22 Facts About Ahmose-Nefertari

Ahmose-Nefertari was the first Great Royal Wife of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt.

Ahmose-Nefertari was a daughter of Seqenenre Tao and Ahhotep I and the granddaughter of Senakhtenre and queen Tetisheri.

Ahmose-Nefertari was born in Thebes, likely during the reign of Senakhtenre Ahmose.

Ahmose-Nefertari had quite a few siblings and half-siblings, including her future husband Ahmose and King's Son Ahmose Sapair, and her many sisters: Ahmose-Henutemipet, Ahmose-Tumerisy, Ahmose-Nebetta, Ahmose-Meritamon, Ahmose-Henuttamehu, Ahmose, and Ahmose-Sitkamose.

Ahmose-Nefertari did become the great royal wife of Ahmose I, with whom she had at least three sons.

Ahmose-Nefertari is depicted on a stela from Karnak with a son named Ahmose-ankh and a son named Siamun was reburied in the royal cache DB320.

Ahmose-Nefertari was the mother of two daughters who became Royal Wives, Ahmose-Meritamun and Ahmose-Sitamun.

Ahmose-Nefertari was born during the latter part of the 17th Dynasty, during the reign of her grandfather Senakhtenre Ahmose.

Ahhotep would have taken precedence at court over her daughter Ahmose-Nefertari, who was the great royal wife.

Queen Ahmose-Nefertari held many titles, including those of hereditary princess, great of grace, great of praises, king's mother, great king's wife, god's wife, united with the white crown, king's daughter, and king's sister.

Ahmose-Nefertari is shown to be alive during the early years of the reign of Thutmose I She is depicted in Nubia next to the Viceroy of Kush Ahmose called Turo in the company of the newly crowned king and Queen Ahmose.

Ahmose-Nefertari likely died in approximately the fifth or sixth year of Thutmose I Her death is recorded on the stela of a wab-priest called Nefer.

The text mentions that "the divine consort Ahmose-Nefertari, justified with the great god lord of the West, flew to heaven".

Ahmose-Nefertari was likely buried in Dra Abu el-Naga and had a mortuary temple there.

Ahmose-Nefertari's mummy is assumed to have been retrieved from her tomb at the end of the New Kingdom and moved to the royal cache in DB320.

Ahmose-Nefertari's presumed body, with no identification marks, was discovered in the 19th century and unwrapped in 1885 by Emile Brugsch.

Ahmose-Nefertari's body had been damaged in antiquity and was missing her right hand.

Ahmose-Nefertari adds that the shape of the cranium firmly supports her foreign origin.

Michel Gitton acknowledges Norman de Garis Davis' estimate that Ahmose-Nefertari is depicted with dark complexion four times more often than light complexions.

Ahmose-Nefertari indicates that his own survey suggests a much lower figure although he could not provide a general figure as he could not himself verify the colors on site.

Ahmose-Nefertari noted there are other cases in which she is shown with a pink, golden, dark blue, or dark red skin color.

Ahmose-Nefertari pointed out that there is no known depiction of her painted during her lifetime ; the earliest black skin depiction appears in tomb TT161, circa 150 years after her death.