Nefertiti - The Queen of

Sheba

by Eulalio Eguia Jr.

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Nefertiti - The Queen of

Sheba

by Eulalio Eguia Jr.

Synopsis: According to Josephus, Sheba, or Saba, was the capital of Ethiopia, and
that the Queen of Sheba who visited Solomon was Queen of Ethiopia and Egypt at the
same time. Jewish, Christian, as well as Islamic scriptures portray the Queen of
Sheba as a believer of the God of Abraham, who, according to Christ, will rise at the
Day of Judgment and condemn those people who rejected him. Now which of the
many Queens of Egypt became a believer of the God of Abraham? There really could
have been only one, and I believe it was Nefertiti, the famous wife of Pharaoh
Akhenaten. Akhenaten is especially noted for abandoning traditional Egyptian
polytheism and introducing worship centered on the Aten, which is sometimes
described as monotheistic, just like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
David Michael
I
I
I
I
Rohl, an English
lllllll!iilmll!II
1@111-MMG,MSIMl!I
Egyptologist,
used archaeo
astronomy to fix
the date of a
near-sunset
solar eclipse
Iran
Iran
during the reign
of Akhenaten and
observed from the
Egypt
Egypt
city of Ugarit.
.
Based on calculations using computer astronomy programs, Rohl asserts that the only
time when this eclipse could have occurred during the whole second millennium BC
was on May 9, 1012 BC. This is approximately 350 years later than the conventional
dates for Akhenaten. Other archaeologists prefer the date May 3, 1375 BC for the
eclipse, which however was observed as only partial in Ugarit, and not total like the
one that occurred on May 9, 1012 BC. Curiously, Solomon started building the Temple
at the 4th year of his reign, which acccording to Bishop Ussher's chronology also took
place on 1012 BC. If Rohls and Usshers chronologies are both correct, then
this means Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and Solomon were all contemporaries.
x

LaL 35.6272 N
Long. 35. 7715' E

Total Solar Eclipse

Duration of Totality Om53.6s
Magnitude: 1.003
Obscuration 100. %

Clear Marker

Event
Start of partial eclipse (Cl):
Start o total eclipse (C2)
Maximu eclipse:
End of total eclipse (C3):
End of partial eclipse (C4):

Date
-1011/05/09
14:51:03.0
-10111os109
1s:s1:13.1
-1011/05/ 9 15:51:39.9
-1011/05/09
15:52:06.7
-1011/05/09
16:47:12.4'

Lat: 35.6263' N
Long. 35. 771 5' E

Makhachkala
Maxa~K611B

Clear Marker

16.1'
04.1'
04.1'
04.0'
-06.6'

276.4'
284.s
284.9'
285.o
293.1'

Starto partialeclipse(Cl):

Pertiol SQlar Eclip~e

Mag ltude: 0.978
Obscu tion: 97.75%

-1374/05/

3 02:47:29.S'

2:3' 074.4'

-1374/05/

3 03:42:54.5

8.8' 082.3'

-1374/05/03

04:43:22.6

21.0'

091.0'

Tehran
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Tehran
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Alexandria

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Cairo
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Peman Gulf

Bahrain

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Nefertiti - The Queen of

Sheba

by Eulalio Eguia Jr.

Luke11:29 As the crowds increased, Jesus said, This is a wicked generation. It asks
for a sign, but none will be given it ... 31 The Queen of the South will rise at the
judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the
ends of the earth to listen to Solomons wisdom; and now something greater than
Solomon is here".

According to Josephus, the Queen of the South, or the Queen of Sheba, who
visited Solomon was the queen of Egypt and Ethiopia:
Antiquities of the Jews Book 8, chapter 6, verse 5: There was then a woman
queen of Egypt and Ethiopia. When this queen heard of the virtue and prudence of
Solomon, she had a great mind to see him; and the reports that went every day
abroad induced her to come to him, so she resolved to come to him, and that
especially in order to have a trial of his wisdom, while she proposed questions of very
great difficulty, and entreated that he would solve their hidden meaning.

