Nefertari (also known as Nefertari Meritmut; Akkadian: Naptera) was an Egyptian queen and the first of the Great Royal Wives (or principal wives) of Ramesses the Great. She is one of the best known Egyptian queens, among such women as Cleopatra, Nefertiti, and Hatshepsut, and one of the most prominent Egyptian royal consorts. She was highly educated and able to both read and write hieroglyphs, a very rare skill at the time. She used these skills in her diplomatic work, corresponding with other prominent royals of the time. Her lavishly decorated tomb, QV66, is one of the largest and most spectacular in the Valley of the Queens. Ramesses also constructed a temple for her at Abu Simbel next to his colossal monument there.<!-- already above-->
Translation of name
There are different interpretations of the meaning of the name Nefertari. Nefertari means 'beautiful companion' and Meritmut means 'Beloved of the goddess Mut'. Some sources consider a more accurate translation for Nefertari as "the most beautiful one", "the most beautiful of them", "the most beautiful one of them all" "the most beautiful (one) among them", "the very best",
Titles
thumb|left|upright|Pilgrim bottle. Alabaster, gold-mounted with a silver foot, inscribed with cartouches of Ramesses II and Nefertari, 19th Dynasty, From Thebes, Egypt, The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London
Nefertari held many titles, including: Great of Praises (wrt-hzwt), Sweet of Love (bnrt-mrwt), Lady of Grace (nbt-im3t), Great King's Wife (hmt-niswt-wrt), his beloved (hmt-niswt-wrt meryt.f), Lady of The Two Lands (nbt-t3wy), Lady of all Lands (hnwt-t3w-nbw), Wife of the Strong Bull (hmt-k3-nxt), god's Wife (hmt-ntr), Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt (hnwt-Shm'w-mhw). Ramesses II also named her 'The one for whom the sun shines'.
Family
Although Nefertari's family background is unknown, the discovery in her tomb of a knob inscribed with the cartouche of Pharaoh Ay has led people to speculate she was related to him. The time between the reign of Ay and Ramesses II means that Nefertari could possibly not have been a daughter of Ay, though she could have had all her children in her early to mid-30s, and, if any relation exists at all, she would be a great-granddaughter. There is no conclusive evidence linking Nefertari to the royal family of the 18th Dynasty, however.
Nefertari married Ramesses II before he ascended the throne. Nefertari had at least four sons and two daughters. Amun-her-khepeshef, the eldest, was Crown Prince and Commander of the Troops, and Pareherwenemef would later serve in Ramesses II's army. Prince Meryatum was elevated to the position of High Priest of Re in Heliopolis. Inscriptions mention he was a son of Nefertari. Prince Meryre is a fourth son mentioned on the façade of the small temple at Abu Simbel and is thought to be another son of Nefertari. Meritamen and Henuttawy are two royal daughters depicted on the façade of the small temple at Abu Simbel and are thought to be daughters of Nefertari. Nefertari,
Biography
thumb|upright|Nefertari depicted offering [[sistrums to Hathor in her smaller temple of Abu Simbel]]
Nefertari first appears as the wife of Ramesses II in official scenes during the first year of Ramesses II. In the tomb of Nebwenenef, Nefertari is depicted behind her husband as he elevates Nebwenenef to the position of High Priest of Amun during a visit to Abydos. Nefertari also appears in a scene next to a year 1 stela. She is depicted shaking two sistra before Taweret, Thoth, and Nut.
Nefertari is an important presence in the scenes from Luxor and Karnak. In a scene from Luxor, Nefertari appears leading the royal children. Another scene shows Nefertari at the Festival of the Mast of Amun-Min-Kamephis. The king and the queen are said to worship in the new temple and are shown overseeing the Erection of the Mast before Amen-Re attended by standard bearers. Nefertari's speech during this ceremony is recorded:
<blockquote>Your beloved son, the Lord of Both Lands, Usermaatre Setepenre, has come to see you in your beautiful manifestation. He has erected for you the mast of the (pavilion)-framework. May you grant him eternity as King, and victory over those rebellious (against) His Majesty, L.P.H. In these places, in addition to large-scale independent statues, Nefertari also appears on numerous minor commemorative artifacts. For instance, at Qantir in Pi-Ramesses, many cartouche stamp seals have been unearthed, the vast majority belonging to Ramesses II, with some also attributed to Merenptah, Seti II, Ramesses III, VIII, and X. However, among them are also some belonging to Nefertari, making her the only individual other than pharaohs to whom such stamp seals are attributed. These seals feature exquisite depictions of her, all showing her standing in a posture where she holds a sistrum in one hand and gestures in adoration with the other. She appears either alone or standing before the goddess Hathor, bearing the title of "Chantress." The presence of these stamp seals indicates that her name was widely disseminated in this area. A privately owned lapis lazuli plaque also mentions Nefertari alongside the Memphite goddess Sekhmet, belonging to the "Lady of the House, Inuhai," who may have served Nefertari in the Memphite palace. Additionally, a statuette of Nefertari was discovered in a private tomb at Giza, suggesting that people in this region wished to bring her commemorative objects with them into the afterlife.
