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Introduction
Amenhotep IV
– better known as Akhenaten was
Egypt’s most profound pharaoh to rule
Egypt.
He led Egypt in a direction that would tag him “The Heretic
Pharaoh.” He brought forth new ideas mainly in religion and art
that would leave a lasting impression on the world. Unlike most
pharaohs, Akhenaten presented himself in a way that would lead
to controversy and would shock the world and his culture. We
invite you to take an in-depth look at Akhenaten and discover
for yourself the man that would lead Ancient Egypt with much
mayhem during his reign and thereafter.
To really understand Akhenaten, you must go back to
Tuthmosis IV when the city of
Thebes became the main habitat for
Egypt. Its foremost god was Aten and was created during this
time. Aten was the solitary god set up by Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten)
to be the main deity. Amenhotep IV eventually changed his name
to Akhenaten. The new name took on the meaning “He who is of
service to Aten.”
Family
Akhenaten’s parents were Amenhotep III and Queen Tiy.
His wife was Nefertiti who was probably a distant relative. The
Couple had six daughters named Ankhesenpaaten,
Neferneferuaten-tasharit, Neferneferure, Meketaten, Merytaten,
and Sotepenre. Also present in the family are two unknown
members in Akhenaten’s family. They are Smenkhkare (successor
of Akhenaten) and Tutankhaten who was later renamed Tutankhamen.
Akhenaten
As a young child Akhenaten was raised in a traditional Ancient
Egyptian manner and observed religious rituals to the god Amon.
In Thebes, Amon was the god that was elevated to the highest
position. In time, Akhenaten turned his focus and beliefs to
another deity called Aten. (Aten is the sun god and was taken
into battle with Tuthmosis IV and later taken by Akhenaten).
Soon after becoming pharaoh of Egypt, Akhenaten discarded his
royal name and loyalty to Amon. He turned away from old priests
and began the cult of the sun disk -- the Aten. Akhenaten
acknowledged that Aten was the single god except Re, the sun
god. He claimed he was the only person able to converse with
his god. This only caused an absence of priests and he soon
came to ban those that remained. He banned the worship of Amon
and closed down sacred temples.
Akhenaten’s wife’s name Nefertiti was also changed to “Nefer
Nefru Aten”
meaning “Beautiful is the Beauty of Aten.” The couple then
moved out of Thebes to a new capitol called Akhetaton. Everyone
from the old capitol moved to the new constructed capitol
including the court and artisans.
The New Capitol
Amarna was erected in 1353-1335 B.C. in honor of the god Aten. (Amarna
is the modern name for the city called Akhetaton) It had more
naturalistic styles and the art portrayed natural scenes and
life-like figures. The couple raised many extraordinary
buildings and conducted sophisticated ceremonies in the temples
and palaces. His new capitol attacked the cults of other
deities in
Egypt,
especially Amon. Sites of Amon were desecrated and any evidence
of worship to this god destroyed. Akhenaten even had his
father's cartouches destroyed because it had Amon’s name
encrypted upon it. This continued to outrage the people of
Egypt
and left the population uneasy and angry. Most of the cities in
Egypt were deprived of their estates and plantations. Corruption
fell upon the temples and soon they were dependant on the city
of Akhetaton.
Art
The art during the Amarna period had made a colossal change.
People were portrayed as they were. Unlike most pharaohs,
Akhenaten portrayed himself less god like and more human. This
new style of art was portraying people in everyday lifestyles
and sometimes with minute details. Bek was Akhenaten’s main
artist during this period. The disfigured pharaoh showed an
almost strange elongation of the head, large breasts, swollen
stomach, and the diminutive splayed legs. He looked more
feminine then masculine.
Not only did Akhenaten show his naturalness but also the
surroundings around him. His paintings were detailed and unique
in that they showed naturalism along the
Nile
River. The scenes of the time period showed the river engulfed
with vegetation and wild animals.
Pharaohs in earlier periods showed themselves as being well
proportioned and taller then their subjects. Akhenaten, on the
other hand, was depicted as being at equal level with his
surroundings that showed him in inappropriate scenes. Such
scenes included him kissing his daughters and sitting with his
wife in a family oriented manner.
The End of Akhenaten’s Reign
During the 12th year of his reign, Queen
Tiy joined Akhenaten in his city. She brought with her a
princess named Baketaten (Later Baketamon). Akhenaten soon
provided her with housing and constructed a temple in honor of
her. Nefertiti was no longer a favorite to Akhenaten and she
soon disappears from the time period. Historians are puzzled as
to why and where she left. Her daughter soon took her place and
held the duties her mother once did. His daughter was then
replaced with Ankhesenpaaten. He soon found anther queen who
was named Kiya and might have been from the Mitanni heritage.
At around the eighteenth year of his ruling Akhenaten died.
Everything was destroyed and demolished soon after his death.
His mummy has never been found. Everything was ravished and
destroyed upon his death.
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