The Wives, Children and Family Tree of Akhenaten

OR: how to find your way around the confetti of the family tree!

In the convoluted ancestral path that makes up much of Egyptian Dynastic relations, Akhenaten did not break with tradition when it came to intermarriage. To best understand the legacy and succession that followed him, it is necessary to take a look at the Amenhotep "family" geneology, before and after his time, which for ease of viewing (not to mention creating), I've broken up into two graphical representations.

There is some question as to whether Thutmose IV descended directly from Amenhotep II. Recently, scholars question whether Mutemwiya's father was the king of Mittanni (in Syria), or not.

Amenhotep IV (the future Akhenaten) had an older brother, Thutmose, who however pre-deceased Amenhotep III. He had at least four sisters and there is a reference to another brother, Merymose, who may or may not have had a different mother than Tiy. Merymose served as vicery of Kush during Amenhotep III's reign.

More importantly, Tiy and Ay were siblings who were not directly related to the royal family; Yuya, their father, was a vizier in Egypt. Tuyu, their mother, was Superior of the Harem of Amun, and also was Superior of the Harem of Min of Akhmim, making both of these non-nobles high-ranking individuals none-the-less. Indeed, as the information is obscure, Tuya and Yuya may well have been distantly royal.

It is likely that Amenhotep IV was less than ten years old when he inherited the kingship, with Tiy, to whom he was promptly married, being younger yet. A period of co-regency with Amenhotep III which may have lasted up to twelve years is possible, but uncertain. Any co-regency may well have been of shorter duration. By his regnal year 5, Amenhotep IV had definitely changed his name to Akhenaten, and had built his city we've come to know today as Amarna, although he'd named it after himself.

And now, the geneaology gets complicated:

Ay fathered Nefertiti, who served as Akhenaten's primary Queen, at least until she leaves the records towards the end of his reign.

Known Wives of Akhenaten:

• Nefertiti
• Kiya
• Merytaten (his daughter)
• Mekytaten (his daughter)
• Ankhesenpaaten (his daughter)
• possibly Merytaten-tasherit

Ay fathered Nefertiti, who served as Akhenaten's primary Queen, at least until she leaves the records towards the end of his reign.

I've represented Akhenaten's marriages to his daughters by re-listing his name again in the bottom left of the graphic (he is not an offspring). Dotted lines represent marriages in the cases where solid lines would be confusing.

The daughters of Akhenaten and Nefertiti:

Meritaten (Merytaten) born circa 1349
Meketaten (Mekytaten) circa 1336
Ankhenspaaten circa 1346
Neferneferuaten circa 1339
Neferneferure and Setepnere circa 1338. (Twins??)

The last two have names referring to the divinity, Re. Evidently by the time their names were being recorded, the worship of Aten was in decline.

It is known that Akhenaten had a child with his third daughter, of the same name as his wife. Ankhesepaaten eventually married Tutankhamun, and then, after the boy-king died, she was married to the very elderly Ay, her grandfather, in hopes of perpetuating the dynasty. This did not happen. Her name was changed to Ankhesenamun with the return of Amun. Her story has got to be the story of tragedy.

It is speculated that Smenkhkare is another brother of Akhenaten's, but he may also be his son via his wife, Kiya. Thus I've left Smenkhkare's connection to the royal lineage off of the above representation. If Smenkhkare is indeed Kiya's royal son, then he and Tutankhamun were brothers. The mummy presumed to be his is indeed that of an adult male.

References:

Peter A. Clayton: Chronicle of the Pharaohs, 1994. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05074-0
Cyril Aldred: Akhenaten, King of Egypt, 1988. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-27621-8