Akhenaten, the Sun Disk and the Amarna Period of Egypt

Akhenaten (who was born Amenhotep IV), is best known for his radical changes during his reign like elevating Aten the Sun Disk to the supreme deity, and moving the capital of Ancient Egypt to Amarna, a site which has given its name to the time period now referred to as the Amarna Period of Egypt. Amenhotep IV began his rule after his father’s death pretty normally, although he did begin to erect a few temples here and there for the Aten which was a bit odd. Then, in the fourth or the fifth year of his reign, Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten (which basically means successful for or of great use to the god Aten), and moved the Egyptian capital from Thebes to a brand new city which he called Akhetaten (a site that is now known as Amarna or Tell-el-Amarna).
Akhenaten instituted some serious religious reforms in Egypt - he outlawed the old polytheistic Egyptian religion and elevated the Aten or the sun disk as the ultimate deity, establishing monotheism, and proclaimed himself as the living incarnation of the Aten. The people could only worship the sun disk through the pharaoh (which was him) all while also proclaiming himself and his queen Nefertiti as gods who were aspects of Aten and so his construct is still considered monotheistic. When his son Tutankhamun (born Tutankhaten) assumed the throne, he returned the capital to Thebes and reinstated the old religious practises to Egypt.
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- CHAPTERS -
0:00​ Introduction
0:56 Ancient Egypt Under Amenhotep III
2:59 Amenhotep IV Becomes Akhenaten
6:07 Amarna and the Amarna Letters
8:35 Akhenaten's New Artistic Style
11:20 The Family of Akhenaten
14:26 Outro
- WANT TO KNOW MORE? -
Akhenaten www.worldhisto...
Amarna Period of Egypt www.worldhisto...
Amarna www.worldhisto...
Nefertiti www.worldhisto...
The Art of the Amarna Period worldhistory.org/article/1110/the-art-of-the-amarna-period/
Tutankhamun www.worldhisto...
Tiye www.worldhisto...
The New Kingdom of Egypt www.worldhisto...
Ankhsenamun www.worldhisto...
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#akhenaten #amarnaperiod #amenhotepiv

[@WorldHistoryEncyclopedia]

Many Egyptologists depict Akhenaten as “the heretic king” and a bad guy - do you agree?

[@alejandrosakai1744]

I think that Akhenaten was the most religious Pharoah in Egyptian history

[@WorshipperoftheOldGods]

Yes. He betrayed the Gods and people of Egypt. May his name be forgotten

[@bc7138]

By modern standards I suppose all Pharaohs could be considered bad guys. With that in mind, the Amarna period provided us with some of the greatest surviving works of ancient Egyptian art, while his reign is one of the most fascinating periods in Egyptian history. In that regard he can't be all bad.

[@mosaic1ful]

It's always easy isn't it to judge someone else in hindsight! We have absolutely no idea why he chose to leave Karnak, the traditional gods, and the oppressive priesthood behind. He obviously wanted a clean break where presumably, his different way of thinking and artistic expression could have free reign without interference. Maybe he had some sort of true 'theophany' or revelation, or maybe it was just all about him in the end.

[@WorshipperoftheOldGods]

@@mosaic1ful The road to hell is paved with good intentions

[@luxeford547]

A great introduction to Akhetaten and the Amarna period, which is one of the deepest rabbit holes you could dive into

[@WorldHistoryEncyclopedia]

Thanks! We're glad that you enjoyed it. 🙂

[@drsjwhitman45]

Excellent presentation. After many outstanding KZbin lectures on ancient Egypt and reading many books, I believe that part of Akhenaten 'created' a new 'god' and promoted the worship to take some of the power away from the huge tribe of polytheistic god priests. Through history, priests have been a troublesome tribe living off the ignorance of the masses who are always too busy trying to live day-to-day. That is also why after Akhenaten died, the 'sun god' was erased from all art. And I have also read that Akhenaten suffered from Marfan disease. My brother-in-law also suffered from Marfan and there are too many similarities in the discriptions to ignore. My Nile cruise is coming up in Septem,ber 2024. Checking everything I can so I can learn.

[@cherokeejames.nocomment.b1112]

I saw the sun disc spinning and I connected to the sun 🌞 light. Words can't explain it.

[@Chriz13]

Thanks for the great video.

[@stevenbrown9275]

He was definitely a heretic to the religious establishment and a terrible ruler in regards to foreign affairs. The radical change in art style is fascinating. An interesting character.

[@ZeroGravityFuneral]

He wasn’t a heretic though, he literally only limited the Amun priesthood. Everything else is political propaganda that came out after his and his sons death to give more credit to the next dynasty. We have plenty of evidence of other cults in his capital city. It wasn’t even unheard of aligning yourself with one god as a pharaoh. The problem is the original academics and research were biased as fuck and modern research basically discredits a lot of the claims made but the internet is to stupid to keep up But yeah his foreign affairs were a mess though 😂

[@mohamedmostafa1375]

If we are to think that Akhenaten was a "bad guy", we thus follow the propaganda of his contemporary opponents i.e. the priests of Amun at Thebes. In fact, he was a revolutionary, but his revolution wasn't strong enough to face the old and established traditions.

