The Amarna Revolution, also known as the Amarna Period, was a time of significant political and cultural change in ancient Egypt. It marked a shift away from traditional Egyptian religion and the adoption of a new monotheistic faith centered on the worship of the sun god, Aten. This revolution was led by Pharaoh Akhenaten, who sought to bring about radical reforms in the way that Egypt was governed and worshipped.
The Amarna Revolution began in the mid-14th century BC, when Akhenaten came to power. He was the son of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye, and was known for his unconventional beliefs and ideas. Unlike his predecessors, who had followed the traditional religion of Egypt, Akhenaten was a devout worshipper of Aten and sought to spread his monotheistic faith throughout the country.
To this end, Akhenaten implemented a number of sweeping changes. He moved the capital of Egypt from Thebes to a new city called Akhetaten, which he built specifically to serve as a center for the worship of Aten. He also ordered the construction of a vast temple complex dedicated to Aten, which became the center of religious life in the new capital.
In addition to these physical changes, Akhenaten also implemented a number of reforms in the way that the government was run. He centralized power in the hands of the Pharaoh, reducing the influence of the traditional aristocracy and the priests of the old religion. He also sought to bring about greater equality among the people of Egypt, promoting the rights of women and the lower classes.
Despite these efforts, Akhenaten's reforms were met with resistance from many quarters. The traditionalist aristocracy and the priests of the old religion were unhappy with the changes that were being made and resisted them as much as possible. This resistance eventually led to a revolt against Akhenaten, who was forced to flee the capital and abandon his reforms.
The Amarna Revolution ultimately proved to be a short-lived affair, as Akhenaten's successors quickly reversed many of his reforms and returned to the traditional religion of Egypt. However, the impact of the Amarna Revolution was significant, as it marked a major turning point in the history of ancient Egypt and demonstrated the power of a single individual to bring about significant change.
What is the amarna revolution?
For your household, for your wives, for your sons, for your magnates, for your warriors, for your horses, for your chariots, and in your country, may all go very well. The principles of Atenism were far too radical for the Egyptians to incorporate fully into their society, so Atenism died along with its creator. Retrieved 4 October 2008. When young Tutankhaten, who changed his name to Tutankhamon, became the new young pharaoh, he reinstated all of the old gods and restored things to the way they were before. When he died and his younger son took over, it was once very effortless for the monks to manage the boy to convey again the historic approaches and for that reason, their vigor. Although the effects of the revolution on the ordinary people of Egypt are not known, it must have had a significant impact on the priesthoods that maintained the temples. New Kingdom Amarna Period: The Great Hymn to Aten.
Amun was elevated to the height of king of the gods, and his temple at One cannot claim that the religious initiatives of Akhenaten were along the same lines as the earlier one of the priests of Amun; they were not. Akhenaten was deposed and killed after ruling for 17 years, around 1336 or 1334 BC. Problems begin to occur during his reign. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 6 June 2007. In a relief of Akhenaten, he is portrayed in an intimate setting with his primary wife, Tutankhamun, and the golden age of the pharaohs exhibition, displays a very prominent elongation to the back of the head. The Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten decided to do away with the existing Egyptian pantheon of gods and introduce a monotheistic religion based on worship of the Aten, or Sun Disc.
Photo from The Amarna Revolution The Egyptians could no longer ignore the world outside of Egypt. A moderator may choose to allow screenshots at their discretion, such as when something is otherwise not conveyable. Oxford University Press, 2006. Amarna: Ancient Egypt's Age of Revolution. It contained the estates of many of the city's powerful nobles, including Further to the south of the city was sun-shade, and was probably built as a sun-temple. A Delta-Man in Yebu.
With the loss of the old religion, Egyptian society had lost its divine sanction. It may have been Amenhotep III's wife and Akhenaten's mother , 83d40m Public Domain Tiye exerted significant influence over both her husband and son and, through them, the court and bureaucracy of Egypt. These are cut into the cliffs on both sides of the Nile 10 on the east, 3 on the west and record the events of Akhetaten Amarna from founding to just before its fall. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1996. Such was once the case with Constantine.
Obvious trolls, political brigaders, and assholes not welcome here. They were related through the political marriages but is an idea of a village of clans which gives reason to the good wishes and update on the health of the monarchs themselves. American Journal of Archaeology. For Kelu-Heba may all go well. His lips are thick, and his arms and legs are thin and lack muscular tone, unlike his counterparts of other eras in Egyptian artwork. Some humans have been already xtian.
A Bibliography of the Amarna Period and Its Aftermath: The Reigns of Akhenaten, Smenkhkare, Tutankhamun, and Ay c. In the same way that the god was to be understood in a new light, so his place of worship had to be entirely novel. Her support of Akhenaten's reforms is well documented, and as a savvy politician, she would have recognized them as the only means to elevate the power of the pharaoh at the expense of the priests. It also focuses on the present life rather than on eternity. Akhenaten and the Religion of Light. Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten, and declared that all other gods are false, and that the one true god was the Aten, the sun's disk. The ancient Egyptian name was Akhetaten.
These women were frequently portrayed as powerful in their own right. The temple of Amon at Karnak was the biggest in Egypt, and the priests were correspondingly very rich. From the poem, one can see that the nature of the god's daily activity revolves around recreating the earth on a daily basis. With the death of Akhenaten the new Atenist religion was without a leader. The other is a salutation which is one a report of the monarch's well-being and then the second which is a series of good wishes toward the monarch. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
These tablets also make clear how little Akhenaten himself cared for the responsibilities of rule once he was ensconced in his new city. Amarna art is the most distinctive in all of Egypt's history and its difference in style is often interpreted as realism. Akhenaten was once introducing anything very new and radical within the eyes of nearly each and every Egyptian. There seems to be evidence that the city was still operational through the reign of Horemheb, notably a shrine to that pharaoh found on site, but the capital was moved to Memphis and then back to Thebes. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. The Aten was seen as the one true god who presided over all and infused all living things through life-giving, transformative rays. Others interpret this unprecedented stylistic break from Egyptian tradition to be a reflection of the Amarna Royals' attempts to wrest political power from the traditional priesthood and bureaucratic authorities.
This separation from a polytheistic religious belief system was another thing that made Atenism so different from old religious beliefs. Edited by Edmund S. The informal style and subject of this painting was in direct contrast to conventional Egyptian art. Princes Risborough, UK: Shire. Throughout Egypt's history the king and his family lived in the palace, and Akhenaten himself would have grown up in the enormous and luxurious palace of his father at Malkata. The people did not like the new religion being imposed on them.
Artists also showed subjects with elongated facial structures accompanied by folds within the skin as well as lowered eyelids. Oxford University Press, 1997. Other cults were discouraged and changes in the Aten doctrine favor monotheism. The Amarna revolution included radical changes in art as well, with a more naturalistic style of art introduced. Akhenaten also didn't care about Egypt's empire, and the holdings in Asia were lost during this time. Whereas Ancient Egyptian art was famously slow to change, the Amarna style was a significant and sudden break from its predecessors both in the style of depictions, especially of people, and the subject matter. Retrieved 15 February 2018.