Egyptian King Akhenaten Research Paper

In addition, it was an effort to institute a monotheistic tradition in the country that was quite unfamiliar for that era and unexpected for that level of the expansion of ancient Egyptian philosophy and evolution. In fact, religion was extremely important to ancient Egyptian society because people at the era deeply trusted on the natural forces and they created different cults worshiping gods of the sun, earth, and water. In such a way, they believed that through reverencing these gods they could merit their provision and, therefore, ancient Egyptians totaled for higher harvests, revenue and improved existence which they could achieve only with the support of various deities. Moreover, it is obvious the amount to which the attempt of Akhenaten to introduce monotheism in ancient Egypt was radical. It is obvious that the honoring of one god, Aten, should change the opinion of the surrounding world and the position of gods in the life of ancient Egyptian people.

Amenhotep IV commenced his reign in 1353 BCE and was of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. When Amenhotep IV came to power, the priests of Amun had been gradually growing in power and were almost equal with the royal house in terms of wealth and influence. During the 5th year of his reign he outlawed the ancient religion which was centered on the worship and offerings to many Gods in particular those of the composite deity Ra-Amun-Horus (Ra- daytime sun, Amun- underworld sun, - Horus- the sunrise). He then changed his name to Akhenaten, proclaiming himself to be the living incarnation of the all-powerful, single deity known as ‘Aten’ (The visible sun). Traditionally, as described in the Coffin Texts of the Middle kingdom, the ‘Aten’ was the name for the sun-disk and in the "Story of Sinuhe", Amenemhat I is described to have soared into the sky, uniting with the Aten, his creator. The early stages of "Atenism" was as a henotheistic religion (devotion to a single god but recognising the existence of others), but quickly developed into a monotheistic system where the worship of all other Gods was banned, including the making and worship of idols, allowing only the rayed sun-disk to be displayed as a representation of ‘God’, for the ‘Aten' was the sole deity. Ordinary people could not worship the Aten

Ancient Egypt was a captivating and intricate civilization. Over the years, historians have found it easier to study this civilization, rather than other historical civilizations, because the Egyptians went through great lengths to record their history. Besides being decent record keepers, they were very religious, and “ahead of their time,” due to their technological and economic breakthroughs. Because of the aspects of this culture, it has to be one of the greatest civilizations of the world.

Pharaohs were the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled between 3150 B.C. and 30 B.C. The title pharaoh means the great house and refers to the royal palace. The pharaohs were at the top of the social class followed by nobles, scribes, craftspeople, farmers, and slaves. Each time another family took power over the throne, a new kingdom arises in Ancient Egypt. Because of this, rulers often married their daughters, granddaughters, sisters or brothers who helped keep the throne going in the family. Still, the throne always managed to shift hands at some point which helped create a more dynamic and complex pharaonic history. The throne of Ancient Egypt was supposed to go from father to son, but usually, it was interjected by murder, mayhem or mysterious disappearances. Some Dynasties ruled at the same time in different places of Ancient Egypt during the intermediate periods. Pharaohs played one of the most important roles in the evolution of the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms.

Due to the large amount of opposition he was receiving for closing the temples of the other gods, Akhenaten established a new capital called, Akhenaten. (http://www.kingtutshop.com/freeinfo/Nefertiti.htm)

When Akhenaten took over the throne he made many religious changes. Firstly, he changed the religion from polytheism to monotheism. The people of Egypt have traditionally worshipped many Gods who were in human or animal forms, but when Akhenaten took over he introduced the idea of worshipping in one God; Aten or sun-disc (BBC). This shows he is a visionary because he is one of the first people in history to introduce such an idea. Now many religions worship one God, but the first person to ever think of this idea was Akhenaten, which shows he thought ahead of his time and developed a new trend. Moreover, he changed the temples to being open to more people and not just high priests. He introduced a new form of temple which had open roofs so the sunlight can shine on the worshippers. The temple was more open to the public and more accessible. In modern society areas of worship are open to the public, this is similar to what Akhenaten tried to accomplish. He tried to show that a place of worship

The ruler of Egypt noted for his monotheism religious beliefs and relocation of the capital to Amarna was named Akhenaten.

