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Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) AIDAN DODSON
The The seco second nd son son of Amen Amenhot hotep ep III III and and his wife wife Tiye iye of the the 18th 8th Egyp Egypti tiaan Dynas ynasty ty suc succeeded eded his his fath father er init initia iall llyy unde underr the the name of Neferkheperure-waenre Amenhotep (IV)-netjer (IV)-netjerheqaw heqawaset. aset. There has been considconsiderab erable le deba debate te as to whet whethe herr the the succ succes essi sion on occu occurr rreed on Ame Amenhot nhoteep III’ III’ss dea death, th, or whether the two kings ruled as co-regents for up to a dozen years. The balance of evidence currently currently seems to support the former option, although the younger Amenhotep may have been proclaimed heir in Year 30, on the death of his his elde elderr brot brothe herr, Thut Thutmo mose se (Dod (Dodso son n 2009b; Dorman 2009). Amen Amenho hote tep p IV seem seemss to have have ma marr rrie ied d NEFERTITI shortly after his accession, and had Meryet Meryetate aten, n, the first first of their their six daught daughters ers,, not long afterwards. These girls – Meryetaten, Meketaten, Ankhesenpaaten, Neferneferuatentasher tas herit, it, Nefer Nefernefe neferur rure, e, and Setepe Setepenre nre – are depicted on many contemporary monuments, but there is only one potential mention of a son. This is on one of a pair of blocks found at Hermopolis Magna (ASHMUNIEN) but originally inally from from Amarna Amarna;; this this names names the prince prince,, Tutankhuaten, who ultimately became king as Tutankhaten/am utankhaten/amun un (see TUTANKHAMUN). The The other block gave the name and titles of one of Akhenaten’s Akhenaten’s daughters. During his first years, the king was depicted in the traditional manner, but by his Year 4 he and and his his ento entour urag agee were were bein beingg show shown n in a distorted revolutionary style that is expressly stated in a text of his chief sculptor, Bak, to have have been been dire direct cted ed by the the king king.. This This wa wass accompanied by a change of the iconography of the sun-god Aten (see ( see ATON/ATEN) from a conventional anthropomorphic representation to an abst abstra ract ct one one compr compris isin ingg a sunsun-di disk, sk, from from which which desc descen ende ded d rays rays termi termina nate ted d in hands, the latter holding the sign of “life” to the nostrils of the royal family. This transition
was accompanied by a move to make the Aten supreme, if not yet sole, god – the first known experiment in MONOTHEISM . Whether this was wholly a theological shift or had a political aspe aspect ct of reduc reducin ingg the the powe powerr of the prie priest st-hoods of the traditional pantheon – especially that of Amun – remains a matter for scholarly debate. At some point the names and images of a number of deities, especially those connected with Amun, were destroyed on a wide variety of monum monumen ents. ts. This This icon iconoc ocla lasm sm has has been been variously dated to the earlier part of the reign and to its very end, once again with a lack of scho schola larl rlyy unan unanim imit ityy, some omethin thingg that that bedevils assessment of the whole reign and its aftermath. The earliest monument of this new style was a large temple to the Aten that was built to the east of the main temple complex at KARNAK. It was apparently built in a hurry, using much smaller smaller blocks than than those usually usually used in Egyptian temple-building. temple-building. Known as talatat , many have been found reused in the filling of later buildi building ngss at Karn Karnak ak.. Reli Relief efss in this this temp temple le commemorate at least one jubilee celebrated in the very earliest years of the reign (Gohary 1990). 199 0). It remain remainss unclea unclearr whethe whetherr this this was a jubilee of the king, of the king and the Aten, or simply of the Aten itself. Not long after the adoption of the new artistic style, the king changed his personal name from from Amen Amenhot hotep ep to Akhen Akhenat aten, en, meani meaning ng something like “Effective Spirit of the Aten” – i.e., the god’s representative on Earth. Furthermore more,, a new new city city wa wass foun founde ded d at AMARNA, roughly half way between the old capitals of Memph Memphis is and and Theb Thebes es,, both both as a dedic dedicat ated ed cult-center for the Aten and as a new capital city for Egypt. The decision to build the city is recorded on the boundary stelae of the site, which date it to Year 4 (Murnane and van Siclen 1993). Apart from Amarna and Thebes, traces of buildings of Akhenaten’s reign have been found at various sites around Egypt. Some Somewh wher eree arou around nd Year ear 9, ther theree wa wass a fundamental change in the full name of the Aten, which presumably reflected some kind
The Encyclopedia of Ancient History , First Edition. Edited by Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion, Andrew Erskine,
and Sabine R. Huebner. ©
2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2012 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
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Carving ng from from Amarn Amarna, a, depi depici citi ting ng Figu Figure re 14 Carvi Amenhotep IV and his family presenting offerings to Aton. Egyptian Museum, Cairo. © Photo Scala, Florence.
