Difference between revisions of "Akhenaten"
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'''Akhenaten''' (known variously as '''Akhenaton''' or '''Ikhnaton'''; previously as '''Amenhotep IV''') was [[pharaoh]] of [[Egypt]] from 1352 - 1336 [[B.C.]] as part of the 18th dynasty. He rejected the traditional gods of Egypt in favor of the sun, which he called [[Aton]]. He moved the capital from [[Thebes]] to Akhenaten (modern [[Amarna]]) to escape the influence of the priests of [[Amun]]. | '''Akhenaten''' (known variously as '''Akhenaton''' or '''Ikhnaton'''; previously as '''Amenhotep IV''') was [[pharaoh]] of [[Egypt]] from 1352 - 1336 [[B.C.]] as part of the 18th dynasty. He rejected the traditional gods of Egypt in favor of the sun, which he called [[Aton]]. He moved the capital from [[Thebes]] to Akhenaten (modern [[Amarna]]) to escape the influence of the priests of [[Amun]]. | ||
| − | Statues of him show an artistic form new in Egypt, including various deformities which have led some scholars to conclude he had [[Marfan's syndrome]] or [[Fröhlich’s syndrome]]. A thorough examination of the royal mummies did not uncover evidence of unusual diseases or deformities, so the depictions are most likely an artistic style.<ref name=Hawass> | + | Statues of him show an artistic form new in Egypt, including various deformities which have led some scholars to conclude he had [[Marfan's syndrome]] or [[Fröhlich’s syndrome]]. A thorough examination of the royal mummies did not uncover evidence of unusual diseases or deformities, so the depictions are most likely an artistic style.<ref name=Hawass>Hawass, Zahi, PhD, et al., "[http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=185393 Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun's Family]", ''JAMA''</ref> In addition, various courtiers were depicted in a similar style.<ref name="AIG">John Ashton & David Down. ''[http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/utp/akhenaten-and-nefertiti-the-beautiful Unwrapping the Pharaohs, chapter 21]'''</ref> |
A bust of Akhenaten's beautiful primary wife, [[Nefertiti]], has made her one of the best-known Egyptian queens. In Akhenaten declining years, she served as a regent with the reign name Nerferneferuatan. She continued to rule under this name "Akhenaten-less" for a short time after Akhenaten's death.<ref name=Allen>Allen, James, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20120301142642/http://cassian.memphis.edu/history/murnane/Allen.pdf The Amarna Succession], ''Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane,'' University of Memphis, 2007.</ref> This is followed by the reign of Smenkhkare, a brother of Akhenaten. Within a year of Akhenaten's death, both Nerferneferuatan and Smenkhkare disappeared from the records and [[Tutankhamun]], a boy of 10 or 11 at this time, ascended to the throne.<ref name="Allen" /> Real power in this period may have been held by Ay, a vizier appointed by Akhenaten. Tut reversed many of Akenaten's policies. Egypt reverted to [[polytheism]] and the priests of Amun regained power. | A bust of Akhenaten's beautiful primary wife, [[Nefertiti]], has made her one of the best-known Egyptian queens. In Akhenaten declining years, she served as a regent with the reign name Nerferneferuatan. She continued to rule under this name "Akhenaten-less" for a short time after Akhenaten's death.<ref name=Allen>Allen, James, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20120301142642/http://cassian.memphis.edu/history/murnane/Allen.pdf The Amarna Succession], ''Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane,'' University of Memphis, 2007.</ref> This is followed by the reign of Smenkhkare, a brother of Akhenaten. Within a year of Akhenaten's death, both Nerferneferuatan and Smenkhkare disappeared from the records and [[Tutankhamun]], a boy of 10 or 11 at this time, ascended to the throne.<ref name="Allen" /> Real power in this period may have been held by Ay, a vizier appointed by Akhenaten. Tut reversed many of Akenaten's policies. Egypt reverted to [[polytheism]] and the priests of Amun regained power. | ||
Revision as of 20:23, December 30, 2015
Akhenaten (known variously as Akhenaton or Ikhnaton; previously as Amenhotep IV) was pharaoh of Egypt from 1352 - 1336 B.C. as part of the 18th dynasty. He rejected the traditional gods of Egypt in favor of the sun, which he called Aton. He moved the capital from Thebes to Akhenaten (modern Amarna) to escape the influence of the priests of Amun.
Statues of him show an artistic form new in Egypt, including various deformities which have led some scholars to conclude he had Marfan's syndrome or Fröhlich’s syndrome. A thorough examination of the royal mummies did not uncover evidence of unusual diseases or deformities, so the depictions are most likely an artistic style.[1] In addition, various courtiers were depicted in a similar style.[2]
A bust of Akhenaten's beautiful primary wife, Nefertiti, has made her one of the best-known Egyptian queens. In Akhenaten declining years, she served as a regent with the reign name Nerferneferuatan. She continued to rule under this name "Akhenaten-less" for a short time after Akhenaten's death.[3] This is followed by the reign of Smenkhkare, a brother of Akhenaten. Within a year of Akhenaten's death, both Nerferneferuatan and Smenkhkare disappeared from the records and Tutankhamun, a boy of 10 or 11 at this time, ascended to the throne.[3] Real power in this period may have been held by Ay, a vizier appointed by Akhenaten. Tut reversed many of Akenaten's policies. Egypt reverted to polytheism and the priests of Amun regained power.
Akhenaten, Smenkhkare, and Tut are omitted from the Abydos king list. This suggests that they were viewed as illegitimate rulers by rulers of the following 19th dynasty. An inscription from the reign of Ramses II denounces Akhenaten as, "that criminal from Akhetaten."[4] 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[5] or Smenkhkare.[6]
Akhenaten and Moses
The similarities between Akhenaten's monotheism and the monotheism described in the Pentateuch has led some historians to speculate about correlations between Akhenaten and Moses. Akhenaten's religion is the earliest historical example of a monotheistic religion.
Sigmund Freud proposed that Moses was Akhenaten's priest, and that the Exodus happened soon after the pharaoh's death[7].
References
- ↑ Hawass, Zahi, PhD, et al., "Ancestry and Pathology in King Tutankhamun's Family", JAMA
- ↑ John Ashton & David Down. Unwrapping the Pharaohs, chapter 21'
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Allen, James, "The Amarna Succession, Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane, University of Memphis, 2007.
- ↑ Reeves, Nicholas, Akhenaten: Egypt's False Prophet
- ↑ Lost Pharaoh Akhenaten Found After Further DNA Testing Of Tutankhamun
- ↑ DNA Shows that KV55 Mummy Probably Not Akhenaten
- ↑ Moses And Monotheism, by Freud; see chapter "If Moses was an egyptian" at www.archive.org
