And a great reformer. His wife is the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. The reign of this couple occurred during the Amarna period. What became famous for Akhenaten and Nefertiti during the short period of their reign? Among all the great queens of Egypt, only the name of the most beautiful and revered ruler remained in the hearing. It was not often that pharaohs allowed their wives to rule, but Nefertiti was not just a wife - during her lifetime she became a queen, whom they prayed for, whose mental abilities were extolled so highly. “Perfect” - that’s what her contemporaries called her, extolling her merits and beauty.

Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton)

Akhenaten should not have ruled Egypt because he had an older brother. But Tutnos died during his father’s reign, so Amenhotep became the legal heir. In the last years of his life, the pharaoh was seriously ill, and the opinion of historians comes down to the fact that the youngest son was a co-ruler at this time. However, it was not possible to establish how long such joint rule lasted.

After the death of his father, Amenhotep becomes pharaoh and begins to rule the country, which by this time had achieved great power and influence. Queen Teye, famous for her prudence and wisdom, helped her son in the early years. She skillfully directed his thoughts in the right direction and gave wise advice.

New religion

During the reign of the pharaoh, the cult of the Sun reached unprecedented heights. The previously not so popular Aten (sun god) becomes the center of the religion. Using new technologies, a grandiose temple is being built for the supreme deity. Aten himself is depicted as a man with the head of a falcon. God was given the status of a pharaoh, the boundary between Amenhotep and the sun was erased. To top it off, he changes his name to Akhenaten, which means “useful to the Aten.” All family members, as well as the most important dignitaries, were also renamed.

In order to establish a new deity, a new city is built. First of all, a huge palace was built for the pharaoh. He did not wait for the completion of construction and moved along with the entire court from Thebes. The temple for Aten was built immediately after the palace. Residential areas and other buildings for residents were built from inexpensive materials, while the palace and temple were made of white stone.

Pharaoh's wives. Nefertiti

Akhenaten's first wife was Nefertiti. They married before his accession to the throne. On the question of at what age did the pharaohs take girls as wives: they became brides from the age of 12-15. Nefertiti's future husband was several years older than her. The girl was unusually pretty, her name literally translates as “the beauty has come.” This may indicate that the pharaoh's first wife was not Egyptian. It has not yet been possible to find confirmation of its foreign origin. His wife supported Akhenaten in everything; she contributed to the elevation of Aten to the rank of the highest deity. There are many more images of her on the walls of the temple than of the pharaoh himself. His wife could not give him a son: during their marriage she gave birth to six daughters.

Nefertiti raised the son of Akhenaten's sister. He would later become the husband of one of her daughters, Ankhesenpaaten, and rule Egypt under the name Tutankhamun. The girl will change her name to Ankhesenamon. One of the daughters of the royal solar couple will die in childhood, the other will be married to her brother. The fate of the rest of the story is unknown.

Nefertiti and Akhenaten appeared together everywhere. Her greatness and importance can be judged by the fact that she was allowed to accompany her husband during sacrifices. They prayed to her in the temples of Aten, and all actions were carried out exclusively in her presence. During her lifetime, she became a symbol of the prosperity of all of Egypt. There are many frescoes and statues of this beautiful woman. On the walls of the Akhenaten Palace there are many joint images of the pharaoh and his wife. They are captured at the moment of a kiss, with children on their laps; there are separate images of daughters. None of the wives of the pharaohs of Egypt received such honors as this person.

The decline of Queen Nefertiti's popularity

Now no one can say what caused her disappearance from the political arena and the family life of the pharaoh. Probably, after the death of their daughter, the spouses’ relationship to each other changed. Or Akhenaten could not forgive the beauty for the lack of an heir. Evidence of her life after her reign is a statue depicting Nefertiti in old age. Still beautiful, but already broken by years and adversity, the woman was forever frozen in a tight dress and light sandals. Undoubtedly, the rejection of her husband broke her and left its mark on the royal face. Nefertiti's tomb has not yet been discovered, which may confirm the assumption of her disfavor. Perhaps she outlived her husband, but they did not bury her with honors.

Kiya

Queen Nefertiti was replaced by the not so beautiful and majestic Kiya. Presumably, she married the pharaoh in the fifth year of his reign. There is also no reliable information about its origin. One version says that the girl was the wife of Akhenaten’s father and after her death she passed on to the young pharaoh. There are no historical references to her high position at court or any participation in the reign of the pharaoh. It is known that Kiya gave birth to a daughter. This is where the story of the Pharaoh's wife ends. Judging by the fact that her name was removed from the temple walls, the woman was disgraced. The burial of this pharaoh's wife was not discovered. There are also no guesses or facts about the fate of her daughter.

