Samantha Mia Caldera

January 8, 2018
Period: 5
English

A Great Pharaoh:
Shai-Nefer
During the great times of Ancient Egypt there were many great pharaohs that
guided them throughout the laborious and burdensome periods of time. All of these
pharaohs had many accomplishments, and were amazing leaders. There were many
great pharaohs, for example; Tutankhaten, Khufu, Senusret I, Hatshepsut, and Ramses
II. All these pharaohs were very known, but there was one pharaoh who was not very
known because she was was pharaoh for only short period of time, but she was in fact
one of the greatest. She was one of the first women pharaohs, sadly her story never
really got told, so she is very unknown to most people. Most historians today are still
trying to figure out her complete story because since she wasn’t alive very long they
never actually found out her complete life story. There are many theories about who
she was and what had happened to her. Although her story isn’t completely finished she
still remains one of the greatest pharaohs, she really made a difference during her time
being. Now her story shall be told, so that she will now be recognized as one of the
greatest pharaohs who actually made a difference. This pharaoh was a great pharaoh
and her name was Shai-Nefer.

Who She Was

Shai-Nefer did not come from a wealthy background when she was younger. In
fact she was from a family of artisans and the artisans were never recognized for their
amazing work. There were many different types of scribes but her father was stone
carver, and her mother beaded clothing. Although she was very young her parents had
started showing her how to sculpt because when she was old enough she would follow
in their footsteps. Her father was a very skilled stone carver and her mother was very
skilled at beaded all the clothing. Shai- Nefer knew that since she was a girl when she
would come of age the only job’s that she had a choice from were weaving fabric,
beading clothing, and also making perfume. Although she knew that these were the only
jobs that she could choose from she wanted to have her fathers job because to her it
seemed more interesting than just adding beads on clothing or weaving clothing or
making perfume. She always found the women’s job’s to seem boring when she was a
little girl because she thought that sculpting, painting, make jewelry, make statues,
engravings in temples, tombs, and reliefs. When she was younger she had always
prefered the men’s job’s rather than the women’s because they were more interesting
and you were able to work on more interesting things. Also because you were able to
more and you were able to create different types of artwork. Since, she had always
prefered the men’s jobs than the women’s most of the people thought that she was
rather strange.As she became of age she decided that she would help her father with
his work. Together they had created some of the most priceless work. Later, on her and
her father had been called by the pharaoh to work on her new monument that would be
placed in a part of Egypt called Dayr-Al-Bahri. The pharaoh at that time was
Hatshepsut. Shai-Nefer had always admired her and the way that she lead the people.
She also admired the way she dressed like a man just to prove that she could be
Pharaoh and rule Egypt in her own right. When Shai-Nefer had seen Hatshepsut she
knew that she wanted to be just like her. Years later, after Shai-Nefer, her father and
some other workers had finished the monument her father had passed away. She had
been very devastated and a few years later they announced that Hatshepsut had
passed away. One of the government officials wanted Shai-Nefer to her work on
Hatshepsut’s tomb. In reward they gave her a temporary position as pharaoh until they
had found someone to replace Hatshepsut. They finally had decided that they wanted
her to be pharaoh permanently after a year. Shai-Nefer wanted to be pharaoh as a
reward so that they could take care of her sick mother, who had sadly passed away.
Sadly, Shai-Nefer was only pharaoh for six years, but she truly left behind a great
legacy.

