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QUEEN OF EGYPT
Nefertiti, also called Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti, (flourished 14th century BCE), queen of Egypt and wife of King Akhenaton (formerly Amenhotep IV; reigned c. 1353–36 BCE), who played a prominent role in the cult of the sun god known as the Aton.
Nefertiti’s parentage is unrecorded, but, as her name translates as “A Beautiful Woman Has Come,” early Egyptologists believed that she must have been a princess from Mitanni (Syria). There is strong circumstantial evidence, however, to suggest that she was the Egyptian-born daughter of the courtier Ay, brother of Akhenaton’s mother, Tiy. Although nothing is known of Nefertiti’s parentage, she did have a younger sister, Mutnodjmet. Nefertiti bore six daughters within 10 years of her marriage, the elder three being born at Thebes, the younger three at Tell el-Amarna. Two of her daughters became queens of Egypt.

The earliest images of Nefertiti come from the Theban tombs of the royal butler Parennefer and the vizier Ramose, where she is shown accompanying her husband. In the Theban temple known as Hwt-Benben (“Mansion of the Benben Stone”; the benben was a cult object associated with solar ritual), Nefertiti played a more prominent role, usurping kingly privileges in order to serve as a priest and offer to the Aton. A group of blocks recovered from Karnak (Luxor) and Hermopolis Magna (Al-Ashmunayn) shows Nefertiti participating in the ritual smiting of the female enemies of Egypt. She wears her own unique headdress—a tall, straight-edged, flat-topped blue crown.
By the end of Akhenaton’s fifth regnal year, the Aton had become Egypt’s dominant national god. The old state temples were closed and the court transferred to a purpose-built capital city, Akhetaton (Amarna). Here Nefertiti continued to play an important religious role, worshipping alongside her husband and serving as the female element in the divine triad formed by the god Aton, the king Akhenaton, and his queen. Her sexuality, emphasized by her exaggeratedly feminine body shape and her fine linen garments, and her fertility, emphasized by the constant appearance of the six princesses, indicate that she was considered a living fertility goddess. Nefertiti and the royal family appeared on private devotional stelae and on the walls of nonroyal tombs, and images of Nefertiti stood at the four corners of her husband’s sarcophagus.
Some historians, having considered her reliefs and statuary, believe that Nefertiti may have acted as queen regnant—her husband’s coruler rather than his consort. However, the evidence is by no means conclusive, and there is no written evidence to confirm her political status.

Soon after Akhenaton’s 12th regnal year, one of the princesses died, three disappeared (and are also presumed to have died), and Nefertiti vanished. The simplest inference is that Nefertiti also died, but there is no record of her death and no evidence that she was ever buried in the Amarna royal tomb. Early Egyptologists, misunderstanding the textual evidence recovered from the Maru-Aten sun temple at Amarna, deduced that Nefertiti had separated from Akhenaton and had retired to live either in the north palace at Amarna or in Thebes. This theory is now discredited. Others have suggested that she outlived her husband, took the name Smenkhkare, and ruled alone as female king before handing the throne to Tutankhamen. There is good evidence for a King Smenkhkare, but the identification in the 20th century of a male body buried in the Valley of the Kings as Tutankhamen’s brother makes it unlikely that Nefertiti and Smenkhkare were the same person.

Nefertiti’s body has never been discovered. Had she died at Amarna, it seems inconceivable that she would not have been buried in the Amarna royal tomb. But the burial in the Valley of the Kings confirms that at least one of the Amarna burials was reinterred at Thebes during Tutankhamen’s reign. Egyptologists have therefore speculated that Nefertiti may be one of the unidentified bodies recovered from the caches of royal mummies in the Valley of the Kings. In the early 21st century attention has focused on the “Younger Lady” found in the tomb of Amenhotep II, although it is now accepted that this body is almost certainly too young to be Nefertiti.
Amarna was abandoned soon after Akhenaton’s death, and Nefertiti was forgotten until, in 1912, a German archaeological mission led by Ludwig Borchardt discovered a portrait bust of Nefertiti lying in the ruins of the Amarna workshop of the sculptor Thutmose. The bust went on display at a museum in Berlin in the 1920s and immediately attracted worldwide attention, causing Nefertiti to become one of the most recognizable and, despite a missing left eye, most beautiful female figures from the ancient world.
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Ramses II is one of the most famous Egyptian kings who ruled Egypt in its golden age. He is the mightiest third pharaoh of the 19th dynasty of Egypt. King Seti I gave the crown to Prince Ramses who turned to Ramses II. He gave him a house and harem, “prince of Egypt” Ramses participated in military campaigns with his father where he gained a solid military and kingship experience before he was a king.
In the following you will find answers to the most common questions about the history of Ramses II:
– WHO IS RAMSES II?
– WHO ARE RAMSES II CHILDREN? | RAMSES II FAMILY
– WHAT WERE RAMSES II ACCOMPLISHMENTS?
– WHY WAS RAMSES II IMPORTANT?
– TEMPLES, MONUMENTS AND THE BEST WORKS OF RAMSES
– WHEN DID RAMSES II DIE, HOW AND WHERE?
WHO IS KING RAMSES II?