of further theological reform. At some point during the next four years, a second wife of Akhenat Akhenaten, en, Kiya, Kiya, was disgra disgrace ced; d; nothing nothing is known of the reasons for this, nor the fate of her daughter. There is no substantive evidence for the frequent suggestion that Kiya was the mother of Tutankhuaten. A major international festival was held in Year 12, with gifts to the king being brought by representatives from much of the known world. Its significanc significancee is uncertain, one possibility bility being being that that it coul could d have have ma mark rked ed the the forma formall compl complet etion ion of the the city city of Amar Amarna na.. Soon afterward, a number of deaths occurred within the royal family, family, including including Tiye and up to three of the king’s daughters. It has been suggested that a plague brought into Egypt by the Year ear 12 dele delega gate tess ma mayy have have been been resp respons onsibl ible. e. Information Information on Akhenaten Akhenaten’s ’s foreign relarelations is provided by an archive of cuneiform tablets found at Amarna and known as the These repre represen sentt corre correspo sponnAMARNA AMARNA LETTERS LETTERS. These dence between the kings of the contemporary grea greatt powe powers rs and and Egyp Egypt, t, as well well betw betwee een n Egypt’s Levantine vassals and the royal court
(Mor (Moran an 19 1992 92). ). Thes Thesee have have been been vari variou ously sly interpreted interpreted as indicating indicating a decline decline in Egyptian authori authority ty in SyriaSyria-Pa Pales lestine tine result resulting ing from from roya royall negle neglect ct,, and and as simp simply ly refl reflec ecti ting ng an expected ebb and flow of affairs over a period of some two decades. However, it does seem clear that the reign saw increasing tensions in northern Syria related to the respective spheres of influence of Egypt and the empire of the Hittites. Soon after Year 12, Akhenaten appointed a co-r co-rule ulerr, Ankhk Ankhkhe hepe perur ruree Sm Smen enkhk khkar are, e, of uncertain antecedents, but certainly a member of the wid wider royal family. He married Meryetaten, and is named on a number of inscribed items and monuments, but appears to have have been been short short-l -liv ived ed.. He wa wass repla replace ced d as co-r co-rule ulerr by a woma woman, n, Ankhk Ankhkhep heper erur ureemerywaenre Neferneferuaten, who was almost certainly none other than Nefertiti. Akhenat Akhenaten en died died in his Year 17 and was buried buried in his tomb at Amarna, which had previously rece receiv ived ed the the inter interme ment ntss of a numbe numberr of his famil familyy. He wa wass succe succeed eded ed by Tutankh utankhat aten en// amun, am un, but steps steps were were soon soon taken taken to reve revers rsee Akhenat Akhenaten en’’s religio religious us revolut revolution. ion. As a result result the king’ king’ss build building ingss aroun around d Egypt Egypt bega began n to be dismantled, and after the death of Tutankhamun, Akhenaten’s names and images were mutilated on the monuments, and by the 19th Dynasty he and his immediate successors wer were bein beingg omit omitte ted d from from offi offici ciaal list listss of the kings kings of Egypt. Egypt. The The fate fate of Akhen Akhenat aten en’’s mummy mummy is uncert uncertain