Akhenaten the Pharaoh

Akhenaten ruled over ancient Egypt for a total of 17 years (1350-1334 BCE) during the 18^th Dynasty. He was the third pharaoh of the dynasty and is known by many today as the Rebel King.

Akhenaten was born with the name Amenophis IV but changed it during the 6^th year of his reign in honour of his chosen religion, the Aten. From the fourth year of his reign until he died and the power of ancient Egypt passed to his only son Tutankhamun, Akhenaten dictated to his country as an all powerful pharaoh. He outlawed reference to all other religions except that of the Aten and even went as far as destroying temples dedicated to other gods and disbanding the priesthood of Amun, the major religion of the time.

Was Akhenaten really a monotheist?

Ancient Egypt is famous for its pantheon of gods, however Akhenaten was only seen to worship one, the Aten. There are hieroglyphs that suggest he believed in others though, even if he didn’t openly worship them. He often compared himself and his royal wife Nefertiti to the gods Shun and Tefnut, the children of the sun-god which would suggest that he believed these gods actually existed.

Then why did he enforce a monotheist religion on the people of ancient Egypt?

There are several theories regarding why Akhenaten changed the religion of ancient Egypt so drastically.

• Some say that Akhenaten wanted to revert back to the ways of the Old Kingdom Pharaohs who were seen as divine intermediaries between the gods and the people. This status would have given him more power and respect in the eyes of his people as he would have been recognised as the son of god.

• A second theory suggests that Akhenaten was doing nothing more than playing a political game. Many of the rulers before him used the priesthood and administrative powers to rule the country and the priesthood in particular became wealthy and powerful enough to challenge Akhenaten’s position as ruler of ancient Egypt. By moving Egypt’s religious centre from Thebes to his own city of Akhetaten in Amarna and outlawing the worship of every other god including that of Amun, Akhenaten undermined the priesthood of Amun and took away any power they had. They had the choice of converting and worshipping the sun-god Aten or leaving the religious service altogether. In this way Akhenaten gained control over the only force that could threaten him.

The man

Akhenaten’s radical changes to the established religion and the fact that he built himself a virgin city away far from the major cities of ancient Egypt did nothing to help his popularity. His people saw him as a distant king who was more concerned with himself and his relatively small band of followers than the country in general and he soon lost their confidence.

He was a very family orientated man and is often seen in relief’s with his royal wife Nefertiti and their six daughters. Nefertiti is often shown as being the same size as Akhenaten which would suggest he saw her as his equal; another first in the history of ancient Egypt. Akhenaten had a number of wives but only Nefertiti and his second wife Kiya, who was the mother of Tutankhamun were ever shown.

It is thought that Akhenaten spent most of his reign in the city of Akhetaten rather than travelling around his own country and abroad. Because of this, his relations with his own people suffered as did his relations with the people of foreign lands. In addition, a number of the lands that had been captured by pharaohs before him were lost because Akhenaten spent more money on the building of his city than on the army and the defence of the land and so ancient Egypt lost its reputation as a nation to be feared.

Akhenaten damaged the foundations at the heart of ancient Egypt and it took a number of years for the nation to recover. He left it with unhappy subjects, a huge financial debt, a poorly equipped army and a magnificent city that nobody wanted!

What actually happened to Akhenaten’s body still remains a mystery. Some say it was found in the coffin belonging to his mother in tomb KV55 in the Valley of the Kings but others dispute this. It may be that we never know what happened to the rebel king.