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© Copyright 2001, Jim Loy
Akhenaton (Akhenaten) ruled Egypt from about
1350 to 1334 B.C.E., in the middle of the 18th Dynasty. His picture is shown on
the left; his name (Neferkheperura-waenra, Akhenaton) is on the right. His
father was Amenhotep III; his mother was Tiy. Akhenaton was originally known as
Amenhotep IV. His wife was Nefertiti, who was famous for her beauty.
Nowadays, Akhenaton is famous for introducing monotheism (one god) to Egypt. His god was Aten, the visible disk of the sun. He built a new capital city, Akhetaten (Amarna), outlawed all other gods, and changed his name to Akhenaton. He was the only priest of Aton, and the people were to worship Aton by worshiping him. He essentially ignored politics. And Egypt's economy and influence in the middle east declined. During his reign, Egyptian art became more realistic. The king was portrayed as somewhat disfigured, with a long face, fat thighs, and breasts. Some scholars have thought that he was a woman. Eventually other members of his family were portrayed in a similar way. Recently, it has been suggested that Akhenaton had Marfan Syndrome, which often distorts a person's features as seen in pictures of Akhenaton.
It is not known how Akhenaton died. The next two kings, Smenkhkara and Tutankhamun (originally Tutankhaton) were apparently sons-in-law of Akhenaton. Under them and later kings, Egypt returned to their old gods. Akhenaton's name was chiseled from his monuments. His city of Akhetaten was abandoned, and used as a rock quarry. His name (and the names of his successors) never appeared on king lists. Egypt eventually forgot him completely. His existence was only discovered in modern times. His tomb is near Amarna, but it was empty; his remains have never been found.