| | The mysterious disappearance of his wife [[Nefertiti]] from the historical record has led scholars to many speculations, ranging from her usurping power to Akhenaten's banishing her. | | The mysterious disappearance of his wife [[Nefertiti]] from the historical record has led scholars to many speculations, ranging from her usurping power to Akhenaten's banishing her. |
| − | Akhenaten died young and was succeeded by the mysterious Semenkhare, who ruled for less than a year. There is much speculation concerning Semenkhare, including one theory that "he" was Nefertiti posing as a man. Semenkhare was succeeded by [[Tutankhamun]], still a boy at this time. Tut reversed many of Akenaten's policies. Egypt reverted to [[polytheism]] and the priests of Amun regained their power. Akhenaten, Semenkhare, and Tut are omitted from the Abydos king list. This suggests they were viewed as illegitimate rulers. Genetic testing in 2010 established that mummy KV55 was both a son of Amenhotep III and Tut's father, identified as either Akhenaten or Semenkhare.<ref>[http://www.kv64.info/2010/03/dna-shows-that-kv55-mummy-probably-not.html DNA Shows that KV55 Mummy Probably Not Akhenaten]</ref> | + | Akhenaten died young and was succeeded by the mysterious Semenkhkare, who ruled for less than a year. There is much speculation concerning Semenkhkare, including an unlikely theory that "he" was Nefertiti posing as a man. Semenkhkare was succeeded by [[Tutankhamun]], still a boy at this time. Tut reversed many of Akenaten's policies. Egypt reverted to [[polytheism]] and the priests of Amun regained their power. Akhenaten, Semenkhkare, and Tut are omitted from the Abydos king list. This suggests they were viewed as illegitimate rulers. Genetic testing in 2010 established that mummy KV55 is both a son of Amenhotep III and Tut's father. An inscription in Tut's tomb identifies him as the son of a pharaoh, so the mummy could be either Akhenaten<ref>[https://oblogmasense.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/lost-pharhoh-akhenaton-found-after-further-dna-testing-of-tutankhamun/ Lost Pharaoh Akhenaten Found After Further DNA Testing Of Tutankhamun]</ref> or Semenkhkare.<ref>[http://www.kv64.info/2010/03/dna-shows-that-kv55-mummy-probably-not.html DNA Shows that KV55 Mummy Probably Not Akhenaten]</ref> |