AKHENATEN

A SUMMARY:

A SUMMARY

• Akhenaten was born c 1380 bce
• He forced all of Egypt to forgo all gods except Aten
• He married Nefertiti and had 1 child: the king Tutankhamun
• C. 1346 Akhenaten constructed the city Akhenaten, or as it is called by archeologists, “Armarna” which then became the capital of Egypt
• Akhenaten died c 1336 bce

BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD

• Akhenaten was born c.1380 bce
• He was the second son of the pharaoh Pharaoh Amenhotep III
• He became the crown prince of Egypt after his older brother died
• He then became pharaoh c. 1353 bce
• Some historians think he served as co-pharaoh with his dad for a few years before his fathers death

EGYPT’S NEW RELIGION

• As soon as Akhenaten became pharaoh he started on his campaign to reform Egypt’s religion
• For thousands of years Egypt worshiped many gods, but Akhenaten changed the religion to monotheistic worship of Aten, “the sun disk”
• Many people thought this unwise and were unhappy with Akhenaten for this
• Akhenaten also teared down many temples to the old gods

FAMILY

• Akhenaten had a wife and one son
• His wife Nefertiti ruled alongside him and was a very powerful queen
• She was the second most powerful person in Egypt and was famous for a bust of her
• His son was king Tutankhamun

AMARNA

• C. 1346 Akhenaten built the city of armarna
• This city was built to honor the god Aten
• It was called akhentaten by the ancient Egyptians
• It contained the royal palace and the great temple of Aten

DEATH

• Akhenaten died c. 1336 bce
• There were two pharaohs after his death before king Tutankhamun took over
• His memory was eventually defamed and his temples desecrated
• His name was removed from the book of pharaohs and referred to as the enemy in Egypt’s records

BIBLIOGRAPHY