Akhenaten

Pharaoh Akhenaten

Akhenaten (known variously as Akhenaton or Ikhnaton; previously as Amenhotep IV) was pharaoh of Egypt from 1353 - 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 Frolich’s syndrome. However, various courtiers were also depicted similarly.^[1]

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.^[2]

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^[3].