Michelle Moran's Nefertiti

832 Words2 Pages

“She was the Cleopatra of her time. Just as beautiful, just as wealthy, and just as powerful – if not more powerful,” says Michelle Moran, author of ‘Nefertiti.’ Nefertiti ruled during a transformational time alongside Akhenaten, one of the New Kingdom’s most infamous rulers and gracefully led an unconventional yet wealthy age for Egypt. Nefertiti was the most powerful woman in ancient Egyptian history because without her help during Akhenaten’s rule, Egypt would have fallen into a third intermediate period.
Queen Nefertiti had the ability to maintain order throughout her reign while Akhenaten was preoccupied in worshiping the sole God, Aten. Nefertiti took over many jobs done by the Pharaoh such as sending royal decrees, a role put upon her …show more content…

The priests were gaining power from the abundance of gods, so the couple began this shift into a monotheistic society by establishing the new Cult of Aten. This was the first sign to the population that ‘this should be the God you worship’. She helped create this cult out of nothing and changed a non-relevant God into a prominent God, and soon to be sole God, through her influence and desire. To show her dedication to this sun God, she served as one of the priests in the Temple of Aten. Most noblewomen of this time did not serve such an important position but since Nefertiti helped change the religion, she was strong enough to not just assist the priest as a noblewoman, but become the priest. During her reign, Nefertiti changed her name, to honor the God, Aten, from Nefertiti to Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti meaning “Beautiful are the beauties of Aten, the beautiful one has come.” To finish the move from polytheistic to monotheistic, they established a new capital away from the old capital, Thebes, named Akhetaten or ‘the horizon of Aten’. Nefertiti could move people into what she believed was a better way and was powerful enough to gain an important role, proving her dedication and saving the people from an unorganized time. She maintained order while Akhenaten was worried about

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