The famous bust of Nefertiti
Nefertiti (circa 1370-1330 B.C.)
In the early 20th century, over 3,000 years after her death, Nefertiti became a household name across the world and one of the most famous women of the ancient world. Egyptologists were aware that she was a queen of the New Kingdom Egypt during the later portion of the 18th dynasty, but she was little known until the presentation of a reconstructed bust depicting her at the Berlin Museum in 1924. Nefertiti means the beautiful one has come, and if the presented bust is anything to judge by she, was indeed a beautiful woman.
The bust of Nefertiti caused an enormous sensation following the glamorous discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922 by Howard Carter. The bust was the work of the ancient royal sculptor Thutmose and was first discovered by German archaeologists in a fragmented state in the remains of Thutmoses workshop at the ancient city of Akhetaten, known today as Tell el-Amarna. With the discovery and display of the bust, the once little known queen Nefertiti became eponymous with Ancient Egypt, alongside that of the Great Pyramids at Giza and the Golden Funerary Mask of the young Tutankhamen. And thanks to that bust, Nefertitis image has become immortalized and may be found in replica busts, earrings, necklaces, paintings and seemingly every other artificat that can be found at an Egyptian vendors shop.
But what about the actual woman represented by that bust? As it turned out, far from being an inconsequential queen, Nefertiti may have been an important wife of Akhenaten, whose reign marked the first time Egyptians practiced monotheistic beliefs by worshipping one god, the sun-disc Aten. Ironically, Akhenatens revolutionary and influential reign has long been obscured by one of his wives and one of his sons, Tutankhamen.
Despite the artifacts found and the fascination with Nefertiti and Tutankhamen, there is still plenty of uncertainty and mystery surrounding the Egyptian queen. What life did such a hauntingly beautiful woman live? Where was she from? Did a queen sometimes labeled Lordess of the Two Lands in ancient artifacts rule Egypt, and if so, when and why? How did she die? Despite her recent fame she is still a relatively enigmatic historical figure, with fragments of her life still being pieced together by historians over the last century.
The Top 5 Most Famous Queens looks at the known and unknown about the Ancient Egyptian queen and attempts to separate fact from fiction to analyze her life and reign. Along with pictures and a bibliography, you will learn about Nefertiti like you never have before.
Depiction of Cleopatra and Caesarion
Cleopatra (69-30 B.C.)
Her beauty, as we are told, was in itself not altogether incomparable, nor such as to strike those who saw her; but converse with her had an irresistible charm, and her presence, combined with the persuasiveness of her discourse and the character which was somehow diffused about her behaviour towards others, had something stimulating about it. There was sweetness also in the tones of her voice; and her tongue, like an instrument of many strings, she could readily turn to whatever language she pleased Plutarch
During one of the most turbulent periods in the history of Rome, men like Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and Octavian participated in two civil wars that would spell the end of the Roman Republic and determine who would become the Roman emperor. In the middle of it all was historys most famous woman, the Egyptian pharaoh Cleopatra (69-30 B.C.), who famously seduced both Caesar and Antony and thereby positioned herself as one of the most influential people in a world of powerful men.
Cleopatra was a legendary figure even to contemporary Romans and the ancient world, as Plutarchs quote suggests, and she was a controversial figure who was equally reviled and praised through the years, depicted as a benevolent ruler and an evil seductress, sometimes at the same time. Over 2,000 years after her death, everything about Cleopatra continues to fascinate people around the world, from her lineage as a Ptolemaic pharaoh, her physical features, the manner in which she seduced Caesar, her departure during the Battle of Actium, and her famous suicide. And despite being one of the most famous figures in history, there is still much mystery surrounding her, leading historians and archaeologists scouring Alexandria, Egypt for clues about her life and the whereabouts of her royal palace and tomb.
The Top 5 Most Famous Queens chronicles the amazing life of Egypts most famous pharaoh, explores some of the mysteries and myths surrounding her, and analyzes her legacy, which has only grown larger over 2,000 years and promises to last many more. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Cleopatra like you never have before.
Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603)
Video et taceo. ("I see, and say nothing") Queen Elizabeth I
When Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1952, many commentators heralded the beginning of her reign as the second Elizabethan age. The first one, of course, concerned the reign of Henry VIIIs second surviving daughter and middle surviving child, Queen Elizabeth I, one of Englands most famous and influential rulers. It was an age when the arts, commerce and trade flourished. It was the epoch of gallantry and great, enduring literature. It was also an age of wars and military conflicts in which men were the primary drivers and women often were pawns.
Elizabeth I changed the rules of the game and indeed she herself was changed by the game. She was a female monarch of England, a kingdom that had unceremoniously broken with the Catholic Church, and the Vatican and the rest of Christendom was baying for her blood. She had had commercial and militaristic enemies galore. In the end, she helped change the entire structure of female leadership.
Elizabeth was the last Tudor sovereign, the daughter of the cruel and magnificent King Henry VIII and a granddaughter of the Tudor Houses founder, the shrewd Henry VII. Elizabeth, hailed as Good Queen Bess, Gloriana and The Virgin Queen to this day in the public firmament, would improve upon Henry VIIIs successes and mitigate his failures, and despite her own failings would turn out to have the heart and stomach of a king, and a king of England too. Indeed, that was the phrase she would utter in describing herself while exhorting her troops to fight for England against the Spanish Armada).
