It was a joyful reunion, this of the elder queen with her son and his family, an occasion never to be forgotten in their domestic annals, and we may imagine how the story was handed down from generation to generation. The day when grandmother, or great-grandmother came and saw the new temple and new city. Loved and honored Queen Tyi probably settled down with or near her son and his wife, enjoying to the full the kindly family life and seeing as had her mother-in-law before her the grandchildren gather around. Perhaps she regretted that no son was born to succeed his father, for King Khu-n-aten had daughters only, but her life had been a full and happy one and she had enjoyed the blessing, accorded to but few, of seeing her heart’s dearest wishes fulfilled. What more could she ask?
Whether she passed away in Khu-aten, or Tel-el-Amarna, we do not know, but if the former was the case a long mourning procession, attended with every honor, must have borne her inanimate form preserved in the highest style of the embalmer’s art, back to Thebes, for there in the Tombs of the Queens her last resting place has been found. These tombs are at the end of a valley, which extends for nearly a mile to the west of the temple of Medinet Habu, that of Tyi is said to be among the most perfect. The valley which leads to the tombs has bare and lofty limestone cliffs on either side, which are covered with inscriptions; it is not so familiar as some other places in Egypt, not being very easy of access. More than twenty tombs in various stages of completion have been discovered, some of them mere caves with their records often made not in the solid stone, but in plaster. Queen Tyi’s tomb consists of an ante-chamber, passages, a chapel, and small chambers, all more or less decorated with paintings. At the entrance, on either side, is Maat, the goddess of Truth, with extended wings, to protect those who come in. There are various pictures of the gods and of Queen Tyi, in one of which she prays to them, seated at a banquet table.
Of these tombs Curtis says, “The sculpture and paintings are gracious and simple. They are not graceful, but suggest the grace and repose which the ideal of female life requires. In the graceful largeness and simplicity of the character of the decoration it seems as if the secret or reverence for womanly character and influence, which was to be later revealed was instinctively suggested by those who knew them not. The cheerful yellow hues of the walls and their exposure to the day, the warm silence of the hills, seclusion, and the rich luminous landscape in the vista of the steep valley, make these tombs pleasant pavilions of memory.”
CHAPTER THIRTEENTH.
NEFERTITI.
Before the death of Amenophis III he seems to have adopted the frequent Egyptian habit of associating his son with him on the throne, though the latter was probably young, as Queen Tyi appears to have acted as regent after her husband’s death. Also, at the time of his death, the father was negotiating for a marriage between his heir and a Mitannian princess, the same country from which had come Queen Tyi herself, and the wife of Thothmes IV. That the existing relationship gave the new queen some title to the throne is proved by her being spoken of as “the great heiress, princess of all women,” and “the princess of South and North, the lady of both lands,” which imply hereditary rights, possibly through the mother.
She was the daughter of Dushratta, King of Mitanni, and it may have been that her father was Queen Tyi’s brother and she herself the cousin of Amenophis IV, but the matter is not absolutely clear. A certain Dushratta, not satisfied about the safety of his sister, who had married Amenophis III, had sent to Egypt to inquire after her, but the repetition or duplication of a name often makes it difficult to decide upon the exact relationship. From the letters found on tablets in the ruins of Tel-el-Amarna, many of which of course are broken and imperfect, we have chiefly derived the information we possess of these transactions. Queen Tyi seems also to have held the power for a brief period at Tel-el-Amarna, but exactly when this was the case has not been discovered.
In her own country the bride-elect bore the name of Tadukipa, but in Egypt she became Nefert-Thi, Nefertity, or Nefertiti, her full name being known as Aten’nefer’ neferu’nefertiti. After the death of Amenophis III Queen Tyi sent word of this event to the Babylonish prince, and some correspondence took place between them before matters were finally settled and Amenophis IV or Napkhurruiya, as he is called in the letters, was married and assumed full control of his own affairs. There was, of course, an exchange of presents, gold, slaves, etc., as was usual on such occasions, and no failure on either side of a satisfactory pecuniary showing seems to have interfered with the prospects of the youthful pair, such as had been known, not unfrequently, in other cases.
The beautiful, deserving or undeserving, are apt to win favor. By this rule therefore the pictures of King Khu-n-aten or Aten’ nefer’neferu and Queen Nefertiti are sufficiently ugly to prejudice the most casual observer. One is tempted to see in these hideous effigies rather the work of a defamer than a true portrait. Early pictures of the king are handsome and not unlike some of Rameses II, the change is attributed by late writers to the new style of art to be seen in his reign. Certainly the king sacrificed himself nobly to the cause of Truth, if he was a consenting party to his own portraiture.