Story time; Nefertiti and the Zannanza affair
For a long time, this lady has fascinated me. An earlier post about Tutankhamun inspired me to tell you guys about her since their stories intersect. She is known through out the world, but her story is still disputed among reaserchers. Disclamer; There's a lot of theories surrounding Nefertiti's life. I have read most of them, but here i will only tell you about the one's i know well and enjoy the most; The Zannanza Affair and Tutankhamun's gravechamber. Enjoy
!
(Amnehotep IV and Nefertiti) First of all there is some people you have to meet and some introductions to be made; Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten: Neferitit's husband and pharao in 18th Dynasty of Egypt ca 1351-1334 b.c. He is known for his worship of the sun god Aten and the dismissal of the old god. Ay: Advisor of Amenhotep and possible father of Nefetiti. Tutankhamun: Son of Amenhotep IV and step-son of Nefertiti. Pharao of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt ca 1332 - 1323 b.c. Dakhamanzu: Author of the Hetitt letters, belived to be ether Nefertiti or one of her daugthers. Zannanza: Son of the Hetitt king Šuppiluliuma I. Šuppiluliuma I: King of the Hetittes, famous warrior and statesman. Known for challenging the great Egyptian Empire. Aten: The sun god also knows as Aton. (Not Ra)
(Pharaoh Amenhotep IV and queen Nefertiti with 3 of their daughters) So here, for som context and introduction; Nefertiti's firstly known as Amenhotep IV's great royal wife, and second for being one of ancient Egypt's most famous female pharaoh and queen. Little is known about her early life, but there is a popular theory that she is the daughter of Ay, the kings advisor. In history she is first depicted with her husband praying to Aten, the sun god, on the walls of Thebes, the ancient Egyptian city. Nefertiti was the main and first wife of Amenhotep IV and together they ruled in the 18th dynasty. During his reign, Amenhotep IV enforced religious reforms and changed the religion from a polytheistic (the worship of multiple gods/deities) to henotheism (belief in one god, who is not the only god). He strongly believed that only Aten, the sun god, was worth worshipping and so with a little time he started excluding references to the old gods and put focus on Aten. The step away from the old gods and tradition was not well accepted amongst the people and the priests. Amenhotep IV and Nefertiti truly believed that they were the nexus between Aten and the people. Several new temples where built during his reign. There has been rumors that the royal couple where so self-absorbed that they would force the people to pray through them and not directly to Aten, and that they would use propaganda to enforce the new religious reform by depicting them self’s on walls around the city receiving rays of sunshine from Aten. During this time, Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten in honor hos Aten. Nefertiti and members of the royal court also changed their names during his reign
.
(Map ca. 1290 b.c. green is Egypt, Red is Hetitt's) Context: The Hetittes was a great ancient empire that reached it's height during king Šuppiluliuma I reign. They were in a constant conflict with Egyptian Empire, Assyrian Empire and Mitanni for near land. So, fast-forward some years (ca. 1334 b.c.) Akhenaten dies. Some researchers have found proof that there was a female ruler during a short period before Tutankhamun rose to power ca 1332 b.c. This is believed to be Nefertiti. She was well suited to become pharaoh, but was not happy alone on the throne and had no male hair to the throne (she did give birth to 6 girls). A letter was sent to the Hetitt king Šuppiluliuma I from the Egyptian queen (This happening is often referred to as “The Zannanza Affair” or “Dakhamunzu”). The letters said; “My husband died. A son, I have not. But they say to you, sons are many. Give me one of your sons, and he shall become my husband. Never shall I pick a servant of mine and make him my husband. I am afraid
(Amarna letters, a part of which is telling Šuppiluliuma I's story about Dakhamanzu and her letters) Now, naturally the king Šuppiluliuma I was skeptical. The two nations had been at war for so long, it would not be natural to ask a favor like this. It was unprecedented, but the price was too big to ignore. Its reported in the Armana letters that the Hetitt king’s reaction was “Such a thing has never happened to me in my whole life”. The king sent a chamberlain to investigate if it truly was the queen’s words. He told the chamberlain “Go, and bring your true words back to me. Maybe they deceive me. Maybe in fact they do have a son of their lord.” Šuppiluliuma I wrapped up a siege and returned to his capital Hattusa where his chamberlain returned with an Egyptian messenger and a letter; “Why did you say “They deceive me” in that way? Had I a son, would I have written about my own and my country’s shame to a foreign land? You don’t believe me and have not spoken to me. My husband has died and a son I have not. Never shall I take a servant as my husband. I have written no other country, only you. They say your sons are many: so give me one. To me he will be husband, but to Egypt he will be king.”
(standing figurine of Nefertiti made of limestone) Šuppiluliuma I was still skeptical of the proposal and told the Egyptian messenger “You ask me to give you a son, as if it were my duty. He will in some way be a hostage, but a king you won’t make him”. After several letters and negotiation (and talk of a peace treaty), he did end up sending one of his sons, Zannanza. On his way to Egypt, he was murdered. The Hetittes blamed the Egyptians for the murder and attacked Anqu, drove the Egyptians from the city and returned the prisoners home to Hattusa.
(Huge and a little wierd statue of Šuppiluliuma I) The warrior king of Hetittes was brutally attacking the Egyptians settlements in Syria after the death of his son. The king blamed the Egyptians for the murder. Back in Egypt, Nefertiti was caught in a big high treasonous and scandalous lie; she had asked Egypt’s enemies for a son to become pharaoh. The priests, under the rule of Amenhotep IV, was more or less dismissed as the poeple had to pray to and through the royal couple and only to one god. Needless to say, priests and poeple where unhappy with the new reform. After compromising a lot for the royal couple, the priests sought their chance for revenge and charged the queen with treason.
And so, Nefertiti disappeared from records…This could be an explanation of why and how Tutankhamun had to step up to the throne only 9 years old. But, Tutankhamun died only 10 years later in battle. The death of the young pharaoh was sudden and -not- prepared for at all. There was no chamber, no treasure and no preparation done for this death. Research has come to show that a lot of the treasure found in his chamber was “leftovers” from other pharaohs, including Nefertiti. But the golden burial mask he is so famous for, was originally made for Nefertiti. Here are some of the arguments; 1) The gold on the headdress and the gold on the face are different. X-ray’s also shows small welds on the forehead and some other places. It’s likely that the face of the mask was redone for the young king. 2) A reigning pharaoh would never have earrings or even pierced ears. A pharaoh has never been depicted with pierced ears, a female has. This theory about the mask belongs to Nicholas Reeves, and he argues that because some of the burial gifts in the treasure chamber had her name scribbled over, it would link the female mask to her since she was the last royal female pharao and a mighty one too.
As far as we know, there is no burial chamber for the famous queen. Maybe because of her treason they didn’t bury her at all and reused her burial treasures for the young king Tut? Or that she gave him her burial treasure, and had her's made new. Not so long ago there has been theorized (and tested) that behind the burial chamber of Tutankhamun, lies a hidden chamber... So maybe we will soon get the answers to her sudden disappearance and if she truly was Dakhamunzu..
.
Take a read for some details of why we dont have the chamber answear still. I have tried not to be too detail oriented in this text to avoid confusion. So there are a lot more theories out there and a lot more fact and details to be considered. This is just my favorite mashup of theories involving the queen and boy king! (Well, a lot of what im talking about is not just theories but also proven facts...)
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق