...Akhenaten was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who reigned about 3,500 years ago in the 18th dynasty. He made some major alterations to various aspects of Egyptian culture, the most notable one being his religious revolution. Akhenaten's reformation was meant to convert Egyptian polytheism, belief in Amun-ra, the god of gods, in favour of the worship of a single god, Aten the sun disk. He was seen as a reformer because his religion focused one god, but his major emphasis was on the Aten's realness and existence. By being able to see ones god, it provides a level of reality as opposed to believing the words of others. He was viewed as a tyrant for taking his religion too far, denying the existence of other gods, and destroying any evidence of the past religion of Amun-ra including the name of his own father. Even his name before embarking on this deity revolution was Amenhotep IV. In his 5th year of reign he rejected this name meaning “Amun is satisfied”, he changed it to Akhenaten, meaning “the living image of Aten”. Egyptians once followed several gods and goddesses, each of which had its own priests, temples, shrines and rituals. Akhenaten ordered the construction of a new capital city known as Amarna “the horizon of the sun” to escape priesthood of Amun-ra. Everything in Thebes was packed up and Akhenaten and his followers left for Amarna. By centralizing himself as the creator of the new god Aten, Akhenaten gave himself control over both politics and religion, two of the most...
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...pharaoh Akhenaten’s main motivation in instituting religious change was to reestablish absolute authority as a king. His heretic views of Egyptian religion increased the power and influence of the king, which had been gradually suppressed over the course of centuries. Specifically, he regained this power through the careful characterization of the Aten. This ensured that he would be the sole interpreter of the god’s wishes, making him a powerful figure. This was reaffirmed by the establishment of a new capital, which purposefully centralized the political power of Egypt. Through these means, Akhenaten introduced a level of authority that had not been implemented in centuries. Akhenaten’s reign was preceded by many cultural and political factors that made it necessary for him to reassert his influence. • In the establishment of...
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...The changes instituted by Akhenaten during his rule were so revolutionary for Egypt because they went against much of Egyptian ways up until his rule. He also instituted many changes very quickly in a place in which this hadn’t been done so radically before. Not only did his modifications influence the way the art and reliefs were depicted during his time. He also moved the capital, changed his name, and changed focus of worship from many gods to one god Aten. Through all of these changes he radically influence Egyptian religion, culture, and society. All of these factors show his great attempt at cultural and theological revolution that in the end was almost erased from history. When one looks at his attempted religious revolution one can see the core of the changes he made during his reign. For most of the...
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... Dr. James Hewitt Humanities 111 July 30, 2014 There are many theories relating to the cause of King Tutankhamen’s death. Many people say King Tut was murdered, some say it was from an accident from a chariot, while others say it was from a serious illness. Though the majority of the people believe that King Tut was murdered, in recent medical examination reveals it was due to and illness. King Tutankhaten born 1323 B.C, was the son of King Akhenaten. When King Akhenaten died, King Tutankhaten became Pharaoh changed his name to King Tutankhamen which meant, the living image of Amun. King Tut was 9 years old when he became King and ruled for 10 years till his death. King Tut married his half-sister, Ankhensenamun. King Tut was very young and was guided as king. Some say he was manipulated, by his Elderly Aye and Horemheb till he was at age to make his own decisions to rule. After King Tut death, Aye ruled then followed by Horemheb to restore order for Egypt. Some say they try to destroy the name Pharaoh Akhenaten. Could that been motive to say they might have been involved in the murder King Tutankhamen? A theory to King Tut death is murder. Some say he was struck in the back of the head that cause his death. Elder Aye, knew that he would follow after King Tut to gain the throne and assume power to Egypt. For many people, they speculated that Aye had something to do with the death of King Tut. At the age of 19, King Tut dies. The wife of King Tut, Ankhensenamun...
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...The relief sculpture of the pharaoh Akhenaten, Nefertiti and three Daughters, along with the relief sculpture of Mai and Urel emerged from the eighteenth dynasty during the New Kingdom, and commenced a brief artistic revolution in Egyptian art. These two sculptures portrayed a sense of realism that was never seen before in the earlier/ancestral Egyptian artwork. By comparing and contrasting the two relief sculptures one can achieve a better sense of what each piece of art was trying to express. By examining both the relief sculptures of Akhenaten, Nefertiti and three Daughters, and Mai and Urel, several differences can be depicted. Many of these unlike characteristics involve a representation of the human form and appearance. At the top of the sculpture of Akhenaten, Nefertiti and three Daughters, appears a sun disk with rays angling down on all of them to represent the God of Aton. However, no such reference to Aton can be found in the sculpture of Mai and Urel. Next, the figures are seated facing one another in the sculpture of Akhenaten, Nefertiti and three Daughters, while the figures are both facing right in the sculpture of Mai and Urel. In addition, the Akhenaten, Nefertiti and three Daughters sculpture clearly has a reference to offspring. In the sculpture of Mai and Urel no children seem to appear. A few other contrasting characteristics of these two relief sculptures involve specifically the human form. The figures of Akhenaten and Nefertiti have overextended proportions...