ain;; one possi possibi bilit lityy is that that it was remo emoved from the the royal yal tomb tomb at Amarna to tomb KV55 in the VALLEY OF THE utankhamun’’s reign, reign, but was KINGS during Tutankhamun removed and destroyed yed soon after the latter’s death. Neverthe Nevertheless, less, in modern times Akhenaten Akhenaten has become one of the best-known pharaohs, albeit with his career frequently distorted and manipulated for political, social, artistic, and religious reasons (Montserrat 2000). There is also a significant lack of scholarly consensus concerning many aspects of the reign, covering such aspects as chronology, genealogy, and the broa broade derr sign signif ific ican ance ce of even events ts (com (compa pare re
3 Aldre Aldred d 196 1968, 8, 198 1988; 8; Dodson Dodson 200 2009a; 9a; Redfor Redford d 1984; Reeves 2001). A number of mummies of the period were subject to DNA analysis in 2009 (Hawass et al . 2010); however, more work needs to be done before any firm conclusions can be reached on any need to revise the reconstruction set out above. SEE ALSO:
Amenhotep (Amenophis) I–III; Amun, Amun-Ra; Amun-Ra; Hermopoli Hermopoliss Magna, Magna, Tuna el-Gebel el-Gebel (Pha (Phara raon onic ic); ); Hit Hittite tite,, Hit Hittite tites; s; Memph emphis is,, Pharaonic. REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS Aldred Aldred,, C. (1968) (1968) Akhen Akhenaten aten,, Phara Pharaoh oh of Egypt Egypt . London. Aldred, C. (1988) Akhenaten, King of Egypt . London. London. Davies, N. de G. (1903–08) The rock tombs of El Amarna . London. Dods Dodson on,, A. (200 (2009a 9a)) Amarn Amarna a sunset sunset:: Nefer Nefertit titi, i, Tutankhamun utankhamun,, Ay, Ay, Horemheb Horemheb and the Egyptian Egyptian counter-reformation . Cairo. Dodson, A. (2009b). “On the alleged ‘Amenhotep ¨ ttinger III/IV coregency’ graffito at Meidum.” Go ttinger Miszellen 221: Miszellen 221: 25–8. Dorman, Dorman, P. P. F. (2008) “The Long coregency coregency revisited: revisited: architectural and iconographic conundra in the
tomb of Kheruef.” In P. J. Brand and L. Cooper, eds., Causing his name to live: studies in Egyptian epig epigra raph phyy and and hist history ory in memo memory ry of Willi illiam am J. Murnane . Leiden. Freed, R. E., Markowitz, Y. J. and D’Auria, S. H., eds. (1999) Pharaohs of the sun: Akhenaten; Nefertiti; Tutankhamen . London. ` Touta ˆ nkhamon Gabolde, Gabolde, M. (1998) D’Akhenaton a nkhamon . Lyon. Germer, R. (2001) “Die Mumie aus dem Sarg in ‘KV55.’” In G. Grimm and S. Schoske, eds., Das Geheimnis des goldenen Sarges: Echnaton und das Ende der Amarnazeit : 58–61. Munich. Gohary, J. (1990) Akhenaten’s Sed-Festival at Karnak. London. Hawass, Z., et al. (2010) “Ancestry and pathology in King Tutankhamun’s utankhamun’s family.” Journ Journal al of the 638–47.. American Medical Association 303, 7: 638–47 Hornung, E. (1999) Akhenaten and the religion of light . Ithaca, NY. Montserrat, Montserrat, D. (2000) Akhenaten Akhenaten:: history history,, fantasy fantasy and ancient Egypt . London. Moran, W. L. (1992) The Amarna Letters . Baltimore. Murnane, Murnane, W. J. and van Siclen, C. CIII, (1993) The boundary stelae of Akhenaten . London. Redford, D. B. (1984) Akhenaten: the heretic King . Princeton. Reev Reeves es,, C. N. (200 (2001) 1) Akhen Akhenate aten: n: Egypt’ Egypt’ss false false prophet . London.
