|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
Pages in this article: [ THE LIFE OF RAMESSESS THE GREAT ] Nefetari
They remained devoted to each other and she was always referred to as Beloved Wife or Chief/Principle Wife. Nefertari was intelligent and an astute wife who Ramesses no doubt trusted as an advisor and confidant. She is depicted as being the ever-dutiful wife, whether it is in supporting Ramesses with official ceremonies or while engaged in some military campaign, she was his constant companion. There is evidence to suggest that Ramesses's family were with him at Kadesh, albeit out of harms way, in the rear, probably with the baggage train. The reason for this unusual step is uncertain, whether it was because Ramesses was expecting a long drawn out campaign, or he just didn't want to be parted from his family nobody really knows.
Was this a marriage of convenience as some suspect, or was theirs a true love affair that would endure for eternity? The much-respected Miss Amelia Edwards obviously thought the latter. She said of Abu Simbel:
Ramesses must have been distraught and inconsolable with grief. Although Ramesses had other wives, none compared to his beloved Nefertari. Ramesses buried Nefertari in Ta Set Neferu - The Place of Beauty, now known as the Valley of the Queens.
|
|||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
Chosen by Seti for her beauty, Nefertari was married to the 15 year old Crown Prince at the age of approximately 13. Her lineage is uncertain but is thought to have been from a noble family from Thebes.
Ramesses showed his love for his wife by constructing many effigies and monuments in her honour. Her hypogeum in the Valley of the Queens is almost pharaonic in design with exquisite bas reliefs in vibrant colours adorning the walls. Ramesses finest tribute to his beloved wife was the rock cut Temple at Abu Simbel. An inscription dedicated to his wife epitomises their great love affair. It reads:
The royal couple spent most of their time sailing up and down the Nile engaged on royal duties. We are not told of Nefertari’s health, but in the 24th year of Ramesses reign, whilst on a trip south for the inauguration of her temple at Abu Simbel she was taken ill. After the inauguration the royal couple set sail for Pi-Ramesses. The illness that Nefertari was suffering from was to claim her life; she was approximately 50 years old.