Timeline Nefertiti: Queen of Amarna Egypt

Nefertiti: Queen of Amarna Egypt 15

• 1370 BC Nefertiti is born Her parentage is unknown; the date is an estimate Nefertiti was probably born around 1370 BC. Her origins are uncertain, and some scholars propose that she was a relative of the courtier Ay.
• 1353 BC Nefertiti becomes queen as Amenhotep IV takes the throne Beginning of her time as consort of the pharaoh Amenhotep IV became pharaoh around 1353 BC, and Nefertiti became queen of Egypt. From the start she appeared alongside him in official art.
• 1353 BC Nefertiti marries Amenhotep IV She becomes Great Royal Wife of the future Akhenaten Nefertiti married the young prince Amenhotep, who became Amenhotep IV. The marriage took place around 1353 BC, and she became his chief queen.
• 1352 BC Nefertiti appears prominently in the Aten temples at Karnak Temple reliefs show her in ritual roles usually held by the king Reliefs from the new Aten temples at Karnak show Nefertiti making offerings and taking part in rituals. Her unusually large role in these scenes points to her real religious authority.
• 1350 BC Nefertiti's first daughter Meritaten is born The first of six daughters of Nefertiti and Akhenaten Around this time Nefertiti bore Meritaten, the eldest of six daughters. The princesses were shown with their parents in Amarna art.
• 1348 BC Nefertiti takes the name Neferneferuaten as Akhenaten embraces the Aten Royal couple adopt names honoring the sun disc Around the fifth year of his reign, Amenhotep IV became Akhenaten, and Nefertiti added the epithet Neferneferuaten, meaning 'beautiful are the beauties of the Aten'. The change marked the court's turn to Aten worship.
• 1347 BC Nefertiti joins Akhenaten in founding the new capital Akhetaten Boundary stelae mark the city now known as Amarna Akhenaten founded Akhetaten at the site now called Amarna and moved the court there. Nefertiti is named alongside him in the foundation texts.
• 1345 BC Nefertiti is named on the later Amarna boundary stelae The royal family is pledged to the new city The later boundary stelae of Akhetaten name Nefertiti and her daughters beside Akhenaten. The texts show her as a central member of the royal family at its height.
• 1342 BC Nefertiti receives foreign tribute with Akhenaten at Amarna Year 12 ceremony shown in the tombs of Huya and Meryre II Tomb scenes in Amarna show the royal family receiving tribute from foreign lands in about the twelfth year of Akhenaten's reign. Nefertiti is shown beside the king.
• 1341 BC Nefertiti's famous painted bust is made in the workshop of Thutmose The limestone and stucco bust later found in Amarna The sculptor Thutmose's workshop at Amarna produced the painted bust of Nefertiti, probably around 1340 BC. It is now one of the best-known works of ancient art.
• 1340 BC Nefertiti mourns her daughter Meketaten A funeral scene in the royal tomb at Amarna Meketaten, a daughter of Nefertiti and Akhenaten, died around this time. The mourning scene in the Amarna royal tomb shows Nefertiti with the king.
• 1338 BC Nefertiti appears for the last time in a dated inscription Quarry inscription of year 16 at Deir Abu Hinnis An inscription of the sixteenth year of Akhenaten's reign, made by a man named Pawah, mentions Nefertiti as queen. It is the last firm record of her.
• 1336 BC Nefertiti's husband Akhenaten dies End of the king who founded the Aten cult Akhenaten died around 1336 BC after about seventeen years on the throne. The Amarna period began to unravel soon afterward.
• 1332 BC Tutankhamun takes the throne and the Aten cult is abandoned Court and religion return to Thebes and Amun The young Tutankhamun became king around 1332 BC. The court left Amarna and the old gods were restored, ending the world Nefertiti had shared in.
• 1331 BC Nefertiti dies Date, cause and burial place are unknown Nefertiti vanished from the record by about 1331 BC, and she is generally presumed to have died around then. Her tomb and mummy have not been securely identified.