Latest / Ramses the Great: Egypt's Most Powerful Pharaoh — Fexingo History / Ramses the Great's Queen Nefertari: Power, Diplomacy, and the Temple of Hathor
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- Lucas: You know, Luna, we've spent a lot of time talking about Ramses the Great — his battles, his monuments, his propaganda machine. But there's one figure who's been in the background of many of those stories, and I think she deserves her own episode. Luna: Nefertari. Lucas: Exactly. Nefertari — her full name was Nefertari Merytmut, meaning 'Beautiful Companion, Beloved of Mut.' She was Ramses's Great Royal Wife, and not just in title. She had real political power, she was involved in diplomacy, and she was even worshipped as a living goddess. Her influence rivaled that of the pharaoh himself. Luna: And we know she had that incredible temple at Abu Simbel, right next to Ramses's own. Lucas: Yes, and that's one of the most telling things. At Abu Simbel, Ramses built two temples. The larger one is dedicated to himself and the gods Re-Horakhty, Ptah, and Amun-Re. But the smaller one is dedicated to Nefertari and the goddess Hathor. And here's the remarkable part: on the facade, Nefertari is shown the same height as Ramses. That's almost unheard of — usually the queen is shown at knee height or smaller. It signals that she was his equal, at least in symbolic terms. Luna: That's a huge statement. So she was more than just a wife — she was a partner. Lucas: Absolutely. And this ties into something we've talked about before — the Hittite peace treaty. That treaty was signed in year 21 of Ramses's reign, but the diplomatic correspondence shows that Nefertari was actively involved. We have letters between her and Puduhepa, the Hittite queen, discussing the terms and the upcoming marriage of Ramses to a Hittite princess. So she was a key player in international diplomacy. Luna: That's the first known diplomatic correspondence between queens, isn't it? Lucas: It might well be. And it speaks to her status. She's addressed as 'Great Queen' and 'Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt.' Her titles also include 'Lady of the Two Lands' and 'Sweet of Love.' She was clearly respected by foreign powers. And the Hittite queen Puduhepa was no pushover either — she was a powerful figure in her own right. So they were negotiating as equals. Luna: It's amazing that we have actual letters. How did they survive? Lucas: They were discovered in the Hittite archives at Hattusa, written in Akkadian, the diplomatic language of the time. So they give us a direct window into this relationship. And they show that Nefertari was not just a figurehead — she was making decisions and influencing policy. Luna: And then there's her tomb, which is one of the most beautiful in the Valley of the Queens. Lucas: That tomb, QV66, was discovered by Ernesto Schiaparelli in 1904. And it's stunning. The wall paintings are some of the best preserved from the New Kingdom. They show Nefertari in various scenes with gods like Isis, Hathor, and Osiris. The colors are still vivid — deep blues, reds, yellows. It's often called the 'Sistine Chapel of Ancient Egypt.' But sadly, it's also fragile. The tomb has been closed to the public for years due to conservation issues. Luna: So what's being done to preserve it? Lucas: The Getty Conservation Institute has been working on it since the 1980s. They've done extensive work to stabilize the paintings and control humidity. It's a slow process because the salts in the rock are causing the plaster to detach. But they've made progress, and there are high-resolution digital scans so people can still experience it virtually. Luna: It's good that they're preserving it, but it's a shame tourists can't see it in person. Lucas: Yeah, but you can visit the replica nearby, which is pretty faithful. And speaking of her legacy, there's another fascinating detail: Nefertari seems to have died relatively early in Ramses's reign, around year 24 or 25. We don't know the cause. After her death, Ramses had another Great Royal Wife, Isetnofret, and later his daughter Bintanath. But Nefertari remained the most celebrated. Luna: And she was deified during her lifetime, right? That's pretty rare. Lucas: It is. At Abu Simbel, she's identified with Hathor, the goddess of love, music, and motherhood. And in the temple, she's shown making offerings to the gods alongside Ramses. That's a role usually reserved for the pharaoh. So she was essentially seen as a divine consort. And this wasn't just propaganda — there were actual cults dedicated to her. Luna: That reminds me of something: in some of the earlier episodes, we mentioned the 'she who must not be named' — a royal woman whose name was erased from monuments. Any chance that was Nefertari? Lucas: No, actually, that's a different figure. There's a mysterious queen from the Amarna period, possibly Nefertiti or Kiya, whose images were defaced. Nefertari's name and image survived intact. But there is a strange story about a woman named 'Tiaa' or 'Tiy' who was possibly a wife of Ramses? Actually, we're not sure. But Nefertari's legacy was carefully preserved by Ramses himself. Luna: So she was truly beloved. And her name means 'beautiful companion' — that's fitting. Lucas: It is. And if you look at the art, she's often depicted with a very elegant, slender figure, wearing a long wig and a crown with cow horns and a sun disk — the symbols of Hathor. She's also shown with the vulture headdress of the goddess Nekhbet. She's clearly meant to be seen as both queen and goddess. Luna: I'm curious: did she have any children that we know of? Lucas: Yes, she had at least four sons and two daughters. But none of them survived to inherit the throne. Ramses's successor was Merenptah, the son of Isetnofret. So Nefertari's bloodline didn't continue as pharaohs. But her influence was lasting — she set a standard for queenship that later royal women would emulate. Luna: And all of this from a time when women were often behind the scenes. It's remarkable how much we know about her. Lucas: It is. And it's thanks to the monuments she left behind, the letters, and the devotion of Ramses. He really did immortalize her. And you know, it's that kind of devotion to history that keeps shows like ours going. If you've been enjoying these deep dives into ancient Egypt, and you'd like to support the show, you can buy me a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a small way to keep these conversations ad-free and coming. Luna: Yeah, and every little bit helps us keep digging into these stories. Lucas: So back to Nefertari — there's one more thing I want to mention. Her temple at Abu Simbel isn't just a copy of Ramses's. It's actually aligned so that twice a year, the sun illuminates the inner sanctuary, where statues of Hathor and Nefertari are placed. It's a solar alignment, just like at the big temple, but for her. Luna: So the sun itself honors her. That's a powerful statement. Lucas: Exactly. And it shows that Ramses wanted her to be remembered as a divine being, not just a mortal queen. In many ways, Nefertari is as much a symbol of Ramses's reign as his own monuments. She was his partner in everything — from diplomacy to religion to building projects. Luna: I think that's a fitting way to look at her. Thanks for bringing her story to light.