Nefertari's prominence at court is further supported by cuneiform tablets from the Hittite city of Hattusas (today Boghazkoy, Turkey), containing Nefertari's correspondence with the king Hattusili III and his wife Puduhepa. She is mentioned in the letters as Naptera. Nefertari is known to have sent gifts to Puduhepa:
<blockquote>So (says) Naptera, the Great Queen of the Land of Egypt, to Puduhepa, the Great Queen of the land of Hatti, say (as follows): For me, your sister all is well and my country is well. For you, my sister, may all be well and may your land be well. I have now heard that you, my sister, have written to me to enquire about my well-being, and that you have written me about the relationship of good peace and good brotherhood in which the Great King, the King of the Land of Egypt, (now stands) with the Great King, the King of the Land of Hatti, his brother. May the Sun God and the Storm God exalt you and may the Sun God cause peace to flourish and bestow good brotherhood on the Great King, the King of the Land of Egypt, and the Great King, the King of the Land of Hatti, his brother forever. And I also am at peace and am sisterly with you, my sister, as well. Now, I have sent to you a present as a greetings-gift for you, my sister, that I have sent in the hands of Parikhnawa, the royal messenger: 1 (necklace) for the neck, multicolored, made of fine gold consisting of 12 strands, which weighs 88 shekels. 1 colorful cloak made from royal fabric. 1 colorful tunic made from royal fabric. 5 colorful garments of excellent quality. 5 colorful tunics of excellent quality. Total: 12 garments.
</blockquote>
Nefertari had already passed away before the erection of the stela of Heqanakht, in which she is depicted holding the ankh symbol and being venerated as a goddess by Heqanakht. Her daughter, together with the pharaoh, is shown worshipping the three deities of the Great Temple of Abu Simbel (including the deified Ramesses II), at which time Nefertari was already deceased. In the past, this stela was mistakenly thought to represent the dedication ceremony of Abu Simbel, a theory that has since been refuted.
After her death she was buried in tomb QV66 in the Valley of the Queens.
Temple of the Great Royal Wife Nefertari–Meritmut
The funerary inscriptions of the official Yuy record a "Temple of the Great Royal Wife Nefertari–Meritmut," and Yuy served as the High Steward of this temple. This indicates that the temple was located in Thebes.
The Temple of Aniba
The Temple of Aniba houses a statue of Nefertari and features a complete set of associated cult practices, with clear evidence showing that these rituals continued at least until the reign of Ramses VI.
Tomb 66 in the Valley of the Queens
link=https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Knees_of_a_mummy_-_Museo_Egizio,_Turin_S_5154_p01.jpg|thumb|Legs of the mummy of Nefertari. Museo Egizio, Turin (S.5154).
The tomb of Nefertari, QV66 is one of the largest in the Valley of the Queens. It is 520 square meters, and covered with pictures of Nefertari. Her husband, the pharaoh, is not represented in any of the pictures. This was due to religious considerations: in the Valley of the Queens, none of the royal tombs of the queens contain any male members of the royal family. In order for the queens to exercise supreme authority within their tombs, the pharaoh had to be absent. In fact, the presence of a pharaoh in a queen's tomb was regarded as a strict taboo. However, a queen could indeed appear in a pharaoh's tomb. Nefertari appears in the tomb of Ramesses II; she is the only queen depicted in his tomb, and the only queen of the entire Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties to appear in her husband's tomb. Other queens could at most appear in the tombs of their sons.
Nefertari can be seen wearing Greek silver earrings with a labrys design in one of the portraits. These would have been sent to her as a gift for diplomatic reasons. The tomb was robbed in antiquity. In 1904 it was rediscovered and excavated by Ernesto Schiaparelli.