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127-417: His reign was a period of unprecedented prosperity and splendour, when Egypt reached the peak of its artistic and international power, and as such he is considered one of ancient Egypt's greatest pharaohs. When he died in the 38th or 39th year of his reign he was succeeded by his son Amenhotep IV, who later changed his name to Akhenaten . Amenhotep was the son of Thutmose IV and his minor wife Mutemwiya . He

254-401: A 100,000 years, and may our mistress grant both of us great joy. And let us act as friends. Is Šauška for me alone my god[dess], and for my brother not his god[dess]? The likeliest explanation is that the statue was sent to Egypt "to shed her blessings on the wedding of Amenhotep and Tadukhepa, as she had been sent previously for Amenhotep and Gilukhepa ." Moran agrees that this explanation

381-505: A Meritaten-tasherit ("junior") and an Ankhesenpaaten-tasherit. According to some, this indicates that Akhenaten fathered his own grandchildren. Others hold that, since these grandchildren are not attested to elsewhere, they are fictions invented to fill the space originally portraying Kiya's child. Egyptologists know very little about Akhenaten's life as prince Amenhotep. Donald B. Redford dates his birth before his father Amenhotep III's 25th regnal year, c.  1363–1361 BC , based on

508-430: A Sed festival when he was likely still in his early twenties. Some historians see it as evidence for Amenhotep III and Amenhotep IV's coregency, and believed that Amenhotep IV's Sed festival coincided with one of his father's celebrations. Others speculate that Amenhotep IV chose to hold his festival three years after his father's death, aiming to proclaim his rule a continuation of his father's reign. Yet others believe that

635-532: A brief independent reign after Akhenaten is unclear. If Smenkhkare outlived Akhenaten, and became sole pharaoh, he likely ruled Egypt for less than a year. The next successor was Nefertiti or Meritaten ruling as Neferneferuaten , reigning in Egypt for about two years. She was, in turn, probably succeeded by Tutankhaten, with the country being administered by the vizier and future pharaoh Ay . While Akhenaten—along with Smenkhkare—was most likely reburied in tomb KV55,

762-650: A city dedicated to his new deity, the Aten . Amenhotep built extensively at the temple of Karnak , including the Luxor temple with two pylons , a colonnade behind the new temple entrance, and a new temple to the goddess Ma'at . Amenhotep dismantled the Fourth Pylon of the Temple of Amun at Karnak to construct a new Third Pylon — and created a new entrance to this structure where he erected two rows of columns with open papyrus capitals down

889-442: A country that I love, and then return." Now I herewith send her, and she is on her way. Now, in the time, too, of my father,...[she] went to this country, and just as earlier she dwelt there and they honored her, may my brother now honor her 10 times more than before. May my brother honor her, [then] at [his] pleasure let her go so that she may come back. May Šauška (i.e., Ishtar ), the mistress of heaven, protect us, my brother and me,

1016-482: A country wedded to age-old political and religious certainties under the Amun priesthood. The resulting upheavals from his son Akhenaten 's reforming zeal shook these old certainties to their foundations, and forced the momentous question whether a pharaoh was more powerful than his society as represented in the worship of Amun. Akhenaten even moved the capital away from Thebes, the center of Amun's worship, and built Amarna ,

1143-526: A dozen elderly militarists could have done," while James Henry Breasted said Akhenaten "was not fit to cope with a situation demanding an aggressive man of affairs and a skilled military leader." Others noted that the Amarna letters counter the conventional view that Akhenaten neglected Egypt's foreign territories in favour of his internal reforms. For instance, Norman de Garis Davies praised Akhenaten's emphasis on diplomacy over war, while James Baikie said that

1270-461: A forensic examination of his mummy revealed worn and cavity-pitted teeth which must have inflicted constant pain. An examination of the mummy by the Australian anatomist Grafton Elliot Smith concluded that the pharaoh had died at between the age of 40 and 50. He was survived by at least one child, his successor Amenhotep IV. His wife Tiye is known to have outlived him by at least twelve years, as she

1397-584: A male heir. While this is debated, some historical parallels exist: Akhenaten's father Amenhotep III married his daughter Sitamun, while Ramesses II married two or more of his daughters, even though their marriages might simply have been ceremonial. In Akhenaten's case, his oldest daughter Meritaten is recorded as Great Royal Wife to Smenkhkare but is also listed on a box from Tutankhamun's tomb alongside pharaohs Akhenaten and Neferneferuaten as Great Royal Wife. Additionally, letters written to Akhenaten from foreign rulers make reference to Meritaten as "mistress of

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1524-556: A military expedition to quell a rebellion and raids on settlements on the Nile by Nubian nomadic tribes. The victory was commemorated on two stelae, one discovered at Amada and another at Buhen . Egyptologists differ on the size of the campaign: Wolfgang Helck considered it a small-scale police operation, while Alan Schulman considered it a "war of major proportions". Other Egyptologists suggested that Akhenaten could have waged war in Syria or

1651-594: A nearly undamaged 6 feet (1.8 m)-high pink quartzite statue of the king wearing the Double Crown . It was mounted on a sled, and may have been a cult statue. Only the name of the god Amun had been hacked out wherever it appeared in the pharaoh's cartouche , clearly part of Akhenaten's campaign against the god of his father. One of Amenhotep's most popular epithets was Aten-tjehen which means "the Dazzling Sun Disk"; it appears in his titulary at Luxor temple and

1778-450: A new capital city be built: Akhetaten (Ancient Egyptian: ꜣḫt-jtn , meaning "Horizon of the Aten"), better known today as Amarna. The events Egyptologists know the most about during Akhenaten's life are connected with founding Akhetaten, as several so-called boundary stelae were found around the city to mark its boundary. The pharaoh chose a site about halfway between Thebes , the capital at

1905-578: A number of settlements on the island, and they exported copper and other raw materials from Cyprus to Egypt in exchange for luxury goods and other commodities. However, the Egyptian presence on Cyprus was at times interrupted by incursions of other powers, including the Hittites and the Mycenaeans. Thutmose, the eldest son of Amenhotep III with his wife Tiye, became Crown Prince, but died before his father. Amenhotep

2032-576: A royal couple just a year before Akhenaten's death. The inscription is dated to Year 16, month 3 of Akhet , day 15 of the reign of Akhenaten. Before the 2012 discovery of the Deir el-Bersha inscription, the last known fixed-date event in Akhenaten's reign was a royal reception in regnal year twelve, in which the pharaoh and the royal family received tributes and offerings from allied countries and vassal states at Akhetaten. Inscriptions show tributes from Nubia ,