Ramses II is one of the most powerful and influential Pharaohs’ to have ruled Egypt in its golden age. He is the mightiest third pharaoh of the nineteenth dynasty of Egypt. King Seti I gave the crown to Prince Ramses who turned to Ramses II.
He led several expeditions and focused on accomplishing his goals. This reflected his vision of a great nation and got him the title of “ruler of rulers”. This is the reason why he is admired as ‘Ramses the Great’ by history buffs. Also, Egypt was at its height of power and glory in his 66-years reign.
WHO ARE RAMSES II CHILDREN? | RAMSES II EARLY LIFE & FAMILY
This great pharaoh is also remembered for the number of wives he had and children he fathered. While historians cannot estimate the exact number, they assume it is close to 162 children. Some of known children are: Amun-her-khepeshef (firstborn of Nefertari), Ramesses, Merneptah, Meritamen, Nebettawy, Khaemweset, and many others.
As a matter of fact, his immediate successor wasn’t his first son but the third one. Reigning for 66 long years, Ramses outlived many of his children. It was Merneptah, his 13th son, who came out as his eventual successor. And he was 60 years old.
Ramses II was born around 1303 BC in a commoner Egyptian family. He was a son of the Pharaoh Sethi I and Queen Tuya. Ramses was named after his grandfather Ramses I who had elevated their non-royal family to the royalty through his military prowess.
Ramses was raised in the royal court of Egypt where he was educated and trained by his father. He was blessed with this privilege because his father had become Pharaoh when Ramses was only 5 years old. At that time, Ramses had an older brother who was in line to become the next Pharaoh. However, he died when Ramses was around 14 years old. Therefore, Ramses II was declared second-in-command during his father’s military campaigns and stood directly in line to become the Pharaoh of Egypt. Having been crowned as the Prince, Ramses got married to Nefertari, who was his first and most beloved wife. She was referred to as the Royal Wife of the Pharaoh and became powerful in her own right. Over the course of their marriage, the royal couple had at least four sons and two daughters, and possibly more.
RAMSES II FACTS
Father: Seti I
Mother: Queen Tuya
Birth: 1303 BC
Died: 1213 BC
Place of burial: KV7, Egyptian Museum, Cairo, Deir el-Bahari.
Spouse: Nefertari, Nebettawy, Henutmire, Meritamen, Maathorneferure. Bintanath, Isetnofret
Children: Ramses II ranks 10th for male with the most children in history ( 162+)

WHAT WERE RAMSES II ACCOMPLISHMENTS? – RISE TO THE THRONE OF EGYPT AND MILITARY PROWESS
After the death of his father, Ramses was crowned the Pharaoh of Egypt in 1279 BC when he was only 25 years old. He is well-known to have a remarkable command over the Egyptian army. Thus he was able to lead fierce battles to secure the Egyptian borders against the Nubians, Syrians, Libyans, and Hittites. In 1281 BC, Ramses captured the Sherden sea pirates who had become a major threat to the Ancient Egypt’s maritime business. (Grimal 1992, 250–253)
Ramses resolved to put an end to this with an exemplary chivalry and great strategic plan. He posted ships and troops at critical points along the coast and patiently waited for the pirates to attack. As their boats approached nearer, they were skillfully caught by surprise in a fierce sea battle. (Tyldesley 2000, 53)
Ramses’ most famous battle remains the Battle of Kadesh, which was fought against a more substantial enemy— the Hittite Empire.
In May 1274 B.C.E. towards the end of the Fourth Year of his reign, Ramses initiated a military campaign to recover the lost provinces in the north. This is when the young King commanded a small troop of 20,000 men against the magnificent 50,000 men strong Hittite army. Till date, it remains one of the oldest combats recorded in history.
Although the battle was indecisive (not clear who won/lost), Ramses emerged as the hero of the war. He fought bravely, escaping death in the deadly battle and reclaiming the capitals he had lost to his enemies.
WHY WAS RAMSES II IMPORTANT?
HAILED IN HISTORY FOR SIGNING THE FIRST-EVER PEACE TREATY
As the Battle of Kadesh did not reach a conclusive end, two countries remained on the brink of the war for several years. Finally, in 1258 BC, Ramses volunteered to signing and abiding by one of the first major peace treaties in history with the Hittites. This made him the first ruler in the world to sign a peace treaty. He was also successful in establishing a peaceful northern border all through the rest of Ramses’ rule.