Josephus mentioned Cambyses conquering the capital of Ethiopia, and

changing its name from Saba to Meroe. Josephus affirms that the Queen of
Sheba or Saba came from this region, and that it bore the name of Saba
before it was known by that of Meroe. There seems also some affinity
between the words Saba and the name or title of the kings of the Ethiopians,
Sabaco. A Jewish oral tradition also avers that Moses, in his younger years,
had led an Egyptian military expedition into Sudan, as far as the city
of Meroe, which was then called Saba.

Antiquities of the Jews Book 2, chapter 10, verse 2: Now when the Egyptian army
had once tasted of this prosperous success, by the means of Moses, they did not
slacken their diligence, insomuch that the Ethiopians were in danger of being reduced
to slavery, and all sorts of destruction; and at length they retired to Saba, which was a
royal city of Ethiopia, which Cambyses afterwards named Mero, after the name
of his own sister.
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Nefertiti - The Queen of

Sheba

by Eulalio Eguia Jr.

If we are to
believe
Josephus,
then the
Queen of
Sheba or
Ethiopia was
at the same
time the
Queen of
Egypt.

Marib, Yemen was the capital of the Sabaean kingdom, which some
scholars believe to be the ancient Sheba of biblical fame.

Furthermore,
Muslim
commentators

(Tabari, Zamakhshari, Baydawi) supplement the story of the Queen of

Sheba at various points. The Queen's name is given as Bilkis, and according
to some Solomon gave her in marriage to a tubba (or king) of Hamdan
(a well-known Yemeni clan since the 1st millennium BC). This gave rise to
the modern claim that Sheba was the South Arabian kingdom of Saba,
centered around the oasis of Marib, in present-day Yemen.
The Queen of Sheba was a believer of the God of Israel, but she doubted
reports about Solomons great wisdom and wealth:
1 Kings 10:1 When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his
relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions.
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Nefertiti - The Queen of

Sheba

by Eulalio Eguia Jr.

Her faith in the God of Israel grew firmer and her doubts about Solomons
wisdom and wealth vanished after her celebrated visit to Jerusalem:
1 Kings 10:6 She said to the king, The report I heard in my own country about your
achievements and your wisdom is true. 7 But I did not believe these things until I came
and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth
you have far exceeded the report I heard. 8 How happy your people must be! How
happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Praise
be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of
Israel. Because of the Lords eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain
justice and righteousness.

Now which of the many queens of Egypt became a believer of the God of
Israel?

There really could

have been only one,
and I believe it was
Nefertiti, the famous
wife of Pharaoh
Akhenaten.
Akhenaten is specially
noted for abandoning
traditional Egyptian
polytheism and
introducing worship
centered on the Aten,
which is sometimes described as monotheistic.
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Nefertiti - The Queen of

Sheba

by Eulalio Eguia Jr.

He declared the Aten to be not merely the supreme god, but the only god, a
universal deity, and forbidding worship of all others, including the veneration
of idols, even privately in people's homes.

Although the Aten is

represented as a sun disk
there was determination
on the part of Akhenaten
to dispel a probable
misconception among the
common people that Aten
was really a type of sun
god like Ra.
Instead, the idea was
reinforced that such
representations were
representations above
all of concepts - of
Aten's universal
presence - not of
physical beings or
things.

Akhenaten and Nefertiti

worshipping the Aten
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Overall, Akhenaten tried

to bring about a departure
from traditional religion,
yet in the end it would not
be accepted.

Nefertiti - The Queen of

Sheba

by Eulalio Eguia Jr.

I believe Akhenaten was the Pharaoh mentioned in the following scripture:

1 Kings 11:9 The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned
away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 Although he
had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lords
command. 14 Then the Lord raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the
Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. 15 Earlier when David was fighting with Edom,
Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up to bury the dead, had struck down
all the men in Edom. 17 But Hadad, still only a boy, fled to Egypt with some Edomite
officials who had served his father.
19 Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him a sister of his own wife,
Queen Tahpenes, in marriage. 20 The sister of Tahpenes bore him a son named
Genubath, whom Tahpenes brought up in the royal palace. There Genubath
lived with Pharaohs own children.

I believe Queen Tahpenes

was Nefertiti, and her
sister given in marriage
to Hadad was Mutbenret,
an Egyptian noblewoman,
and said to be the Sister
(probably younger sister) of
Akhenatens Great Royal
Wife Nefertiti.

