The rebellious life of Pharaoh Amenhotep IV unsolved mysteries of ancient Egypt

 

The rebellious life of Pharaoh Amenhotep IV

Akhenaten was the king of the eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt. After inheriting the throne, he proposed "monotheism" in an attempt to get rid of the shackles of tradition, liberate art, and become a famous rebellious pharaoh in Egyptian history. Is he a religious fanatic? Or is he a forerunner of Jesus? A series of mystery answers are ready to come out... The Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt (reigned from 1379 BC to 1362 BC). The full name is Nifelsaprula Amenhotep (Amon Rufes). The son of Amenhotep III, the first three years of co-ruling with his father. Great religious reformer. Religious reforms were carried out during the reign, and Adon (or Atun) was established as the new main god. Amenhotep IV ruled for 17 years (from 1364 BC to 1347, and ending from 1351 BC to 1334). During his reign, under the name of the religious reform, the mandatory promotion of the worship of the sun god Atun was one of the most significant events in ancient Egyptian history, and it has also been a focus of research by scholars for a long time. Amenhotep IV introduced the worship of the sun god Atun in the first year of his reign, thus proclaiming the beginning of a very meaningful religious reformation in Egyptian history. Atun was originally an ancient but insignificant Egyptian deity, but has now been elevated to the most prominent position by the Pharaoh. In the early stage of Atun worship, Atun was the highest deity, but at the same time it did not deny the divinity of other gods. The "single deity" religion did not conflict with the traditional Egyptian religion; but at the later stage, Atun clearly showed The color of primitive monotheism. Atun literally means the sun wheel itself. In the mythological system of ancient Egypt, the most important sun god is Ra, who was the main god in the ancient kingdom. Ra later merged with Horus, a symbol of the royal power of the pharaoh family, and Amon, the local god of Thebes, whose status rose sharply with the rise of Thebes as the capital of Egypt. This merger is quite abrupt, but it was accepted by the ancient Egyptians. Amenhotep IV simplified this system by claiming that the visible image of the sun itself is the only god, and he created the first known monotheistic religion in the world. Some researchers understand the Aton faith as a kind of naturalism with simple scientific thinking. Its theoretical basis lies in the recognition of the fact that the energy of the sun is the ultimate energy source for all life on earth. Why Amenhotep IV carried out such a drastic religious reform is a topic that researchers have been exploring. It is more credible that the pharaoh hoped to attack the priest class of Amon in Thebes by degrading the status of Amon. In this way, his religious reform was actually a political struggle. The Pharaoh wanted to concentrate power to curb the tendency of the priesthood group, which has become more powerful since the establishment of the new kingdom, to fight against the royal family. In the fifth year of his reign, Amenhotep IV began to build a new capital, Ekhtatun (meaning Atun’s sight). In the same year, he officially changed his name to Ekhnatun as evidence of his new worship. Soon thereafter, he concentrated almost all religious activities in Egypt in Ekhtatun, although the city itself seemed to be unfinished. Akhnatun built many grand temples for Atun all over Egypt, including a temple in Karnak, where Amon was originally worshipped. Ekhnatun is also widely believed to be the author of the famous Atun Song poem. In the initial stage of the Reformation, Amenhotep IV only described Atun as a "supreme deity" similar to Amon-Ra, in order to bring this new belief closer to the traditional religious form of Egypt. But in the 9th year of his reign, he began to declare that Atun was not only the highest god, but the only god. This made Pharaoh himself the only intermediary between the people and God, thus excluding the priest of Amon in Thebes. Not only that, Ehna swallowed the order to destroy the temples of Amun across Egypt. Many gods worshiped in other temples in Egypt were also hit. Due to the reforms of Ahnathon, the Egyptian art of this period showed a new characteristic, often referred to as the Amalnay style. Its characteristic is that the method is natural and the reality is rewritten.