Fragmento de la estela N, casi completamente destruida a principios del siglo XX, debido a que se fragmentó para su venta , se conoce casi íntegra por el dibujo de Davis en 1900.
En esta representación se puede ver a Nefertiti con exagerados rasgos faciales característicos del tiempo del traslado a Amarna. A su lado se encuentra su hija,la princesa Meketatón, cuya cabecita ha sido destruida, pero aún puede apreciarse el esbozo de su largo vestido y el sistro que agita en su mano.

_________________

¿Smenkhara?…..encontrado en el taller de Tutmés.

Nefertiti adorando a Atón junto a una de sus hijas.

Fragmento de un talatat del templo de Luxor con la imagen de Nefertiti, y esta misma digitalizada.

http://www.amarna.es/fotografias/index.php?cat=3

Nefertiti, Brooklyn Museum, foto de Rick Menges.

http://egyptology.blogspot.com/2009/06/daily-photo-by-rick-menges_05.html

egiptomaniacos.top-forum.net/el-arte-en-el-an..

Defaced wall relief depicting Smenkhare and AkhenatonA

¿QUIEN FUE SMENKARA?

Anjjeperura Semenejkara,^[1] o Semenejkara,^[2] fue el más breve y enigmático faraón de la dinastía XVIII de Egipto, gobernando de c. 1338/6 a 1336/5 a. C.^[3]

Parece ser que su nombre de coronación fue Anj-Kheperu-Ra( “Vigorosa es el alma de Ra”), y su nombre de nacimiento Se-Men-Ej-Ka-Ra Dyeser-Kheperu, pero hay tantos datos confusos que quizás estemos ante una de las equivocaciones más grandes de la historia de la arqueología y lo estén confundiendo con uno, o incluso con más personajes, del difícil y más original periodo de la historia de Egipto: la época de Amarna.wIKIPEDIA

Contenido 1 Sobre su identidad 2 Titulatura 3 Notas 4 Véase también

Sobre su identidad

Semenejkara aparece a finales del reinado de Akhenatón (Amenhotep IV/Akenatón), convertido en corregente de este rey y siendo su sucesor durante un breve e indeterminado periodo de tiempo. Sin embargo, no se sabe casi nada de este personaje, y hay varias teorías acerca de su identidad.

Las dos más aceptadas son:

• Semenejkara PSIBLEMENTE, se cree que era un hijo del rey Amenhotep-Amenofis III y de una de sus grandes esposas reales, o bien Tiy o bien Sitamón. Era, por tanto, hermano de Akhenatón (Akenatón) y siguiendo esta teoría, también de Tutankhamón (Tutankamón). A él pertenecería el cuerpo hallado en la famosa tumba KV55, la tumba egipcia que más ríos de tinta ha hecho correr (aparte de la de Tutankhamón), cuya momia tiene la misma complexión y tipo de sangre que la de este último.

• Semenekkhara no era un hombre, sino una mujer. Dado que por aquel entonces las mujeres más cercanas a la familia real habían desaparecido, la candidata más firme a ser Semenejkara sería la reina Nefertiti (en ningún momento se dice que hubiera muerto), que como Hatshepsut años antes, habría tomado apariencia y títulos masculinos.
• Según esa teoría, el cuerpo de la tumba KV55 sería entonces el de Akhenatón.

Esta última teoría ha cobrado en los últimos años más adeptos, pues los estudios sobre la momia de la tumba KV55 han demostrado que el cuerpo era de un hombre, no de unos 25 años, sino de más de treinta años, lo que correspondería con Akhenatón. Además, no hay ni una sola mención de un príncipe llamado Semenejkara, y muchos de los títulos que tenía Nefertiti (consultar Neferneferuatón) fueron heredados por Semenejkara, lo que significaría según esta teoria, que serían la misma persona. No obstante, aún no hay nada seguro y, a la espera de nuevos descubrimientos, hay que seguir contemplando estas dos posibilidades.

La estela de la corregencia se encontró en Tell el-Amarna y presentaba tres figuras con sus nombres: Akhenatón, Nefertiti, y la princesa Merytaten la joven. Un estudio más a fondo ha obligado a cambiar los nombres: Nefertiti se ha substituido por Ankhkeperure Neferneferuaton, y el de Merytaten por el de Ankhesenpaaten; pero esto no permite asegurar, ni mucho menos, nada definitivo sobre una eventual corregencia de Nefertiti bajo el nombre de Semenehkara (el nombre de trono del cual recordamos que fue Ankheperura).