Mutbenret behind Nefertiti's daughters, Meritaten,

Meketaten, and Ankhesepaaten and their nurses.
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Mutbenret was often

depicted on carvings
praying to the Aten with
Nefertiti and her family.

Nefertiti - The Queen of

Sheba

by Eulalio Eguia Jr.

And it is likely that Hadad was a worshipper of Aten as well. And this is the
reason why the God of Israel appointed Hadad as an adversary to Solomon
after Solomon apostasized.
I believe Genubath, the son of Mutbenret and Hadad, was Tutankhaten
who later became the Pharaoh Tutankhamun, and who is better known by
his modern colloquial name King Tut. Queen Tahpenes, or Nefertiti,
adopted Genubath as her own son because she failed to produce a male
heir for Akhenaten.
DNA research on
Tutankhamuns mummy
(KV62) as well as the mummy
(KV55) positively identified
as Tutankhamuns father,
showed that Tutankhamuns
father was the son of
Amenhotep III, the father of
Akhenaten. This led many to
believe that Akhenaten was
the father of Tutankhamun.

Tutankhamun's remains
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However, later studies show

that Akhenaten could not
have been Tutankhamuns
father. Thus, if my theory is
correct that Hadad was the
father of Tutankhamun, then
this makes Hadad and
Akhenaten half-brothers.

Nefertiti - The Queen of

Sheba

by Eulalio Eguia Jr.

Also, Tutankhamuns mother was found to be the daughter of Akhenatens

parents, making Mutbenret, the sister of Nefertiti, also the full sister of
Akhenaten.
I believe Nefertiti and
Mutbenret may have been
the 2 sisters of Akhenaten Henuttaneb and Nebetah
respectively, who changed
their names when they
changed their religion to
Atenism.
Akhenaten similarly changed
his name from Amenhotep IV
when he changed his religion
as well.

Henuttaneb standing between her

parents Amenhotep Ill and Tiye

Although Henuttaneb is
nowhere referred to as
Pharaoh's Wife, a plaque in
which her name appears is
enclosed in a cartouche, which
is a privilege only Pharaohs
and their wives were entitled
to.

Thus, my conclusion that Henuttaneb actually became Pharaoh

Akhenatens wife under her new name Nefertiti.
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Nefertiti - The Queen of

Sheba

by Eulalio Eguia Jr.

It should be noted that Yuya, the

maternal grandfather of the
siblings Akhenaten, Henuttaneb,
and Nebetah, is believed to be
not a native Egyptian, but of a
foreign origin. Journalist Ahmed
Osman points out how Yuya is
the only Egyptian mummy to
have his hands placed under
his chin rather than across his
chest, and has what appear to be
Was Yuya, the maternal grandfather
of Akhenaten,
a Hebrew?
Semitic features, and a beard
style similar to that of the ancient Hebrews, whereas Egyptian officials were
known to shave their facial hair. If this is the case, then this explains my
belief that Akhenaten became associated with Solomon early in his reign as
Pharaoh because of Yuya's Hebrew heritage.
I believe Akhenaten was the Pharaoh of Egypt
who made an alliance with Solomon shortly after
Solomon became king, by giving his eldest
daughter Meritaten, who was probably still a 4
year old child then, to Solomon. According to
Josephus, Solomon was only 14 years old
himself when he ascended the throne.

Meritaten,
daughter

Pharaoh
Akhenaten's
whom
Solomon
married

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1 Kings 3:1 Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh

king of Egypt and married his daughter. He brought
her to the City of David until he finished building his
palace and the temple of the Lord, and the wall around
Jerusalem.

Nefertiti - The Queen of

Sheba

by Eulalio Eguia Jr.

