Nefertiti - Pharaoh queen. No one knows her origin. Archaeologists say she may be an alien based on the Egyptian carvings and paintings...
Check her elongated-covered skull or head
Nefertiti and Pharaoh Akhenaten with their kids..
For over a decade Nefertiti was the most influential woman in Egypt. Held in godlike reverence by her people, she reigned alongside Amenophis IV, a ruler of the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom, who changed his name to Akhenaton after ascending the throne around 1353BC. However, next to nothing is known about the beautiful queen. At around 1336BC, she simply vanished from history. She would have been about 30 years old.
Meteoric rise and abrupt end
Nefertiti was married to the Pharaoh Akhenaton, son of Amenophis III, in the fourth year of his reign. She seems to have been about 15 years old at the time. Akhenaton was one year younger. As a result of their union she rose to become one of the most powerful female rulers of Egypt. She was loved, celebrated and worshipped. She was present at the king's side at every important occasion and her status was very nearly equal to his. But then, abruptly, the trail ends. Right up to the present day, no evidence has been found that could shed light on Nefertiti's mysterious end. Until now, her body was believed lost.
Where did Nefertiti come from?
The queen's origins and background are equally unknown. According to one theory, she may have been the Mitannic princess Tadukhepa, the intended bride of Amenophis III, but may instead have married his son. Another theory says Nefertiti was the issue of a union between Amenophis III and a concubine. That would make Akhenaton and Nefertiti half-brother and half-sister to each other. This theory is somewhat improbable, as the title, 'Daughter of the Pharaoh' would then have been Nefertiti's by right, but it never was. A third theory is that Nefertiti was the daughter of Ti (also spelt Tiy) and Ay (also spelt Aya). On this basis, her father would have been a top official at the court of Amenophis III and subsequently a close confidant of Akhenaton. According to this theory, which is gaining currency among Egyptologists, Nefertiti's background would thus have been in the top rank of Egyptian society. However, Ti was probably not the biological mother of the beautiful queen, but was, more likely on the evidence, to have been her wet-nurse.
In the glory of the sun god
Nefertiti and the Pharaoh Akhenaton jointly introduced major religious and cultural reforms. Their most radical departure from tradition was to forsake Egypt's time-honoured deities and dedicate themselves to the sun god Aton.
In the fifth year of Akhenaton's reign, the royal couple moved their official residence from Thebes to Achetaton, 'Place of Aton's Light' – a city now known by its Arabic name of El-Amarna. Even in Karnak, which until then had been the traditional centre for the cult of Amun, new temples were built in honour of the sun god. These were adorned with a large number of images of Nefertiti who had, as monarch, the additional royal title of 'Neferneferuaten' - 'Perfect is the perfection of Aton'.
Nefertiti was immortalised in temples and on monuments more than any other Egyptian queen, before or after her. It is likely that the beautiful queen even held the office of High Priest – a rank that was supposed to be reserved for kings alone. Yet, in the last years of Akhenaton's reign, Nefertiti vanished from pictures and reliefs and was replaced by two of her six daughters, Meritaton and Ankhesenpaaton.
Mysterious fate
What could have happened to the queen? For a long time, researchers believed that Nefertiti had fallen from favour and been cast out of the royal family by Akhenaton. Perhaps because it was becoming obvious she would never bear a son? Another theory maintained that the ruling couple were overthrown by a rebellion of their people, who regarded the worship of Aton as heresy. Certainly, once Tutankhamun had ascended the throne in 1333BC, anything that might recall the memory of Akhenaton and Nefertiti was systematically erased.
To date, in the tomb at Achetaton, only burial objects associated with Akhenaton have been found. This suggests Nefertiti was never entombed there. The queen's death isn't officially recorded anywhere else.
Did Nefertiti succeed Akhenaton on the throne?
Although Akhenaton did have a son by his concubine, Kia – this was Tutankhamun – the successor he named was Smenkhkare. Just who this regent was is still unknown. Some Egyptologists say he was another son of Akhenaton's by Kia, others take the view that Smenkhkare was a half-brother of Akhenaton, or some other member of the royal family. The fact that Smenkhkare and Nefertiti used the same additional name - Neferneferuaten – has led some scholars to theorise that Nefertiti herself assumed power on the death of Pharaoh Akhenaton in 1336BC. However, there is also evidence to suggest Nefertiti died during the 14th year of her husband's reign, at a time when Egypt was being ravaged by an epidemic of plague.
Is Nefertiti's sudden vanishing destined to remain a mystery forever? Maybe the unnamed corpse, believed by the British archaeological team to be the mummified body of the glamorous queen, is about to reveal a few of its secrets.
Above Write up from -
http://www.yourdiscovery.com/egypt/pharoahs/nefertiti/queen/index.shtml