2159-431: A series of tests that demonstrated the pharaoh's fitness for continuing as ruler of Egypt. Based on indications left by Queen Tiye's steward Khenruef, the festival may have lasted two to eight months. Amenhotep wanted his Sed Festivals to be far more spectacular than those of the past. He appointed Amenhotep, son of Hapu to plan the ceremony, potentially because he was one of the few courtiers still alive to have served at

2286-555: A small temple with a colonnade (dedicated to Thutmose III ) at Elephantine , a rock temple dedicated to Amun "Lord of the Ways" at Wadi es-Sebuam, and the temple of Horus of Miam at Aniba ...[as well as founding] additional temples at Kawa and Sesebi . His enormous mortuary temple on the west bank of the Nile was, in its day, the largest religious complex in Thebes , but the king built too close to

2413-530: A time when the balance of power between Egypt's neighbors and rivals was shifting, and the Hittites, a confrontational state, overtook the Mitanni in influence. Early in his reign, Akhenaten was evidently concerned about the expanding power of the Hittite Empire under Šuppiluliuma I . A successful Hittite attack on Mitanni and its ruler Tushratta would have disrupted the entire international balance of power in

2540-912: A travel guide for West Bank - Luxor . [REDACTED] Wikimedia Commons has media related to Theban Necropolis . References [ edit ] ^ Foster, Karen Polinger; Manniche, Lise (1991). "Lost Tombs: A Study of Certain Eighteenth Dynasty Monuments in the Theban Necropolis" . The Classical World . 84 (3): 246. doi : 10.2307/4350785 . ISSN   0009-8418 . JSTOR   4350785 . External links [ edit ] Theban Mapping Project v t e Theban Necropolis Temple sites Deir el-Bahari Medinet Habu Mortuary Temple of Seti I Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III Ramesseum [REDACTED] Royal Necropolis Valley of

2667-561: A village of those working on Valley of the Kings tombs was relocated to the workers' village at Akhetaten. However, construction work continued in the rest of the country, as larger cult centers, such as Heliopolis and Memphis, also had temples built for Aten. The Amarna letters have provided important evidence about Akhenaten's reign and foreign policy. The letters are a cache of 382 diplomatic texts and literary and educational materials discovered between 1887 and 1979, and named after Amarna,

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2794-476: A year or two later. Nefertiti might not have assumed the role of coregent until after year sixteen, when a stela still mentions her as Akhenaten's Great Royal Wife . While Nefertiti's familial relationship with Akhenaten is known, whether Akhenaten and Smenkhkare were related by blood is unclear. Smenkhkare could have been Akhenaten's son or brother, as the son of Amenhotep III with Tiye or Sitamun . Archaeological evidence makes it clear, however, that Smenkhkare

2921-437: A younger son of pharaoh Amenhotep III and his principal wife Tiye . Akhenaten had an elder brother, crown prince Thutmose , who was recognized as Amenhotep III's heir. Akhenaten also had four or five sisters: Sitamun , Henuttaneb , Iset , Nebetah , and possibly Beketaten . Thutmose's early death, perhaps around Amenhotep III's thirtieth regnal year, meant that Akhenaten was next in line for Egypt's throne. Akhenaten

3048-598: Is Year 38, which appears on wine jar-label dockets from Malkata . He may have lived briefly into an unrecorded Year 39 and died before the wine harvest of that year. Reliefs from the wall of the temple of Soleb in Nubia and scenes from the Theban tomb of Kheruef , Steward of the King's Great Wife, Tiye, depict Amenhotep as a visibly weak and sick figure. Scientists believe that in his final years he suffered from arthritis and obesity. Further,

3175-1133: Is a necropolis on the west bank of the Nile , opposite Thebes ( Luxor ) in Upper Egypt . It was used for ritual burials for much of the Pharaonic period, especially during the New Kingdom . Mortuary temples [ edit ] See also: Temples of a Million years Deir el-Bahri Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut Mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II Mortuary temple of Thutmose III Medinet Habu Mortuary temple and palace of Ramesses III Mortuary Temple of Ay & Horemheb Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III Colossi of Memnon Mortuary Temple of Merneptah Mortuary Temple of Ramesses IV Mortuary Temple of Thutmose IV Mortuary Temple of Thutmose III Mortuary Temple of Twosret Temple of Nebwenenef Qurna Mortuary Temple of Seti I Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep II Ramesseum (Mortuary Temple of Ramesses II) Royal Necropolis [ edit ] Valley of

3302-479: Is attested only once, on a colossal limestone group of statues from Medinet Habu, and Beketaten only appears in Amarna . Amenhotep is also sometimes credited as the father of Smenkhkare or Tutankhamun , with varying proposals for their mothers, but these theories are not as accepted as his other, known children. In addition to Tiye, Amenhotep had several other wives . In Regnal Year 10, Amenhotep married Gilukhepa ,

3429-467: Is known for Meketaten, the assumption had been that Akhenaten was the father. Aidan Dodson believes this to be unlikely, as no Egyptian tomb has been found that mentions or alludes to the cause of death of the tomb owner. Further, Jacobus van Dijk proposes that the child is a portrayal of Meketaten's soul . Finally, various monuments, originally for Kiya, were reinscribed for Akhenaten's daughters Meritaten and Ankhesenpaaten. The revised inscriptions list

3556-420: Is mentioned in several Amarna letters dated from her son's reign, as well as depicted at the royal dinner table in Akhenaten's years 9 and 12, in scenes from the tomb of Huya . Foreign leaders communicated their grief at the pharaoh's death, with Tushratta saying: When I heard that my brother Nimmureya had gone to his fate, on that day I sat down and wept. On that day I took no food, I took no water. Amenhotep

3683-450: Is satisfied", "Effective spirit of the Aten", or "Serviceable to the Aten", respectively. Gertie Englund and Florence Friedman arrive at the translation "Effective for the Aten" by analyzing contemporary texts and inscriptions, in which Akhenaten often described himself as being "effective for" the sun disc. Englund and Friedman conclude that the frequency with which Akhenaten used this term likely means that his own name meant "Effective for

3810-662: Is the series of over 200 large commemorative stone scarabs that have been discovered over a large geographic area ranging from Syria ( Ras Shamra ) through to Soleb in Nubia. Similarly, five other scarabs state that his wife Gilukhepa of Mitanni arrived in Egypt with a retinue of 317 women. She was the first of many such princesses who would enter the pharaoh's family. Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced / ˌ æ k ə ˈ n ɑː t ən / listen ), also spelled Akhenaton or Echnaton ( Ancient Egyptian : ꜣḫ-n-jtn ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy , pronounced [ˈʔuːχəʔ nə ˈjaːtəj] , meaning 'Effective for

