60 chapters
5 hour read
Selected Chapters
60 chapters
The Life and Times of Akhnaton
The Life and Times of Akhnaton
The Life and Times of Akhnaton Pharaoh of Egypt BY ARTHUR E. P. WEIGALL CHIEF INSPECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ANTIQUITIES, UPPER EGYPT AUTHOR OF ‘A REPORT ON THE ANTIQUITIES OF LOWER NUBIA,’ ‘A CATALOGUE OF THE WEIGHTS AND BALANCES IN THE CAIRO MUSEUM,’ ‘A GUIDE TO THE ANTIQUITIES OF UPPER EGYPT,’ ‘DIE MASTABA DES GEMNIKAI’ (WITH PROFESSOR VON BISSING), ‘TRAVELS IN THE UPPER EGYPTIAN DESERTS,’ ETC. “Ye ask who are those that draw us to the Kingdom if the Kingdom is in Heaven? The fowls of the air
51 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
INTRODUCTION.
INTRODUCTION.
The reign of Akhnaton, for seventeen years Pharaoh of Egypt (from B.C. 1375 to 1358), stands out as the most interesting epoch in the long sequence of Egyptian history. We have watched the endless line of dim Pharaohs go by, each lit momentarily by the pale lamp of our present knowledge, and most of them have left little impression upon the mind. They are so misty and far off, they have been dead and gone for such thousands of years, that they have almost entirely lost their individuality. We ca
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
1. THE ANCESTORS OF AKHNATON.
1. THE ANCESTORS OF AKHNATON.
The Eighteenth Dynasty of Egyptian kings took possession of the throne of the Pharaohs in the year 1580 B.C. , over thirteen hundred years after the buildings of the great pyramids, and some two thousand years after the beginning of dynastic history in the Nile Valley. The founder of the dynasty was the Pharaoh Aahmes I. He drove out the Asiatics who had overrun the country during the previous century, and pursued them into the heart of Syria. His successor, Amonhotep I., penetrated as far as th
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
2. THE GODS OF EGYPT.
2. THE GODS OF EGYPT.
With the reign of Thothmes IV. we reach a period of history in which the beginnings are to be observed of certain religious movements, which become more apparent in the time of his son Amonhotep III. and his grandson Akhnaton. We must look, therefore, more closely at the events of this reign, and must especially observe their religious aspect. For this reason, and also in order that the reader may the more readily appreciate, by contrast, the pure teachings of the Pharaoh whose life forms the su
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
3. THE DEMIGODS AND SPIRITS—THE PRIESTHOODS.
3. THE DEMIGODS AND SPIRITS—THE PRIESTHOODS.
The sacred bulls and rams mentioned above were relics of an ancient animal-worship, the origin of which is lost in the obscurity of prehistory. The Egyptians paid homage to a variety of animals, and almost every city or district possessed its particular species to which special protection was extended. At Hermopolis and in other parts of Egypt the baboon was sacred, as well as the ibis, which typified the god Thoth. Cats were sacred both at Bubastis, where the cat-goddess, Bast, resided, and in
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
4. THOTHMES IV. AND MUTEMUA.
4. THOTHMES IV. AND MUTEMUA.
When Thothmes IV. ascended the throne he was confronted by a very serious political problem. The Heliopolitan priesthood at this time was chafing against the power of Amon, and was striving to restore the somewhat fallen prestige of its own god Ra, who in the far past had been the supreme deity of Egypt, but had now to play an annoying second to the Theban god. Thothmes IV., as we shall presently be told by Akhnaton himself, [8] did not altogether approve of the political character of the Amon p
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
5. YUAA AND TUAU.
5. YUAA AND TUAU.
Somewhere about the year 1470 B.C. , while the great Thothmes III. was campaigning in Syria, the child was born who was destined to become the grandfather of the most remarkable of all the Pharaohs of Egypt. Neither the names of the parents nor the place of birth are known; and the reader will presently find that it is not easy to say whether the child was an Egyptian or a foreigner. His name is written Aau, Aay, Aai, Ayu, A-aa, Yaa, Yau, and most commonly Yuaa; and this variety of spelling seem
