Nefertiti is said to have possibly been the daughter of Pharaoh Ay (c. 1323-1319 BC). His Great Royal Wife, Tey, is known to be her wet-nurse.
She was relatively young when she married Pharaoh Akhenaten (r. 1351-1334 BC).
Nefertiti’s sister was Mutnodjmet (Mutbenret).
Nefertiti was the mother of Meritaten, Meketaten, Ankhesenpaaten (Ankhesenamun), Neferneferuaten Tasherit, Neferneferure, and Setepenre.
Though Nefertiti is sometimes referred to as Pharaoh Tutankhamun‘s (r. 1332-1323 BC) mother, she’s actually his stepmother as well as his mother-in-law. Her third-born daughter, Ankhesenpaaten (Ankhesenamun), Tutankhamun’s half-sister, became his queen.
Pharaoh Ay inherited the throne by marrying Tutankhamun's widow, Ankhesenamun…. the third of six known daughters of Akhenaten.
A blue glass ring obtained in 1931 depicts the names of Ay and Ankhesenamun enclosed in cartouches. This indicates that Ankhesenamun married Ay shortly before she disappeared from history.
A document was found in the ancient Hittite capital of Hattusa dating back to the Amarna period in which an Egyptian queen (thought by many to be Ankhesenamun) requests that the Hittite king send her a son to marry so that she is not forced to marry her “subject.”
"My husband has died and I have no son. They say about you that you have many sons. You might give me one of your sons to become my husband. I would not wish to take one of my subjects as a husband... I am afraid."
The Hittite king, Suppiluliuma I (c. 1350-1322 BC), agreed to send Zannanza, the second-youngest of his five sons, to Egypt.
Zannanza is best known for almost becoming the pharaoh of Egypt. He never made it past the Egyptian border, what became of him and how he died is unknown.
Suppiluliuma I, accused the Egyptians of murdering him. Pharaoh Ay, denied the murder, but acknowledged the death.
Zannanza’s disappearance under mysterious circumstances caused a diplomatic incident between the Hittites and Egyptian Empire, resulting in a war that ultimately resulted in the death of Suppliluliuma I by an unknown plague and a long-lived rivalry between Egypt and the Hittites.
Hittite forces subsequently attacked Egyptian settlements. Sick prisoners of war brought back to the Hittite Empire caused a deadly epidemic that spread rapidly. As a result, Suppiluliuma I himself died from the epidemic.
The events prompted Zannanza’s brother, King Mursilis II (c. 1330-1295 BC), to create what is known as the Plague Prayers, a lament to the gods to have mercy on the Hittites in their distress.
Zannanza’s suspicious death resulted in hostilities between Egypt and the Hittites, which did not come to an end until Ramesses II (c. 1279-1213 BC) signed a treaty with the Hittites following the Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BC.
Kiya was another wife of Akhenaten… little is known about her. She may originally have been a Mitanni princess.
“The Younger Lady”, another wife… possibly Beketaten, was the daughter of Amenhotep III and Tiye.
Beketaten’s siblings were Sitamun, Iset, Henuttaneb, Nebetah, Thutmose, and Akhenaten.
Beketaten’s father, Amenhotep III (r. 1388-1351 BC), was the son of Mutemwiya and Thutmose IV.
Beketaten’s mother, Tiye, was the daughter of Yuya and Thuya.
Beketaten’s maternal grandfather, Yuya, was king’s lieutenant to Amenhotep III (r. 1388-1351 BC).
Thuya was the great grandmother of Pharaoh Tutankhamun (r. 1333-1323 BC) and is believed to be a descendant of Queen Ahmose-Nefertari.
Beketaten’s paternal grandfather, Pharaoh Thutmose IV (r. 1397-1388 BC), was the son of Pharaoh Amenhotep II and Queen Tiaa.
Mutemwiya, was a daughter of King Artatama I of Mitanni (c. 1420 BC) and mother-in-law of Queen Tiye, mother of Pharaoh Akhenaten.
Beketaten (The Younger Lady) was the mother of Tutankhamun (r. 1332-1323 BC).
Akhenaten (r. 1351-1334 BC) was born Amenhotep IV, a younger son of pharaoh Amenhotep III and his principal wife, Queen Tiye.
The Amarna Letters provide important evidence about Akhenaten's reign and foreign policy. The diplomatic correspondence comprises clay tablet messages between Amenhotep III, Akhenaten IV, and Tutankhamun, various subjects through Egyptian military outposts, rulers of vassal states, and the foreign rulers of Babylonia, Assyria, Syria, Canaan, Alashiya, Arzawa, Mitanni, and the Hittites.
Akhenaten was succeeded by Smenkhkare (r. 1335-1334 BC), who was then succeeded by Neferneferuaten (r. 1334-1332 BC).
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Like this post? Stop by and read “Queens & Consorts of 18th Dynasty Egypt: Tiye, Gilukhepa, Tadukhepa, Sitamun, Iset, Wives of Amenhotep III (r. 1388-1351 BC).” Queens Tiye, Gilukhepa, Tadukhepa, Sitamun, and Iset were wives of Pharaoh Thutmose IV (r. 1397-1388 BC). Tiye’s son, Akhenaten (r. 1351-1334 BC), succeeded his father as the 10th pharaoh of 18th Dynasty Egypt.
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