Akhenaten

Akhenaten was a pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt who ruled from c. 1353 to 1336 BCE. He is best known for his religious reforms, which involved abandoning the traditional polytheism of Egypt and introducing a new cult of the sun god Aten. He changed his name from Amenhotep IV to Akhenaten, meaning “effective for Aten”, and moved his capital from Thebes to a new city called Akhetaten, meaning “horizon of Aten”. He also promoted a distinctive style of art, known as the Amarna style, which depicted him and his family in a more naturalistic and individualistic manner. Akhenaten’s reforms were controversial and unpopular among many Egyptians, especially the priests of the old gods. After his death, his successors restored the old religion and tried to erase his memory from history. His monuments were dismantled, his statues were destroyed, and his name was excluded from the official lists of kings. He was labeled as “the enemy” or “the criminal” by later pharaohs. Akhenaten’s legacy was largely forgotten until the 19th century, when his city of Amarna was rediscovered and excavated. Since then, he has been the subject of much scholarly and public interest, as well as controversy. He has been seen as a visionary, a revolutionary, a monotheist, a heretic, a fanatic, or a madman. He has also been linked to various theories and speculations about his origins, his health, his family, his death, and his influence on other religions.