Why was the reign of Akhenaten so unique?

Akhenaten was an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during the Eighteenth Dynasty of the New Kingdom period of Ancient Egypt. He is famous for changing the traditional religion of Egypt from the worship of many gods to the worship of a single god named Aten.

What happened during the reign of Akhenaten?

In just under two decades on the throne, Akhenaten imposed new aspects of Egyptian religion, overhauled its royal artistic style, moved Egypt’s 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.

Was Akhenaten a bad king?

The preponderance of the evidence, both from the Amarna letters and from Tutankhamun’s later decree, as well as archaeological indications, strongly suggests that Akhenaten was a very poor ruler as far as his subjects and vassal states were concerned and his reign, in the words of Hawass, was “an inward-focused regime …

Who is the king of the Amarna period?

of Akhenaten
The Amarna Period of ancient Egypt was the era of the reign of Akhenaten (1353-1336 BCE), known as ‘the heretic king’.

Was Akhenaten a monotheist?

Akhenaten’s exclusive worship of the sun god Aton led early Egyptologists to claim that he created the world’s first monotheistic religion. However, modern scholarship notes that Akhenaten’s cult drew from aspects of other gods—particularly re-Harakhte, Shu, and Maat—in its imagining and worship of Aton.

Why was Amarna abandoned?

City of Akhetaten. It is the only ancient Egyptian city which preserves great details of its internal plan, in large part because the city was abandoned after the death of Akhenaten, when Akhenaten’s son, King Tutankhamun, decided to leave the city and return to his birthplace in Thebes (modern Luxor).

What are the Amarna letters?

Letters to the king discovered in the ruins of Tell el-Amarna, known as the Amarna Letters, show the discontent of the army commanders and high commissioners in Palestine and Syria. The local princes, who had been loyal to Egypt, no longer saw any advantage in trading with Egypt.

When did Akhenaten move to Tell el Amarna?

Akhenaten the Heretic 1352–1336 BC. He moved his capital from Thebes to a place now called Tell el-Amarna or Amarna, more than 200 miles (300 km) north, on a desert bay on the east side of the Nile River. Here he began to build a new city, which he called Akhetaten, “Horizon of Aten.”.

What was the capital of Tell el Amarna like?

He moved his capital from Thebes to a place now called Tell el-Amarna or Amarna, more than 200 miles (300 km) north, on a desert bay on the east side of the Nile River. The new city had many spacious villas with trees, pools, and gardens.