3937-456: The Aten and distancing himself from other gods. Egyptologist Donald B. Redford believes this implied that Amenhotep IV's eventual religious policies were not conceived of before his reign, and he did not follow a pre-established plan or program. Redford points to three pieces of evidence to support this. First, surviving inscriptions show Amenhotep IV worshipping several different gods, including Atum , Osiris , Anubis , Nekhbet , Hathor , and

Amenhotep III - Misplaced Pages Continue

4064-590: The Aten '), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning c.  1353–1336 or 1351–1334 BC, 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 ). As a pharaoh, Akhenaten is noted for abandoning traditional ancient Egyptian religion of polytheism and introducing Atenism , or worship centered around Aten . The views of Egyptologists differ as to whether

4191-706: The Double Plumes " "Beloved of Aten" "Great of Kingship in Karnak" "Great of Kingship in Akhet-Aten" "Crowned in Heliopolis of the South" (Thebes) "Exalter of the Name of Aten" "Amun is Satisfied, Divine Lord of Thebes" "Effective for the Aten" Around the same time he changed his royal titulary, on the thirteenth day of the growing season 's fourth month , Akhenaten decreed that

4318-688: The Eastern Mediterranean that Akhenaten inherited from his predecessors. In the 200 years preceding Akhenaten's reign, following the expulsion of the Hyksos from Lower Egypt at the end of the Second Intermediate Period , the kingdom's influence and military might increased greatly. Egypt's power reached new heights under Thutmose III , who ruled approximately 100 years before Akhenaten and led several successful military campaigns into Nubia and Syria. Egypt's expansion led to confrontation with

4445-629: The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties , where it lay until discovered by Victor Loret in 1898. For the 18th dynasty, the mummy shows an unusually heavy use of subcutaneous stuffing to make the mummy look more lifelike. The mummy has museum inventory number CG 61074. In April 2021, his mummy was moved from the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization , along with those of 17 other kings and 4 queens in an event termed

4572-474: The Eye of Ra , and texts from this era refer to "the gods" and "every god and every goddess". The High Priest of Amun was also still active in the fourth year of Amenhotep IV's reign. Second, even though he later moved his capital from Thebes to Akhetaten , his initial royal titulary honored Thebes—his nomen was "Amenhotep, god-ruler of Thebes"—and recognizing its importance, he called the city "Southern Heliopolis,

4699-609: The Land of Punt , Syria , the Kingdom of Hattusa , the islands in the Mediterranean Sea , and Libya . Egyptologists, such as Aidan Dodson , consider this year twelve celebration to be the zenith of Akhenaten's reign. 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. However, historians are uncertain about

4826-477: The Levant , possibly against the Hittites. Cyril Aldred, based on Amarna letters describing Egyptian troop movements, proposed that Akhenaten launched an unsuccessful war around the city of Gezer , while Marc Gabolde argued for an unsuccessful campaign around Kadesh . Either of these could be the campaign referred to on Tutankhamun's Restoration Stela: "if an army was sent to Djahy [southern Canaan and Syria] to broaden

4953-452: The Pharaohs' Golden Parade . Amenhotep has the distinction of having the most surviving statues of any Egyptian pharaoh, with over 250 identified. These statues provide a series of portraits covering the entire length of his reign. When Amenhotep died, he left behind a country at the very height of its power and influence, commanding immense respect in the international world. However, it was

5080-511: The floodplain , and less than two hundred years later it was reduced to ruins. Much of the masonry was purloined by Merneptah and later pharaohs for their own construction projects. All that remained standing was the gateway with the Colossi of Memnon — two massive stone statues depicting Amenhotep,18 m (59 ft) high. Amenhotep also built the Third Pylon at Karnak and erected 600 statues of

5207-474: The viziers Ramose , Amenhotep , Aperel , and Ptahmose . Other officials included the treasurers Ptahmose and Merire; the high stewards, Amenemhat Surer and Amenhotep (Huy) ; and the Viceroy of Kush, Merimose. Amenhotep, son of Hapu held many offices during the reign of Amenhotep the pharaoh, but is best known for receiving the right to build his mortuary temple behind that of the king. Amenhotep, son of Hapu,

Amenhotep III - Misplaced Pages Continue

5334-444: The "marriage scarabs," Amenhotep affirmed his divine power and the legitimacy of his wife. With Tiye, Amenhotep fathered at least two sons, Crown Prince Thutmose and Amenhotep IV (later called Akhenaten) . In addition, several daughters are frequently credited to the couple: Sitamun , Henuttaneb , Iset , Nebetah , and Beketaten . Most of the daughters appear frequently on statues and reliefs from Amenhotep's reign. However, Nebetah

5461-615: The 20th century, it is in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo as of 2019. Despite leaving the sarcophagus behind, Akhenaten's mummy was removed from the royal tombs after Tutankhamun abandoned Akhetaten and returned to Thebes. It was most likely moved to tomb KV55 in Valley of the Kings near Thebes. This tomb was later desecrated, likely during the Ramesside period . Whether Smenkhkare also enjoyed

5588-550: The Amarna family's continued rule when Egypt was confronted with an epidemic. Dodson suggested that the two were chosen to rule as Tutankhaten's coregent in case Akhenaten died and Tutankhaten took the throne at a young age, or rule in Tutankhaten's stead if the prince also died in the epidemic. Akhenaten died after seventeen years of rule and was initially buried in a tomb in the Royal Wadi east of Akhetaten. The order to construct

5715-461: The Ancient Middle East at a time when Egypt had made peace with Mitanni; this would cause some of Egypt's vassals to switch their allegiances to the Hittites, as time would prove. A group of Egypt's allies who attempted to rebel against the Hittites were captured, and wrote letters begging Akhenaten for troops, but he did not respond to most of their pleas. Evidence suggests that the troubles on

5842-478: The Aten". Some historians, such as William F. Albright , Edel Elmar , and Gerhard Fecht , propose that Akhenaten's name is misspelled and mispronounced. These historians believe "Aten" should rather be "Jāti", thus rendering the pharaoh's name Akhenjāti or Aḫanjāti (pronounced / ˌ æ k ə ˈ n j ɑː t ɪ / ), as it could have been pronounced in Ancient Egypt. Kanakht-qai-Shuti "Strong Bull of

