This can also be explained as stemming from Akhenaten's religious beliefs in that the Aten, not the pharaoh, was the most important consideration, and under the influence of the Aten's love and grace, the pharaoh and his family thrives. Akhenaten remains an interesting figure, as does his Queen, Nefertiti. Akhenaten's religious reforms resulted in his being despised as 'the heretic king' by some while admired as a champion of monotheism by others. Whether Akhenaten was motivated by a political agenda to suppress the power of the cult of Amun or if he experienced a true religious revelation, he was the first on record to envision a single, supreme deity who cared for the individual lives and fates of human beings. Percy Jackson is a demigod, son of the mortal, Sally Jackson, and the Greek God of the sea, Poseidon. However, before he could complete his efforts, Akhenaten died suddenly, in 1336 B.C.E. - Stories, Character Traits & Analysis, Xenophanes of Colophon: Philosophy, Quotes & Biography, Empress Theodora: Biography, Facts & Quotes, Execution by Guillotine: Definition & Invention, Charles Martel: Biography & Battle of Tours, Working Scholars Bringing Tuition-Free College to the Community. The gods and practices of the various cults all represented the same end: eternal harmony and balance. Images of pharaohs before and after this period depict the ruler as a solitary figure engaged in hunting or battle or standing in the company of a god or his queen in dignity and honor. Ignoring the foreign political losses, Akhenaten instead sent out his agents bearing chisels and orders to destroy all carved references to Amun and Mut, even if they were carved on granite stele many stories above the ground, even if they were small hand-held personal items, even if they were used to spell Amenhotep III's name. It had several royal greater-than-lifesized statues made in a new art style, located north of the temple of Amun, and near a mudbrick palace for the king. Hammurabi was a ruler of. ruled an Egyptian empire, extending into Syria, Palestine and the Sudan . Omissions? Akhenaten Stelewikipedia user: Maksim (Public Domain). While some historians have suggested this may have been due to Akhenaten having a physical disorder, such as Marfan's syndrome, others simply consider it part of a wider movement in ancient Egyptian art toward more natural depictions of their subjects. Tutankhamun's successors Ay (1327-1323 BCE) and, especially, Horemheb (c. 1320-1292 BCE) tore down the temples and monuments built by Akhenaten to honor his god and had his name, and the names of his immediate successors, stricken from the record. In the 5th year of his reign, Amenhotep IV outlawed the old Egyptian religion and proclaimed himself the living incarnation of a single all-powerful deity known as Aten and, by the 9th year, he had closed all the temples and suppressed religious practices. However, the ancient Egyptians were a deeply religious people who loved their ancient traditions and were not ready to embrace such radical changes. He demanded more and more temples to be built as rapidly as possiblethe South Cemetery at Amarna contains the remains of children whose bones show evidence of hard physical labor. Their faces were characterized by large lips, long noses and squinting eyes, and their bodies displayed narrow shoulders and waists, small and somewhat concave torsos and large thighs, buttocks and bellies. Amenhotep IV may have been co-regent with his father, Amenhotep III, and it has been noted that the sun-disk known as the 'Aten' is displayed on a number of inscriptions from this period of the earlier king's reign. Illustrated Papyri translations edited for the modern reader. The Karnak colossi in particular show these new characteristics in notably exaggerated form, including one that apparently depicts the king without male genitalia. Akhenaten's lack of concern for foreign policy unraveled some of the hard-fought alliances made by his father, Amenhotep III. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. Hi Andriana, Great question! In addition, settings became less formal as well. The walls were decorated with reliefs executed entirely in sunk relief, a method well-suited for exterior surfaces exposed to direct sunlight. Cu MIX za . Amenhotep IV continued that practice, but his attention was focused primarily on his connection to Re-Horakhty (Horus of the two horizons or God of the East), an aspect of Re. His priests secretly continued their polytheistic worship. Among other things, these state that if he were to die outside of his home city, his body should be brought back and buried in the tomb that was being prepared for him in the eastern cliffs. Akhenaten drastically revised the religious and political structure of Egypt, developed new art and architectural styles, and generally caused great chaos during the Middle Bronze Age. 13921292 BCE) continued to tear down the temples, chisel out Akhenaten's name, and bring back the old traditional forms of belief. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. Mark has lived in Greece and Germany and traveled through Egypt. [6][7][20][21][22] Akhenaten's rediscovery and Flinders Petrie's early excavations at Amarna sparked great public interest in the pharaoh and his queen Nefertiti. Akhenaten believed that Aten, the sun disk, was the one true god. Akhenaten's Monotheistic Beliefs. His reign as Amenhotep IV lasted five years during which he followed the policies of his father and the religious traditions of Egypt. - Akhenaten's life may have been threatened. Akhenaten is viewed as one of the most controversial Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. However, like many topics pertaining to Akhenaten, this issue remains the subject of much scholarly debate. His father was Amenhotep III , the King of the 18 th dynasty when Egypt was at its peak. 1379 BCE). Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Amenhotep's jubilee didn't celebrate Amun, Ptah, Thoth, or Osiris; there was only one god represented: Re, the sun god. Last modified April 17, 2014. A much more likely reason for this style of art, however, is the king's religious beliefs. When Akhenaten died, he was succeeded briefly by Smenkhkare, his favorite, and then by Tutankhaten who change his name to Tutankhamun, dropping the Aten and embracing Amun. was a revolutionary who transformed Egyptian society by instituting history's first monotheistic religion. But this religious and artistic renaissance was short lived; Akhenaten made himself unpopular by closing the old temples, and his lack of enthusiasm for the practical duties of kingship was detrimental to Egypts Imperial interests. They sought local humans to guide each space sector through this transition, and Akhenaten's ruthless leadership history and vision for the future made him an ideal candidate. (2014, April 17). The temples there had gateways to keep out the masses, hundreds of altars open to the air and no roofs over the sanctuaryvisiting dignitaries complained about having to stand in the sun for a long time. Heads became larger than in the traditional style and were supported by elongated and slender necks. His reign is known as the Amarna Period because he moved the capital of Egypt from the traditional site at Thebes to the city he founded, Akhetaten, which came to be known as Amarna (also Tell el-Amarna). The Aten was seen as the one true god who presided over all and infused all living things. Do you know anyone who is so focused on one thing or another that they lose all interest in anything else? Amarna, Northern PalaceChanel Wheeler (CC BY-SA). Open Document. However, within a few years there were changes. Whether one regards Akhenaten as a hero or villain in Egypt's history, his elevation of the Aten to supremacy changed not only that nation's history, but the course of world civilization. G Sioen / De Agostini Picture Library / Getty Images. Brahman. - Act of Religion to promote his god of choice. Shortly after this first significant step, Akhenaten initiated a series of changes in Egyptian religion, art and writing that appeared to coincide with the jubilees of his deified father, Amenhotep III, and the Aten. While there are, then, examples of Akhenaten looking after state affairs, there are more which substantiate the claim of his disregard for anything other than his religious reforms and life in the palace. There were so many temples required that Amenhotep IV's architects invented a new building style to speed things up, using smaller blocks (talatats). (5). Chris has an M.A. Whether such statues were intended to represent the male and female element combined in the person of the divine king or whether they are simply statues of Nefertiti has not been satisfactorily settled. Much scholarly debate has centred on whether these features reflect the actual appearance of the kingextended by convention to his family and retainersand various theories have been argued about the presumed pathology of Amenhotep IV and what medical conditions might produce the anatomical traits shown. Thanos then eradicated the Celestial Order's race in a past time period before they first accessed the Heart and pronounced him God, effectively preventing Akhenaten's assault on Earth and erasing his actions since encountering the Order. Unfortunately, Moses lived around three-hundred years earlier the story of the Exodus covers a period between 1657 and 1512 BCE. Akhenaten attempted to abolish most of the complex mythology of the solar cycleno longer was it a nightly struggle against the forces of evil, nor were there explanations for the existence of sorrow and evil in the world. The Aton temples at Karnak therefore consisted of a series of vast open-air courts in which there was virtually no interior space at all. One series of reliefs shows Amenhotep IV at the celebration of his jubilee, a ceremony normally observed by kings of the New Kingdom (c. 15391075 bce) only beginning in their 30th regnal year. Note: Akhenaten is distinguished from the earlier Amenhotep, later a vampire in the Legion of the Unliving. Hawass writes: Akhenaten did not, however, abandon the rest of the country and retire exclusively to Akhetaten. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. A freelance writer and former part-time Professor of Philosophy at Marist College, New York, Joshua J. Because of the many Jews in his court, many of whom were highly placed he introduced a monotheistic religion and carried out a religious reform in which Aten, the sun-god, was the only god. The introduction of Akhenaten's monotheistic views attributed to the decline of the Egyptian empire during his reign in the 18th dynasty. Akhenaten. The British Museum is free to everybody and opens at 10am every day. The historian Lewis Spence writes: Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter! 3 Pages. Akhenaten chose this name for himself after his conversion to the cult of Aten. The most striking changes are seen in the appearance of the royal family. There he learns to walk like an Egyptian beside the future pharaoh, Ramses (Joel Edgerton), until the Hebrews' suffering motivates him to wage a holy war against . Biography of Queen Nefertiti, Ancient Egyptian Queen, Most Important Figures in Ancient