From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository, AmenhotepIII-FaienceCartoucheDecorationFromPalace MetropolitanMuseum.png, Amulet with the Throne Name of Amenhotep III MET 11.215.204.jpg, Amulet- Cartouche of Amenhotep III MET 11.215.207.jpg, Bracelet Fragment with the Throne Name of Amenhotep III MET 11.215.509.jpg, Brick stamped with cartouches of Amenhotep III MET 11.215.455.jpg, Broad Collar Terminal with the Cartouche of Nebmaatre (Amenhotep III) MET 66.99.159.jpg, Bronze vessel used a capacity measure. 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. The three cartouches constitute the titulary of Akhenaten. The one on the right, below Akhenaten's left hand is the nomen cartouche (birth name) of Akhenaten which reads "Beautiful are the Forms of Re, the Unique one of Re". These cartouches engraved in a large curved block of red granite were most probably part of a monumental statue of Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV), installed at his new capital of Akhetaten (Amarna). He is shown wearing an undecorated, belt-less, wrap-around kilt with its central flap beneath the fold-over. Inscribed with the cartouches of the birth-name and throne name of Amenhotep III. The temples of the other gods were reestablished, as detailed in Tutankhamun's Restoration Stela: "He reorganized this land, restoring its customs to those of the time of Re. The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities called this "conclusive evidence" that Akhenaten shared power with his father for at least eight years, based on the dating of the tomb. It.spans over 10,500 years, over three main periods, (ancient, Imperial, and modern) and encapsulates almost twenty dynasties. ( The prenomen (throne name) lies below his right elbow and reads "Effective for the Aten". Freud argued that Akhenaten was striving to promote monotheism, something that the biblical Moses was able to achieve. These all stand on similar rectangular bases and are distinctive in regard to their facial features since no two of their physiognomies are alike. [3] => 1 Sign-up to receive the latest Wedding Estates news and promotions! Others have likened some aspects of Akhenaten's relationship with the Aten to the relationship, in Christian tradition, between Jesus Christ and God, particularly interpretations that emphasize a more monotheistic interpretation of Atenism than a henotheistic one. [189] Later, however, an edict was issued prohibiting even these solar disc images, stating his name was to be spelt phonetically. The statuette of Nebetya, mentioned above, belongs to this series. Both of his arms are held parallel to the sides of his body; his left hand with its open palm is pressed against his thigh. The absence of any royal insignia on the head of our statuette seems to conform to the known predilection of the ancient Egyptians to modify wooden images of their royals. On the other side of the doorway, Amenhotep IV and Nefertiti are shown in the window of appearances, with the Aten depicted as the sun disc. Except for the uniformity of the minting process, all the major components – inscriptions, and metals – are similar. If Amenhotep inherited his brother's roles in preparation for his accession to the throne, he might have become a high priest in Thutmose's stead. 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). [238] Marfan syndrome is a dominant characteristic, which means sufferers have a 50% chance of passing it on to their children. For example, Norman de Garis Davies praised Akhenaten's emphasis on diplomacy over war, while James Baikie said that the fact "that there is no evidence of revolt within the borders of Egypt itself during the whole reign is surely ample proof that there was no such abandonment of his royal duties on the part of Akhenaten as has been assumed. The next successor was Nefertiti[145] or Meritaten[146] ruling as Neferneferuaten, reigning in Egypt for about two years. The great temples of Amun, such as Karnak, were all located in Thebes and the priests there achieved significant power earlier in the Eighteenth Dynasty, especially under Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, thanks to pharaohs offering large amounts of Egypt's growing wealth to the cult of Amun; historians, such as Donald B. Redford, therefore posited that by moving to a new capital, Akhenaten may have been trying to break with Amun's priests and the god. Eric Cline, Nicholas Reeves, Peter Dorman, and other scholars have argued strongly against the establishment of a long coregency between the two rulers and in favour of either no coregency or a brief one lasting at most two years. Icons are images intended to aid in contemplative prayer, and in that sense, are more concerned with conveying meditative harmony than with laying out a realistic scene. He also declared himself to be the only one who could worship the Aten, and required that all religious devotion previously exhibited toward the gods be directed toward himself. [134] Archeological