[@thefanone]

Very informative

[@adamc1966]

He tried monotheism and they hated it.

[@muneebhussain4362]

Dear ma'am! After Akhenaten, prophet Yousuf (Joseph) became the phero of Egypt for two years. Amarna period is the period of prophet Yousuf's life. The pheroh had accepted his religion and that time horemhub was the commander and chief of Egypt.

[@Dave183]

gr8 commentary. I am keen on linking events around the time of the Battle of Kadesh, with events recorded both in Egypt and Israel. The rise and source of monotheism is a part of this narrative. Was the rise of Joseph of and Moses in Egypt a part of this narrative? There are just so many variables here- it is a mare's nest. But the process of conflation of personalities and events may help provide some leads.

[@tesfaywoldemariam8010]

Hi there, thanks for the video. No I don't agree he was a heretic. He was the sane one and everyone else was insane, if anything. The thing we don't talk about is the deep philosophy behind Akhenaten aten worship. He understood the sun light is source of life. this is scientifically true because the sun, more generally speaking, the universe indeed is a mysterious supper power, we are just starting to know about it thanks to the scientific advancement. But the more interesting part of his spirituality and monotheism, Aten as his only life giving god, is scientific. He probably understood that photosynthesis needed sun light and plants, as primary producers that convert sunlight into useable energy miraculously, are the base of the food web pyramid, upon which all the higher level consumers depend on, including us. So, indeed he is right to claim sun as source of all life and the most mysterious superpower. And, that is why he appreciated everything related to nature which is depicted his palace garden.I wish we could have followed his spirituality and his line of thinking. We wouldn't have destroyed our nature like we did, if we did understand his view and appreciated it.

[@WorldHistoryEncyclopedia]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and for watching! 🙂

[@Voitcu]

Part I of II: If you read the description of Akhenaton and Aaron, Moses brother, both are said to be the only ones allowed to enter the Holy of Holies and speak directly to god(s), and both had to wear protective vestments. More on this later. But this isn't the first time the path of the Semites and Egypt would cross. Preserved in Josephus's Contra Apionem I, Manetho presented the Hyksos as a barbaric horde, “invaders of an obscure race” who conquered Egypt by force, causing destruction and murdering or enslaving Egyptians. This account continued in Egyptian texts from the Second Intermediate Period and New Kingdom. (The term Habiru, meaning “Outsiders,” was applied to nomads, fugitives, bandits, and workers of inferior status; the word is etymologically related to “Hebrew,” ʿApiru, also known in the Akkadian version Ḫabiru is a term used in 2nd-millennium BCE texts throughout the Fertile Crescent for a social status of people who were variously described as rebels, outlaws, raiders, mercenaries, bowmen, servants, slaves, and laborers.There is even a Pharaoh named Jacobam who many scholars believe was Jacob. In the Bible Jacob even enters Egypt with deceit and a lie saying that his wife Rachel is his sister for fear of being killed so that they take her. Apparently he’s fine with them raping her as long as he remains unharmed. We see this same theme with the Levite from Ephraim who ventured to redeem his concubine which ran back to her parents. On the way back… “22 some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him.” 23 The owner of the house went outside and said to them, “No, my friends, don’t be so vile. Since this man is my guest, don’t do this outrageous thing. 24 Look, here is my virgin daughter, and his concubine. I will bring them out to you now, and you can use them and do to them whatever you wish. But as for this man, don’t do such an outrageous thing.” 25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. 26 At daybreak the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, fell down at the door and lay there until daylight. 27 When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 28 He said to her, “Get up; let’s go.” But there was no answer. Then the man put her on his donkey and set out for home. 29 When he reached home, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel. 30 Everyone who saw it was saying to one another, “Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt.” ~ Judges 19 As for Jacob no one was harmed, in fact when the Egyptians found out which god he served they were terrified and said why would you accuse us of such things and not wanting any trouble sent them on their way with many spoils. Of course this good faith didn’t stop the Ten Plagues of Egypt from taking place later. The cruelest being the Creeping Death which targeted innocent children and infants. One doesn’t have to read the Old Testament very far before evidence of the plundering, raping, enslaving, genocidal, human sacrificial, tyrannical nature of Yahweh is exposed. In the Bible Moses is said to have slain 3,000 of his own followers in their sleep on Sinai. This was because of the very first Commandment and apparently most important since even killing was negotiable and often even Commanded. This first Commandment of course was not to place other gods before Yahweh. So even in the Decalogue a pantheon is confirmed. You see, what happened was Moses had gone up into the mountain missing for several days and his people became worried something bad had happened to him. Left leaderless and feeling abandoned in the desert not knowing which way to turn they sought council from their old advisors or gods. This of course was the building of the Golden Calf. But idolatry is not the lie we’ve been led to believe to conceal the truth. Rachels father was an Idolator who owned small statues they called gods. It is said they would get answers from these gods or devices akin to two way radios. This is why Rachel stole her fathers gods and hid them when she eloped with Jacob so that her father could learn of their whereabouts. Most likely these devices were often made of gold like the Ark of the Covenant where Akhenaton/Aaron would also go to converse with god(s). Gold as we know is a great conductor of electricity which is why Aaron/Akhenaton had to wear protective vestments or else they’d die. The Ark was very powerful and also served other purposes, like being a weapon of mass destruction. Abrahams father Terah was also an Idolator who made and even sold Idols. If these were just lumps of raw material made for Idol worship then what made Terahs Idols so special. People don’t just mold graven images and start worshipping inanimate objects. But thats the lie dogma would have you believe. The word Amen and the Atonement also came out of Egypt with Moses/Akhenaton. While the Vatican burned William Tyndall alive at the stake for translating the Bible into English, today scholars are not as threatened for their diligence and there is a common consensus that in the Sumerian Tablets, wicked Enlil, an Anunnaki and brother of Enki is none other than Yahweh himself (Zues in Greek). That said, Amen is a reference to Amon-Ra who decreed long ago that all thanks should be made to him by placing his name at the end of every prayer. Amon-Ra aka Marduk was the son of Enki and evil nephew to Enlil. He’s the one who met Moses on the Mount and with such disdain when asked his name he dismissively replied I am what I am. Here’s a little glimpse into his mannerism: But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” 6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. ~Numbers 21:5 He could have much easier just sent bread and water. kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6CalmWInZuKpq8 kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3i1qZiFjr2kbcU