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
6. AMONHOTEP III. AND HIS COURT.
6. AMONHOTEP III. AND HIS COURT.
Besides Yuaa and Tuau and the Queen-Dowager Mutemua, there was a certain noble, named Amonhotep-son-of-Hapu, who may have exercised considerable influence upon the young Pharaoh. So good and wise a man was he, that in later times he was regarded almost as a divinity, and his sayings were treasured from generation to generation. It may be that he furthered the cause of the Heliopolitan priesthood against that of Amon; and it is to be observed in this connection that, in the inscription engraved u
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
1. THE BIRTH OF AKHNATON.
1. THE BIRTH OF AKHNATON.
It has been seen that Queen Tiy presented several children to the king; but it was not until they had reigned some twenty-five or twenty-six years that the future monarch was born. As the years had passed the queen must have grown more and more anxious for a son, and many must have been the prayers she offered up that a male child might be vouchsafed to her. In Egypt at the present day the desire to bear a son holds dominion in the heart of every young woman; and those to whom this privilege has
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
2. THE RISE OF ATON.
2. THE RISE OF ATON.
The little prince was named Amonhotep, [14] “the Peace-of-Amon,” after his father; but though the supremacy of Amon was thus acknowledged, the Heliopolitan deity appears to have been considered as the protector of the young boy. While the luxurious court rejoiced at the birth of their future king, one feels that the ancient priesthood of Amon-Ra must have looked askance at the baby who was destined one day to be their master. This priesthood still demanded implicit obedience to its stiff and anc
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
3. THE POWER OF QUEEN TIY.
3. THE POWER OF QUEEN TIY.
In Amonhotep III. one may see the lazy, speculative Oriental, too opinionated and too vain to bear with the stiff routine of his fathers, and yet too lacking in energy to formulate a new religion. On the other hand, there is every reason to suppose that Queen Tiy possessed the ability to impress the claims of the new thought upon her husband’s mind, and gradually to turn his eyes, and those of the court, away from the sombre worship of Amon, “the unknown god,” into the direction of the brilliant
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
4. AKHNATON’S MARRIAGE.
4. AKHNATON’S MARRIAGE.
During the last years of his reign the Pharaoh, although well under fifty years of age, [18] seems to have suffered from permanent ill-health. On two occasions the King of Mitanni sent to Egypt a miracle-working statuette of the goddess Ishtar, apparently in the hope that Amonhotep might be cured of his illness by it. It is probable that the king had never been a very strong man. Having been born when his father—himself extremely delicate—was but a child, he had had little chance of enjoying a r
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
5. THE ACCESSION OF AKHNATON.
5. THE ACCESSION OF AKHNATON.
On coming to the throne the young king fixed his titulary in the following manner:— Mighty Bull, Lofty of Plumes; Favourite of the Two Goddesses, Great in Kingship in Karnak; Golden Hawk, Wearer of Diadems in the Southern Heliopolis; King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Beautiful-is-the-Being-of-Ra, the Only-One-of-Ra; Son of the Sun, Peace-of-Amon (Amonhotep), Divine Ruler of Thebes; Great in Duration, Living for Ever and Ever, Beloved of Amon-Ra, Lord of Heaven. These titles were drawn up on more or
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
6. THE FIRST YEARS OF AKHNATON’S REIGN.
6. THE FIRST YEARS OF AKHNATON’S REIGN.
In a subsequent chapter it will be the writer’s purpose to show to what heights of ideal thought, and to what profundities of religious and moral philosophy, this boy, in the years of his early manhood, attained; and it will but enhance our respect for his abilities when he reached maturity, if we find in his early training all manner of shortcomings. The beautiful doctrines of the religion with which this Pharaoh’s name is identified were productions of his later days; and until he was at least
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
7. THE NEW ART.
7. THE NEW ART.
This sudden change in the style of the reliefs which we have observed in these two tombs and on the quarry tablets seems to be attributable to about the fourth year of the king’s reign. The reliefs which were now carved upon the walls of the new temple of Ra-Horakhti at Karnak show us a style of art quite different from that of the king’s early years. The figure of the Pharaoh, which the artists in the tomb of Rames represented as standing below the newly-invented sun’s rays, is as different fro