5969-463: The Babylonian monarch may indeed have followed from Egyptian royal custom, which allowed a claim upon the throne through descent from a royal princess. It could also be viewed as a diplomatic stratagem to enhance Egypt's prestige, as Amenhotep himself married the daughters of several foreign rulers while refusing them his own daughters. The Amarna Letters also reference the exchange between Amenhotep and

6096-544: The Colossi of Memnon as well as from Tanis in the Delta. In 2014, two giant statues of Amenhotep toppled by an earthquake in 1200 BC were reconstructed from more than 200 fragments and re-erected at the northern gate of the king's funerary temple. One of the most stunning finds of royal statues dating to his reign was made as recently as 1989 in the courtyard of Amenhotep 's colonnade of the Temple of Luxor. The cache of statues included

6223-464: The Eighteenth Dynasty founded a new dynasty , they discredited Akhenaten and his immediate successors and referred to Akhenaten as "the enemy" or "that criminal" in archival records. 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. Furthermore, in 1907, a mummy that could be Akhenaten's

6350-433: The Hittites; ordered by Akhenaten to come to Egypt, Aziru was released after promising to stay loyal to the pharaoh, nonetheless turning to the Hittites soon after his release. Egyptologists know little about the last five years of Akhenaten's reign, beginning in c.  1341 or 1339 BC. These years are poorly attested and only a few pieces of contemporary evidence survive; the lack of clarity makes reconstructing

6477-1941: The Kings burials Valley of the Queens burials Royal Cache Bab el-Gasus Other burials el-Assasif el-Khokha el-Tarif Dra' Abu el-Naga' Qurnet Murai Sheikh Abd el-Qurna Related articles Aten Beautiful Festival of the Valley Deir el-Medina [REDACTED] List of Theban tombs v t e World Heritage Sites in Egypt Abu Mena Islamic Cairo Memphis and its Necropolis – Giza pyramid complex to Dahshur Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae Saint Catherine Area Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis Wadi El Hitan (Whale Valley) [REDACTED] Egypt portal List of World Heritage Sites in Egypt Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Theban_Necropolis&oldid=1252607483 " Categories : World Heritage Sites in Egypt Theban Necropolis Archaeological sites in Egypt Open-air museums in Egypt Necropoleis Thebes, Egypt Hidden categories: Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Articles needing additional references from June 2023 All articles needing additional references Coordinates on Wikidata Articles containing Arabic-language text Commons category link

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6604-496: The Kings (Modern: " Wadi el-Muluk ") Valley of the Queens (Modern: " Biban el-Harim ") Royal Cache Bab el-Gasus Necropolis [ edit ] Deir el-Medina Workmen's Tombs Shrine to Meretseger & Ptah Tombs of the Nobles el-Assasif el-Khokha el-Tarif Dra' Abu el-Naga' Qurnet Murai Sheikh Abd el-Qurna See also [ edit ] [REDACTED] Wikivoyage has

6731-571: The Mitanni King Tushratta of the statue of a healing goddess, Ishtar of Nineveh , late in Amenhotep's reign. Scholars have generally assumed that the statue's sojourn to Egypt was requested by Amenhotep in order to cure him of his various ailments, which included painful abscesses in his teeth. However, William L. Moran 's analysis of Amarna Letter EA 23 , relating to the dispatch of the statue to Thebes, discounts this theory. The arrival of

6858-459: The Mitanni, but this rivalry ended with the two nations becoming allies. Slowly, however, Egypt's power started to wane. Amenhotep III aimed to maintain the balance of power through marriages—such as his marriage to Tadukhipa , daughter of the Mitanni king Tushratta —and vassal states. Under Amenhotep III and Akhenaten, Egypt was unable or unwilling to oppose the rise of the Hittites around Syria. The pharaohs seemed to eschew military confrontation at

6985-648: The Rud-Menu ("Enduring of monuments for Aten forever"), the Teni-Menu ("Exalted are the monuments of the Aten forever"), and the Sekhen Aten ("booth of Aten"). Around regnal year two or three, Amenhotep IV organized a Sed festival . Sed festivals were ritual rejuvenations of an aging pharaoh, which usually took place for the first time around the thirtieth year of a pharaoh's reign and every three or so years thereafter. Egyptologists only speculate as to why Amenhotep IV organized

7112-805: The Theban Necropolis [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Shown within Egypt Location Luxor , Luxor Governorate , Egypt Region Upper Egypt Coordinates 25°44′N 32°36′E  /  25.733°N 32.600°E  / 25.733; 32.600 Type Necropolis Part of Thebes UNESCO World Heritage Site Official name Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis Type Cultural Criteria i, iii, vi Designated 1979 (3rd session ) Reference no. 87 Region Arab States The Theban Necropolis ( Arabic : مدينة طيبة الجنائزية , romanized :  Madīnat Ṭaybah al-Janāʼizīyah )

7239-445: The arrival of the Egyptian military on their lands, and provide evidence that these troops were dispatched and arrived at their destination. Dozens of letters detail that Akhenaten—and Amenhotep III—sent Egyptian and Nubian troops, armies, archers, chariots, horses, and ships. Only one military campaign is known for certain under Akhenaten's reign. In his second or twelfth year, Akhenaten ordered his Viceroy of Kush Tuthmose to lead

7366-487: The birth of Akhenaten's first daughter, who was likely born fairly early in his own reign. The only mention of his name, as "the King's Son Amenhotep", was found on a wine docket at Amenhotep III's Malkata palace, where some historians suggested Akhenaten was born. Others contend that he was born at Memphis , where growing up he was influenced by the worship of the sun god Ra practiced at nearby Heliopolis . Redford and James K. Hoffmeier state, however, that Ra's cult

7493-645: The boundaries of Egypt, no success of their cause came to pass." John Coleman Darnell and Colleen Manassa also argued that Akhenaten fought with the Hittites for control of Kadesh, but was unsuccessful; the city was not recaptured until 60–70 years later, under Seti I . Overall, archeological evidence suggests that Akhenaten paid close attention to the affairs of Egyptian vassals in Canaan and Syria, though primarily not through letters such as those found at Amarna but through reports from government officials and agents. Akhenaten managed to preserve Egypt's control over

7620-476: The celebration as the affirmation of transition to divinity. Diplomatic correspondence from Amenhotep's reign are partially preserved in the Amarna Letters , a collection of documents found near the city of Amarna . The letters come from the rulers of Assyria , Mitanni , Babylon , Hatti , and other states, typically including requests by those rulers for gold and other gifts from Amenhotep. The letters cover