Uno de los datos a favor de que Semenejkara fuera varón era que tenía su Gran Esposa Real, que era la primogénita del rey Amenofis IV, Meritatón, heredera legítima del trono a falta de varones. No tendría mucho sentido que madre e hija se casaran ritualmente pero, dado que todas las reinas-faraones anteriores a Nefertiti habían sido de linaje real y no habían necesitado legitimar su función, quizás este matrimonio simbólico fuera hecho para justificar el ascenso al trono de Nefertiti, que no era hija de faraón.
El lugar de heredera femenina fue ocupado por su hermana Ankhesenpaten, que se casó (o estaba casada) con el joven Tutankhamón.

También se ha querido ver una clara relación afectiva entre Akhenatón y su corregente. Ideas de una posible bisexualidad del rey no tendrían ningún sentido si se demostrase que Semenejkara no era más que la “esposa” por excelencia del rey; de ahí el título último de Semenehkara: Amado de Akhenatón.

Se ignora cuál fue la postura de Semenekhkara en cuanto a la difícil situación que atravesaba el país: Akhenatón había prohibido, e incluso condenado, el culto deAmó , las fronteras estaban debilitándose a pasos agigantados, los hititas amenazaban conquistar el territorio egipcio, la pobreza aumentaba… Quizás sea una pista que el nombre de Semenekhkara no incluyese el nombre de Atón sino el de Ra, y que el corregente, viendo que la situación había ido muy lejos, se plantease devolver las aguas a su cauce.

Parece ser que cuando murió Akhenatón hubo un tiempo en el que Semenekhkara reinó en solitario. Se ha pensado que llegó incluso a mantener conversaciones con el clero de Amón. En su tercer año de corregencia, Semenejkara escribió a un sacerdote de Amón de Tebas sugiriendo que no querría ser enterrado en Amarna sino en el Valle de los Reyes. Es muy probable que no tuviese fe en la creencia de su probable padre Ajenaton y es posible que hasta se plantease dejar para siempre el sueño de Ajenatón y regresar con toda la corte a Tebas. Sea como fuere, el reinado de Semenekhkara fue muy breve y aproximadamente en un año y medio había desaparecido por completo de la historia y con él, la gran esposa real Meritatón. Había un nuevo rey, el niño Tutankhamón, que sería posiblemente, el hijo de Akhenatón y de una esposa secundaria de nombre Kiya.

Los seguidores de la teoría de Nefertiti-Semenekhkara han querido ver en la falta de datos sobre el reinado del fantasmal corregente el eco de una gravísima traición, conocida como el caso de Dahamunzu, según el cual Nefertiti habría pedido en matrimonio a un príncipe hitita. La conjura fue descubierta y la traidora debidamente eliminada.

Sin embargo, una vez más, el misterio sigue rodeando todo esto. Habrá que esperar algún tiempo más hasta que los sugerentes nombres de Akhenatón, Nefertiti, Semenekhkara, Meritatón y Tutanjamón nos digan algo más.

Wikipedia en ingles

Names

Many of the questions and uncertainties surrounding Akhenaten’s co-regent and successor revolve around the names attested for this individual (or individuals). There appear two closely similar yet distinct sets of names in the records available for the late Amarna period, these are:^[6]

• Ankhkheprure+epithet Neferneferuaten+epithet (sometimes transliterated as Nefernefruaten)
• Ankhkheprure Smenkhkare Djeserkheperu

Both these sets are written in two cartouches. The epithets in the former name-set are desired of Neferkheprure/Waenre (i.e. Akhenaten). The first set of names also sometimes appears in feminine form as Ankhetkheprure Neferneferuaten and sometimes the epithet for the nomen is then replaced by beneficial to her husband. The former set of names appears to be earlier and the association of these names with Akhenaten seems more substantial than is the case for the latter set. Both names are associated with Meritaten as great royal wife^[7]. Both sets of names are only poorly attested. To date, no objects other than a wine jar label, six royal seals bearing the names of Ankhkheprure Smenkhkare Djeserkheperu are known and only one named depiction of Smenkhkare along with Meritaten (in the tomb of Meryre II) are known. Some objects with the names of Ankhkheprure Neferneferuaten were reused in the burial of Tutankhamun (see below) and the female variant of these names appears on faience ring bezels.

