PHARAOH AKHENATEN - 18TH DYNASTY

Amenhotep IV, also called Akhenaten, was a pharaoh in the 18th Egyptian Dynasty. He was the son of Amenhotep III and his Great Royal Wife Queen Tiye. Statues, wall carvings and bas-reliefs of Amenhotep III and his wife clearly show them as Africans. (See attached).

 

Akhenaten’s wife was Nefertiti. Nefertiti means the beautiful one has come.

 

Amenhotep IV was probably the first historical figure to teach the practice of monotheism. He transformed the religious practices of ancient Egyptian society by directing the exclusive worship of one God, the Aten, who was considered the sole creator of the universe. The concept of monotheism, the worship of one God, was embraced and taught by Akhenaten prior to Moses’ birth in Egypt. Akhenaten ordered the obliteration of all traces of the polytheistic religion (belief in many Gods) of his ancestors. He also fought bitterly against the powerful priests who attempted to maintain worship of the state God Amun.

 

After Akhenaten established the new religion he changed his name from the royal designation Amenhotep IV to Akhenaten, which means “he who is devoted to Aten”.

 

Not only did Akhenaten and Nefertiti bring about religious changes in ancient Egypt they also brought about artistic ones as well. Traditionally, Pharaohs were represented in wall carvings, statues, etc… as being much bigger than their wives. Akhenaten and Nefertiti were usually shown in almost equal proportion to each other. This unprecedented display gives Nefertiti a greater role in artistic representations and shows her growing power and influence. Some people believe these representations merely show that in the eyes of the Aten Nefertiti is a virtual equal to her husband.

 

In most wall carvings you will see the sun-god the “Aten” represented by a raised circle (a sun disk) extending his life giving rays to the royal family. At the end of some of the rays there is usually an Ankh which represents the key of life or symbol of fertility. Some say the modern day cross comes from the Ankh symbol as the Egyptian culture was around thousands of years before Christianity or Catholicism.

 

This is probably a good time to point out the similarity of the names Amenhotep, the State God Amon or Amun, the Pharaoh Tutankhamen and the term now used at the end of prayer in various religions, i.e., Amen. Coincidence or another part of the stolen legacy?

 

After Akhenatens death, Tutankhamen, more commonly known as King Tut, restored the old polytheistic religion.