Nefertiti's Disgrace |
It is believed that one possible cause for the disappearance of Nefertiti is that she had fallout with her husband the pharaoh Akhenaten. It is said that after disgracing him Akhenaten banished Nefertiti from Egypt and she is never heard of again.There has also been a suggestion that as Nefertiti was unable to produce a son therefore leaving no heir Akhenaten dismissed her as his wife and looked else ware.
“it has been argued that towards the end of Akhenaten’s reign, Nefertiti fell from grace and moved to her own place at Armana” Lawless, personalities from the past. |
Death due to natural causes |
It is also believed that Nefertiti simply died due to natural causes as illness and death at a young age was very common in Ancient Egypt.
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Marriage to foreign King |
There is also evidence of an Egyptian Queen attempting to save the throne by marring a foreign king; this is also believed to have been Nefertiti. A stone tablet written sometime during the Amarna period records the death of the king. This tablet was sent to the Hittites and it requested the king to send a son to Egypt so she could be married. The request was said to be
urgent as she did not wish to marry a servant, the king of the Hittites sent
a son however this son was killed on his journey to marry the queen.
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Co-regent |
It is also suggested that Nefertiti became co-regent to Akhenaten under another name. Nefertiti was said to have been co-regent with Akhenaten throughout his reign however, when she disappeared from history a new co-regent is recorded, Smenkhkare. It has been said as the identity of Smenkhkare is relatively unknown that perhaps this new ruler was in fact Nefertiti and like her predecessor Hatshepsut she dressed and took on the persona of a male to be accepted as pharaoh.
“It has been argued that Akhenaten already badly affected by his debilitating ‘disease’, had formed a homosexual relationship successor thus causing the split with Nefertiti…. Another [scene] showing the loving relationship between Akhenaten and Nefertiti as co-rulers” Lawless, personalities of the past |