BUILDINGS, MONUMENTS AND THE BEST WORKS OF RAMSES
World renowned as a great builder, Ramses II was vastly fascinated with architecture. During his 66 years long rule, he master-crafted and rebuilt many monuments, structures, and temples. Two of his most well-acclaimed works include the gigantic temples of Abu Simbel and Ramesseum. Both these monuments boast a

EGYPT CIVILIZATION | WHERE IS EGYPT
You still didn’t know where is Egypt Located? Egypt, commonly known as (The Motherland of the World), (Land of Civilizations) and (The Greatest Power in Human History), is reputed worldwide for its distinct 7,000-year-old record of civilization and the immense wealth of knowledge. This has made Egypt a master and pioneer of science, arts, culture, architecture as well as almost all fields of human knowledge.
Amongst all civilizations and nations, Egypt has always maintained a unique position. Historically, Egypt is universally acknowledged as the world’s most ancient state with a unified societal entity within its current geographical borders.
Through this area, there runs the River Nile starting from the Great Lakes in the heart of Africa, through northern Sudan where the Ethiopian tributaries collecting rainwater flows into its main course.
Running past the cataract area south of Aswan, it calms down, flowing smoothly down to its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea.

Egypt has been referred to as the “Gift of the Nile” due to the river that has nourished the desert land and sustained one of the most ancient, continuous civilizations in the world.
The country has long captured the world’s imagination as the magical land of the Pharaohs and their awe-inspiring Pyramids of Giza, the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World to survive.
Islam arrived with the Arab conquests in the 7th century and the country subsequently went on to become a major cultural and spiritual heart of the Muslim world. Its most famous landmark, the Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo, founded in the 10th century, has long been a source of great pride for Muslims. In keeping with a country that is no stranger to longevity, Al-Azhar’s prestigious teaching institution, which attracts scholars from around the world, is considered to be the oldest university in existence.

Today, the overwhelming majority of the country’s approximately 65 million inhabitants are Muslims. City horizons are dotted with the minarets of mosques and, every day, their speakers crackle with the evocative, almost ethereal, calls of the “muezzins” summoning the faithful to prayer. On Fridays, the special day of prayer, mosques are filled to bursting point and sidewalks and prayer mats spill out onto the sidewalks and streets. Yet the population is not uniformly Muslim. Christianity continues to thrive in Egypt, and a significant minority of the country belongs to the distinctive Egyptian church whose members are known as Copts.
The country is also home to a million or so Christians of other denominations, such as the Roman Catholic Church, and the Greek and Armenian Orthodox Churches. For many centuries Egypt was also home to a flourishing community of Jews, though most left the country after the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. Today, only a handful remains in Cairo.

Egypt is 50 feet below sea level. Some important cities, towns, and places in Egypt are Cairo (the capital), Giza, Memphis, Thebes, Alexandria, Suez Canal, Abu Simbel, Sinai Peninsula, and Rosetta.
The highest point is Catharine Mountain that is 8,668 feet high. The lowest point is Qattara Depression and is 436 feet below sea level. The Nile Delta is the only delta in Egypt and is 100 miles long and 155 miles wide. It is in the shape of a triangle. There are 5 important oases in Egypt and they are all located in the Libyan Desert. They are the Farafrah, Bahriah, Dakhla, Kharijah, and the Siwah oases. The area of Egypt is 386, 662 square miles. The distances from east to west are 770 miles and from north to south it is 675 miles. There are no forests in but there are date palms and citrus groves. Papyrus plants grow only near the Nile.