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
8. THE NEW RELIGION DEVELOPS.
8. THE NEW RELIGION DEVELOPS.
There is an interesting record, apparently dating from about this period, which is to be seen upon the rocks near the breccia quarries of Wady Hammamât. Here there are three cartouches standing upon two neb signs, symbolic of sovereignty, and above them is the disk and rays of the new religion. One of these cartouches, surmounted by the tall feathers worn by the queens of this period, contains a very short name, which can only be that of Queen Tiy. [31] The other two cartouches contain the names
6 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
9. THE NATURE OF THE NEW RELIGION.
9. THE NATURE OF THE NEW RELIGION.
There was nothing strikingly exalted in the religion which was now so filling the king’s mind. Ra-Horakhti Aton was in no wise considered as the only god: there were as yet no ideas of monotheism in the doctrine. In the new temple at Karnak, as we have seen, Horus, Set, Wepwat, and other gods were named; and elsewhere Amon was reluctantly recognised. The goddess Maat, in the tomb of Rames, was not obliterated from the walls, but still stood protecting the king; and in the same tomb Horus of Edfu
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
1. THE BREAK WITH THE PRIESTHOOD OF AMON-RA.
1. THE BREAK WITH THE PRIESTHOOD OF AMON-RA.
The expected break with the priesthood of Amon was not long in coming. One knows nothing of the details of the quarrel, but it may be supposed that Akhnaton himself flung down the gauntlet, making the rash attempt to rid himself of the weight of an organisation which had proved such a drag upon his actions. There is no evidence to show that he disbanded the priesthood, or prohibited the worship of Amon at this period of his reign; but as the ultimate persecution of that god, some years later, co
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
2. AKHNATON SELECTS THE SITE OF HIS CITY.
2. AKHNATON SELECTS THE SITE OF HIS CITY.
Down the river it would seem that the young Pharaoh now sailed in his royal dahabiyeh , looking to right and left as he went, now inspecting this site and now examining that. At last he came upon a place which suited his fancy to perfection. It was situated about 160 miles above the modern Cairo. At this point the limestone cliffs upon the east bank leave the river and recede for about three miles, returning to the water some five or six miles farther along. Thus a bay is formed which is protect
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
3. THE FIRST FOUNDATION INSCRIPTION.
3. THE FIRST FOUNDATION INSCRIPTION.
Preparations were soon made for the laying out of the city, and in a very short time Akhnaton was called upon to visit the site in order to perform the foundation ceremonies. Fortunately the inscriptions upon some of the boundary tablets in the desert tell us something of the manner in which the king marked the limits of the city. [36] The first inscription reads as follows:— Year 6, fourth month of the second season, day 13. [37] ... On this day the King was in the City of the Horizon of Aton.
8 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
4. THE SECOND FOUNDATION INSCRIPTION.
4. THE SECOND FOUNDATION INSCRIPTION.
The inscription recording these events was probably not written until some months after they had occurred. Just when the engravers had made an end of their work a second daughter was born to the king and queen, whom they named Meketaton; and orders were given that her figure should be added upon the boundary tablet beside that of her sister, which already appeared there with Akhnaton and Nefertiti. The king was somewhat distressed that a son had not been granted to him; for the thought was bitte
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
5. THE DEPARTURE FROM THEBES.
5. THE DEPARTURE FROM THEBES.
From the above inscription one sees that Akhnaton had now decided to include the west bank of the river, opposite to the original site, in the new domain; and the great boundary tablets are there to be found as on the eastern side. By the time these decrees were engraved the Pharaoh was nearly eighteen years of age; and these developments in his plans are the natural signs of the progress of his brain towards that of a grown man. Having laid the foundations of the city, the king probably returne