Taduhepa

This pharaoh's wife also became his inheritance. The girl came to Egypt from Mitanni at the request of Amenhotep III. He chose her as his bride, but died shortly after her arrival. Akhenaten made Tadukhepa his wife. Some scientists and researchers believe that Nefertiti or Kiya bore this name before her reign, but no evidence has been found for this theory. A message from her father Tushratta to her future husband has been preserved, in which he negotiates for his daughter’s imminent marriage. But this does not confirm the fact that the princess existed as a separate person. Historians also found no mention of joint children.

Death of the Pharaoh

How Akhenaten died has not yet been established. There are paintings that depict an assassination attempt on the pharaoh through poisoning. However, his mummy is required to establish the cause of death. Only the tomb was discovered in the family crypt. There was no body inside, and she herself was practically destroyed. Scientists are still debating whether the male mummy from tomb KV55 is Akhenaten.

Someone tried to keep this a secret by knocking off the name on the sarcophagus and tearing off the mask. DNA testing established that the body belongs to one of Tutankhamun's close relatives. But this could be Smenkhkare, who was also of the same blood as the pharaohs. It is not yet possible to establish the exact origin of the mummy, but archaeologists do not lose hope of finding new tombs and royal bodies.

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Ancient Egypt is one of the centers of human civilization, which arose back in the 4th millennium BC. and existed for more than 4 thousand years. At the head of this huge state was the pharaoh. It is implied that this was a man, since there is not even a feminine gender for the word “pharaoh”. And yet, there were periods when women took the reins of government into their own hands, when powerful priests, military leaders, and hardened palace intriguers bowed their heads before a woman and recognized her power over them. (website)

Woman in Ancient Egypt

What always amazed all ancient travelers to Egypt was the position of women in society. Egyptian women had rights that Greek and Roman women could not even dream of. Egyptian women were legally endowed with the right of property and inheritance; along with a man, they could conduct commercial and production activities, enter into contracts on their own behalf and pay bills. We would say “recognized as full-fledged owners of small, medium and large businesses.”

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Egyptian women operated cargo ships, were teachers, and were scribes. Aristocrats became officials, judges, rulers of nomes (regions), and ambassadors. The only areas where Egyptian women were not allowed were medicine and the army. But this too is questioned. In the tomb of Queen Yahhotep, among other decorations, two Orders of the Golden Fly were found - awards for outstanding service on the battlefield.

The pharaoh's wife often became his adviser and closest assistant, and ruled the state along with him. Therefore, it is not surprising that when the pharaoh died, the inconsolable widow took upon herself the burden of governing the state. History has preserved for us the names of several mistresses of Ancient Egypt.

Nitocris (c. 2200 BC)

She Neitikert (Excellent Neith) ruled Egypt for twelve years. All these years, Beautiful Nate managed to keep an iron rein on the entire country. Egypt knew neither revolts nor coups. Her death was a disaster for the country. Priests, courtiers, officials and military men began to tear each other apart in the struggle for the throne, and this continued for a century and a half (the First Transitional Period).

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Nefrusebek (c. 1763 - 1759 BC)

The name Nefrusebek meant “beauty of Sebek.” (Sebek is a god with the head of a crocodile. Yes, the Egyptians had strange ideas about beauty.) The rules did not last long, no more than 4 years, but during this time she managed to become not only a pharaoh, but also a High Priestess, and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, lead a series of reforms and a victorious campaign in Nubia.

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To pacify the regional aristocrats, she married one of the influential nomarchs (ruler of the nome, i.e. governor), but kept the title of pharaoh for herself. The husband, deceived in his hopes, hired a killer and he killed the queen.

Subsequent events showed how right Nefrusebek was in not entrusting the management of the country to her husband. The newly emerged contender for the title of pharaoh failed to retain power. For Egypt, an era of civil wars and coups began, which lasted about 250 years.

Hatshepsut (c. 1489-1468 BC)

Hatshepsut undoubtedly had both will and strong character. With a living male heir, she managed to seize the throne, declared herself pharaoh, took the name Maatkar and the priests crowned her as a man. During ceremonies, she often wore an artificial beard in order to completely resemble a male pharaoh. Both “male” and “female” images of Queen Hatshepsut have been preserved.

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Hatshepsut. Women's and men's options

How this masquerade was perceived by the nobles and the people is unclear, but Hatshepsut achieved absolute power, which many male pharaohs did not have, and became the greatest female ruler in the history of Ancient Egypt.