Her Accomplishments
Although she was only pharaoh for a short time being she accomplished many
things and during her time she helped flourish more respect for the artisans and all the
amazing artwork and architecture that they created. She wanted to show a lot of respect
to the artisans because she knew that although they create priceless work they never
actually get enough credit for it all. In fact, she wanted to show that they deserve more
than what they have because they made temples, shrines tombs, artwork, perfume,
etc., of all people she would know because she was one of them. Another one of her
accomplishments was that she had built many temples, shrines, and monuments. One
of her most known monuments was the one that she made in honor of both of her
parents, the monument is located in Kharga Oasis,Egypt and it is called Nefer
monument, in honor of the family’s last name.Another one of Shai-Nefers many
accomplishments is that she encouraged trade. Shai-Nefer promoted her trade with
other countries. Her biggest trade expedition was to the African Kingdom of Punt, which
is at the southern end of the Red Sea. She had sent five ships to Punt bearing gifts and
trade goods, and in all over 200 men had made that voyage. Additionally, she kept very
strict control over Egypt’s food supply. Which had involved overseeing the harvest and
storing all the extra grain that there was. Another accomplishment was that she had
made the most beautiful artwork, and beautiful literature. For example; some of the
most beautiful works of Egyptian literature were written during Shai-Nefer’s reign. For
instance; the Westcar Papyrus, which contains five different stories about miracles that
are performed by priests and magicians, and also the Story of Sinuhe, which tells a
story of a young official named Sinuhe who overhears a plot to kill the pharaoh. Fearing
for his own life he flees to Egypt and he thrives in his new land, but he grows very
homesick. Then, when a new pharaoh calls him home he returns joyfully. Something
that Shai-Nefer was proud of was that before she died she had made her own tomb
because since she had remembered helping build Hatshepsut’s tomb she had wanted
to build her own. On the walls she had painted beautiful artwork of her and her family
and how she had painted herself as a pharaoh. She wanted to build her own tomb
because she knew that it would be more meaningful to her if she had made it personally
for herself instead of someone building it for her instead.

What They Found And The

Theories
As you know Shai-Nefer was a great pharaoh, but she was pharaoh for a short
amount of time. Historians have tried to find different artifacts to see if they will give any
clues to how she may have died. Some scientists believe that she may have gotten
shot, others believe that she may have gotten an illness. In the year of 1910, they
discovered the tomb of Shai-Nefer and they found her body, she was one of the best
preserved mummies ever found. They discovered the tomb by her parents monument in
Kharga Oasis, Egypt. After they had discovered her body they did an X-Ray, and they
discovered that she had a broken rib, and that broken rib had been infected. So, that
caused many scientists and historians to believe that since the bone had gotten infected
it may have given her an illness, which may have caused her to pass away. Then, they
did a CT scan and it showed that she had a disease that is called tuberculosis. Others
just think that she got tuberculosis and she passed away. Most scientists believe that
the infection may have caused her to get tuberculosis, but no one knows what actually
caused her death. When the archaeologists had found her body they had also found her
parents because she had been buried nearby them, when they did the CT scan they
found out that they both had died of tuberculosis. In her tomb they had found different
types of jewelry that she had worn and they also found the tools that she had used to
build her tomb. For example; they had found iron oxide, malachite, reed brushes and
inks, chisels, granite, etc. All the walls had paintings and hieroglyphs that said things
about when she was younger till she became pharaoh. Since, the archaeologists had
found all those materials in her tomb they began to realize that those were the materials
that artisans used. So, they scanned the tools and realized that her fingerprints were on
the tools. So, they realized that before she had become pharaoh her position in the
Social Classes was as an artisan, which meant so were her parents. In the front of the
monument there are two statues of Shai-Nefer and in the inside there are two statues of
her parents. There are millions of paintings on the walls that show who they were and
what they did. In her tomb there is a message and it states that whenever her and her
family had passed on she wanted them to be buried together. Their is also a message
in her tomb that talks about although she is no longer pharaoh she wishes that the
artisans still deserve the utmost respect for all their hard work and labor that has paid
off.

Lastly, Shai-Nefer was one of the greatest pharaohs and she had many great
accomplishments. She always fought for what she really wanted. Although she wasn’t in
command for very long she still made a difference in Ancient Egypt, which had helped it
become even more successful than it already had been. As one of the first women
pharaohs she made a difference. Although she didn’t come from a very wealthy
background she still made her way to the top and she became successful. She created
priceless, beautiful, valuable work, but as a pharaoh she was a phenomenon.