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
6. THE AGE OF AKHNATON.
6. THE AGE OF AKHNATON.
We have spoken of the king as being nineteen years old. The story has now reached a point at which we must pause to consider this vexed question of Akhnaton’s age. In the above pages it has been said that the Pharaoh was about eleven years old at his marriage and accession to the throne; was fifteen when the canons of art were changed and the symbols of the Aton religion introduced; was seventeen when the foundations of the new city were laid; and was nineteen when he took up his residence there
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
1. ATON THE TRUE GOD.
1. ATON THE TRUE GOD.
Amidst the fair palaces and verdant gardens of the new city, Akhnaton, now a man of some twenty years, turned his thoughts fully to the development of his religion. It is necessary, therefore, for us to glance at the essential features of this the most enlightened doctrine of the ancient world, and in some degree to make ourselves acquainted with the creed which the king himself was evolving out of that worship of Ra-Horakhti Aton in which he had been educated. Originally the Aton was the actual
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
2. ATON THE TENDER FATHER OF ALL CREATION.
2. ATON THE TENDER FATHER OF ALL CREATION.
Amon-Ra and the old gods of Egypt were, for the most part, but deified mortals, endued with monstrous, though limited, powers, and still having around them traditions of aggrandised human deeds. Others, we have seen, had their origin in natural phenomena: the wind, the Nile, the starry heavens, and the like. All were terrific or revengeful, if so they had a mind to be, and all were able to be moved by human emotions. But to Akhnaton, although he had absolutely no precedent upon which to launch h
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
3. ATON WORSHIPPED AT SUNRISE AND SUNSET.
3. ATON WORSHIPPED AT SUNRISE AND SUNSET.
In order to prevent the more ignorant of his disciples from worshipping the sun itself, Akhnaton seems to have selected the sunrise and the sunset as the two hours for ceremonial adoration; for then the light, the beauty, the tenderness, of the celestial phenomenon could be appreciated, and the awful majesty of the sun was not in great prominence. Akhnaton attempted to cultivate in his followers an appreciation of the gentle hues of daybreak and of evening; and he taught them to believe that the
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
4. THE GOODNESS OF ATON.
4. THE GOODNESS OF ATON.
In the gardens of the City of the Horizon Akhnaton was surrounded on all sides by the joyous beauties of nature. Here the birds sang merrily in the laden trees, here the cool north wind rustled through the leaves, setting them dancing upon their stems, here the many-coloured blossoms nodded to their reflections in the still lakes; and, as he watched the sunlight playing with the blue shadows, his heart seemed to fill to repletion with gratitude to God. “O Lord, how manifold are Thy works!” was h
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
5. AKHNATON THE “SON OF GOD” BY TRADITIONAL RIGHT.
5. AKHNATON THE “SON OF GOD” BY TRADITIONAL RIGHT.
It may be understood how the boy longed for truth in all things when one remembers the thousand exaggerated conventions of Egyptian life at this time. Court etiquette had developed to a degree which rendered life to the Pharaoh an endless round of unnatural poses of mind and body. In the preaching of his doctrine of truth and simplicity Akhnaton did not fail to call upon his subjects to regard their Pharaoh not as a celestial god, as had been the custom, but as a man, though, of course, one of d
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
6. THE CONNECTIONS OF THE ATON WORSHIP WITH OLDER RELIGIONS.
6. THE CONNECTIONS OF THE ATON WORSHIP WITH OLDER RELIGIONS.
In developing his religion Akhnaton must have come into almost daily conflict with the priesthoods of the old gods of Egypt; and even the Heliopolitan Ra-Horakhti, from which his own faith had been evolved, now fell far short of his ideals. He does not seem, however, to have yet imposed the worship of the Aton upon the provinces, nor to have persecuted the various priesthoods. He hoped, no doubt, that he would be able to persuade the whole country to his views as soon as those views were thoroug
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
7. THE SPIRITUAL NEEDS OF THE SOUL AFTER DEATH.
7. THE SPIRITUAL NEEDS OF THE SOUL AFTER DEATH.
“Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun,” says Holy Writ in words which might have fallen from the lips of Akhnaton; “but though a man live many years and rejoice in them all, yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many.” As Akhnaton had completely revolutionised the beliefs of the Egyptians as to the nature of God, so he altered and purged their theories regarding the existence of the soul after death. According to the old belie