7747-745: The centre of this newly formed forecourt. The forecourt between the Third and Fourth Pylons, sometimes called an obelisk court, was also decorated with scenes of the sacred funerary barques of the deities Amun , Mut , and Khonsu . The king also started work on the Tenth Pylon at the Temple of Amun. Amenhotep's first recorded act as king — in his Years 1 and 2 — was to open new limestone quarries at Tura , just south of Cairo and at Dayr al-Barsha in Middle Egypt to undertake his great building projects. He virtually covered Nubia with new monuments: ...including

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7874-652: The construction of a large temple complex dedicated to the Aten at Karnak in Thebes, northeast of the parts of the Karnak complex dedicated to Amun. The Aten temple complex , collectively known as the Per Aten ("House of the Aten"), consisted of several temples whose names survive: the Gempaaten ("The Aten is found in the estate of the Aten"), the Hwt Benben ("House or Temple of the Benben "),

8001-548: The core of its Near Eastern Empire (which consisted of present-day Israel as well as the Phoenician coast) while avoiding conflict with the increasingly powerful and aggressive Hittite Empire of Šuppiluliuma I , which overtook the Mitanni as the dominant power in the northern part of the region. Only the Egyptian border province of Amurru in Syria around the Orontes River was lost to the Hittites when its ruler Aziru defected to

8128-478: The daughter of Shuttarna II of Mitanni . He later married Tadukhepa , daughter of Tushratta of Mitanni, in or around Regnal Year 36 of his reign. Other wives, whose names are unknown, included: a daughter of Kurigalzu , king of Babylon ; a daughter of Kadashman-Enlil , king of Babylon ; a daughter of Tarhundaradu , ruler of Arzawa ; and a daughter of the ruler of Ammia (modern-day Syria). Finally, he married at least two of his daughters, Sitamun and Iset, in

8255-423: The death of his father Amenhotep III or whether there was a coregency , lasting perhaps as long as 12 years. Eric Cline , Nicholas Reeves , Peter Dorman , and other scholars argue strongly against the establishment of a long coregency between the two rulers and in favor of either no coregency or one lasting at most two years. Donald B. Redford , William J. Murnane , Alan Gardiner , and Lawrence Berman contest

8382-491: The epidemic might account for several deaths in the royal family that occurred in the last five years of Akhenaten's reign, including those of his daughters Meketaten , Neferneferure , and Setepenre . Akhenaten could have ruled together with Smenkhkare and Nefertiti for several years before his death. Based on depictions and artifacts from the tombs of Meryre II and Tutankhamun, Smenkhkare could have been Akhenaten's coregent by regnal year thirteen or fourteen, but died

8509-411: The establishment of a long coregency between the two rulers and in favor of either no coregency or one of at most two years. Donald B. Redford , William J. Murnane , Alan Gardiner , and Lawrence Berman contest the view of any coregency whatsoever between Akhenaten and his father. Evidence against a coregency includes Amarna Letter EA 27 , which is dated to Regnal Year 2 of Amenhotep IV. The subject of

8636-417: The event. He directed Amenhotep to use his mace to knock on the temple doors. Beside him, Amenhotep-Hapu mirrored his effort like a royal shadow. The king was followed by Queen Tiye and the royal daughters. When moving to another venue, the banner of the jackal god Wepwawet, "Opener of Ways" preceded the King. The king changed his costume at each major activity of the celebration. One of the major highlights of

8763-468: 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." Indeed, several letters from Egyptian vassals notified the pharaoh that they have followed his instructions, implying that the pharaoh sent such instructions. The Amarna letters also show that vassal states were told repeatedly to expect

8890-460: The festival was held to honor the Aten on whose behalf the pharaoh ruled Egypt, or, as Amenhotep III was considered to have become one with the Aten following his death, the Sed festival honored both the pharaoh and the god at the same time. It is also possible that the purpose of the ceremony was to figuratively fill Amenhotep IV with strength before his great enterprise: the introduction of the Aten cult and

9017-566: The festival was the king's dual coronation. He was enthroned separately for Upper and Lower Egypt. For Upper Egypt, Amenhotep wore the white crown but changed to the red crown for the Lower Egypt coronation. After the Sed festival, Amenhotep transcended from being a near-god to one divine. The king may have later traveled across Egypt following the festival, potentially reenacting the ceremony for different audiences. Few Egyptian kings lived long enough for their own celebration. Those who survived used

9144-400: The first few years after he took the throne, such as those of Kheruef , Ramose , and Parennefer , show the pharaoh in the traditional artistic style. In Ramose's tomb, Amenhotep IV appears on the west wall, seated on a throne, with Ramose appearing before the pharaoh. On the other side of the doorway, Amenhotep IV and Nefertiti are shown in the window of appearances, with the Aten depicted as

9271-578: The first great (seat) of Re (or) the Disc". Third, Amenhotep IV did not yet destroy temples to the other gods and he even continued his father's construction projects at Karnak 's Precinct of Amun-Re . He decorated the walls of the precinct's Third Pylon with images of himself worshipping Ra-Horakhty , portrayed in the god's traditional form of a falcon-headed man. Artistic depictions continued unchanged early in Amenhotep IV's reign. Tombs built or completed in

9398-433: The founding of the new capital Akhetaten. Regardless of the celebration's aim, Egyptologists believe that during the festivities Amenhotep IV only made offerings to the Aten rather than the many gods and goddesses, as was customary. Among the last documents that refer to Akhenaten as Amenhotep IV are two copies of a letter to the pharaoh from Ipy , the high steward of Memphis . These letters, found at Gurob , informing

9525-568: The 💕 Area in Egypt, west of the Nile near Thebes [REDACTED] This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources:   "Theban Necropolis"  –  news   · newspapers   · books   · scholar   · JSTOR ( June 2023 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this message ) Theban Necropolis [REDACTED] Aerial view of

9652-455: The goddess Sekhmet in the Temple of Mut to the south. Some of the most magnificent statues of New Kingdom Egypt date to his reign "such as the two outstanding couchant rose granite lions originally set before the temple at Soleb in Nubia " as well as a large series of royal sculptures. Several black granite seated statues of Amenhotep wearing the nemes headress have come from excavations behind

9779-418: The house". Egyptologists in the early 20th century also believed that Akhenaten could have fathered a child with his second oldest daughter Meketaten. Meketaten's death, at perhaps age ten to twelve, is recorded in the royal tombs at Akhetaten from around regnal years thirteen or fourteen. Early Egyptologists attribute her death to childbirth, because of the depiction of an infant in her tomb. Because no husband

