File:Nefertiti talatat - Pharaoh exhibit - Cleveland Museum of Art (27954385956).jpg

Talatat of Queen Nefertiti, created in Egypt about 1353 to 1357 BC. Found in East Karnak, Thebes.

A talatat is a small stone used to build a temple. They were 10.5 inches by 10.5 inches by 21 inches. Large, massive stones were traditionally used to build temples prior to the reign of Pharoah Akhenaten. But these were difficult to quarry and move into position. Akhenaten, who imposed a new religion on Egypt, wanted to build many new temples very quickly -- and so he innovated, using talatat instead. The word was invented by Egyptian workmen in the 1700s, and may be a corruption of the Italian word "tagliata" (or "cut masonry").

This talatat show Nefertiti worshipping the god Aten and making offerings to him. The sun's rays (which end in human hands) shine on her face; one of them holds an ankh (symoblizing the breath of life) to her nose. This talatat was part of four temples erected early in Akhenaten's reign east of Karnak.

Nefertiti was the wife of Amenhotep IV, who changed his name to Akhenaten. Akhenaten declared that all deities were false, except for one -- the sun god, Aten. His declaration roiled Egypt, and caused widespread unrest. He attempted to build a new capital at Amarna and he closed down most temples which did not worship Aten. This imposed huge costs on the Egyptian economy, and left vast numbers of priests, assistants, and their extensive networks of suppliers (farmers, ranchers, artists, builders, etc.) without income.

Things got so bad that a regent, a woman named Neferneferuaten, was appointed to rule Egypt as pharoah. Since the pharaoh Hemhoreb attempted to wipe out all knowledge of the Amarna pharaohs, it's not exactly clear when she began to rule, but she probably was named regent two or three years before Akhenaten's death. (It's also possible she ruled as pharaoh for two or three years after his death, rather than as regent.) How she died is not known, although roughly 80 percent of her funerary items were used for Tutankhamun's tomb (indicating she was quite powerful and wealthy).

Neferneferuaten was succeeded as pharaoh by Akhenaten's oldest son, the 35-year-old Smenkhkare. His reign lasted just a year. Once more, we know next to nothing about him, or how he died. It's possible he may have been co-regent with Neferneferuaten.

The next pharaoh was Akhenaten's youngest son, Tutankhamun. Tut was the product of incest between Akhenaten and "the Younger Lady" (Akhenaten's sister). He was nine years old when he ascended the throne, and just 18 when he died. "King Tut" had two regents -- the grand vizier Ay, and the general Horemheb. When Tut was 12, he ended worship of Aten, restored the old pantheon of gods, and moved the capital back to Thebes.

Tutankhamun was not in good health. He had a slightly cleft palate", a mild case of scoliosis (curvature of the spine), malaria, and a deformed left foot which probably forced him to walk with a cane. (The bone in the foot was eaten away, either due to injury and infection, or by malaria.) Late in life, he fractured his left thighbone, and this injury probably killed him.

Tut was succeeded by Ay, who was either his grand-uncle (Amenhotep III's brother) or grand-brother-in-law (brother of one of Amenhotep III's wives). Horemheb had been designated heir, but Ay married Ankhesenamun, Tutankhamun's widow, and finagled his way onto the throne. Already aged (he was probably in his 50s or early 60s at the time of his ascension), Ay ruled for just four years.

Ay chose his own son, Nakhtmin -- a military leader under Tutankhamun and Ay -- as his successor. But Horemheb, who may have been Ay's son-in-law, asserted his rights under Tut and seized the throne.

Horemheb was probably in late middle age by the time he became pharaoh. His ruled lasted 14 years. He died childless, and named his vizier, Paramesse, as his successor. Paramesse was a nobleman who was also a High Priest of Amun.