2-501-972 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Akhenaten, Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, 14th century BC (1926). After he ascended to the throne in c1350 BC Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) set about transforming the religion of Ancient Egypt, replacing the existing polytheism with a monotheistic cult of worshipping Aten, the god of the disc of the Sun. In addition, he decreed that Egypt's capital was to be moved from Thebes to a new site 180 miles to the north, to be named Akhetaten (modern El-Amarna). These massive upheavals generated growing opposition to Akhenaten, particularly amongst the priesthood. In c1334 BC Akhenaten died and Egypt turned its back on his reforms. The city of Akhetaten was abandoned and Egyptians returned to worshipping their traditional gods. A print from Kings and Queens of Ancient Egypt, portraits by Winifred Brunton, Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1926.