9906-468: The identification of the mummy found in that tomb as Akhenaten remains controversial to this day. The mummy has repeatedly been examined since its discovery in 1907. Most recently, Egyptologist Zahi Hawass led a team of researchers to examine the mummy using medical and DNA analysis , with the results published in 2010. In releasing their test results, Hawass's team identified the mummy as the father of Tutankhamun and thus "most probably" Akhenaten. However,

10033-606: The inscription only means that construction on Amenhotep-Huy's tomb started during Amenhotep III's reign and ended under Akhenaten's, and Amenhotep-Huy thus simply wanted to pay his respects to both rulers. Akhenaten took Egypt's throne as Amenhotep IV, most likely in 1353 or 1351 BC. It is unknown how old Amenhotep IV was when he did this; estimates range from 10 to 23. He was most likely crowned in Thebes , or less likely at Memphis or Armant . The beginning of Amenhotep IV's reign followed established pharaonic traditions. He did not immediately start redirecting worship toward

10160-568: The king moved to the palace permanently around Regnal Year 29. Once completed, it was the largest royal residence in Egypt. Amenhotep celebrated three Sed festivals in Regnal Years 30, 34, and 37, each at Malkata palace in Western Thebes. A temple of Amun and festival hall were built especially for the celebrations. The Sed festival was a tradition that dated to the Old Kingdom , consisting of

10287-484: The king of Sidon, where Rib-Hadda was almost certainly executed. In a view discounted by the 21st century, several Egyptologists in the late 19th and 20th centuries interpreted the Amarna letters to mean that Akhenaten was a pacifist who neglected foreign policy and Egypt's foreign territories in favor of his internal reforms. For example, Henry Hall believed Akhenaten "succeeded by his obstinate doctrinaire love of peace in causing far more misery in his world than half

10414-466: The lake. This event was commemorated on at least eleven commemorative scarabs. From other scarabs, Amenhotep is known to have killed either 102 or 110 lions in the first ten years of his reign. Despite the martial prowess Amenhotep displayed during the hunt, he is known to have participated in only one military incident. In Regnal Year Five, he led a victorious campaign against a rebellion in Kush. This victory

10541-487: The last Sed Festival, held for Amenhotep II. In preparation for the first Sed Festival, Amenhotep, son of Hapu enlisted scribes to gather information from records and inscriptions, most found in ancient funerary temples, describing the appropriate rituals and costumes. Temples were built and statues erected up and down the Nile. Craftsmen and jewelers created ornaments commentating the event including jewelry, ornaments, and stelae. The scribe Nebmerutef coordinated every step of

10668-477: The last decade of his reign. Jar-label inscriptions from Regnal Year 30 indicate that Sitamun was elevated to the status of Great Royal Wife by that time. Although shunned by common Egyptians, incest was not uncommon among royalty. A sculpture restored by Amenhotep for his grandfather, Amenhotep II, shows Sitamun with a young prince beside her. This has led to theories that Sitamun was the mother of Smekhkare and/or Tutankhamun. Amenhotep probably became pharaoh when he

10795-468: The latter part of the pharaoh's reign "a daunting task" and a controversial and contested topic of discussion among Egyptologists. Among the newest pieces of evidence is an inscription discovered in 2012 at a limestone quarry in Deir el-Bersha , just north of Akhetaten, from the pharaoh's sixteenth regnal year. The text refers to a building project in Amarna and establishes that Akhenaten and Nefertiti were still

10922-554: The letter involves a complaint from the Mitannian king Tushratta, claiming that Amenhotep IV did not honor his father's promise to send Tushratta gold statues as part of the marriage arrangement between Tadukhepa , and Amenhotep III. This correspondence implies that if any coregency occurred between Amenhotep and Akhenaten, it lasted no more than a year. However in February 2014, Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced that findings from

11049-477: The modern name for Akhenaten's capital Akhetaten. The diplomatic correspondence comprises clay tablet messages between Amenhotep III, Akhenaten, and Tutankhamun, various subjects through Egyptian military outposts, rulers of vassal states , and the foreign rulers of Babylonia , Assyria , Syria , Canaan , Alashiya , Arzawa , Mitanni , and the Hittites . The Amarna letters portray the international situation in

11176-761: The mother of Tutankhamun . William Murnane proposes that Kiya is the colloquial name of the Mitanni princess Tadukhipa , daughter of the Mitanni king Tushratta who had married Amenhotep III before becoming the wife of Akhenaten. Akhenaten's other attested consorts are the daughter of the Enišasi ruler Šatiya and another daughter of the Babylonian king Burna-Buriash II . Akhenaten could have had seven or eight children based on inscriptions. Egyptologists are fairly certain about his six daughters, who are well attested in contemporary depictions. Among his six daughters, Meritaten

11303-544: The northern frontier led to difficulties in Canaan , particularly in a struggle for power between Labaya of Shechem and Abdi-Heba of Jerusalem , which required the pharaoh to intervene in the area by dispatching Medjay troops northwards. Akhenaten pointedly refused to save his vassal Rib-Hadda of Byblos —whose kingdom was being besieged by the expanding state of Amurru under Abdi-Ashirta and later Aziru , son of Abdi-Ashirta—despite Rib-Hadda's numerous pleas for help from

11430-402: The period from Year 30 of Amenhotep until at least the end of Akhenaten 's reign. In Amarna Letter EA 4 , Amenhotep is quoted by the Babylonian king Kadashman-Enlil I in firmly rejecting the latter's entreaty to marry one of this pharaoh's daughters: From time immemorial, no daughter of the king of Egy[pt] is given to anyone. Amenhotep's refusal to allow one of his daughters to be married to

11557-469: The pharaoh that the royal estates in Memphis are "in good order" and the temple of Ptah is "prosperous and flourishing", are dated to regnal year five, day nineteen of the growing season's third month . About a month later, day thirteen of the growing season's fourth month , one of the boundary stela at Akhetaten already had the name Akhenaten carved on it, implying that the pharaoh changed his name between

11684-458: The pharaoh. Rib-Hadda wrote a total of 60 letters to Akhenaten pleading for aid from the pharaoh. Akhenaten wearied of Rib-Hadda's constant correspondences and once told Rib-Hadda: "You are the one that writes to me more than all the (other) mayors" or Egyptian vassals in EA 124. What Rib-Hadda did not comprehend was that the Egyptian king would not organize and dispatch an entire army north just to preserve