History, Dynastic Egypt Timeline - 2,700 Years of Change in Egyptian Society, The Symbolism Behind the Double Crown of Egypt, Pharaoh Thutmose III and the Battle of Megiddo, Egyptian View of Death and Their Pyramids, Old Kingdom: Ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom Period, Step Pyramid of Djoser - Ancient Egypt's First Monumental Pyramid, The Ptolemies: Dynastic Egypt From Alexander to Cleopatra, The Kingdom of Kush: Sub-Saharan African Rulers of the Nile, Life, Death and Beyond in Akhenaten's Egypt: Excavating the South Tombs Cemetery at Amarna, Biological Age of Skeletonized Mummy from Tomb KV 55 at Thebes. The scenes, reconstructed from thousands of individual talatat blocks, portray the royal couple and their eldest daughter, Meritaton, engaged primarily in making offerings to the Aton, although scenes of offering-bearers, cattle designated for slaughter, foreigners in obeisance, and detailed depictions of the royal palace are also abundant. From documents and letters of the time, it is known that other nations, formerly allies, wrote numerous times asking Egypt for help in various affairs and that most of these requests were ignored by the deified king. Amenhotep IV moved his seat of power from the traditional palace at Thebes to one he built at the city he founded, Akhetaten, changed his name to Akhenaten, and continued the religious reforms which resulted in his being despised as `the heretic king' by some later writers while admired as a champion of monotheism by others. Within the first few years of his rule, Amenhotep IV introduced sweeping changes in the spheres of religion, architecture, and art (see Amarna style). King Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) King Akhenaten or Amenhotep IV was the great Egyptian pharaoh for the 18th dynasty for 17 years and died in 1336 B.C. He ruled from 1352-1336. pr. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. That same year Akhenaten moved his capital to a new site some 200 miles (300 km) north of Thebes. The Wilbour Plaque, limestone plaque, c. 1352-1336 BCE, Brooklyn Museum . Neighboring kings in the Mediterranean were invited, as were nobles and the general populace. The highly anticipated animated series will be available February 15 on Disney+, following the February 10 premiere on Disney Channel. A kind of "Gladiator" set in the desert, it tells the story of Moses (played by Christian Bale), the Hebrew orphan raised in blissful ignorance and wealth in Pharaoh's palace. Akhenaten's mother, Queen Tiye, and one of his daughters died shortly after. The fourth temple built at Karnak in the 4th year of his reign, called Hutbenben "the Temple of the benben stone," is the earliest example of the revolutionary style of the new pharaoh. A religious reformer he made the Aten, the sun disc, the center of Egypt . In Akhenaten, Nicholas Reeves presents an entirely new perspective on the turbulent events of Akhenaten's seventeen-year reign. Akhenatens son, Tutankhaten, restored the disgraced Amun as king of the gods, and he renamed himself Tutankhamun to honor Amun. Akhenaten was not the first pharaoh to show interest in the Aten. In 1353 or possibly 1351 BCE, Amenhotep IV ascended to the throne of Egypt. After the first 5 normal years of his reign Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten meaning 'living spirit of Aten'. At one point the mutant Apocalypse posed as Aten during a meeting with Akhenaten. Pharaoh during Egypt's 18th Dynasty, Amenhotep established a monotheistic religion worshipping the sun god Aten, alleged creator of the universe. Guests include Kate Spence, Richard Parkinson and Elizabeth Frood. I feel like its a lifeline. Beginning with the first dynasty of the Old Kingdom, pharaohs held "sed festivals," over-the-top parties of eating, drinking, and dancing that were jubilees of kingly renewal. This was probably carried out, at least in part, by illiterate iconoclasts, presumably following the orders of their king. There is no doubt that his attention to this problem served the interests of the state but, as other similar issues were ignored, it seems that he only chose those situations which interested him personally. He built an entirely new capital, Amarna, some 200 miles north of the Egyptian capital of Thebes and ordered the relocation. Amenhotep III ruled over a land whose priesthood, centered on the god Amun, had been steadily growing in power for centuries. However, during one brief period Egypt adopted monotheism. Akhenaten and His Religious-Political Reform By Ji Jank . Eventually, dissatisfied priests and civil officials combined with the army to discredit the new religion. In 1334 B.C., after a 17 year reign, Akhenaten was abducted by the alien Cosmic Order, who had two millennia before discovered and accessed the vast power of the Heart of the Infinite. The new temples were built entirely of relatively small blocks of sandstone of uniform size, known as talatat, apparently for speed in constructionan understandable convenience, considering the scale of the project. This insistence on being the sole arbiter of ultimate truth leads to intolerance of other beliefs and their suppression; this is precisely what happened in Egypt. He moved his capital from Thebes to a place now called Tell el-Amarna or Amarna, more than 200 miles (300 km) north, on a desert bay on the east side of the Nile River. Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Pharaoh Akhenaten. The new city had many spacious villas with trees, pools, and gardens. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/Akhenaten/. This effectively ended the priesthood of Amen-Re.