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
8. THE MATERIAL NEEDS OF THE SOUL.
8. THE MATERIAL NEEDS OF THE SOUL.
In order that the soul might have its link with earth, the worshipper of the Aton prayed that his mummy might remain “firm” and uncorrupted, that the “flesh might live upon the bones,” and that his limbs might remain “knit together.” The Egyptians of other days believed that the body itself would live again at the resurrection, this being the reason why they attempted so carefully to preserve it; and Akhnaton does not appear to have altered this conception of the nature of the material body. So,
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
1. THE HYMNS OF THE ATON WORSHIPPERS.
1. THE HYMNS OF THE ATON WORSHIPPERS.
In the tombs of rich persons who had lived and died previous to the time of Akhnaton, a large portion of the walls had been covered with religious inscriptions; and when at first the nobles of the City of the Horizon of Aton were planning their sepulchres they must have been at a loss to know what to substitute for these forbidden formulæ. Soon, however, it became the custom to write there short extracts from the hymns which were sung in the temples of the Aton. In a few cases these inscriptions
12 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
2. THE SIMILARITY OF AKHNATON’S HYMN TO PSALM CIV.
2. THE SIMILARITY OF AKHNATON’S HYMN TO PSALM CIV.
In reading this truly beautiful hymn one cannot fail to be struck by its similarity to Psalm civ. A parallel will show this most clearly:— Akhnaton’s Hymn. The world is in darkness like the dead. Every lion cometh forth from his den; all serpents sting. Darkness reigns. When Thou risest in the horizon ... the darkness is banished.... Then in all the world they do their work. All trees and plants flourish, ... the birds flutter in their marshes.... All sheep dance upon their feet. The ships sail
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
3. MERYRA IS MADE HIGH PRIEST OF ATON.
3. MERYRA IS MADE HIGH PRIEST OF ATON.
The religion of the Aton had now assumed shape and symmetry, and had been firmly established in the new capital as the creed of the court. Akhnaton was thus able to intrust its administration and organisation there to one of his nobles who had hearkened to his teaching, and to turn his attention to other affairs, and more especially to the conversion of the rest of Egypt. As head of the state a thousand matters daily claimed his consideration, and his high principles led him to stray further alo
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
4. THE ROYAL FAMILY VISIT THE TEMPLE.
4. THE ROYAL FAMILY VISIT THE TEMPLE.
When Meryra had been installed, the king and royal family made a formal visit to the temple at the time of sunset, and this is likewise represented in the High Priest’s tomb. For the first time in the history of Egypt one is permitted to see the Pharaoh as he drove through the streets of the capital in his chariot. No king before Akhnaton had allowed an artist to represent him in aught but celestial poses; but out of his love for truth and reality Akhnaton had dispensed with this convention, and
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
5. AKHNATON IN HIS PALACE.
5. AKHNATON IN HIS PALACE.
The reliefs and paintings upon the tombs often show the Pharaoh reclining thus, in a languid manner, as though the duties of his high calling had sapped all the strength from him. Never before had a Pharaoh been represented to his subjects in such human attitudes. The privacy of the palace is penetrated in these scenes, and we see the king, who loved to teach his followers the beauty of family life, in the midst of his own family. One or two of these representations must here be described. In on
1 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
6. HISTORICAL EVENTS OF THIS PERIOD OF AKHNATON’S REIGN.
6. HISTORICAL EVENTS OF THIS PERIOD OF AKHNATON’S REIGN.
There is very little historical information to be procured for these years of the king’s reign. When he had been about ten or eleven years upon the throne, and was some twenty-one years of age, his fourth daughter, Nefernefernaton, was born. The queen had presented no son to Akhnaton to succeed him, but he does not seem in this emergency to have cared to turn to any secondary wives; and, as far as we can tell, he remained all his life a monogamist, although this was in direct opposition to all t