Because of the presence of the feminine Ankhetkheperure Neferneferuaten the old view that there was only one, male, individual involved who first acted as Akhenaten’s co-regent under the name Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten and, after the death of Akhenaten, succeeded him under the name Ankhkheperure Smenkhkare is now generally discarded. However, several theories have been proposed to accommodate the presence of a woman:

To some the shared prenomen, function and queen indicate that there is only one person associated with these different names and therefore they seek to identify this individual as a female member of the royal family^[8]. Others, based on the feminine variety of the Neferneferuaten name on the one hand and the identification of the body in KV55 as that of Smenkhkare (see below), see evidence for two distinct individuals, one female and the other male^[9][10][11]. It must be noted however that there is disagreement as to which names belong to each individual (see below).

Identity

Those who see only evidence for one, female co-regent and successor of Akhenaten identify this individual with Nefertiti, drawing attention to the fact that Akhenaten’s co-regent’s name Neferneferuaten is also an epithet bestowed on Nefertiti earlier on in the Amarna period. They also point out that Nefertiti disappears from view around the same time that Akhenaten’s co-regent first appears. And lastly they see further evidence for Nefertiti’s elevation to kingly status in the Coregency Stela and several other, unfinished stelae, such as the Pase stela (depicting two figures wearing crowns who are nevertheless identified as a king and queen by the three uniscribed cartouches) and the Berlin 25574 stela (depicting Akhenaten and Nefertiti but with an extra, fourth, cartouche added to indicate two kings rather than a king and queen), and in a scene in Meryre II’s tomb in which the figures of Akhenaten and Nefertiti are virtually superimposed over each other (which is interpreted as indicating the oneness of their co-rule). In short, a clear sequence of changing names and functions is suggested: from queen Nefertiti, who later becomes queen Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti, over co-regent Ankhkheprure Neferneferuaten to successor Ankhkheprure Smenkhkare Djeserkheperu^[12].

On the other hand, those who identify both a female and male co-regent/successor assume Nefertiti predeceased her husband, based on two fragmentary shabti figures inscribed for her as queen (which might however be votive offerings parralled by similar figurines of Tiye found in the tomb of Amenhotep III and ushabti figures were normally placed in a tomb prior to its owner’s death^[13]) . As a consequence they identify the female Ankhetkheperure as either Meritaten, who is then assumed to have succeeded her deceased husband Smenkhkare^[14][15], or as Akhenaten and Nefertiti’s fourth daughter Neferneferuaten Tasherit, who is then seen as Akhenaten’s co-regent before the sole rule of Smenkhkare^[16]. The male Smenkhkare is seen by them as an older close relative of Tutankhamun and both are usually seen as either sons or sons-in-law of Akhenaten. As was already noted above, the variously attested names are distributed differently between these two individuals: some researchers distinguish between a female Ankhetkheperure Neferneferuaten and a male Ankhkheperure Smenkhkare/Neferneferuaten^[17], while others distinguish between a female Ankhetkheperure/Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten and a male Ankhkheperure Smenkhkare^[18][19].

There is also a theory that Smenkhkare was Akhenaten’s male lover as well as co-regent, due to images found where a male (believed to be Smenkhkare) was depicted beside Akhenaten in a very similar manner to how Nefertiti was shown in earlier records. Some believe that the figure is meant to be Nefertiti, or one of his daughters who took the place of her mother in the religious and political hierarchy due the necessity of both roles in Atenism (after the theoretical death of Nefertiti), but the manner in which the figure is dressed is not typical of how the females in Akhenaten’s family were depicted, and is in fact far more similar to Akhenaten’s own garments.

Reign

Length of reign

The sole regnal date (year 1) attested for Smenkhkare comes from a jar label for wine from the house of Smenkhkare, this date might however refer either to the reign of Smenkhkare or that of Tutankhamun^[20]. The highest known date for Ankhkheprure Neferneferuaten, regnal year 3, is attested in a graffiti in the Theban tomb of Pairi (TT139)^[21]. It is however unclear whether this refers to a sole rule or a co-regency.

