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In 1353 or possibly 1351 BCE Amenhotep IV ascended to the throne of Egypt. In the fourth year of his reign he changed his name to Akhenaten to reflect his devotion to a single god he called the Aten. The pharaoh’s loyalty was not enough, however, and soon Akhenaten required that all of Egypt adopt his new god and abandon the old pantheon in favor of sun worship. His reign was consumed by this religion, and the changes he made were remarkable. The most notable effects of his conversion include an entirely new religious philosophy and style of artistic expression, the establishment of a new capital city and a ruinous disregard for foreign policy. His efforts would ultimately prove to be futile, as Akhenaten and his sun cult were all but forgotten in the years following his death.

==Early Signs of Akhenaten’s Conversion==

Akhenaten’s program was not launched immediately upon his accession, but there were early signs that Amenhotep IV intended to institute major religious changes in Egypt. An upright commemorative slab from his early reign, known as a stela, describes Akhenaten's plan to erect a building which would be dedicated to the deity he called “Ra-Horakhty in his name of Shu, who is the Aten”. This early version of Akhenaten’s god was a composite of the Aten and the Egyptian gods Ra and Horus, the sun god and sky god respectively. It was common in ancient Egypt for gods to merge identities and Akhenaten may have been attempting to ease Egyptians into the idea of sun worship by associating the Aten with gods that were already familiar.

==The Systematic Erasure of the Old Gods==

In the same year Akhenaten began a widespread attempt to systematically remove any signs of the traditional Egyptian deities. It appears that Amen was the main focus of the king’s disapproval and a fleet of semi-literate workmen were dispatched to chisel away symbols and words that bore any passing resemblance to his name. <ref>Williamson, ‘’’UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology’’’: 8</ref> Even private tombs were defaced, including the tomb of Khereuf, where many of the images of Amen were chiseled off the walls. <ref>The Tomb of Kheruef, 17</ref>

==Art in the Amarna Period==

It is difficult to discern the details of Akhenaten’s philosophy as there are very few official texts from his reign that pertain to religion. There is no “word of god”, no holy scripture and only a short few “Hymn to the Aten” prayers that appear on tomb walls <ref>Hornung, E. (1992). The Rediscovery of Akhenaten and His Place in Religion. ‘’’Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt’’’: 48. Web. 05 November 2015.</ref> Due to the lack of written sources on Atenism, Egyptologists rely heavily on decorations in tombs and on temple walls. The style in which these decorations are rendered has come to be called the Amarna style, and it is unique in Egyptian history due to its dramatic departure from traditional artistic conventions.

==Akhenaten Orders the Relocation of the Capital==

Akhenaten’s artistic and religious reforms were radical indeed, but they were not the most consequential aspect of his plan. In the fifth year of this reign, the pharaoh announced his intention to move the entire Egyptian court to a city he called “Akhetaten”, or “The Horizon of the Aten”, located at Tell el-Amarna in Middle Egypt. Thebes was well established as the city of Amen, and Akhenaten claimed that his god required a capital built on virgin land. The foundation of the site was marked by sixteen ornate stelae, now known as the Boundary Stelae, whose inscriptions justify the move, establish strict geographical boundaries and proclaim that Akhenaten is the Aten’s only representative on Earth.<ref>Williamson, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology: 8</ref>

It is hard to imagine how such a plan would have been received, yet it appears that most of the Theban elite did relocate to Tell el-Amarna. However there is evidence that they did not go quietly. Speeches recorded on the boundary stelae serve as responses to what appears to be derision from the elite toward Akhenaten’s religion and kingship.<ref>Williamson, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology: 8</ref> However resistant they may have been, most of the court did relocate and some such as the king’s advisor Parennefer even invested in new tombs at the city’s necropolis. <ref>Williamson, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology: 8</ref> Ultimately their commitment to his cause was fleeting. The site was abandoned shortly after his death c. 1332 BCE. <ref>Parcak, Sarah. "The Panehsy Church Project, 2006". Amarna Project. Web. 5 November, 2015</ref>.

After the move to Tell el-Amarna Akhenaten’s focus on religion intensified and his attention to other matters waned. His father, Amenhotep III, was a skilled diplomat who maintained peaceful borders and upheld good correspondence with foreign empires.<ref> Hall, H. R.. “Egypt and the External World in the Time of Akhenaten” ‘’’The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 7.½’’’ (1921): 42-44. Web. 05 November 2015</ref> Akhenaten on the other hand was apathetic toward correspondence and seems to have been generally uninterested in foreign diplomatic relations. The Amarna letters, a collection of cuneiform tablets discovered at Tell el-Amarna, attest to this. Akhenaten repeatedly ignored pleas for help from foreign vassals, many of whom switched allegiances during his reign. <ref>Williamson, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology: 9</ref> One such vassal, the prince Rib-adda of Byblos, repeatedly wrote to Akhenaten for assistance against the Hittite king. Akhenaten ignored his pleas and the Hittites gained much ground in Syria and Palestine. <ref>Hall, ‘’’The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 7.½’’’: 44-45)</ref> Content to remain in Egypt and impose his new religion on his subjects, Akhenaten lost territory in the Middle East and Nubia and allowed foreign relations to measurably deteriorate.

==References==

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