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
7. QUEEN TIY VISITS THE CITY OF THE HORIZON.
7. QUEEN TIY VISITS THE CITY OF THE HORIZON.
Akhnaton had left Thebes, as we have seen, in about the eighth year of his reign; but his mother, Queen Tiy, seems to have been unwilling to accompany him, and to have decided to remain in her palace at the foot of the Theban hills. It is probable that she had not encouraged her son to create the new capital, and the removal of the court from Thebes must have been something of a grief to her, though no doubt she recognised the necessity of the step. In spite of advancing years she must have sore
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
8. TIY VISITS HER TEMPLE.
8. TIY VISITS HER TEMPLE.
One more scene from this state visit is shown. Here we observe Akhnaton leading his mother affectionately by the hand to a temple which had been built in her honour, as her private place of worship, and which was called the “Shade of the Sun.” This temple appears to have been a building of great beauty and considerable size. One passed through two great swinging doors fixed between the usual two pylons, and so entered the main court, which stood open to the sunlight. A pillared gallery passed al
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
9. THE DEATH OF QUEEN TIY.
9. THE DEATH OF QUEEN TIY.
It is possible that Queen Tiy took up her residence at the City of the Horizon in recognition of the lavish arrangements which her son had made for her. But whether this is so or not, it does not seem that she lived very long to enjoy such renewals of the pomps which she had known in her younger days. Her death appears to have taken place shortly after these celebrations, and, probably by her express commands, she was embalmed at Thebes and carried from her palace up the winding valley to the ro
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
1. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RELIGION OF ATON.
1. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RELIGION OF ATON.
In the Pharaoh’s hymn to the Aton we read these words— “Thou didst create the earth according to Thy desire, ... The countries of Syria and Nubia, The land of Egypt....” It is certainly worthy of note that Syria and Nubia are thus named before Egypt, and seem to take precedence in Akhnaton’s mind. In the same hymn the following lines occur:— “The Nile in heaven is for the strangers, ... But the Nile [itself,] it cometh from the nether world for Egypt.” Here Akhnaton refers to the rain which fall
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
2. AKHNATON OBLITERATES THE NAME OF AMON.
2. AKHNATON OBLITERATES THE NAME OF AMON.
Up till this time it will have been observed that Akhnaton had behaved with great leniency towards the worshippers of the older gods, and had not even persecuted the priesthood of Amon-Ra. It now becomes apparent that this restraint was due to his mother’s influence, for no sooner was she dead than Akhnaton turned with the fierceness of a fanatic upon the latter institution. He issued an order that the name of Amon was to be erased wherever it occurred, and this order was carried out with such a
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
3. THE GREAT TEMPLE OF ATON.
3. THE GREAT TEMPLE OF ATON.
The City of the Horizon of Aton must now have been a very city of temples. There were these shrines dedicated to the king’s ancestors; there was the temple of Queen Tiy; there was a shrine for the use of Baketaton, the king’s sister; there was the “House of putting the Aton to Rest,” where Queen Nefertiti officiated; and there was the great temple of Aton, in which probably were included other of the buildings named in the inscriptions. The great temple may here be briefly described, as the read
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
4. THE BEAUTY OF THE CITY.
4. THE BEAUTY OF THE CITY.
The City of the Horizon of Aton was now a place of surpassing beauty. Eight or nine years of lavish expenditure in money and skill had transformed the fields and the wilderness into as fair a city as the world had ever seen. One of the nobles who lived there, by name May, describes it in these words: “The mighty City of the Horizon of Aton, great in loveliness, mistress of pleasant ceremonies, rich in possessions, the offering of the sun being in her midst. At the sight of her beauty there is re
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
5. AKHNATON’S AFFECTION FOR HIS FAMILY.
5. AKHNATON’S AFFECTION FOR HIS FAMILY.
In about the thirteenth year of the reign a fifth daughter was born, who was named Neferneferura. This seems to have been the first daughter born after the changes in the religion recorded at the beginning of this chapter [74] had taken place; and it is significant that the name of Aton, of which all the previous daughters’ names had been compounded, now gives place to Ra. A sixth daughter seems to have made her appearance somewhat over a year later, some time during the fourteenth year of the r