11811-541: The pharoah for a million years. Side view: A series of festival (ḥb) emblems together with a Sed (sd) emblem identifying the stela as one made for Amenhotep 's Sed Festival royal jubilee. Top and back view: These show malicious damage where the cartouche was chipped away. Cassirer suggests this was another example of Akhenaten's vandalism against Amun Other gods displayed on the stela, Re and Ma’at, showed no damage. The altered stela may then have been displayed by Akhenaten. Another striking characteristic of Amenhotep's reign

11938-410: The political status quo of several minor city states on the fringes of Egypt's Asiatic Empire. Rib-Hadda would pay the ultimate price; his exile from Byblos due to a coup led by his brother Ilirabih is mentioned in one letter. When Rib-Hadda appealed in vain for aid from Akhenaten and then turned to Aziru, his sworn enemy, to place him back on the throne of his city, Aziru promptly had him dispatched to

12065-400: 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. Akhetaten

12192-411: The prince was Parennefer , whose tomb mentions this fact. Egyptologist Cyril Aldred suggests that prince Amenhotep might have been a High Priest of Ptah in Memphis, although no evidence supporting this had been found. It is known that Amenhotep's brother, crown prince Thutmose , served in this role before he died. If Amenhotep inherited all his brother's roles in preparation for his accession to

12319-414: The property of a ruler, nor being the property of a female ruler, nor being the property of any people able to lay claim to it." Historians do not know for certain why Akhenaten established a new capital and left Thebes, the old capital. The boundary stelae detailing Akhetaten's founding is damaged where it likely explained the pharaoh's motives for the move. Surviving parts claim what happened to Akhenaten

12446-504: The reasons for the reception. Possibilities include the celebration of the marriage of future pharaoh Ay to Tey , celebration of Akhenaten's twelve years on the throne, the summons of king Aziru of Amurru to Egypt, a military victory at Sumur in the Levant , a successful military campaign in Nubia, Nefertiti's ascendancy to the throne as coregent, or the completion of the new capital city Akhetaten. Following year twelve, Donald B. Redford and other Egyptologists proposed that Egypt

12573-596: The religious policy was absolutely monotheistic , or whether it was monolatristic , syncretistic , or henotheistic . This culture shift away from traditional religion was reversed 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. Traditional religious practice was gradually restored, notably under his close successor Tutankhamun , who changed his name from Tutankhaten early in his reign. When some dozen years later, rulers without clear rights of succession from

12700-490: The smaller weight and standardized size, using them during constructions was more efficient than using heavy building blocks of varying sizes. By regnal year eight, Akhetaten reached a state where it could be occupied by the royal family. Only his most loyal subjects followed Akhenaten and his family to the new city. While the city continued to be built, in years five through eight, construction work began to stop in Thebes. The Theban Aten temples that had begun were abandoned, and

12827-476: The statue is known to have coincided with Amenhotep's marriage with Tadukhepa , Tushratta 's daughter, in the pharaoh's 36th year; letter EA 23's arrival in Egypt is dated to "regnal year 36, the fourth month of winter, day 1" of his reign. Furthermore, Tushratta never mentions in EA 23 that the statue's dispatch was meant to heal Amenhotep of his maladies. Instead, Tushratta writes in part: ... Thus Šauška of Nineveh, mistress of all lands: "I wish to go to Egypt,

12954-559: The study's validity has since been called into question. For instance, the discussion of the study results does not discuss that Tutankhamun's father and the father's siblings would share some genetic markers ; if Tutankhamun's father was Akhenaten, the DNA results could indicate that the mummy is a brother of Akhenaten, possibly Smenkhkare. Theban Necropolis Coordinates : 25°44′N 32°36′E  /  25.733°N 32.600°E  / 25.733; 32.600 From Misplaced Pages,

13081-489: The sun disc. In Parennefer's tomb, Amenhotep IV and Nefertiti are seated on a throne with the sun disc depicted over the pharaoh and his queen. While continuing the worship of other gods, Amenhotep IV's initial building program sought to build new places of worship to the Aten. He ordered the construction of temples or shrines to the Aten in several cities across the country, such as Bubastis , Tell el-Borg , Heliopolis , Memphis, Nekhen , Kawa , and Kerma . He also ordered

13208-503: The throne, he might have become a high priest in Thutmose's stead. Aldred proposes that Akhenaten's unusual artistic inclinations might have been formed during his time serving Ptah , the patron god of craftsmen, whose high priests were sometimes referred to as "The Greatest of the Directors of Craftsmanship". There is much controversy around whether Amenhotep IV ascended to Egypt's throne on

13335-405: The time, and Memphis , on the east bank of the Nile , where a wadi and a natural dip in the surrounding cliffs form a silhouette similar to the " horizon " hieroglyph . Additionally, the site had previously been uninhabited. According to inscriptions on one boundary stela, the site was appropriate for Aten's city for "not being the property of a god, nor being the property of a goddess, nor being

13462-470: The tomb and to bury the pharaoh there was commemorated on one of the boundary stela delineating the capital's borders: "Let a tomb be made for me in the eastern mountain [of Akhetaten]. Let my burial be made in it, in the millions of jubilees which the Aten, my father, decreed for me." In the years following the burial, Akhenaten's sarcophagus was destroyed and left in the Akhetaten necropolis; reconstructed in

13589-598: The tomb of Vizier Amenhotep-Huy gave "conclusive evidence" of a coregency that lasted at least eight years. In the tomb, the cartouches of the two pharaohs were carved side by side. However, this conclusion has since been called into question by other egyptologists, according to whom the inscription means only that construction on Amenhotep-Huy's tomb started during Amenhotep III's reign and ended under Akhenaten's, and Amenhotep-Huy thus simply wanted to pay his respects to both rulers, carving their names separately rather than simultaneously. Amenhotep's greatest attested regnal date

13716-527: The two inscriptions. Amenhotep IV changed his royal titulary to show his devotion to the Aten. No longer would he be known as Amenhotep IV and be associated with the god Amun , but rather he would completely shift his focus to the Aten. Egyptologists debate the exact meaning of Akhenaten, his new personal name . 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

13843-489: The view of any coregency whatsoever between Akhenaten and his father. Most recently, in 2014, archaeologists found both pharaohs' names inscribed on the wall of the Luxor tomb of vizier Amenhotep-Huy . 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. However, this conclusion has since been called into question by other Egyptologists, according to whom

13970-399: The world", and "the first individual in history", but also as a "heretic", "fanatic", "possibly insane", and "mad". Public and scholarly fascination with Akhenaten comes from his connection with Tutankhamun, the unique style and high quality of the pictorial arts he patronized , and the religion he attempted to establish, foreshadowing monotheism. The future Akhenaten was born Amenhotep,

