. Perhaps even within that small shrine, dedicated to Nefertari herself. I speculate there, but the funeral parade probably left that temple and headed southwest. They followed the edge of the desert, to the mouth of a wadi. An old riverbed leading towards the cliffs of the western horizon. Here, in a valley called tA-ct-nfrw or “the Place of Beauties,” the Queen would go her rest.
The mummy, lying in coffins, arrived at the mouth of her tomb. A dark pit, with a staircase leading down, opened ready to receive her. The King and his priests descended, bringing the body into the tomb. Around them, lamplight illuminated richly decorated walls.
Ramesses invested heavily in his queen’s tomb. The sepulchre of Nefertari is, quite simply, a masterpiece of the ancient art. From its harmonious architecture to its stunning decoration, the tomb is the best preserved of any queenly tomb, in any period, across Egyptian history.
[1] KRITA, III, 49; Davies, RITANC, III, 61; Champollion, Monuments, pl. IV; LD III, pl. 195.
[2] Tyldesley, Queens of Egypt, 150.
[3] Davies, RITANC, III, 61.
[4] Ikram, S. (2015). Death and Burial in Ancient Egypt, 56—57.