Her reign became the Golden Age for Egypt. Agriculture developed, the queen distributed free land to peasants and issued loans for the purchase of slaves. Abandoned cities were restored. Organized a research expedition to the country of Punt (present-day Somalia).

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Hatshepsut. Female Pharaoh

Conducted several successful military campaigns, led one campaign (to Nubia) herself, i.e. She also proved herself to be a military leader. Built on her orders, the mortuary temple of Queen Pharaoh Hatshepsut is the pearl of Egypt, along with the pyramids, and is under the protection of UNESCO.

Unlike other queens, Hatshepsut was able to create a mechanism of succession and after her death the title and throne were safely accepted by Thutmose III. This time Egypt did without cataclysms, which once again proves that Hatshepsut had statesmanship.

Tausert (c. 1194-1192)

Tausert was the wife of Pharaoh Seti II. The marriage was childless. When Seti died, Seti's bastard son Ramses-Saptahu seized power, behind whom stood the keeper of the seal, the gray cardinal of Egypt, Bai. However, after 5 years of the reign of the new pharaoh, Bai was accused of corruption and executed, and a year later Ramses-Saptahu himself died from an unknown illness. As we can see, Tausert was a determined woman and did not suffer from excessive sentimentality.

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According to some sources, it ruled for 2 years, according to others for 7 years, but these years were not calm for Egypt. A civil war began in the country. Tausert died for unknown reasons, but this did not stop the civil war. Her successor, Pharaoh Setnakht, with great difficulty restored order in the country and resolved another political crisis in the country.

Cleopatra (47-30 BC)

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It would be a stretch to call the famous queen a pharaoh. Egypt was Hellenized and bore little resemblance to the ancient country. Cleopatra's reign cannot be called successful. Egypt was a semi-colony of Rome, legionnaires rampaged through the country and it all ended in a war with Rome, which Cleopatra lost. Egypt lost the remnants of even a ghostly independence and became part of the Roman Empire. Thus, Cleopatra became not only the last female pharaoh in the history of Egypt, but the last Egyptian pharaoh in general.

Answer:

The Quran reports that she found Musa (alayhi salam) and took him to the palace. In the year of the birth of Musa (alaihi salam), Pharaoh ordered the killing of all newborn boys of the sons of Israel.

By order of Allah Almighty, Musa’s mother put him in a box and lowered him into the waters of the Nile. When the box with the child floated past the pharaoh's palace, the maids found it and brought it to her. Seeing the child, Asia's heart was filled with love for him. And despite the strong desire of the pharaoh to kill this child, Asia prevented this, and managed to persuade the pharaoh to keep the child for himself.

Despite the fact that Asiya (radiyallahu anha) was the wife of such a wicked and scoundrel as Pharaoh, she was a woman who believed in Allah Almighty. Due to the fact that she was a believer and took Musa (alaihi salam) under her protection, Allah Almighty granted her a high degree. It is reported that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “The most worthy of the women of Paradise will be Khadija binti Khuwaylid, Fatima binti Muhammad, Maryam binti Imran, and the wife of Pharaoh - Asiya binti Muzahim” (Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Hakim).

Asia was a very sincere and steadfast woman in her faith. When the time for worship came, she would find an excuse to retire to her room and there she would secretly worship Allah.

For a long time she hid her faith and worship. The last straw was the brutal execution of Ezekiel's wife by Pharaoh. Asia saw from the palace window how cruelly this woman was executed.

Asia saw how angels descended on Ezekiel’s wife and took her soul, and what benefits she received, and this further strengthened Asia’s faith. And at that moment, Pharaoh suddenly entered Asia’s room and began to tell her about how Ezekiel’s wife was brutally executed. When he finished his story, Asiya (radiyallahu anha) said to him:

“Woe to you, O Pharaoh! How dare you speak out against Allah, subjecting those who believe to torment?”

Not expecting to hear such a thing, the pharaoh said: “Has the obsession of that woman who was executed also captured you?”
Asia replied: “No! She wasn't obsessed, and I'm not one. Know that I believed in Allah, the Lord of the worlds.”

Pharaoh told Asiya: “Either you reject the God of Musa, or you will die in terrible torment.”

But Asia was firm in her faith and rejected Pharaoh's offer. And then, by order of Pharaoh, Asiya (radiyallahu anha) was tortured to death. The Quran contains the following instructions for this:

“Allah cited the wife of Pharaoh as an example of the believers. So she said: “Lord! Save me from Pharaoh and his deeds! Build a house for me in Paradise near You and save me from unjust people! ”(at-Tahrim 66/11).

