Who Was Nefertari ?

Photo by Hedwig Storch, distributed under a CC license.

Nerfertari (not to be confused with Nefertiti), was the first wive and Queen to Ramses II (Also known as Ramses the Great) .The name Nefertari means “Beautiful Companion”.

She was born in 1291 BC and died in 1256 BC.

Nefertari held an incredible range of titles during her life time. Some of them include.

Great of Praises
Sweet of love
Lady of Grace
The one for whom the sun shines (Probably the one she is mostly remembered by)

When you consider that Ramses II had over 200 wives ,96 sons and 60 daughters, Nefertari must have been truly special for him.

She was so special that she was included within the amazing temple of Abu Simbel along side Ramses. Her presence didn’t stop there, she is also depicted in Luxor and Karnak.

Eventually Ramses himself commissioned the construction of a tomb dedicated to her. As most of the tombs, it was robbed in antiquity. In 1904 it was rediscovered and excavated by Ernesto Schiaparelli.
The beauty and majesty of this tomb can be admired to this day.