Neferneferuaten / Smenkhkare

The mysterious successors

The final years of Akhenaten's reign are heavily clouded in mystery, largely because later pharaohs systematically destroyed the records of the Amarna period. It appears Akhenaten briefly ruled with a co-regent named Smenkhkare, who was married to his daughter Meritaten. Smenkhkare died within a year.

A female pharaoh in disguise

Following Smenkhkare's death, a ruler named Neferneferuaten took the throne as co-regent. Because Queen Nefertiti had previously adopted "Neferneferuaten" as part of her royal title, many historians strongly suspect that this pharaoh was actually Nefertiti ruling in her own right. Others theorize it may have been her daughter Meritaten. The exact identities and sequence of these brief reigns remain heavily debated.