Akhenaten IV ruled Egypt for 17 years - taking over from his father, Amenhotep III. His reign was a turbulent one. He was known as the "heretic pharaoh" for his monotheistic beliefs, and his death lead to political turmoil and the eventual dissolution of the 18th dynasty. While the king was largely forgotten to history, the legend of his wife Nefertiti and son Tutankhamun continues to intrigue.

Akhenaten - also known as Amenhotep IV - married "the beautiful one" Nefertiti and the couple had six known daughters. Their worship of Aten, the sun disc (depicted here, along with some of their children) defined their reign. Akhenaten would have a final son, known as Tutankhamun. While it remains unclear, some believe Nefertiti to be the mother of the legendary boy king.

The jury is out on whether this image depicts Tutankhamun and his half-sister and wife Ankhesenanun, or his sister Meritaten and her pharaoh husband Smenkhkare. Tutankhamun would ascend to the throne in 1333 BC as a young boy, counseled by the powerful general Horemheb - who would later seize control of the empire, and begin a campaign to erase all records of the Akhenaten dynasty.

The discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922 by British archeologist Howard Carter would reignite interest in the largely forgotten 18th dynasty, and of course Nefertiti. Resplendent artifacts - such as these earthenware works from Akhenaten's reign - would further intrigue both Egyptologists and the general public, bewitched by the mystery of Nefertiti - and her legendary beauty.

Aesthetic beauty alone, however, couldn't keep the Akhenaten dynasty in power. Having systematically tried to erase any traces of Akhenaten, Nefertiti and Tutankhamun, Horemheb's own reign would be one of relative peace and stability in Egypt. His own death would signal the end of the 18th dynasty and the beginning of another, under the reign of his grandson Ramesses I.

While Egyptology was popularized with Carter's historic discovery, the study of ancient Egypt - and its infinite mysteries - has been the obsessions of many for centuries. Frenchman Jean-Francois Champollion would decipher the hieroglyphs on the Rosetta Stone in 1822 and Venetian explorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni pioneered the exploration of the second pyramid of Giza in the early 19th century.

Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves' (center) theory that Nefertiti may be buried behind the walls of Tutankhamun's 3,300-year-old pharaonic mausoleum has sparked renewed intrigue in the Queen. Egypt's Antiquities Minister, Mamdouh el-Damaty (left) has announced plans to radar the chamber, stating, "If it is true, we are facing a discovery that would overshadow the discovery of Tutankhamun himself."