Akhenaten Adopted Which Seemed to Unfreeze the Traditional Immobility Found in Egyptian Art
In the long course of Egyptian history, few figures have been as polarizing equally Akhenaten. The period surrounding this Egyptian male monarch's reign was characterized by social, political and religious upheaval - the likes of which few cultures ever experience. In simply under two decades on the throne, Akhenaten imposed new aspects of Egyptian religion, overhauled its royal artistic style, moved Egypt'due south capital to a previously unoccupied site, implemented a new form of architecture and attempted to obliterate the names and images of some of Egypt's traditional gods. Information technology is in function due to the tumultuous nature of Akhenaten'due south tenure that this era in Egyptian history, known as the Amarna period, has received so much attending from scholars and the public.
Since the modernistic rediscovery of Akhenaten, academics accept written countless studies and biographies of this then-called heretic king expounding upon his incendiary nature in ways perhaps all-time encapsulated by James Henry Breasted: "Until Ikhnaton the history of the world had been the irresistible drift of tradition. All men had been simply drops of water in the great current. Ikhnaton was the showtime individual in history."
Akhenaten came to ability equally the pharaoh of Egypt in either the yr 1353 or 1351 BCE and reigned for roughly 17 years during the 18th dynasty of Egypt's New Kingdom. Akhenaten became all-time known to mod scholars for the new faith he created that centered on the Aten. In Akhenaten's new religion, this figure generally came to be represented as a sun disk and is best understood every bit the low-cal produced by the sun itself. The king ascended the throne nether his nativity name, Amenhotep 4, only in his fifth regnal year, he changed his name to 1 that better reflected his religious ideas (Amenhotep = "Amun is satisfied," Akhenaten = "Constructive for Aten"). Shortly later this beginning meaning step, Akhenaten initiated a series of changes in Egyptian religion, art and writing that appeared to coincide with the jubilees of his deified father, Amenhotep III, and the Aten.
What, so, was this new faith that motivated Akhenaten to upend then many elements of Egyptian society? The answers are rooted in uncertainties, leading Egyptologists to long contend the nature of Akhenaten'due south transformation. Scholars have argued in favor of monotheism, henotheism, agnosticism and almost everything in betwixt. What is sure, though, is this new religion elevated the Aten to the position of state deity and centered largely on its worship. Akhenaten further reshaped Arab republic of egypt's religious sphere through the persecution of some traditional gods, most notably Amun – Egypt's state deity for much of the 18th dynasty. Quondam around his fourth regnal year, Akhenaten even dispatched agents to erase the names and images of certain gods from existing texts and monuments.
Akhenaten's new approach to religion manifested itself in other facets of Egyptian civilisation, most notably the artistic sphere. The first works commissioned by the rex appeared in the traditional Theban style, employed by near every 18th dynasty pharaoh preceding him. However, as he implemented new religious ideas, majestic art evolved to reflect the concepts of Atenism. The about hitting changes are seen in the advent of the imperial family. Heads became larger than in the traditional manner and were supported past elongated and slender necks. The royal family took on a more androgynous advent that sometimes even obscured the difference between Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti. Their faces were characterized past large lips, long noses and squinting eyes, and their bodies displayed narrow shoulders and waists, small and somewhat concave torsos and large thighs, buttocks and bellies.
These steps toward cultural revolution culminated in Akhenaten's decision to move Egypt's capital from Thebes to a previously unoccupied site he named Akhetaten (present-mean solar day Tell el Amarna), meaning "the identify where the Aten becomes effective." In year v of Akhenaten'due south reign he contended that he "discovered" the location of the new regal city. The male monarch proclaimed that the Aten had manifested itself for the get-go fourth dimension on the site and that the Aten had called this site for the male monarch solitary. Armana besides seems to accept been chosen because the cliffs that frame the new city resembled the Axt symbol, meaning "horizon." In order to quickly construct the urban center, smaller building blocks, chosen talatat, were introduced that were easier for unskilled laborers to manage. Most of the township and administration buildings were completed roughly 3 years later.
The end of Akhenaten's reign is murky. The king about likely died during his 17th regnal year, as this is the highest appointment attested for him. Merely uncertainties environs his demise. Showtime, Akhenaten's crusade of death is unknown largely because information technology is unclear whether his remains accept ever been located. The regal tomb intended for Akhenaten at Amarna did not incorporate a majestic burying, which prompts the question of what happened to the trunk. Several scholars have suggested that a skeleton found in tomb KV55 in the Valley of the Kings could belong to Akhenaten, because the tomb independent numerous grave goods (including the coffin in which the remains were found) belonging to Akhenaten and other Amarna menstruation figures. However, like many topics pertaining to Akhenaten, this issue remains the subject of much scholarly fence.
Recommended Reading
Akhenaten
Aldred, Cyril 1988.Akhenaten: King of Arab republic of egypt. New York: Thames & Hudson.
Montserrat, Dominic 2003.Akhenaten: History, Fantasy and Ancient Egypt. London: Psychology Press.
Redford, Donald B 1987.Akhenaten: The Heretic Male monarch. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Aten
"The Keen Hymn to the Aten" in Lichtheim, Miriam 1978.Ancient Egyptian Literature Vol. 2. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 96-100.
Hornung, Erik 2001.Akhenaten and the religion of light. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.
Wilkinson, Richard H. 2003.The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Aboriginal Arab republic of egypt. New York: Thames & Hudson. pp. 236–24.
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Source: https://www.arce.org/resource/akhenaten-mysteries-religious-revolution
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