co-regency

Akhenaten, known as Amenhotep IV at the start of his reign, was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. He is thought to have been born to Amenhotep III and his Chief Queen Tiy in the year 26 of their reign (1379 BC or 1362 BC). Amenhotep IV succeeded his father after Amenhotep III's death at the end of his 38-year reign, possibly after a co-regency between the two of up to 12 years. Suggested dates for Akhenaten's reign (subject to the debates surrounding Egyptian chronology) are from 1353 BC-1336 BC or 1351 BC-1334 BC. Akhenaten's chief wife was Nefertiti, who has been made famous by her exquisitely pa ...

Including:

• Akhenaten - Atenist revolution
• Akhenaten - Depictions of the Pharaoh and his family
• Akhenaten - Problems of the reign
• Akhenaten - Plague and pandemic
• Akhenaten - Family
• Akhenaten - Burial
• Akhenaten - Succession
• Akhenaten - Akhenaten in the arts

Read more here: » Akhenaten: Encyclopedia - Akhenaten

Amenemhat I was the first ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty (the dynasty debated to be the beginning of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt). Amenemhet I was not of royal lineage, and hence took measures to assure the authority of his kingship, such as including literary works (the Prophecy of Neferti) and the revertion to the pyramid-style complexes of the 6th dynasty rulers. Amenemhet I also moved the capital ...

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Amenemhat III (ca. 1860 BC-1814 BC) was a pharaoh of Egypt. He ruled from 1860 BC to 1814 BC, and is regarded as the greatest monarch of the Middle Kingdom. He may have had a long co-regency (of 20 years) with his father, Sesostris III. He built a first pyramid at Dahshur (the so-called "Black Pyramid") but there were building problems and this was abandoned. Around Year 15 of his reign the king decided to build a new pyramid at Hawara. The pyramid at Dahshu ...

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Nebmaatre Amenhotep III (called Nibmu(`w)areya in the Amarna letters) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty. According to different authors he ruled ca. 1389 BC-1351 BC, or 1391 BC-1353 BC, following on from his father Thutmose IV. With his Chief Queen Tiy, he fathered his second son, Akhenaten, who succeeded him on the throne. Amenhotep appears to have been crowned while still a child, perhaps between the ages of 6 and 12. His lengthy reign was a period of great peace, prosperity, and artistic splendour. He ...

Including:

• Amenhotep III - Death
• Amenhotep III - Bibliography

Read more here: » Amenhotep III: Encyclopedia - Amenhotep III

Atenism (or the Amarna heresy) is the monotheistic religion associated above all with the eighteenth dynasty Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, better known under the name he later adopted, Akhenaten. In the 14th century BC it was Egypt's state religion for around 20 years, before a return to the traditional gods so comprehensive that the heretic Pharaohs associated with Atenism were erased from Egyptian records. Atenism - Atenist revolution. The Aten, the god of Atenism, first appears in texts dating to the 12th ...

Including:

• Atenism - Atenist revolution
• Atenism - Contrast with traditional Egyptian religion
• Atenism - Amarna art
• Atenism - Decline of Atenism
• Atenism - Other Atenism influences

Read more here: » Atenism: Encyclopedia - Atenism

The impact of Akhenaten's religious reform, albeit introduced in steps, is hard to overstate; it is equivalent perhaps to a new Pope declaring an obscure African deity the supreme God of Catholicism, building a new Vatican City somewhere in Canada, and abolishing all bishops as well as banning the symbol of the Cross, defacing all churches to remove all reference to Jesus, and banning any personal veneration of Jesus. It is a measure both of Pharaoh's great power, and of the extraordinary circumstances of the time that an equally shocking and dramati ...

See also:

Atenism, Atenism - Atenist revolution, Atenism - Contrast with traditional Egyptian religion, Atenism - Amarna art, Atenism - Decline of Atenism, Atenism - Other Atenism influences

Read more here: » Atenism: Encyclopedia II - Atenism - Contrast with traditional Egyptian religion

Main article: Atenism A religious revolutionary, Amenhotep IV introduced Atenism in the first year of his reign, raising the previously obscure god Aten (sometimes spelt Aton) to the position of supreme deity. Aten was the name for the sun-disk itself — hence the fact that it is often referred to in English in the impersonal form "the Aten". The Aten was by this point in Egyptian history considered to be an aspect of the composite deity Ra-Amun-Horus. These previously separate deities had been merged with each other. A ...

