Egyptian Relic Series

Horus (the Elder):

Horus is an ancient Egyptian deity, often depicted as a man with the head of a falcon. He is usually labelled the God of Kingship or the God of the Sky. The Eye of Horus, alternatively known as the All Seeing Eye, is an ancient Egyptian symbol of power and protection.

Legend has it that Horus and Set battled to rule Egypt after their brother Osiris' death, with Horus losing an eye in the process. Horus won, and it was believed each new pharaoh would become Horus incarnate once the last one had died, and the dead pharaoh would become Osiris.

Queen Nefertiti:

Born in 1370, Queen Nefertiti was a ruler of Egypt between 1353 and 1334. She died in 1330. Nefertiti's spouse was the pharaoh Akhenaten, who was the father of the next ruler - Tutankhamun. Nefertiti was not the next pharaoh's mother, however.

Nefertiti and Akhenaten became famous in their day for their religious revolution, which saw them have one god - Aten, the Sun Disc. They ruled during one of the most prosperous periods in Ancient Egyptian history.

The Queen is notable for the statue of her head (bust) produced by a sculptor called Thutmose. The bust was estimated to have been made in 1345 and was discovered by a German archaeological team in pristine condition in 1912; still in Thutmose's workshop. It is still intact today and resides in the Neues Museum in Berlin.

King Tutankhamun:

Tutankhamun reigned from 1332 to 1323 BC. He ascended at around 9 or 10 years old and died in his early 20s, though by this point he was married to his half-sister and had several daughters.

King Tut's tomb was found almost entirely intact in 1922. The expedition to find his burial chamber was funded by Lord Carnarvon and generated a huge resurgence in interest for Ancient Egypt.

The death mask worn by Tutankhamun now resides on display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Ramesses II:

Known as the "Great Ancestor" or 'Ozymandias' to the Greeks, Ramesses II was the third pharaoh of the 19th Empire and ruled from 1279 to 1213 BC. Ramesses the Great is the most famous, and arguably most powerful, of all the Ancient Egyptian rulers. He lived until around 90/91 years old which was incredible for that period in history.

Ramesses was appointed Prince Regent in his early teens by his father, Seti the First, and became Pharaoh in his late teens. During his reign, Ramesses led many military campaigns; first to reestablish Egypt's borders, and then to take further ground back from those who would rebel, venturing into both Libya and an area of the eastern Mediterranean known as the Levant - now modern day Syria and a few surrounding valleys.

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