The rivayat reports that this prayer became the last words of Asia (radiyallahu anha), who gave her life in the path of Allah and was awarded the degree of falling in the path of the Almighty.

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Nobody knows how many mysteries the ancient Egyptian civilization holds, which left a huge legacy and had a strong influence on world culture. From the school curriculum, everyone probably remembers the main statement that all power in Ancient Egypt belonged exclusively to male pharaohs. But relatively recently, this postulate was recognized as erroneous, and the rulers of a developed ancient state were talked about as a well-known fact.

God on earth and after death

It should be noted that all pharaohs were considered god’s viceroys, and they were even credited with magical properties. A special attitude towards death left its mark on the reign of the main rulers of the country: they took care of the place that would receive them forever. Funeral pyramids were built, but later they were abandoned and huge halls began to be carved into the rocks, housing not only sarcophagi, but also utensils and jewelry, because it was believed that the pharaoh continued to lead his usual way of life even after his death.

Tombs are not a place for mourning

The famous Luxor burial of the Ta-Set-Nefers was located not far from the tombs. Its name translated as “valley of beauty,” which is very unusual for a cemetery where the wives of the pharaohs rested. The Egyptians treated the sacred place without sadness and sorrow, because it was believed that the dead had passed into a bright and beautiful world.

Wives statuses

Rulers sometimes married their sisters or daughters, because women were forbidden to marry other than kings, but healthy offspring were born from harem concubines. The supreme rulers were called gods during their lifetime, and the wives of the pharaohs did not always acquire this status.

Egyptologists, who studied the problem for a long time, established that only special priestesses from the royal family were in a special position. No one dared to discuss their actions, and their orders were carried out unquestioningly. Women who embodied God on earth performed special secret rituals in the Egyptian sanctuary, rubbing the golden statue with incense and dancing in front of it.

The importance of height among Egyptians

Nefertari, as the wife of Pharaoh Ramses II was called, was depicted on all bas-reliefs not only of the same height as her husband, but also with the goddess Hathor, who presented her with a symbol of the afterlife. These paintings, which have not lost the brightness of their colors, were kept in her luxurious tomb, located in the famous Valley of the Queens.

The Egyptians attached great importance to the height of the person depicted. The real wives of the pharaohs, who did not become the incarnation of God, were always depicted as being much shorter than their husbands. But Nefertari was never the ruler of Egypt, like, for example, Cleopatra or Hatshepsut. I would like to talk about the latter separately.

Hatshepsut: history of reign

There are known wives of Egyptian pharaohs and their mothers who did not receive the official status of rulers, but were on the throne until the Hellenistic period. Among these seven legendary rulers was Hatshepsut, who lost her husband Thutmose II and gave birth to a daughter, not an heir. She becomes stepmother and aunt to the concubine's son, declaring herself regent and conducting all public affairs on behalf of the boy, but after 6 years she begins to lay claim to power, declaring her royal origins. The title of Amun's wife and the respect of the entire country for the strong-willed woman help her ascend the throne without hindrance.

Hatshepsut ruled the country for 20 long years, during which time she competently suppressed the unrest in Nubia, which earned her special respect. Having become a very significant figure in the state, she moves the capital to Thebes (Luxor) and, during her lifetime, is engaged in the construction of her afterlife sanctuary. The luxurious tomb housed huge stone sculptures of Hatshepsut in the guise of Osiris: the pharaoh’s wife was depicted with a crown on her head and an artificial man’s beard, whose sculptural portrait still showed pretty features.

Revenge of Thutmose III

After her death, the concubine's son Thutmose III, who remained the sole ruler, begins to systematically destroy all objects of worship associated with the former keeper of the throne, who never tried to overthrow him.

200 statues depicting Hatshepsut and the sphinxes were destroyed and buried not far from the impressive temple. Modern archaeological expeditions, which found the remains of unique compositions, restored pictures of the grandeur of the sacred place.

Black rulers

When the power of Egypt was shaken, it was conquered by its own colonies - Nubia and Libya. The temples include black pharaohs who required special status. In order to be on the throne by inheritance, and not after seizing power, they marry Egyptian aristocrats, declaring them and themselves divine incarnations.

There are known facts when the wives of the pharaohs dedicated their daughters to be the consorts of Amun, because such a high title gave enormous power. Many black rulers reviving the glory of Thebes did not require a man, and they passed on the status of the goddess to their adopted daughters. Unfortunately, the legendary city was sacked by the Assyrians, and no one remembered the power of the pharaonic goddesses.