14097-452: 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. Egyptologists believe that Akhenaten could be referring to conflict with the priesthood and followers of Amun, the patron god of Thebes. The great temples of Amun, such as Karnak , were all located in Thebes and

14224-665: Was a planned city with the Great Temple of the Aten , Small Aten Temple , royal residences, records office , and government buildings in the city center. Some of these buildings, such as the Aten temples, were ordered to be built by Akhenaten on the boundary stela decreeing the city's founding. The city was built quickly, thanks to a new construction method that used substantially smaller building blocks than under previous pharaohs. These blocks, called talatats , measured 1 ⁄ 2 by 1 ⁄ 2 by 1 ancient Egyptian cubits ( c.  27 by 27 by 54 cm ), and because of

14351-446: Was between the ages of 6 and 12. While it is likely that a regent would have ruled until he came of age, none is attested in the surviving records. In Regnal Year 11, Amenhotep commanded the construction of an artificial lake at Tiye's hometown of Djakaru. He then celebrated a Festival of Opening the Lake in the third month of Inundation, day sixteen, and rowed the royal barge Aten-tjehen on

14478-771: Was born in regnal year one or five; Meketaten in year four or six; Ankhesenpaaten , later queen of Tutankhamun, before year five or eight; Neferneferuaten Tasherit in year eight or nine; Neferneferure in year nine or ten; and Setepenre in year ten or eleven. Tutankhamun, born Tutankhaten, was most likely Akhenaten's son, with Nefertiti or another wife. There is less certainty around Akhenaten's relationship with Smenkhkare , Akhenaten's coregent or successor and husband to his daughter Meritaten; he could have been Akhenaten's eldest son with an unknown wife or Akhenaten's younger brother. 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

14605-570: Was born probably around 1401 BC. Later in his life, Amenhotep commissioned the depiction of his divine birth to be displayed at Luxor Temple. Amenhotep claimed that his true father was the god Amun , who had taken the form of Thutmose IV to father a child with Mutemwiya. In Regnal Year 2, Amenhotep married Tiye , the daughter of Yuya and Thuya . Tiye was the Great Royal Wife throughout Amenhotep's reign. Many commemorative scarabs were commissioned and distributed during Amenhotep's reign. On

14732-677: Was buried in tomb WV22 in the Western Valley of the Valley of the Kings outside of Thebes. The tomb is the largest in the West Valley of the Kings and includes two side chambers for his Great Royal Wives, Tiye and Sitamun. However, it does not seem that either woman was buried there. During the reign of Smendes in the Third Intermediate Period , Amenhotep's mummy was later moved to the mummy cache in KV35 along with several other pharaohs of

14859-476: Was commemorated by three rock-carved stelae found near Aswan and Saï in Nubia. The official account of Amenhotep's military victory emphasizes his martial prowess with the hyperbole typical of the period. There is a significant attestation for the court officials who served during Amenhotep's reign, primarily through the discovery of their tombs in the Theban Necropolis . Among these court officials were

14986-561: Was deified after his death and was one of the few non-royals to be worshiped in such a manner. The palace of Malkata was built in the 14th century BC and its ancient name was Per -Hay , "House of Rejoicing". Originally, the palace was known as the Palace of the Dazzling Aten . Built mostly out of mud-brick, it was Amenhotep's residence throughout most of the later part of his reign. Construction began around Regnal Year 11 and continued until

15113-531: Was frequently used as the name for one of his palaces, and for the Year 11 royal barge, as well as for a company of Amenhotep's army. In 2021, excavations revealed a settlement near Amenhotep's mortuary temple, called the Dazzling Aten , believed to have been built by king to house craftsmen and labourers working on royal projects at Thebes, along with its own bakery and cemetery. A Sed Festival Stela of Amenhotep III

15240-405: Was married to Meritaten , Akhenaten's eldest daughter. For another, the so-called Coregency Stela , found in a tomb at Akhetaten, might show queen Nefertiti as Akhenaten's coregent, but this is uncertain as the stela was recarved to show the names of Ankhesenpaaten and Neferneferuaten . Egyptologist Aidan Dodson proposed that both Smenkhkare and Neferiti were Akhenaten's coregents to ensure

15367-493: Was married to Nefertiti , his Great Royal Wife . The exact timing of their marriage is unknown, but inscriptions from the pharaoh's building projects suggest that they married either shortly before or after Akhenaten took the throne. For example, Egyptologist Dimitri Laboury suggests that the marriage took place in Akhenaten's fourth regnal year. A secondary wife of Akhenaten named Kiya is also known from inscriptions. Some Egyptologists theorize that she gained her importance as

15494-506: Was more likely. Further, Moran argues that the contents of Amarna Letter EA 21 support this claim, wherein Tushratta asks the gods, including Ishtar, for their blessing of the marriage. In the 14th century BCE, the pharaoh sent an expedition to Cyprus to establish Egyptian control over the island, which was subsequently maintained for several centuries. During this time, the Egyptians established

15621-399: Was so widespread and established throughout Egypt that Akhenaten could have been influenced by solar worship even if he did not grow up around Heliopolis. Some historians have tried to determine who was Akhenaten's tutor during his youth, and have proposed scribes Heqareshu or Meryre II , the royal tutor Amenemotep, or the vizier Aperel . The only person who we know for certain served

15748-568: Was struck by an epidemic , most likely a plague . Contemporary evidence suggests that a plague ravaged through the Middle East around this time, and ambassadors and delegations arriving to Akhenaten's year twelve reception might have brought the disease to Egypt. Alternatively, letters from the Hattians might suggest that the epidemic originated in Egypt and was carried throughout the Middle East by Egyptian prisoners of war. Regardless of its origin,

15875-460: Was taken from Egypt to Europe by an art dealer. Once owned by Eric Cassirer, it is now believed to be in a private collection in the United States. The white alabaster stela is 10 × 9 cm (3.94 × 3.54 in), but only its upper half survived. Front view: The god Heh, representing the number one million, holds notched palm leaves signifying years and the cartouche of Amenhotep, symbolically raising

16002-443: Was ultimately succeeded by his second son, who ascended the throne as Amenhotep IV and later took the name Akhenaten. It has long been theorized that Amenhotep III shared a coregency with his son Amenhotep IV. Lawrence Berman has claimed that proponents of the coregency theory tended to be art historians, while historians remained unconvinced. Eric Cline , Nicholas Reeves , Peter Dorman , and other scholars argue strongly against

16129-534: 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, but its identification as Akhenaten has since been questioned. 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

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