Akhenaten also called Amenhotep IV

Son of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and his Great Royal Wife Tiy, Akhenaten is shown as a deformed, effeminate character, who has proved of great interest to Egyptologists since he first became known to them in the middle of the nineteenth century.

Given the birth name Amenhotep, after his father, Akhenaten began his reign as Amenhotep IV, changing his name to Akhenaten in year 5 of his reign. The early years of his reign were spent in Thebes, but in year 5 he began building his new city of Akhetaten dedicated to his favourite god, the Aten. Akhenaten, as he became known, spent the rest of his life living in his new city of Akhetaten, built on the site of modern day Amarna.

Despite his strange feminine shape, Akhenaten was married to the ‘Great Royal Wife’ Nefertiti and fathered six daughters by Nefertiti. His life appears to have been spent in his new city worshipping the [[Aten]], rewarding his nobles or playing with his children. These images of a Pharaoh are unusual, as previously, Egyptian kings had always been shown as brave, unemotional men. Akhenaten was changing the rules.

Akhenaten has been accused of destroying the old established Egyptian religion, and of bringing Egypt to its knees diplomatically and economically. Here again, there is no unequivocal evidence of any such destruction and scenes of foreign tribute shown in the rock tombs at Akhetaten would suggest that Egypt was still incredibly powerful at the end of Akhenaten’s reign. There is no contemporary evidence of the people of Egypt abandoning their old gods either.

Much has been written about Pharaoh Akhenaten, and arguments have raged over whether he ruled alone or as a co-regent with his father. The latest research has shown that there was a full co-regency of 11/12 years, and that Akhenaten died very soon after his father.

Plague was rife throughout Egypt and its neighbouring countries in the late 18th dynasty and it is seems likely that several members of the royal family died of this disease soon after entertaining foreign guests at the city of Akhetaten. His third daughter Ankesenpaaten, later known as [[Ankhesenamen]] survived, and married the future Pharaoh Tutankhamen.