The One... The Only... Queen Nefertiti

Have you ever heard of Queen Nefertiti? Most of you are probably thinking no. Don't worry! That was me just a week ago! Nefertiti is an Ancient Egyptian queen who was married to a guy named Akhenaten(don't ask me how to pronounce it!)He was the Pharaoh of Egypt(kinda like the king or president).

Nefertiti was known well for her beauty, therefore there were many paintings and statues of her. The one to the right(that way ---> in case you did not know) is a very famous one that was discovered by a guy named Ludwig Borchardt(why did his parents name him that?) Anyway, Nefertiti is a really cool person so you just HAVE to read on to learn more about her!

Fun Facts

Here are some really cool facts about Nefertiti that I thought would be good to share:

1.) Nefertiti invented her own kind of make up using the Galena Plant(even though that is cool, I don't think I would want to wear plant juice on my face!)

2.) Her name roughly translates to "the beautiful one has come"(it fits doesn't it)

3.) She shares her name with a bead, called Nefer, and was often portrayed wearing it(how cool is that? I want a bead named after me!)

4.) After Cleopatra, she is the most famous Egyptian woman!

So, there are some really cool facts about Nefertiti that you've probably never heard before(I hadn't!)

One big happy family!

Nefertiti and her husband had a close family(that seems kinda weird to me- her husband, Pharaoh Akhenaton, had many other wives! The nerve of that guy!!!). Nefertiti and Akhenaton had six daughters together, but sadly two died :{ The remaining kids were Ankhesenpaaten, Nefernefruatentasherit, Nefernefrura, and Setepenra(what's up with these names??? First there Gods have really short names like Nut and Ra, but then you've got these names! Nefertiti had 4 different names and they were all REALLY long- Nefertiti(duh), Smenkhkara(possibly her(unknown)), Nefernefruaten, and Ankhkheprura Nefernefruaten(you better be happy I just wrote all of that! It took me FOREVER!!!)). You could definately tell they had a close family because the daughters were in many of the pictures with their parents doing business! Nefertiti often encouraged them to watch their parents go about doing all of the stuff that royal family's usually do! How boring would that get for the kids?! Knowing me, I would probably throw something at a sibling to start a fight just so I wouldn't be bored anymore(Just Kidding-I'm not that violent). Did you know that Nefertiti was actually kinda related to King Tutankhamen(if you don't know who that is then you must live under a rock)? Yeah weird, no? King Tut's mom was Queen Kiya, who was another of Pharaoh Akhenaton's wives(let the record show that I am totally against having multiple wives). Actually, if you really think about it Akhenaton was Nefertiti's cousin and Akhenaton was Tut's father so that makes Nefertiti and King Tut... 2nd cousins? I really don't know- I've never really understood the 1st and 2nd cousin thing:)! So, now that we're though the confusing cousins thing, back to the stuff I was originally ranting about! Pictures show that family was really close and that were practically together 24/7!

More then just a pretty face?

As I have said repeatedly, Nefertiti was beautiful. Sorry for repeating myself but it was a big part in her life! It made her a TON more famous than she would be. Actually, if she hadn't been pretty, Akhenaton wouldn't have chose her for his favorite wife and she would still be a commoner! Remember the really famous bust of her I told you about? If she hadn't been pretty, and Akhenaton had not chose her for his wife, then that bust would never have been made and she wouldn't be as famous! See how important her beauty was to her fame? Artists really like to draw her because she was so pretty, so there were many pictures of her where she lived with her family. When she disappeared, those pictures were torn down because the people were mad about Nefertiti and her husband making them only worship one god- the Sun God Ra. So, without her beauty, Nefertiti would DEFINITELY not be as famous!

Girl Power!

Nefertiti was a really powerful woman(you go girl!) and was equal to her husband. How do we know this? In statues she is pictured by herself worshipping Ra and it was unusual for a queen to worship without the Pharaoh(this may sound like the men in the Egyptian Society thought that they were more important then the women but that is so untrue! The Egyptians actually thought that girls were as important as boys! This society just keeps sounding cooler and cooler!)! Also, in some pictures she is pictured wearing a kings crown. Nefertiti may have even led the reform and started the cult that worshipped only Ra,the Sun God. Like I said earlier, Nefertiti was EXTREMELY beautiful! She was very famous for her beauty and was maybe even more famous than her husband Akhenaton(okay, I take back what I said earlier about there "cool" society! She was more than just a pretty face!)! So, yeah, Queen Nefertiti was equal to her husband. GIRL POWER!!!!!

Why is Nefertiti so important anyway?

Nefertiti and her husband were very important people- they got rid of all Egyptian Gods except for one, the Sun God Ra(they weren't very creative with there names were they?). They made him the main God and everyone could only worship him. Well, that didn't work out to well because later, after Akhenaten's death, they all started worshipping the other Gods again! I think I would too! I don't want someone telling me who I can and can't worship! It would seriously make me mad and I would probably start a riot and burn down Egypt(just kidding!).Well, enough with my ranting-back to Nefertiti. So, when Akhenaten died, Nefertiti disappeared from all records. There are many theory's to where she went but here are the (i think) most possible theory's:
1.) She died- she loved Akhenaten SO much that she died of heartbreak(bleh!)
2.) She changed her name to Smenkhkara and ruled over Egypt for a while
Smenkhkara was thought to be a male, but maybe it really was Nefertiti! Anyway, whichever way you go, you got to admit-Nefertiti was really important to Egypt!

If you were Nefertiti would you change anything about your life?

Was Nefertiti a good Queen? Why or why not?

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