It is further noted that Manetho‘s kinglists includes three 18th dynasty rulers named Akenkeres (which might be identified as a Greek rendering of Ankhkheprure), one of which is identified as a king’s daughter who ruled for twelve years and a month. It has been pointed out that both the repetition of names and the attested length of reign might be due to corruptions^[22] .

Finally it is also possible that the sole rule of Smenkhkare coincided with the beginning of Tutankhamun’s reign^[23].

Politics

Virtually nothing is known about the politics of Akhenaten’s co-regent/successor. It might however be noted that the TT139 graffiti mentioned above makes reference to an active Amun-priesthood, practising in the temple of Ankhkheprure Neferneferuaten (possibly this individual’s mortuary temple). This could indicate a first step towards an agreement between the Atenist and traditional religions which would be further consolidated during the reign of Tutankhamun^[24].

Dakhamunzu

The Hittite annals known as The Deeds of Suppiluliuma informs us how an Egyptian queen named Dakhamunzu, the widow of her recently deceased husband Niphururiya and without sons, asks the Hittite king Suppiluliama to send her one of his own sons to be her husband and king of Egypt and how, after further negotiations, a Hittite prince (Zannanza) is send to Egypt, only to be murdered en route there^[25]. The synchronisation of Hittite and Egyptian chronologies is unclear, but it is certain that the recounted episode must have happened in the late 18th Dynasty of Egypt (i.e. the late Amarna period and its immediate aftermath)^[26]. The correct identification of the individuals involved in this episode could therefore possibly cast light on some of the questions surrounding Akhenaten’s co-regent and successor.

It is now generally assumed that Dakhamunzu is a Hittite rendering of the Egyptian title ta hemet nesu - the king’s wife - rather than the name of a queen. Unfortunately the name of this queen’s husband, Niphururiya, might equally be a rendering of the prenomen of either Akhenaten (Neferkheprure) or Tutankhamun (Nebkheprure)^[27]. Traditionally identification with the latter is prefered and consequentially Dakhamunzu is identified with his widow Ankhesenamun (later married to her servant Ay). Studies of the chronology of the event suggest however that Akhenaten would be a more likely candidate for Nibhururiya^[28][29] in which case the account in the Hittite annals can be seen as either evidence for Nefertiti’s continuing importance during the late-Amarna period (in the guise of Smenkhkare) or for Meritaten’s role as Akhenaten’s co-regent^[30]. In the former case it is assumed that Tutankhamun supplanted Nefertiti on the throne after the murder of Zannanza, in the latter case it is believed that Meritaten was afterwards forced to marry her servant Smenkhkare although the possible identification of Zannanza as Smenkhkare is also suggested^[31].

Burial

Evidence relating to the burial(s) of Akhenaten’s co-regent(s) and possible successor(s) might be found in two different tombs, both located in the Valley of the Kings

KV 55

As pointed out above, the reason some scholars distinguish between a male and female co-regent/successor of Akhenaten rests on the identification of the KV55 mummy as that of Smenkhkare. This identification is based on anatomical evidence indicating that the KV55 body is that of a normal male, serologically tested with tutankhamun, coming to the conclusion this mummy and tutankhamun are cosely related, either father and son or brothers. both mummies share the same rare blood type. the k.v.55 mummy has an estimated age of death around twenty to twenty five years, which is seen as being far too young for Akhenaten himself^[32]. However, this identification remains problematic in view of the archaeological and inscriptional evidence in this tomb, both of which suggest the body interred in KV55 was that of Akhenaten^[33][34].

Because of this the correctness of the age estimates has been repeatedly called into question^{[35][36][37][38]}. An opinion which might find support in the latest analysis of the skeletal remains, indicating an age of death around 35 years (based on dentition) or even later (based on anthropological standards and new X-rays of the long bones)^{[39] [40]}. it must be remembered, that it is very difficult dating a mummies age, and there are many differing opinions on the legitimacy of dating techniques. recent opinion of the mummies’ identity being akhenaten is called into question. the mummy shows signs of not reaching full maturity, whereas other parts are said to have become fully mature. we may never be able to prove the age of this mummy at death, but it is probable that the ancient Egyptians who buried (and later desecrated) the body in KV55 believed this to be Akhenaten’s^[41].

