Nefertari

Nefertari (also spelled as Nefertari or Nefertiti) was the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Ramesses II of the 19th Dynasty of ancient Egypt, who lived approximately from 1290 to 1254 BC. Her name means “beautiful companion,” “the most beautiful woman,” or “the best of women,” and she is generally considered to have been Ramesses II’s favorite queen. In the history of ancient Egypt, she is one of the most famous queens, second only to Cleopatra VII, Nefertiti, and Hatshepsut.

After her death, she was buried in the Valley of the Queens located south of Deir el-Bahri on the west bank of the Nile. Her tomb, designated QV66, is adorned with exquisite wall paintings.

In addition to Tiye, Nefertari was probably the only queen of ancient Egypt who was deified during her lifetime. In the complex of Abu Simbel temples, Ramesses II built a rock-cut temple not only for himself but also for her, dedicated to the goddess Hathor. However, in fact, royal women such as Yeyhemweset-Nefertari, Nefertiti, Queen Hatshepsut, and Tiye, who had long reigns during the 18th and 19th dynasties, were found to have related temples. Among them, Yeyhemweset-Nefertari was revered as the Lady of the West after her death, while Nefertiti was not embodied into a deity in the Aten religion, but Akhenaten surrounded a temple with her statues. This special temple belonged only to Nefertiti and her daughters, without any trace of pharaohs. However, this temple was destroyed as early as during the reign of Ramesses I. Similarly, the temple of Tiye, “the House of Tiye,” now only consists of ruins. Among these queens, Nefertari’s temple is undoubtedly the most well-preserved.