the succession of kings at the end of the eighteenth dynasty of ancient egypt is a matter of great debate and confusion. there are very few contemporary records that can be relied upon, due to the nature of the amarna period and the reign of akhenaten and his successors and possible co-regents. it is known that akhenaten reigned for seventeen years, and it was previously believed that in the last 3 or 4 years, he had two co-regents: smenkhkare, who was possibly his brother or son, and neferneferuaten, who was either one of his daughters or his great royal wife nefertiti. it is unknown in which order they followed each other, and neither of their reigns lasted long, for tutankhamun succeeded not long after akhenaten's death.