[edit] KV62

Other than a fragmentary box bearing the names of Akhenaten, Meritaten and Ankhkheprure Neferneferuaten which was found by Howard Carter outside Tutankhamun’s tomb^[42], several funerary items originally made for Neferneferuaten were found in this king’s tomb. The most notable of these usurpations are the mummy bands and the canopic coffins^[43]. It has also been noted that the features of the canopic stoppers and the second coffin do not resemble those of Tutankhamun and it has been suggested that these too had originally been intended for Akhenaten’s co-regent^[44].

These objects indicate that this individual’s original burial must have been substantial and impressive. More importantly however, it must be noted that all these items are purely traditional in nature. Further evidence for this might be seen in the TT139 graffiti mentioned above^[45].

[edit] See also

• History of ancient Egypt
• Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt Family Tree

[edit] Further reading

• Aldred, C., Akhenaten, King of Egypt (Thames & Hudson, 1988).
• Reeves, C.N., Akhenaten, Egypt’s False Prophet (Thames & Hudson, 2001).

[edit] References

1. ^ Clayton,P., Chronicle of the Pharaohs (Thames and Hudson, 2006) p.120
2. ^ Clayton,P., Chronicle of the Pharaohs (Thames and Hudson, 2006) p.120
3. ^ Allen, J.P., “The Amarna Succession”, Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane, p.1
4. ^ Reeves, C.N., Akhenaten, Egypt’s False Prophet (Thames&hudson, 2001) p. 162
5. ^ Allen, J.P., “The Amarna Succession”, Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane, p.1
6. ^ Allen, J.P., “The Amarna Succession”, Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane, pp. 1-2
7. ^ Allen, J.P., “The Amarna Succession”, Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane, p.2
8. ^ Reeves, C.N., Akhenaten, Egypt’s false Prophet (Thames and Hudson pp172-173
9. ^ Dodson, A. and Hilton,D., The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt: A Genealogical Sourcebook of the Pharaohs (Thames & Hudson, 2004)
10. ^ Allen, J.P., “The Amarna Succession”, Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane
11. ^ Hornung, E., Krauss, R. and Warburton, D. (editors), Handbook of Ancient Egyptian Chronology (Brill, 2006)
12. ^ Reeves, C.N., Akhenaten, Egypt’s false Prophet (Thames and Hudson) pp165-173
13. ^ Osman, Ahmed, “Moses and Akhenaten” (Bear and Co. 2002) p.138
14. ^ Dodson, p.207 & 285, n.111
15. ^ Hornung, E., Krauss, R. and Warburton, D. (editors), Handbook of Ancient Egyptian Chronology (Brill, 2006)
16. ^ Allen, J.P., “The Amarna Succession”, Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane
17. ^ Hornung, E., Krauss, R. and Warburton, D. (editors), Handbook of Ancient Egyptian Chronology (Brill, 2006)
18. ^ Allen, J.P., “The Amarna Succession”, Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane
19. ^ Gabolde, M., “Under a Deep Blue Starry Sky”, Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane
20. ^ Allen, J.P., “The Amarna Succession”, Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane
21. ^ Allen, J.P., “The Amarna Succession”, Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane
22. ^ Hornung, E., Krauss, R. and Warburton, D. (editors), Handbook of Ancient Egyptian Chronology (Brill, 2006) p.207
23. ^ Reeves, C.N., Akhenaten, Egypt’s false Prophet (Thames and Hudson) p. 180
24. ^ Reeves, C.N., Akhenaten, Egypt’s false Prophet (Thames and Hudson) pp. 164-165
25. ^ Reeves, C.N., Akhenaten, Egypt’s false Prophet (Thames and Hudson) pp. 175-176
26. ^ McMurray, W. Towards an Absolute Chronology for Ancient Egypt, p.5
27. ^ Reeves, C.N., Akhenaten, Egypt’s false Prophet (Thames and Hudson) p. 165
28. ^ McMurray, W. Towards an Absolute Chronology for Ancient Egypt, p.5
29. ^ Reeves, C.N., Akhenaten, Egypt’s false Prophet (Thames and Hudson) pp. 176-177
30. ^ McMurray, W. Towards an Absolute Chronology for Ancient Egypt, p.5
31. ^ McMurray, W. Towards an Absolute Chronology for Ancient Egypt, p.5
32. ^ Aldred, C., Akhenaten, King of Egypt (Thames and Hudson, 1988) pp. 201-202
33. ^ Davis, T.M., The Tomb of Queen Tiyi, (KMT Communications. 1990), p.v and following
34. ^ Bell, M.R., “An Armchair Excavation of KV 55″, JARCE 27 (1990), p. 134
35. ^ Aldred, C., Akhenaten, King of Egypt (Thames and Hudson, 1988) p. 202
36. ^ Reeves, C.N., The Valley of the Kings (Kegan Paul, 1990) p. 49
37. ^ Bell, M.R., “An Armchair Excavation of KV 55″, JARCE 27 (1990) pp. 135
38. ^ Gabolde, M., “Under a Deep Blue Starry Sky”, Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane
39. ^ Reeves, C.N, Akhenaten, Egypt’s False Prophet (Thames and Hudson, 2001) p. 84
40. ^ Fletcher, Joann, The Search for Nefertiti (William Morrow, 2004) p.180
41. ^ Bell, M.R., “An Armchair Excavation of KV 55″, JARCE 27 (1990) pp. 135
42. ^ Allen, J.P., “The Amarna Succession”, Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane, p.2
43. ^ Reeves, C.N., The Valley of the Kings (Kegan Paul, 1990) p. 60
44. ^ Reeves, C.N., Akhenaten, Egypt’s False Prophet (Thames and Hudson, 2001) p. 179
45. ^ Reeves, C.N., Akhenaten, Egypt’s False Prophet (Thames and Hudson, 2001) p. 179

