Valley of the Queens in the context of "Nefertari"

Ramesses VI Nebmaatre-Meryamun (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses, also known under his princely name of Amenherkhepshef C) was the fifth ruler of the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt. He reigned for about eight years in the mid-to-late 12th century BC and was a son of Ramesses III and queen Iset Ta-Hemdjert. As a prince, he was known as Ramesses Amunherkhepeshef and held the titles of royal scribe and cavalry general. He was succeeded by his son, Ramesses VII Itamun, whom he had fathered with queen Nubkhesbed.

After the death of the ruling pharaoh, Ramesses V, who was the son of Ramesses VI's older brother, Ramesses IV, Ramesses VI ascended the throne. In the first two years after his coronation, Ramesses VI stopped frequent raids by Libyan or Egyptian marauders in Upper Egypt and buried his predecessor in what is now an unknown tomb of the Theban necropolis. Ramesses VI usurped KV9, a tomb in the Valley of the Kings planned by and for Ramesses V, and had it enlarged and redecorated for himself. The craftsmen's huts near the entrance of KV9 covered up the entrance to Tutankhamun's tomb, saving it from a wave of tomb robberies that occurred within 20 years of Ramesses VI's death. Ramesses VI may have planned and made six more tombs in the Valley of the Queens, none which are known today.

QV66 is the tomb of Nefertari, the Great Wife of Pharaoh Ramesses II, in Egypt's Valley of the Queens. It was discovered by Ernesto Schiaparelli (the director of the Egyptian Museum in Turin) in 1904. Nefertari, which means "The most beautiful (one) among them", was Ramesses II's favorite wife; he went out of his way to make this obvious, referring to her as "the one for whom the sun shines" in his writings, built the Temple of Hathor at Abu Simbel to idolize her as a deity, and commissioned portraiture wall paintings. In the Valley of the Queens, Nefertari's tomb once held the mummified body and representative symbolisms of her, consistent with most Egyptian tombs of the period. Now, everything has been looted except for two thirds of the 5,200 square feet of wall paintings. For what still remains, these wall paintings characterized Nefertari's character. Her face received particular attention to emphasize her beauty, especially the shape of her eyes, the blush of her cheeks, and her eyebrows. Some paintings were full of lines and color of red, blue, yellow, and green that portrayed exquisite directions to navigating through the afterlife to paradise.

Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt. Luxor had a population of 284,952 in 2023, with an area of 43.0 km (16.6 sq mi) and is the capital of the Luxor Governorate. Nicknamed the City of a Hundred Gates or the City of the Sun, formerly known as Thebes. It was one of the capitals of Ancient Egypt. The city is among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.

Luxor has frequently been characterized as the ''world's greatest open-air museum'', as the ruins of the Egyptian temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor stand within the modern city. Immediately opposite, across the River Nile, lie the monuments, temples, and tombs of the West Bank Theban Necropolis, which includes the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. Luxor is a major destination for tourism, with its large hotels and resorts, known also for its famous hot air balloons. The city also contains diversified cultural heritage such as temples, churches, and mosques, co-existing side by side. Around 5 million tourists from around the world arrive annually to visit Luxor's attractions, making a significant contribution to the modern city's economy.

Thutmose II was the fourth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, and his reign is thought to have lasted for 14 years, from 1493 to 1479 BC (Low Chronology), or just 3 years from around 1482 to 1479 BC. Little is known about him, and he is overshadowed by his father Thutmose I, half-sister and wife Hatshepsut, and son Thutmose III. There are relatively few monuments that refer to Thutmose II.

He died before the age of 30, and a body claimed to be his was found in the Royal Cache above the Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut. His tomb, in the Western Wadis near the Valley of the Queens, was found in 2022 and confirmed to be his in 2025. The tomb was built under waterfalls, leading to periodic flooding, which damaged the tomb throughout the ages. His mummified body was relocated in ancient times, and its final resting place is disputed.

Hot air ballooning in Luxor is an aspect of the Egyptian tourist industry. Tour companies offer sunrise rides in hot-air balloons to tourists who enjoy views of ancient Thebes, the temple complexes of Karnak and Luxor, the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens.

The following is a list of burials in the Valley of the Queens, in Thebes (modern Luxor, Egypt) and nearby associated areas.