Nefertiti was one of the most enigmatic women of Pharaonic Egypt and a powerful woman who lived in ancient Egypt. She was a queen who ruled Egypt alongside her husband, Pharaoh Akhenaten, from 1353-1336 BCE. She co-ruled during the New Kingdom period of ancient Egypt with her husband Akhenaten, also known as Amenhotep. Their reign was marked by religious and cultural upheavals and clashes with the clergy, as she and her husband promoted the worship of the sun god Aten, which angered many of the temples dedicated to the gods Amun and Osiris. Nefertiti was beloved by her people.
Nefertiti is believed to be the daughter of Ay, a high-ranking advisor and military commander to the king of Egypt. Some sources suggest that this man became Pharaoh of Egypt after the death of her son-in-law, Tutankhamun. She belonged to the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt and later became the first lady of the Pharaonic state. She also became the mother-in-law of the famous Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun, who was married to her daughter Meritaten. Nefertiti gave birth to six daughters, leading her husband to take other wives to bear him a son. One of these wives eventually bore him the famous Pharaoh Tutankhamun. The names of Nefertiti’s daughters are Meritaten, Meketaten, Ankhesenpaaten (who married Tutankhamun), Neferneferuaten Tasherit, Neferneferure, and Setepenre. The name Nefertiti means “the beautiful woman has come.”
Nefertiti’s tomb was discovered near her husband Akhenaten’s tomb.
After a period, one of Nefertiti’s daughters, Meketaten, died, causing her immense grief. Subsequently, Nefertiti's name disappeared from the historical record, and it is said that she died of grief over her daughter’s death. After her death, she was defamed, and all history related to her was erased by the clergy and their political allies in ancient Egypt due to their enmity towards her and her husband, Amenhotep, regarding the worship of the gods.
There is a sandstone bust of Queen Nefertiti that was discovered in 1912. This bust has become a global symbol of female beauty and power. It was found by the famous German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt in a place called Tell el-Amarna. It is a bust of Nefertiti's head and face and is very famous. The bust was taken to Germany in the same year and remained there. During World War II, the bust was found by the Americans, taken to the United States, and then returned to West Germany's museum. Since then, Egypt has been demanding the return of the bust to Egypt.