Neferneferuaten

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Neferneferuaten
Pharaoh of Egypt
Reign	1335–1333 BC, 18th Dynasty
Predecessor	Akhenaten or Smenkhkare
Successor	Tutankhamun
Royal titulary[show] Prenomen: Ankhkheperure Meryt-Waenre Living are the Manifestations of Re[1] Beloved of Waenre [Akhenaten][2] Nomen: Neferneferuaten Perfect One of the Aten’s Perfection
Consort(s)	Smenkhkare
Died	1333 BC

Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten was a woman who reigned as pharaoh toward the end of the Amarna era during the Eighteenth Dynasty. The royal succession of this period is very unclear. Manetho‘s Epitome, an ancient historical source written in Egypt during the third century B.C., mentions a certain Akenkeres who was a “King’s daughter” and ruled Egypt for twelve years and one month.^[3] This information is confirmed by the rare epithet, “Effective for her husband”, which was used to refer to her in Egyptian records.^[4][5]

The epithet establishes that a female king, who was the daughter of a king (presumably Akhenaten), assumed power as pharaoh toward the end of the Amarna era. Akenkeres or Achencheres is probably the Greek form of her prenomen, Ankh[et]kheperure, as Rolf Krauss and Marc Gabolde have previously argued.^[6]

Manetho places her immediately before a certain Rathothis who ruled Egypt for nine years. This later king must be equated with Tutankhamun, who is attested by several Year 10 hieratic wine jar dockets from his tomb and, hence, enjoyed a minimum reign of nine full years.^[7][8] With the removal of a spurious decade from the original twelve year figure, Neferneferuaten would have ruled Egypt for two years and one month which conforms well with a long Year 3 graffito attested for her in the Theban Tomb of Pere (TT139).^[9] The first section of this graffito reads as:

“

“Year 3, 3rd month of the Inundation, day 10. The king of Upper and Lower Egypt, lord of the Two Lands, Ankhkheprure - beloved of Aten, son of Re Nefereneferuaten beloved of Waenre (Akhenaten) … Giving praise to Amun, kissing the ground before Onnophris by the wab-priest and scribe of divine offerings of Amun in the temple of Ankhkheprure in Thebes, Pawah, born to Itefseneb.”[10]

”

Neferneferuaten is thus attested in her third regnal year by Pawah, who served as a minor priest of the god Amun, whose religious establishment had been persecuted during the reign of Akhenaten, her father. This implies that she had already reached an accommodation with the Amun priesthood in her short reign even prior to the start of Tutankhamun’s kingship.