Archaeological expeditions working in Egypt have revealed hitherto unknown facts to the whole world. Each new discovery of such burials becomes a discussed event in the scientific world.

Ancient Egyptian civilization is surrounded by an aura of mystery in popular culture. At the same time, in fact, it is one of the most studied civilizations of antiquity. This is all thanks to the fact that the Egyptians loved to write, draw and carve statues. Although much of the life of ordinary Egyptians and their rulers is still hidden behind the veil of centuries, Egyptologists have still managed to study and learn a lot about how the Egyptians lived and how they died.

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And most of the information remains, of course, about the pharaohs and their relatives: their deeds, the circumstances of their birth and death were entered into the chronicles. In addition, many mummies remained from them, which can be studied using tomography and DNA analysis.

One of the most famous rulers of Ancient Egypt is the young Tutankhamun. The king's death mask was a portrait of a beautiful young man. Speculation and legends immediately began to be made around the personality of Tutankhamun. The king's early death was especially intriguing.

Speculations included murder during the conspiracy and injuries from falling from the chariot while it was still moving. The second version could explain the fact that Tutankhamun’s right hand was missing fingers, and traces of fractures were found on his legs.

The latest research revealed that before his death the young man suffered from malaria. Taking into account the fact that medicines for malaria were placed in his tomb, most likely he died from it.

As for the lameness and lack of fingers, the pharaoh's body was gradually undermined by necrosis of the limbs due to genetic problems caused by generations of incest in his dynasty. Incest between ancestors could also be the reason why Tutankhamun was born with a cleft palate. He himself was married either to his own or to a cousin.

In any case, the dynasty ended with Tutankhamun: his children were born dead, so he left no heirs.

But the mother of Tutankhamun, one of the daughters of Amenhotep III, the sister of the pharaohs Akhenaten and Smekhkara and, probably, the wife of Akhenaten, clearly did not die a natural death. At first, archaeologists believed that the deep wound on the queen's face was the work of grave robbers, but later research showed that it was this wound that was fatal for Tutankhamun's mother. Whether it was an accident or murder is still unclear. But the queen died at about 25 years old.

As for Akhenaten himself, he was probably poisoned: records of an attempt on his life have been preserved, and the pharaoh himself lived less than forty years.

Whether it’s Ramses II from the next dynasty! That's who definitely died of old age, living to about 90 years old. During his life, he managed to become the father of one hundred and eleven boys and fifty girls. In addition to his active politics, hot temper and red hair, Ramesses II was known for constantly training in running. The fact is that once every thirty years he participated in a certain ritual race with a sacred vessel in his hand. If the pharaoh failed to run the race, it would be considered a bad omen. But Ramses himself knew very well that it was all about training.

By the way, the ancient Egyptians were famous for being fast runners.

His namesake from the next dynasty, Ramesses III, also lived quite a long time, but was killed as a result of a conspiracy arranged by one of his disgruntled wives. For a long time it was unclear exactly how he died. Poisoning or a deep, but initially non-fatal wound that was poorly treated was assumed. Finally, a tomogram of the neck put everything in its place. Ramses was slashed in the throat with a knife. He died almost instantly.

The conspirators were tried. One of them, a young prince, the son of the same wife who, perhaps, stabbed his father, was sentenced to change his name. The chronicle also states that he committed suicide out of shame, but a modern autopsy revealed that the prince was tied up and strangled. He was then hastily embalmed, wrapped in an “unclean” goatskin, and buried in a simple coffin.

It is still unknown how the famous Nefertiti died. This is not in the chronicles, and the queen’s mummy has not yet been found. It is only clear that Akhenaten, who initially admired his wife, lost interest in her around the age of 30. Her story can hardly be called a story of great love and family happiness.

It was long suspected that the ruling queen Hatshepsut was killed by her successor and stepson, Thutmose III. He hated her so much that, upon becoming pharaoh, he ordered all mentions of her to be erased. It’s clear that it wasn’t possible to erase everything.

However, analysis of the queen's remains revealed that she was an obese woman in her fifties, suffered from arthritis, dental problems and diabetes, and died of liver cancer. The cancer probably developed due to a very dangerous substance that was used to make painkillers. The queen most likely rubbed herself with medicine to relieve pain in her teeth and joints.

There is another version: Hatshepsut did not have time to die from cancer, because she died from blood poisoning after her aching tooth was pulled out.