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
6. AKHNATON’S FRIENDS.
6. AKHNATON’S FRIENDS.
The simple and homely manner in which Akhnaton is represented by his artists, surrounded by his children, is an indication that although he demanded much homage from his subjects in his capacity as their Pharaoh, he but asked for their sympathy and affection in all other connections. As Pharaoh his person was inapproachable and his attitude aloof, but as a man he never failed to set an example of what he considered a man should do; and even upon his throne, to which one might but advance with bo
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
7. AKHNATON’S TROUBLES.
7. AKHNATON’S TROUBLES.
Akhnaton’s health was so very uncertain that he hastened to construct for himself a tomb in the cliffs behind the City of the Horizon. He selected as the site of his last resting-place a gaunt and rugged valley which here cuts into the hills, leading back, around tumbled rocks and up dry watercourses, to the Arabian desert beyond. It is “A savage place!—as holy and enchanted As e’er beneath a waning moon was haunted By woman wailing for her demon-lover.” Here Akhnaton elected to be buried, where
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
1. THE HITTITE INVASION OF SYRIA.
1. THE HITTITE INVASION OF SYRIA.
The eastern end of the Mediterranean is bounded on the south by Egypt and the desert, on the east by Palestine and Syria, and on the north by Asia Minor, these roughly forming the three sides of a square. The conquests of the great warrior-Pharaoh Thothmes III. had carried the Egyptian power as far as the north-east corner of this formation—that is to say, to the point where Syria meets Asia Minor. The island of Cyprus is in shape not unlike a hand with index finger extended; and this finger may
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
2. AKHNATON’S CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTIONS TO WARFARE.
2. AKHNATON’S CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTIONS TO WARFARE.
Akhnaton’s policy in Syria, when considered from the point of view of an ordinary man, was of the weakest. Ideals cannot govern an empire, and those who would apply the doctrine of “peace and goodwill” to subject races endanger the very principles which they would teach. While the young Pharaoh was singing his imperial psalms to the Atom in his growing capital, the princes of Syria were whistling the revolutionary ditties which presently were to ring in the ears of the isolated Egyptian garrison
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
3. THE FAITHLESSNESS OF AZIRU.
3. THE FAITHLESSNESS OF AZIRU.
While Aziru, the Amorite, schemed on the borders of Asia Minor, a Syrian prince named Itakama suddenly set up an independent kingdom at Kadesh and joined hands with the Hittites, thus cutting off the loyal city of Tunip, the friendly kingdom of Mitanni, and the territory of the faithless Aziru from direct intercourse with the Lebanon and Egypt’s remaining possessions in Palestine and Syria. Three loyal vassal kings, perhaps assisted by Dushratta of Mitanni, attacked the rebels, but were repulsed
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
4. THE FIGHTING IN SYRIA BECOMES GENERAL.
4. THE FIGHTING IN SYRIA BECOMES GENERAL.
At this time the King of Byblos was one named Ribaddi, a fine old soldier who was loyal to Egypt in his every thought and deed. He wrote to Akhnaton urging him to send troops to relieve the garrison of Simyra, upon which Aziru was again pressing close; for if Simyra fell, he knew that Byblos could not for long hold out. Presently we find that Zimrida, the king of the neighbouring port of Sidon, has opened his gates to Aziru, and has marched with him against Tyre. Abimilki, the King of Tyre, at o
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
5. AZIRU AND RIBADDI FIGHT TO A FINISH.
5. AZIRU AND RIBADDI FIGHT TO A FINISH.
Meanwhile Ribaddi was holding Byblos valiantly against Aziru’s armies, and many were the despatches which he sent to Akhnaton asking for assistance against Aziru. Nothing could have been easier than the despatch of a few hundred men across the Mediterranean to the beleaguered port, and the number which Ribaddi asks for is absurdly small. Akhnaton, however, would not send a single man, but instead wrote a letter of gentle rebuke to Aziru, telling him to come to the City of the Horizon to explain
