Nefertiti

Nefertiti, ancient Egyptian queen who was the chief wife of Akhenaton, the pharaoh of Egypt, with whom she initiated many religious, artistic, and cultural changes. Nefertiti may have exercised the priestly office, a position normally reserved for kings.

Akhenaton, who reigned from about 1353 to 1337 bc, only permitted the cult of the sun god, Aten, of whom Nefertiti was a devoted worshipper. In the 12th year of Ahkenaton's reign, Nefertiti apparently fell from favour and was supplanted by Meritaten, one of her six daughters.

A painted limestone bust of Nefertiti is one of the great works of art surviving from ancient Egypt and is now in the Staatliche Museum in Berlin, Germany. The Amarna letters, which are inscribed cuneiform tablets from the period of Akhenaton's reign, along with other inscriptions and reliefs, also indicate Nefertiti's fame.