[Illustration: _Akhnaton and Nefertiti with their three Daughters._]
Thus was the king’s city planned and laid out. The two years of feverish work had probably produced considerable results, and already we may picture the city taking form. The royal palace was perhaps almost finished by now, and the villas of some of the nobles were habitable. With many a sigh of relief Akhnaton must have bade farewell to Thebes. A third daughter, who was named Ankhsenpaaton, had just been born; and one may thus picture the royal party which sailed down the river as being very distinctly a family. One sees Akhnaton, a sickly young man of nineteen years of age, walking to and fro upon the deck of the royal vessel, with his hand upon the shoulder of his fair young wife, now some seventeen years old, in whose arms the baby princess is carried. Toddling beside them are the two other princesses, one somewhat over two years of age, the other about four years. The queen’s sister, Nezemmut, records of whose existence soon become apparent, was perhaps also of the party, having left the court of Mitanni to be a companion to Nefertiti. Ay and Ty, the foster-parents of Nefertiti, were doubtless with the royal family now as they sailed down the river; and several of the nobles who play a part in the following pages no doubt formed the suite which attended to the royal commands.
We have spoken of the king as being nineteen years old. The story has now reached a point at which we must pause to consider this vexed question of Akhnaton’s age. In the above pages it has been said that the Pharaoh was about eleven years old at his marriage and accession to the throne; was fifteen when the canons of art were changed and the symbols of the Aton religion introduced; was seventeen when the foundations of the new city were laid; and was nineteen when he took up his residence there. Let us study these ages in the above order.
[Illustration: _The Head of the Mummy of Thothmes IV., the grandfather of Akhnaton._]
Firstly, then, as to the king’s marriage. The mummy of Thothmes IV., the grandfather of Akhnaton, has been shown by Dr Elliot Smith to be that of a man not more than about twenty-six years of age. That king was succeeded by his son Amonhotep III., who is known to have been married to Queen Tiy before the second year of his reign, and to have been old enough at that time to begin to hunt big game. It would be difficult to believe that he would be permitted to join any hunting party, however secure against accident, before the twelfth year of his age; but, on the other hand, if he was more than that age, his father would have to have been less than twelve at _his_ marriage. Thus the only possible conclusion is that both Thothmes IV. and Amonhotep III. were barely thirteen when they were married, and very possibly even younger. This is shown to be a correct conclusion by the fact that the mummy of Amonhotep III. has been pronounced by Dr Elliot Smith to be that of a man of forty-five or fifty; and as he reigned thirty-six years he must have been _at most_ fourteen, and probably some years younger, at his accession and marriage.