Akhenaten or Amenhotep IV wanted to user in Aten the sun God. When he ruled it accompanied the revolutionary period called Amarna. He ruled around 1350-1334 B.C. This was in the 18th dynasty. When Akhenaten wanted to usher in Aten he tried to usher in a monotheistic cult. This made the power of priest limited and they was used to directing to a innumerable cult of gods

Amenhotep even changed his name to Arkhenaten which means, servant of Aten. Before the consideration of monotheism, Atenism was a henotheistic religion, the honoring and respect to one god but knowing there are others also. When praying or practicing this religion, it was done in the sunlight rather than in dark temple which was the common doing. Aten became the supreme god, with Akhentaten being the only other consideration. Although Atenism is considers to be a Monotheistic religion, it falls on the border line because Akhentaten was believed to be both man and a type god. Akhentaten closed all other temples making Aten the only god that can be worshipped. Unlike the other two religions mentioned, most of the population did not accept their kings religion simply for the fact that, it was not that simple to erase the other gods and pretend they never existed. This is a fact because as soon as Akhenaten died, his religion went with him. The Egyptians simply went back to their own religions and Akhenaten became known as a heretic king. Atenism is one of the shortest religion ever, which only lasted about twenty

Religion plays enormous role in the past and the present. It had shaped our laws, social norms, and purpose. Religion gives its people hope and understanding of many things that are unknown and a mystery. It provides security to its people. Religion has many roles which branch off due to the many different religions observed in the world. In ancient Egyptian literature, deities were important and mention a lot. The Egyptians worshiped and followed many gods and other sacred beings, which had diverse roles in its society. The functions of Egyptian deities provided understanding of the mysteries of world, accountability of life events, and control in society.

Akhenaten was known as a “heretic” pharaoh due to the radical changes he made during his reign as an Egyptian pharaoh. The people of Egypt had been worshipping many different deities all the time and Akhenaten was the first pharaoh to break the tradition by introducing monotheism, which was the worship to only one god. Other than reforming the religious beliefs, he also introduced arts of different styles to worship the Sun god, Aten. The changes made during Akhenaten’s reign had no doubt brought some effects to the lives of the Egyptians and also people from other countries later on.

Akhenaten the first person that made his own religion by believing in one god. Akhenaten lived a very long life. As a child he was the last one out. his brothers and sisters would go to sermones and he could not. As an a adult he had made his own civilization.and he left a mark on the world by making is own region.

     During the New Kingdom of Egypt (from 1552 through 1069 B.C.), there came a sweeping change in the religious structure of the ancient Egyptian civilization. "The Hymn to the Aten" was created by Amenhotep IV, who ruled from 1369 to 1353 B.C., and began a move toward a monotheist culture instead of the polytheist religion which Egypt had experienced for the many hundreds of years prior to the introduction of this new idea. There was much that was different from the old views in "The Hymn to the Aten", and it offered a new outlook on the Egyptian ways of life by providing a complete break with the traditions which Egypt held to with

Another astonishing act to this religious revolution was the Akhenaten’s order of the construction of a new capital, far to the north of Thebes known as Amarna, horizon of the sun, claiming the sun god lead him there. A few years after, Akhenaten made the decision to abandon Thebes and ordered his people to pack up and leave behind the city built by his father to receive the blessings of Aten in the city of Amarna. Shortly thereafter, he abolished traditional gods and goddesses, declaring one monotheistic deity, Aten, and introduced in art as a more intimate worship in public and personal settings of the royal family, receiving blessings from Aten, and showing day to day life and activities.

Amenhotep IV was the first pharaoh to challenge the Egyptian culture and religious beliefs. His decision to make Aten, “The God of the Sun Disk”, the only god, took power away from the temple priests. Before Amenhotep IV made the changes, Egypt practiced polytheism not only worshiping the Sun Disk God, but around 12 other gods with roles such as fertility, the sky, the Nile River, childbirth, etc. With Egypt practicing monotheisms the temple priest have lost control of any political or religious gain they once held. This will be the first time Egypt practices monotheism. In making this change Amenhotep IV became known as Akhenaten, “Shining Spirit of Aten”. Becoming Akhenaten was not the only changes reflected from his reign as pharaoh.