Solomon built
a palace
specially
for Meritaten,
the Pharaohs
daughter
whom he
married:

A - WUs,on :a areh cros:nng 30 foot inside T,em.11irc - oun1 from ou -Jcte. B .. 1Mosarc Stone Pavomenit
1: ad'ing to G 'bbalh , C - B _rc,a~s gate 1rni fron,t of tower~ D ... House ,of P,haraoh daughter b.r ned rn- o
counc:I_ _ou-,e E... Porch with underground w t- r re.s,orvoir ,lcadin to Robin~on.- .arch_. F ... Robins,on1s
areh cro- sing _ 1 feet moat and 30 Jeot In i'dc T'-,m,prc Mount,, G ..M'lllo~s Stone t:erraeo rcad'lng to
Porch,. H - sla.l'r:s from 01111:er court t.eadln.g to Robinson .arc'h that cms.se - 30 Jeot h:uside Te,m.plc ,Mount
I .. Trit11npot:in.g tower CN'otrco that W:hat:- preve,nlLng tlllc Inner C:ourt fro.m 1h J1,ing
300 x 300 - quare
feet ,of floor area, ,just likie the r,e- t Of the C,ou
was the Fort Antonf J
1-

1 Kings 9:24
After Pharaohs
daughter had
come up from
the City of David
to the palace
Solomon had
built for her, he
constructed
the terraces.

In my previous blog titled The Dimensions and Structure of King Herods

Temple, I mentioned my belief that this palace was located just west of the
Court of Gentiles, with a bridge (now known as Robinsons Arch) that
connected the porch of this palace with the Court of Gentiles. This implies
the Pharaohs daughter was a regular worshipper of the God of Israel.
Atenism, the monotheistic religion followed by Akhenaten, was introduced by
him in Year 5 of his reign, and was Egypt's state religion for around 20
years. However, subsequent rulers returned to the traditional gods and the
Pharaohs associated with Atenism were erased from Egyptian records.
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Nefertiti - The Queen of

Sheba

by Eulalio Eguia Jr.

This habit of Egyptian Pharaohs to erase the records of their hated

predecessors and claiming their predecessors years of reign as their own, is
the reason why I believe Akhenatens supposed years of reign, from
13531336 BC or 13511334 BC, were erroneous. David Michael Rohl, an
English Egyptologist, used archaeo-astronomy to fix the date of a near
sunset solar eclipse during the reign of Akhenaten and observed from
the city of Ugarit. Based on calculations using computer astronomy
programs, Rohl asserts that the only time when this eclipse could have
occurred during the whole second millennium BC was on May 9, 1012
BC. This is approximately 350 years later than the conventional dates for
Akhenaten. Curiously, Solomon started building the Temple at the 4th year
of his reign which acccording to Bishop Ussher's chronology took place
on 1012 BC. It took Solomon 20 years to finish the Temple and his palace.
1 Kings 6:1 In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites came out of
Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomons reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the
second month, he began to build the temple of the Lord.
1 Kings 9:10 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built these two
buildingsthe temple of the Lord and the royal palace 11 King Solomon gave
twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all
the cedar and juniper and gold he wanted.

I believe the 20 years when Atenism was Egypts state religion

coincided with the 20 years of Solomons construction of the Temple
and his palace. And that Nefertiti left Egypt to marry the King of Ethiopia or
Sheba, just before the end of these 20 years. (Akhenaten already died 7
years before the end of these 20 years, and it was Nefertiti who actually
enforced Atenism as Egypts state religion after his death). It was when
Nefertiti left Egypt that Atenisms hold on Egypt started to decline.
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Nefertiti - The Queen of

Sheba

by Eulalio Eguia Jr.

I believe Solomon, who married

Meritaten, Akhenaten and Nefertitis
eldest daughter, was known to the
Egyptians by the name Smenkhkare.

This image is commonly taken to be

Smenkhkare and Meritaten

Akhenaten made his son-in-law

Smenkhkare, his co-regent 2 years before
he died. This is also probably the time
when Solomon and Meritatens marriage
was finally consummated after their
coming to age. Apparently, Akhenaten
and Nefertiti were hoping to have a male
heir from Solomon and Meritatens
marriage, which unfortunately produced
only a daughter by the name of Meritaten
Tasherit.
Nefertiti reigned as Pharaoh
Neferneferuaten for 2 years right after
Akhenatens death.
Afterwards,I believe she became
co-regent of the then 9 year old and still
single Pharaoh Tutankhaten for an
additional 3 more years.

Nefertiti
pharaoh

depicted
in familiar
scene
smiting Egypt's enemy

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Thus, Nefertiti remained Queen of Egypt

until Tutankhaten married
Ankhesenpaaten, Akhenaten and
Nefertitis 3rd daughter.