[edit] Conjecture about identity and gender

The precise identity of this female Pharaoh whose praenomen is Ankhkheprure remains a mystery. The set of royal names associated with Neferneferuaten is Ankhetkheperure Neferneferuaten…with the feminine ‘t’, a queen who rose to the throne of Egypt. She was likely either Meritaten, Smenkhkare’s co-regent or great royal wife^[11] or Neferneferuaten Tasherit, perhaps, the fourth daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, as James P. Allen suggests in ‘The Amarna Succession’^[12] rather than Nefertiti ruling as Smenkhkare as some assert. A funerary shabti of Nefertiti was found at Amarna in the 1980s and showed that Nefertiti died and was buried as only a Queen or ‘King’s Wife’ rather than as a pharaoh in her own right.^[13] If Neferneferuaten was Meritaten, the latter may have succeeded her short-lived co-regent Smenkhkare on the throne for two years. Various Egyptologists today agree that this ruler was a woman who was different from the male king Ankheperure Smenkhkare due to the feminine royal epithet’s attached to her name. The epithet ‘desired of Waenre’ (ie: Akhenaten) in Neferneferuaten’s nomen is occasionally replaced with the feminine term “Effective for her husband.”^[14] This proves that Neferneferuaten was a woman - and not the male king Smenkhkare whose mummy is believed to have been found in KV55. Her throne name Ankhkheperure occasionally is written in the feminine form Ankhetkheperure, with the feminine form “t”. This may suggest that Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten was Meritaten-the spouse and immediate predecessor of her husband Ankhkheperure Smenkhkare although this remains to be proven.^[15]

Another candidate for this female ruler is princess Neferneferuaten Tasherit (ie. Neferneferuaten Junior), Akhenaten and Nefertiti’s fourth daughter who shared the same birth name as this king.^[16] The British Egyptologist Aidan Dodson-in the Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt - writes that “the latest evidence seems to point to a male king Smenkhkare, [being] succeeded by a woman named Neferneferuaten” who was probably Meritaten.^[17] In a footnote to his comments, Dodson writes that the new conclusive evidence concerning the female gender of Neferneferuaten “makes impossible” his previous published eighteenth dynasty genealogical reconstruction which “viewed Smenkhkare and Neferneferuaten as [being] one and the same.”^[18]

A fragmentary stela from Amarna, now known as the Coregency Stela, adds more evidence as well as more confusion on the situation.^{[citation needed]} The stela originally portrayed three figures, identified as Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and Meritaten. However, at some time after the stela was made, Nefertiti’s name had been chiselled out and replaced with the royal name Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten, and Meritaten’s name had been replaced with that of Akhenaten and Nefertiti’s third daughter, Ankhesenpaaten. Why Nefertiti’s clearly feminine figure would be renamed with a throne name is still debated to this day, as is the reason for Meritaten’s replacement by Ankhesenpaaten. Some suggest the fact that a man named Smenkhkare appears in the public record about the same time that Nefertiti disappeared, but was still portrayed as having performed the rites reserved for the heir to the throne at Akhenaten’s funeral, indicates that Smenkhkare and Nefertiti were the same person. However, the body of the KV55 Amarna king has been consistently proven to be that of a young male who was between eighteen to twenty-two years old when he died; this ruler here can only be the Smenkhkare who is attested as king in the tomb of Meryre II alongside his Queen Meritaten.^[19]

Another source asserts that since we know that both Akhenaten and later Smenkhkare were pharaohs when Meritaten held the title of “Great Royal Wife”-the theory that Smenkhkare was Nefertiti is untenable since Smenkhkare was a male ruler. If Nefertiti did become the pharaoh, she would have needed someone to serve as the great royal wife in temple and official ceremonies alongside the pharaoh.

Significantly, Amarna Letter 11 calls Meritaten the ‘mistress’ of the royal house; such a designation could only have been accorded to Meritaten if her mother, Nefertiti, had died and she had been selected to be Akhenaten’s next chief wife instead.^[20] Furthermore since Manetho’s Epitome specifically records that a ‘king’s daughter’, Akenkeres, had succeeded her father in the late eighteenth dynasty, this was evidently a reference to Neferneferuaten’s feminine prenomen Ankh(et)kheperure and must be an allusion to the fact that Akhenaten was succeeded by one of his daughters rather than by his wife Nefertiti who may have predeceased him.

[edit] A problematic succession

While the identity of Akenkheres as a female king is now generally accepted in the Egyptological community, the Amarna succession remains problematic. Some Egyptologists, including Aidan Dodson (in the above cited example), view her as Meritaten, Smenkhkare’s spouse. In this interpretation, Meritaten would have succeeded to the throne as Neferneferuaten-using part of her mother Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti’s titles-after the short-lived reign of her husband Smenkhkare. This would account for her position before Rathothis (ie. Tutankhamun) in Manetho’s Epitome.