See also:

Akhenaten, Akhenaten - Atenist revolution, Akhenaten - Depictions of the Pharaoh and his family, Akhenaten - Problems of the reign, Akhenaten - Plague and pandemic, Akhenaten - Family, Akhenaten - Burial, Akhenaten - Succession, Akhenaten - Akhenaten in the arts

Read more here: » Akhenaten: Encyclopedia II - Akhenaten - Atenist revolution

There is much controversy around whether Amenhotep IV succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, Amenhotep III, or whether there was a co-regency (lasting as long as 12 Years according to some Egyptologists). Current literature by Eric Cline, Nicholas Reeves, Peter Dorman and other scholars comes out strongly against the establishment of a long coregency between the 2 rulers and in favour of either no coregency or a brie ...

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Akhenaten, Akhenaten - Atenist revolution, Akhenaten - Depictions of the Pharaoh and his family, Akhenaten - Problems of the reign, Akhenaten - Plague and pandemic, Akhenaten - Family, Akhenaten - Burial, Akhenaten - Succession, Akhenaten - Akhenaten in the arts

Read more here: » Akhenaten: Encyclopedia II - Akhenaten - Succession

Styles of art that flourished during this short period are markedly different from other Egyptian art, bearing a variety of affectations, from elongated heads to protruding stomachs, exaggerated ugliness and the beauty of Nefertiti. Significantly, and for the only time in the history of Egyptian royal art, Akhenaten's family was depicted in a decidedly naturalistic manner, and they are clearly shown displaying affection for each other. Nefertiti also appears beside the king in actions usually reserved for a Pharaoh, suggesting that she attai ...

See also:

Akhenaten, Akhenaten - Atenist revolution, Akhenaten - Depictions of the Pharaoh and his family, Akhenaten - Problems of the reign, Akhenaten - Plague and pandemic, Akhenaten - Family, Akhenaten - Burial, Akhenaten - Succession, Akhenaten - Akhenaten in the arts

Read more here: » Akhenaten: Encyclopedia II - Akhenaten - Depictions of the Pharaoh and his family

The Aten, the god of Atenism, first appears in texts dating to the 12th dynasty, in The Story of Sinuhe. However, he was considered a relatively obscure sun god and without the Atenist period would barely figure in Egyptian history. Although there are indications that the Aten was becoming more important in the eighteenth dynasty period - notably Amenhotep III's naming of his royal barge as Spirit of the Aten - it was Amenhotep IV who introduced the Atenist revolution, in a series of steps culminating in the of ...

See also:

Atenism, Atenism - Atenist revolution, Atenism - Contrast with traditional Egyptian religion, Atenism - Amarna art, Atenism - Decline of Atenism, Atenism - Other Atenism influences

Read more here: » Atenism: Encyclopedia II - Atenism - Atenist revolution

Styles of art that flourished during this short period are markedly different from other Egyptian art, bearing a variety of affectations, from elongated heads to protruding stomachs, exaggerated ugliness and the beauty of Nefertiti. Significantly, and for the only time in the history of Egyptian royal art, Akhenaten's family was depicted in a decidedly naturalistic manner, and they are clearly show ...

See also:

Atenism, Atenism - Atenist revolution, Atenism - Contrast with traditional Egyptian religion, Atenism - Amarna art, Atenism - Decline of Atenism, Atenism - Other Atenism influences

Read more here: » Atenism: Encyclopedia II - Atenism - Amarna art

Crucial evidence about the latter stages of Akhenaten's reign was furnished by discovery of the so-called Amarna Letters. Believed to have been thrown away by scribes after being transferred to papyrus, the letters comprise a priceless cache of incoming clay message tablets sent from imperial outposts and foreign allies. The letters suggest that Akhenaten was obsessed with his new religion, and that his neglect of matters of state was causing disorder across the massive Egyptian empire. The governors and kings of subject domains wrote ...

See also:

Atenism, Atenism - Atenist revolution, Atenism - Contrast with traditional Egyptian religion, Atenism - Amarna art, Atenism - Decline of Atenism, Atenism - Other Atenism influences

Read more here: » Atenism: Encyclopedia II - Atenism - Decline of Atenism

Amenhotep IV was married to Nefertiti at the very beginning of his reign, and the couple had six known daughters. This is a list with suggested years of birth: Meritaten - year 1. Meketaten - year 2. Ankhesenpaaten, later Queen of Tutankhamun - year 3. Neferneferuaten Tasherit - year 5. Neferneferure - year 6. Setepenre - year 8. His known consorts were: Nefertiti, his Great Royal Wife early in his reign. Kiya, a lesser Royal Wife. Meritate ...

See also:

Akhenaten, Akhenaten - Atenist revolution, Akhenaten - Depictions of the Pharaoh and his family, Akhenaten - Problems of the reign, Akhenaten - Plague and pandemic, Akhenaten - Family, Akhenaten - Burial, Akhenaten - Succession, Akhenaten - Akhenaten in the arts

Read more here: » Akhenaten: Encyclopedia II - Akhenaten - Family