Nefertiti - The Queen of

Sheba

by Eulalio Eguia Jr.

It was also before

Tutankhaten married
Ankhesenpaaten that
Nefertiti married the King
of Ethiopia, thus making
Nefertiti the Queen of
Egypt and Ethiopia (or
Sheba) at the same time.

liJungur- is the, name or1he r-uins of a substantial mansi'on localed in

the wesl.e r-n par-I of Aksum, Ethi'opii a:1o the for-mer- capi lal of Ule
K i"ngdom of" Aksum_ ll is known l:oca .lry and popul a.-lty as lhe Pa ac.e
of the Queen of Sheba .
1

I also believe
Tutankhaten became
sole Pharaoh of Egypt
right after this marriage.

During this period Nefertiti visited her son-in-law Solomon in Jerusalem for
the very first time. This is because Solomon may have intended for his
mother-in-law to visit Jerusalem right after he finished the 20 year
construction of the Temple and his palace.
The King of Ethiopia may
have already died when
Nefertiti visited Solomon,
which is why Solomon
gave the Queen of Sheba
in marriage to a tubba
(or king) of Hamdan (a
well-known Yemeni clan
since the 1st millennium
BC).
10th

century

BC

Ternplle of the

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Sun,

Ma.-iib,

Yemen

Nefertiti - The Queen of

Sheba

by Eulalio Eguia Jr.

Interestingly, a 10th century BC Temple of the Sun was discovered and

restored in the Yemeni province of Marib, which was contemporary with the
Temple of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

Tutankhaten's name (living image of Aten) was

changed to Tutankhamun (living image of Amun)

It was on Tutankhatens 6th

year as Pharaoh (or his 3rd
year as sole ruler), when he
was around 15 years old, that
Atenism ceased to be
Egypts state religion, and the
old religion centered on
Amun was restored.This was
also when his name
Tutankhaten (living image of
Aten) was changed to
Tutankhamun (living image of
Amun).
Shortly afterward
Ankhesenpaaten, Nefertitis
3rd daughter , married
Tutankhamun and also
changed her name to
Ankhesenamun to signify her
abandonment of Atenism in
favor of her husbands god
Amun.

Tutankhamun with Ankhesenamun

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Nefertiti - The Queen of

Sheba

by Eulalio Eguia Jr.

Note that Meritaten

Tasherit, the only
daughter of Solomon
(or Smenkhkare) and
Meritaten, was not
changed to
Meritamun Tasherit,
which only shows
that Solomons
Egyptian wife and
Nefertitis eldest
daughter Meritaten
remained a devotee
of Atenism just like
her mother.

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Nefertiti - The Queen of

Sheba

by Eulalio Eguia Jr.

DNA Shows that KV55 Mummy Probably Not Akhenaten

Posted by Kate Phizackerley on Tuesday, March 02, 2010
History records only a single wife for Tutankhamun Ankhesenamun whose image
and name is prominent on a number of items found in KV62, Tutankhamuns tomb in
the Valley of the Kings. It is tempting to indentify the two foetuses from that tomb as
Ankhesenamuns daughters. History is clear that Ankhesenamun was the [third]
daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. If the KV55 mummy is Akhenaten, then as well
as being the paternal grandfather of the foetuses (via Tutankhamun), then he must
also be the maternal grandfather (via Ankhesenamun). However, this contradicts
the genetic data.
Examination of the STR analysis for locus D7S820 shows that Foetus 1 presented
characteristics (alleles) 10 and 13 and Foetus 2 characteristics 6,15. Tutankhamun
(the father), presented 10 and 15 so the other characteristics (alleles) must have been
inherited from their mother (Ankhesenamun), who must therefore have presented
characteristics 6 and 13. Since one of each pair of alleles is inherited from the father
and one from the mother, her father (Akhenaten) must have presented either 6 or 13.
The KV55 mummy presents neither of these and is instead the diploid 15,15.
The KV55 mummy cannot be the maternal grandfather of these mummies, i.e. it
cannot be Akhenaten if Ankhesenamun is the mother of the foetuses.

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