Akhenaten
18th Dynasty pharaoh who promoted worship of the Aten
- Reigned
- c. 1353–1336 BCE
- Dynasty
- 18th
- Born as
- Amenhotep IV
- Capital
- Akhetaten (Tell el-Amarna)
- Archive
- Amarna Letters
The pharaoh who made the sun disk, the Aten, the center of Egyptian religion and moved the capital to Amarna.
What is Akhenaten known for?
Akhenaten, born Amenhotep IV, ruled Egypt about 1353 to 1336 BCE. He promoted the cult of the Aten, the sun's disk, above the traditional gods, changed his name to mean roughly 'beneficial to the Aten', and moved the royal court from Thebes to a new city, Akhetaten, at modern Tell el-Amarna. His reign also produced a distinctive style of art.
At Amarna archaeologists found the Amarna Letters, clay tablets in Akkadian cuneiform recording diplomatic correspondence with Babylon, Assyria, the Hittites and Canaanite city rulers. Among the tablets were Mesopotamian literary texts used to train scribes, including the best copy of the myth of Adapa.
After his death his religious changes were reversed, and later kings tried to erase his memory.
The best copy of the Adapa myth was found in his royal archive at Amarna.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit holeAdapa
- PersonTutankhamun
- PlaceAmarna
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Akhenaten'Reference
- Wikipedia, 'Amarna letters'Reference
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