[@lucyadam9128]

I personally think that he also invented the concept of an organized religion

[@WorldHistoryEncyclopedia]

We agree. Thanks for watching!

[@StinkyParadox]

The Aten wasn't really a minor god. The Aten was the vessel or abode of Atum at sunrise. It's Atum worship as the morning star.

[@darrellmfume4020]

what if that Aton disk Akhenaton was using is NOT the physical Sun at all...what if Akhenaton was trying to tell us, what we call God is a Photon/the supreme light. for those who don't know. a Photon is a God particle of pure LIGHT. Akhenaton was a Christ/Buddha figure of his day. living centuries before them.

[@WorldHistoryEncyclopedia]

Interesting... Thanks for watching!

[@darrellmfume4020]

@@WorldHistoryEncyclopedia I have almost 30 years/1994 studying that great Afrikan Mystic, Akhenaton.

[@ForbiddenHistoryLIVE]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR GREAT WORK

[@harlanabraham7772]

Don't think Akhenaten was the first monotheist. Yes, you also mention the fact that the Pharaohs were fighting the clerics for power. They were. The clerics were rivals to the royals for power and money. When Egypt got poorer the clerics were the first to raid the pyramids. It made sense that since the clerics were rivals to the royals for political and religious power and money that he should mostly focus on domestic matters. Akhenaten was correct. We are all created by one G-d. Yes, many of the successors of Akhenaten wanted to eliminate him from history. This is a good video. It tells the truth. Some videos tell a story, but, not the truth. I got my information from various sources.

[@WorldHistoryEncyclopedia]

Thanks, Harlan!

[@whitelightsafe2049]

Hi. Wildsidera is my main channel.

[@rayriley4020]

The temple size and layout was the same as the first temple in Isreal.

[@aaronjennings8385]

This is an ancestor of my y chromosomal haplogroup r-m269, which is all but unheard of in Egypt today. Because his line is nonexistent there today, he was likely exiled. Much in the way of the Hebrews. And at the same time. Simple conclusion, he's the original Kohen of Judaism a royal priestly kingdom from which modern Kohen come. Akhenaten was a (cohen of Aten) or KohenAten.

[@WorldHistoryEncyclopedia]

Nice! Thanks for watching!

[@kelvinmiller89]

He didn't (invent) it's was what he believed in. Again you try to not tell the truth, he was the fist to know.

[@WorldHistoryEncyclopedia]

Yes, but as a king, many others followed him and his example.

[@kelvinmiller89]

Yes they did and he choose how he would honor the aton, so he did not create the believe out of the air, it's what he believed, again your wrong. Have you ever heard of ( Jesus Christ)? Again your wrong.

[@kelvinmiller89]

Oh by the way have you ever heard of NATO? Say NATO backwards ( OTAN).

[@Davlavi]

interesting

[@WorldHistoryEncyclopedia]

We think so too!

[@AFRICA4AFRICANS]

There was NEVER EVER A MOSES!!!!

[@theheaterguyryan5052]

I really think Akenaton was a spoilt rich kid

[@WorldHistoryEncyclopedia]

All royals are to a certain extent. 😉 Thanks for watching!

[@joker6388]

Akhenaten is Moses and the Jews.