evidence makes it clear, however, that Smenkhkare was married to Meritaten, Akhenaten's eldest daughter. [...] But my brother [i.e., Akhenaten] has not sent the solid [gold] statues that your father was going to send. Because only he knew his father's mind and will, Akhenaten alone could interpret that will for all mankind with true teaching coming only from him. [212], Arguing instead for a symbolic interpretation, Dominic Montserrat in Akhenaten: History, Fantasy and Ancient Egypt states that "there is now a broad consensus among Egyptologists that the exaggerated forms of Akhenaten's physical portrayal... are not to be read literally". [158][159] Akhenaten's religious reforms subverted the relationship ordinary Egyptians had with their gods and their pharaoh, as well as the role the pharaoh played in the relationship between the people and the gods. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the. [230], Redford argued that while Akhenaten called himself the son of the Sun-Disc and acted as the chief mediator between god and creation, kings had claimed the same relationship and priestly role for thousands of years before Akhenaten's time. The word "akh" (Ancient Egyptian: ꜣḫ) could have different translations, such as "satisfied," "effective spirit," or "serviceable to," and thus Akhenaten's name could be translated to mean "Aten is satisfied," "Effective spirit of the Aten," or "Serviceable to the Aten," respectively. [41], Some historians, such as Edward Wente and James Allen, have proposed that Akhenaten took some of his daughters as wives or sexual consorts to father a male heir. The monotheism of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament had its own separate development – one that began more than half a millennium after the pharaoh's death. ", Now the king has heard as follows, "You are at peace with the ruler of Qidsa (Kadesh). [77][78], "Crowned in Heliopolis of the South" (Thebes), Around the same time he changed his royal titulary, on the thirteenth day of the growing season's fourth month, Akhenaten decreed that a new capital city be built: Akhetaten (Ancient Egyptian: ꜣḫt-jtn, meaning "Horizon of the Aten"), better known today as Amarna. "[80], Historians do not know for certain why Akhenaten established a new capital and left Thebes, the old capital. Eric Cline, Nicholas Reeves, Peter Dorman, and other scholars have argued strongly against the establishment of a long coregency between the two rulers and in favour of either no coregency or a brief one lasting at most two years. [231], The unconventional portrayals of Akhenaten – different from the traditional athletic norm in the portrayal of pharaohs – have led Egyptologists in the 19th and 20th centuries to suppose that Akhenaten suffered some kind of genetic abnormality. Sed festivals were ritual rejuvenations of an aging pharaoh. Rather than acting through the pharaoh, Egyptians started to believe that the gods intervened directly in their lives, protecting the pious and punishing criminals. Although the use of images was in the end permitted, a thorough distinction between profane art intended to depict reality and sacred art designed for spiritual contemplation was established. It was used both internally by the court, and distributed abroad on a grand scale to demonstrate the wealth and power of the Emperors. However Akhenaten's case may be different through the emphasis that he placed on the heavenly father and son relationship. You have sent plated ones of wood. He ordered the defacing of Amun's temples throughout Egypt and, in a number of instances, inscriptions of the plural 'gods' were also removed. Surviving parts claim what happened to Akhenaten was "worse than those that I heard" previously in his reign and worse than those "heard by any kings who assumed the White Crown," and alludes to "offensive" speech against the Aten. Through the utilization of precise line work, unfathomable intricacy, and endless layers of complex elements…, The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East. Some Egyptologists, such as Donald B. Redford, compared this speech to a proclamation or manifesto, which foreshadowed and explained the pharaoh's later religious reforms centered around the Aten. The image is that of a corpulent, aged individual striding forward with his left leg advanced. In film, Akhenaten is played by Michael Wilding in The Egyptian from 1954 and Amedeo Nazzari in Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile from 1961. [123] Thanks to reliefs in the tomb of courtier Meryre II, historians know that the royal family, Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and their six daughters, were present at the royal reception in full. Englund and Friedman concluded that the frequency with which Akhenaten used this term likely means that his own name meant "Effective for the Aten. Below them, a figure of Akhenaten (r. 1353-1336 BCE) is flanked by cartouches. [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.