In contrast, other scholars maintain that the ruler Neferneferuaten is strongly linked with Akhenaten-in which case, she would have been Akhenaten’s wife and co-regent before ruling Egypt for two years-part of which is subsumed in the co-regency with the former-before dying or marrying Smenkhkare. In this situation (which Allen supports), Neferneferuaten would merely have intervened between the rule of Akhenaten and Smenkhkare.^[21] The implications here is that Smenkhkare was the direct predecessor of Tutankhamun instead.

It should be noted that a third regnal year is attested at Amarna on vessels for certain goods which cannot belong to Akhenaten who only established his new capital city of Akhetaten in his fifth regnal year as the earliest dated boundary stela of this city reveals.^[22] As Erik Hornung writes:

A regnal year 3 is…attested at Amarna in the labels on vessels for various commodities. Year 3 continues year 1 and 2 of King ‘Ankhkheprure’ as labels of year 2 and 3 belonging to a single delivery of olive oil prove (Helck, Untersuchungen, 88-89). There are only three wine jar labels of year 3 which cannot represent a complete vintage, because the yearly mean of wine jar labels is fifty to sixty. The disproportion is explicable if the change in regnal year 2 to 3 occurred during the sealing of the wine jars. Thus King ‘Ankhkheprure’ would have counted a reign from a day in ca. II Akhet (Krauss, MDOG, 129, 1997), which may have coincided with the occurrence of Akhenaten’s death.^[23]

It is uncertain if the Ankhkheprure mentioned here was Smenkhkare or Neferneferuaten; Hornung selects the former option based on the traditional view that Smenkhkare directly succeeded Akhenaten. (something which is disputed by other scholars) However, the Year 3 dates for this pharaoh establish that one of these two kings enjoyed a full two year reign at Akhetaten.

References

http://www.narmer.pl/indexen.htm

1324 - 1321 1351-1348 (Hornung, Parker) 1355 (Redford) 1346-1343 (Dodson) 1342-1340 (Aldred, Kitchen) 1338-1336 (Málek, Grimal, Shaw)) 1338-1335 (von Beckerath) 1336-1334 (Wente) 1336-1332 (Murnane, Krauss) 1324-1319 (Helck)	Semenkhkare … … … … … … anx-xprw-ra (mri-wa-n-ra , mrinfr-xprw-ra) nfr-nfrw-itn (mri-wa-n-ra , mri-Ax-n-itn) , smnx-kA-ra (Dsr-xprw)
	anx-xprw-ra Ankhkheperwre (Living Are The Manifestation Of Re)
	smnx-kA-ra Dsr-xprw Semenkhkare Djoserkheperw (Vigorous Is The Soul Of Re ; Holy Of Manifestations)
	nfr-nfrw-itn (mri-wa-n-ra) Neferneferuaten Meriwaenre (Beautiful Is Beauty of Aten ; Beloved Of Dearest Of Re

One of the most controversial characters in Egyptian history. Experts in the subject created many theories to light up darkness of that period. According to one of the hypotheses he might have been son of Amenhotep III and princess Sitamun and half-brother and successor of Akhenaten. It is also possible he was co-regent in last years of Akhenaten’s rule. According to various scholars Semenkhkare might have ruled from 2 to 5 years. Some believe that he died shortly before Akhenaten, aged 25. There is hypothesis that Semenkhkare was father of Tutankhamen. According to C. Aldred of Scotland, the most outstanding experts on those times, Semenhkare and Tutankhamun were brothers. With high reliability it can be said that mummy found in 1907 by T. Davies in KV55 tomb in the Valley of the Kings was mummy of Semenkhkare. As the blood groups of both mummies were the same this fact would additionally confirm that they were close relatives and thus Aldred’s hypothesis seems to be very likely. Certainly Semenkhkare was husband of one of Ekhnaten’s daughters, the princess Merytaten. According to R. Krauss she might have held rule single-handed through a year after Akhenaten’s death. By marriage with her Semenkhkare reinforced his rights to the throne. The belief that Semenkhkare was co-regent of Akhenaten for a couple of years is recently the most popular. It is also possible that they were in much closer relations