Oh, that could be interesting! I was always interested in the Amarna period. For the news: so this means Nefertiti was Smenkhare? Just because the man (or woman), who ruled after Akhenaten, was Smenkhare. A lot of people say that they were the same, and I thought that too, for a long time, but now maybe that's the time to change my opinion. Others say, there was a personal connection between Akhenaten and Smenkhare; maybe they were brothers, father and son, or lovers. And if the last is correct, I wouldn't be surprised if it say that they were the same... In the paintings, az far as I know, Akhenaten and Nefertiti appeared the same: they have an androgyn body, and their face is the same, too. And, this, and the famous representation of Nefertiti, what Chiara has mentioned could mean that Nefertiti had a kind of rule after Akhenaten's death..., maybe, she appeared because of this. The artist could say that Nefertiti had very much importance in the period, and I think it's possible that she ruled after him. Sorry if I you can't understand everything, you know my English is a bit (very) poor...

Mmmh...I don't think that Nefertiti WAS Smenkhkare...is another of those things that we have to discover! Also because is remembered that in a tomb, the TT226 if i remember right, have been found the representation of the "chief of nurses of the sons of Amenhetep III" with FOUR children on his knees...Two of this children have been recognised being Amenhetep (Akhenaten) and Tothmes (the brother who dead)...the partially legible name of one of the two other children seems to be "Ankhkheperure"..the name of Smenkhkare...So, Smenkhkare seems to be one of the brothers of Akhenaten...but we don't know!
And this can also give an explanation of why Akhenaten and Smenkhkare "are" represented in a stela (but on this stela there aren't names..so we don't know who are those people), Akhenaten touching the chin of "Smenkhkare"...such as in the faboulous picture showing two of the daughters of Akhenaten...Do you remember?!? But other theory wants the fugures to be Akhenaten and Nefertiti... Doubt is everywhere!
I agree with the theory of Nefertiti having a great importance in politics and religion and this importance could have took her becoming "co-ruler" (Not "co-coregent"...) with his husband and maybe his successor...But, Who knows!?!?

Ciao

Chiara

There is a footnote in the book by Dodson and Hilton that James Allen of the Metropolitan Museum of Art gave evidence as to the gender of Neferneferuaten during a presentation in April of 2004 (so quite recent).

Examinations of Neferneferuaten's objects reused in Tutankhamen's tomb show that this individual used the epithet "effective for her husband".

This shows that Neferneferuaten and Smenkhare are not the same person as some have conjectured.

Theoretically it is still possible that this lady is someone other than Nefertiti, but Neferneferuaten was part of Nefertiti's name...

I wonder if this is the part of the puzzle that has added just enough to the picture that scholars now see enough evidence to conclude that Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti really did become co-regent and may have even ruled on her own?

There is the inscription of Pewah in TT139 which refers to year 3 of Pharaoh Ankh-kheperure and refers to this pharaoh as Neferneferuaten. This shows this is not Smenkhare, but the female Pharaoh then. This inscription indicates Neferneferuaten used an independent dating system. It is not known if her year 1 would line up with year 14 or year 17 of Akhenaten.


TT226 the tomb of the royal tuor Heqareshu is interesting. I have seen people comment on the fact that one of the names mentioned is close to Ankheperure possibly then showing a young prince Smenkhare? (Like Chiaraal mentioned) But I think the names in that scene may be hard to read?
And the problem is also that "--kheperure" names were not that uncommon during that period. So it could just be some other prince