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
6. AKHNATON CONTINUES TO REFUSE TO SEND HELP.
6. AKHNATON CONTINUES TO REFUSE TO SEND HELP.
The messengers who arrived at the City of the Horizon of Aton, dusty and travel-stained, to deliver the many letters asking for help, must have despaired indeed when they observed the manner in which the news was received. Hateful to these hardy soldiers of the empire were the fine quays at which their galleys moored; hateful the fair villas and shaded avenues of the city; and thrice hateful the rolling hymns to the Aton which came to them from the temple halls as they hurried to the Pharaoh’s p
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
7. AKHNATON’S HEALTH GIVES WAY.
7. AKHNATON’S HEALTH GIVES WAY.
It is possible that the Pharaoh now realised his position, and one may suppose that he tried as best he could to pacify the turbulent princes by all the arts of diplomacy. It does not seem, however, that he yet fully appreciated the catastrophe which was now almost inevitable—the complete loss of Syria. He could not bring himself to believe that the princes of that country would play him false; and he could have had no idea that he was being so entirely fooled by such men as Aziru. But when at l
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
8. AKHNATON’S LAST DAYS AND DEATH.
8. AKHNATON’S LAST DAYS AND DEATH.
The troubles which Akhnaton by such actions gathered around himself, while disturbing to his adherents, must have given some degree of pleasure to those nobles who saw in the king’s downfall the only hope of Egypt. Horemheb, the commander-in-chief of the inactive armies, could now begin to prepare himself against the time when he should lead a force into Syria to restore Egyptian prestige. Tutankhaton, betrothed to Akhnaton’s third daughter, could dream of the days when he would make himself Pha
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
1. THE BURIAL OF AKHNATON.
1. THE BURIAL OF AKHNATON.
The body of Akhnaton was embalmed in the city which he had founded; and while these mortal parts of the great idealist were undergoing the lengthy process of mummification, the new Pharaoh Smenkhkara made a feeble attempt to retain the spirit of his predecessor in the new régime . Practically nothing is known of his brief reign, but it is apparent from subsequent events that he entirely failed to carry on the work of Akhnaton, and the period of his sovereignty is marked by a general tendency to
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
2. THE COURT RETURNS TO THEBES.
2. THE COURT RETURNS TO THEBES.
Smenkhkara died, or was deposed, about a year after Akhnaton’s death. He was succeeded by another noble, Tutankhaton, [83] who, in order to legitimise his accession, obtained in marriage Akhnaton’s second daughter Ankhsenpaaton, a girl barely twelve years old. Thus Smenkhkara’s wife, Merytaton, became a dowager-queen at the age of thirteen or so, and her little sister took her place upon the throne. By this time the priests of Amon had begun to hold up their heads once more, and to scheme for th
3 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
3. THE REIGN OF HOREMHEB.
3. THE REIGN OF HOREMHEB.
There was now no question who should succeed. All eyes were turned to Horemheb, who had already almost as much power as the Pharaoh. The commander-in-chief at once ascended the throne, and was received by the populace with the utmost rejoicings. At this time there was living at Thebes the Princess Nezemmut, the sister of Akhnaton’s Queen Nefertiti, and hence the daughter of Dushratta, King of Mitanni. Owing to previous inter-marriages between the royal house of Egypt and that of Mitanni, both Ne
2 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
4. THE PERSECUTION OF AKHNATON’S MEMORY.
4. THE PERSECUTION OF AKHNATON’S MEMORY.
The priests of Amon-Ra had now begun openly to denounce Akhnaton as a villain and a heretic, and as they restored the name of their god where it had been erased, so they hammered out the name and figure of Akhnaton wherever they saw it. Presently they pulled down the Aton temple at Karnak, and used the blocks of stone in the building of a pylon for Amon-Ra. Soon it was felt that Akhnaton’s body could no longer lie in state, together with that of Queen Tiy, in the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings
4 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
5. THE FINDING OF THE BODY OF AKHNATON.
5. THE FINDING OF THE BODY OF AKHNATON.
Thus, sheathed in gold, the nameless body lay, while the fortunes of Egypt rose and fell and the centuries slid by. A greater teacher than Akhnaton arose and preached that peace which the Pharaoh had foreshadowed, and soon all Egypt rang with the new gospel. Then came the religion of Muhammed, and the days of the sword returned. So the years passed, and many a wise man lived his life and disappeared; but the first of the wise men of history lay undiscovered in the heart of the Theban hills. Now
7 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter