Amenhotep IV

Religion of Akhenaton

Amenhotep IV was the tenth king of the 18th Egyptian Dynasty and was perhaps the most controversial because of his break with traditional religion. It has been said by some that he was the most remarkable king to sit upon Egypt's throne. Amenhotep IV was traditionally raised by his parents, Amenhotep III and Queen Tiy by worshipping Amen. Amenhotep IV, however, preferred Aten, the Sun God that was worshipped in earlier times. Early in his reign he changed his name to Akhenaton, meaning "He Who is of Service to Aton" and renamed his queen to Nefer-Nefru-Aten, which is "Beautiful is the Beauty of Aten." The king and his queen, leaving Thebes behind, built elaborate buildings at Akhenaten (Amarna) "The Horizon of Aten." He then sent his officials around to destroy Amen's statues and to desecrate the worship sites. These actions were so contrary to the traditional that opposition arose against him. The estates of the great temples of Thebes, Memphis and Heliopolis reverted to the throne. Corruption grew out of the mismanagement of such large levies. Akhenaten died in the 18th year of his reign. His successor, Horemhab, claimed his reign began from the date of Amenhotep III, thus wiping out the entire rule of Akhenaten.

The young prince was at least the second son of Amenhotep III by his chief wife, Tiy: an elder brother, prince Tuthmosis, had died prematurely. There is some controversy over whether or not the old king took his son into partnership on the throne in a co-regency there are quite strong arguments both for and against. A point in favor of a co-regency is the appearance during the latter years of Amenhotep III's reign of artistic styles that are subsequently seen as part of the 'revolutionary' Amarna art introduced by Akhenaten; on the other hand, both 'traditional' and 'revolutionary' Art styles could easily have coexisted during the early years of Akhenaten's reign. At any rate, if there had been a co-regency, it would not have been for longer than the short period before the new king assumed his preferred name of Akhenaten ('Servant of the Aten') in Year 5.

The beginning of Akhenaten's reign marked no great discontinuity with that of his predecessors. Not only was he crowned at Karnak (temple of the god Amun) but, like his father he married a lady of non-royal blood, Nefertiti, the daughter of the vizier Ay. Nefertiti's mother is not known; she may have died in childbirth or shortly afterwards, since Nefertiti seems to have been brought up by another wife of Ay named Tey, who would then be her stepmother.

Akhenaten was perhaps the most controversial because of his break with traditional religion. Some say that he was the most remarkable king to sit upon Egypt's throne. There can be little doubt that the new king was far more of a thinker and philosopher than his forebears. Akhenaten was traditionally raised by his parents, Amenhotep III and Queen Tiy by worshipping Amen. Akhenaten, however, preferred Aten, the sun god that was worshipped in earlier times. It does not seem likely that Akhenaten simply decided out of the blue to make such a major change. Many early historians, determined to link Akhenaten's religion somehow to the Jewish religion, said that he was inspired by Joseph or Moses (Redford, p. 4, 1984). This is a possibility, considering that Joseph, at least, was around in roughly the same time period as Akhenaten. However, after close examination of Akhenaten's religion, this hypothesis seems unlikely. Akhenaten's religion did center on one god, but his major emphasis was on the Aten's visibility, tangibility, and undeniable realness. Akhenaten placed no emphasis, therefore, on faith.

According to John Tuthill, a professor at the University of Guam, Akhenaten's reasons for his religious reform were political. By the time of Akhenaten's reign, the god Amen had risen to such a high status that the priests of Amen had become even more wealthy and powerful than the pharaohs. However, Barbara Mertz argued that Akhenaten and his courtiers would not have easily perceived this (Mertz, 1966, p. 269). Still, this theory remains as a possibility to be considered.

It may be that Akhenaten was influenced by his family members, particularly his wife or mother (Dunham, 1963, p. 4; Mertz, 1966, p. 269). There was a certain trend in Akhenaten's family towards sun-worship. Towards the end of the reign of Akhenaten's father, Amenhotep III, the Aten was depicted increasingly often.

Some historians have suggested that the same religious revolution would have happened even if Akhenaten had never become pharaoh at all. However, considering the violent reaction that followed shortly after Akhenaten's untimely death, this seems improbable. Amenhotep III had recognized the growing power of the priesthood of Amun and had sought to curb it; his son was to take the matter a lot further by introducing a new monotheistic cult of sun-worship that was incarnate in the sun's disc, the Aten. When early in his reign he changed his name to Akhenaten, meaning "He Who is of Service to Aten", he also renamed his queen to Nefer-Nefru-Aten, which is "Beautiful is the Beauty of Aten."

This was not in itself a new idea: as a relatively minor aspect of the sun god Re-Harakhte, the Aten had been venerated in the Old Kingdom and a large scarab of Akhenaten's grandfather Tuthmosis IV (now in the British Museum) has a text that mentions the Aten. Rather, Akhenaten's innovation was to worship the Aten in its own right. Portrayed as a solar disc whose protective rays terminated in hands holding the ankh hieroglyph for life, the Aten was accessible only to Akhenaten, thereby obviating the need for an intermediate priesthood.

At first, the king built a temple to his god Aten immediately outside the east gate of the temple of Amun at Karnak, but clearly the coexistence of the two cults could not last. He therefore proscribed the cult of Amun, closed the god's temples, and took over the revenues. He then sent his officials around to destroy Amen's statues and to desecrate the worship sites. These actions were so contrary to the traditional that opposition arose against him. The estates of the great temples of Thebes, Memphis and Heliopolis reverted to the throne. Corruption grew out of the mismanagement of such large levies. To make a complete break, in Year 6 the king and his queen, left Thebes behind and moved to a new capital in Middle Egypt, half way between Memphis and Thebes. It was a virgin site,