Queen Nefertari is said to have been a Nubian queen from 1292 to 1225 B.C, although other sources say they do not know her origins. She is known to have been highly educated and able to both read and write hieroglyphs, rare skills for her time, which she used in diplomatic work, corresponding with other prominent royals of the time.
Some say she married for peace, her marriage to Ramses II beginning strictly as a political move, a sharing of power between two leaders that led to an armistice between Nubia and Egypt that lasted 100 years. Others say she married Ramses before he became king.
Egyptian Queen Nefertari playing senet, one of the world’s earliest known board games; a
While her motives are unknown, what we know for sure is that Ramses loved her deeply. She is known to have even accompanied Ramses on military campaigns, an exercise that was rare during the time. The Great king also had monuments built in her honor. In fact, Ramesses built a temple for her at Abu Simbel, one of the largest and most beautiful structures in Egypt.
Although pharaohs always depicted themselves as larger than the statues of their queens, Ramses did not: he made two colossal statues of the queen and four of Ramses II were carved on the front of the temple all in the same size.
4 statues of Ramses and 2 of Nefertari at Temple
Ramses also called her the most beautiful names: Great of Praises (wrt-hzwt), Sweet of Love (bnrt-mrwt), Lady of Grace (nbt-im3t), Great King’s Wife (hmt-niswt-wrt), his beloved (hmt-niswt-wrt meryt.f), Lady of The Two Lands (nbt-t3wy), Lady of all Lands (hnwt-t3w-nbw), Wife of the Strong Bull (hmt-k3-nxt), god’s Wife (hmt-ntr), Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt (hnwt-Shm’w-mhw). Sweetly, ‘The one for whom the sun shines’.
Above all, Nefertari’s exquisite tomb is sometimes referred to as the ‘Sistine Chapel of Ancient Egypt’ and is considered one of the jewels of Egyptian funerary monuments. It is one of the most magnificently decorated tombs ever to be discovered in Egypt.