Question

Akhenaten was not liked by the people of Egypt during his reign as pharaoh because he forced them to change their religion from polytheistic to monotheistic. Describe the changes that he tried to make. Based on what you know about Egyptian religion, why do you think this would have been such a large change?

Answer 1

Akhenaten (pronounced /ˌækəˈnɑːtən/),[8] also spelled Echnaton,[9] Akhenaton,[3] Ikhnaton,[2] and Khuenaten[10][11] (Ancient Egyptian: ꜣḫ-n-jtn, meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning c. 1353–1336[3] or 1351–1334 BC,[4] the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Before the fifth year of his reign, he was known as Amenhotep IV (Ancient Egyptian: jmn-ḥtp, meaning "Amun is satisfied", Hellenized as Amenophis IV).

Akhenaten
Amenhotep IV
Amenophis IV, Naphurureya, Ikhnaton[1][2]
Statue of Akhenaten in the early Amarna style
Statue of Akhenaten in the early Amarna style
Pharaoh
Reign
1353–1336 BC[3]
1351–1334 BC[4]
(18th Dynasty of Egypt)
Predecessor
Amenhotep III
Successor
Smenkhkare
Royal titulary
Consort
Nefertiti
Kiya
An unidentified sister-wife (most likely)
Tadukhipa
Children
Smenkhkare?
Meritaten
Meketaten
Ankhesenamun
Neferneferuaten Tasherit
Neferneferure
Setepenre
Tutankhamun (most likely)
Ankhesenpaaten Tasherit?
Meritaten Tasherit?
Father
Amenhotep III
Mother
Tiye
Died
1336 or 1334 BC
Burial
Royal Tomb of Akhenaten, Amarna (original tomb)
KV55 (disputed)
[6][7]
Monuments
Akhetaten, Gempaaten
Religion
Ancient Egyptian religion
Atenism
Akhenaten is noted for abandoning Egypt's traditional polytheistic religion and introducing Atenism, worship centered on Aten. The views of Egyptologists differ whether Atenism should be considered as absolute monotheism, or whether it was monolatry, syncretism, or henotheism.[12][13] This culture shift away from traditional religion was not widely accepted. After his death, Akhenaten's monuments were dismantled and hidden, his statues were destroyed, and his name excluded from lists of rulers compiled by later pharaohs.[14] Traditional religious practice was gradually restored, notably under his close successor Tutankhamun, who changed his name from Tutankhaten early in his reign.[15] When some dozen years later rulers without clear rights of succession from the Eighteenth Dynasty founded a new dynasty, they discredited Akhenaten and his immediate successors, referring to Akhenaten himself as "the enemy" or "that criminal" in archival records.[16][17]

Akhenaten was all but lost to history until the late 19th century discovery of Amarna, or Akhetaten, the new capital city he built for the worship of Aten.[18] Furthermore, in 1907, a mummy that could be Akhenaten's was unearthed from the tomb KV55 in the Valley of the Kings by Edward R. Ayrton. Genetic testing has determined that the man buried in KV55 was Tutankhamun's father,[19] but its identification as Akhenaten has since been questioned.[6][7][20][21][22]

Akhenaten's rediscovery and Flinders Petrie's early excavations at Amarna sparked great public interest in the pharaoh and his queen Nefertiti. He has been described as "enigmatic", "mysterious", "revolutionary", "the greatest idealist of the world", and "the first individual in history", but also as a "heretic", "fanatic", "possibly insane", and "mad".[12][23][24][25][26] The interest comes from his connection with Tutankhamun, the unique style and high quality of the pictorial arts he patronized, and ongoing interest in the religion he attempted to establish.