Neferneferure (Exquisite Beauty of Re’), and Setepenre (Chosen of Re’) (Tyldesley 1999). It is possible that she also had sons, although no record has been found of this. It was a practice in Egyptian art not to portray the male heirs as children. Possibly, she may have been the mother of Tutankhamun, the boy pharaoh who succeeded to the throne at the age of eleven and died nine years later (Sporre 2000).Nefertiti's Role Nefertiti, the Great Royal Wife of King Amenhotep IV better known as Akhenaten, joined her husband in worship of a new religion that celebrated the power of the sun disk Aten. During the Amarna Period, Akhenaten at the age of twenty-one renounced his ties to the old religion of the Middle Kingdom by moving the capitol of Egypt from Thebes to a new site, Tell- el Amarna. He named the territory, Akhetaten, which means the "horizon of Aten"(Aldred 1988). In this city, Akhenaten financed the decoration of monuments and temples, which celebrated the power of the god Re Horus of the Akhet (Re-Horakhty) and the sun disk Aten. According to Cyril Aldred, author of Akhenaten, King of Egypt, Akhenaten instigated a fundamental change in Egyptian religion, which resulted in the unprecedented acceptance of a monotheistic god. Nefertiti's prominent role in Egyptian royal rule and religious worship reflects her influence in the public sphere. During the early years of her royal reign, Nefertiti as part of her religious conversion changed her name. Nefertiti which means, "The beautiful one has come" became Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti or "The Aten is radiant of radiance [because] the beautiful one has come". Following his wife's lead, Amenhotep changed his name in the fifth year of his reign to Akhenaten (Aldred 1988). Nefertiti's central role in the adaptation of this new religion is witnessed in the artistic representations, which adorned temple walls. Aldred in his book entitled Akhenaten, King of Egypt qu...