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...Born around 1341 B.C. Tut had been given the name Tutankhaten, meaning "the living image of Aten". At the time ancient Egypt had been going through a political upheaval. Tut's father had made it illegal to worship any god besides Aten, the sun disk. Since the population of Egypt had been forced to worship and honor Aten, the society of ancient Egypt was th rown into chaos. Then, they had changed the capital from Thebes to Armana. Akhenaten had become more corrupted over time and after following his reign for 17 years, he was completely mad, and died not to long after. Tutankhaten, his son, took over at the age of nine in 1332 B.C. Tutankhaten was one of, if not the best known king of Egypt, and still was Bradford 2 just a small part of the...
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...SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT KING TUTANKHAMEN DID NOT DIE OF NATURAL CAUSES - HE WAS MURDERED. ~KING TUT~ Tutankhamen, king of Ancient Egypt (often referred to as King Tut), died at the early age of around eighteen. To this day, his death remains a mystery that has brought many historians, Egyptologist and scientist to many theories as to how King Tut died. Two theories in particular are the theory that he succumbed to a broken leg that became infected, and the theory that he was murdered. The latter theory holds the most weight. In 1968, while performing an x-ray of Tutankhamen's mummy, scientist found bone fragments in his skull leading to the conclusion that he was murdered by blunt force trauma. (Lovgren, 2006.) However, later research lead some to say that the most famous pharaoh likely died of a leg injury which was complicated by bone disease, malaria and/or infection. (Tutankhamen CT scan Press Release, 2010.) The theory that the "boy king" had been murdered because of a hole in his head was ruled out and determined by many Egyptologist to have been the result of the mummification process. To be sure, homicide police in Ogden, Utah have been requested by a British film producer to apply modern forensics to the ancient case. According to their studies, they believe that they have proof of murder. Prominent Egyptologist, however, says that those conclusions are nonsense and based on hearsay. They argue that if in fact King Tut was murdered, then one would have...
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...There are winged cobras extending from baskets holding a hieroglyph of the name. The semblance of these serpents is of the control of both Upper and Lower Egypt. One has a white or silver crown for upper and the other a red or gold crown for lower. The name of the Pharaoh is placed on the throne at the time of carination. King Tut began his reign at the age of 9 at this time his name was not Tutankhamun but rather Tutankhaten. This is even more proof of the location. Akhenaten named his son Tutankhaten at birth which translates to “living image of Aten”. If the location would have been in Thebes then the images of Aten would not be present. After a short reign King Tut realized the wasteland of Amarna was not going to sustain his people, he moved the capitol back to Thebes. At this time the worship of Aten was abandoned reverting back to the polytheistic religion of Egypt. At this time Tutankhaten changed his name to Tutankhamun which means living image of the Amun. This is believed to be a sign to the priests of Amun that King Tut was sincere about his loyalty to the god. In a sense the young king inherited a hostile nation due to his father’s beliefs and this stands to reason why there was a need to move away...
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...King Ramses II In ancient egyptian times there was a pharaoh named Ramses II he was the most powerful and celebrated king in egypt. Now in the 2015 we have many celebrated people but back in egyption times he was the best king you could get. About 1334 bc (before christ) a religious reformer named Akhenaten ruled egypt. He was a great leader but Ramses II only rose to power after he died. His father Seti gave Ramses II his crown as future ruler of egypt. Akhenaten was the pharaoh of the 18th dynasty he ruled for 17 years and Akhenaten was the father of King tut and the spouse of nefertiti. Reign Ramses II’s reign was about 66 years. Ramses is believed as well as all other pharaohs to be half god and half human also...
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...Upon the departure of Akhenaten, the coregent Semenkhare was left in power, but in less than a year he died or was killed,(1) and was succeeded by the now famous Tutankhamun.(2) Because of the very close similarity of their skulls and their identical blood types,(3) Tutankhamun and Semenkhare are considered to have been brothers.(4) The mummies of Amenhotep III, Tiye, Tutankhamun and Semenkhare(5) have all been identified with a great deal of certainty. Scientists are currently trying to extract DNA from small samples taken from these and other 18th Dynasty mummies.(6) If this effort is successful it could provide a non-controversial solution to the particular mystery of Tutankhamun's parentage. With Akhenaten in exile, the line of David (Thutmose III) became divided. One Pharaoh lived on in the Sinai. The other "Branch" (Isaiah 4:2, 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5) now "sitting on the throne of his father [Amenhotep III or Akhenaten]," was the young Tutankhamun. After his coronation, or perhaps as part of the coronation itself, Tutankhamun's name was changed. His birth name had been Tut-ankh-aten. The change in his name was likely part of a compromise with the priests of Amun. Because Tutankhamun was only a child of seven to ten years old at his ascension, it could hardly have been a deliberate decision on his own part in contrast to the name change of his father (from Amenhotep IV to Akhenaten). Under the supervision of the elderly prime minister, Aye (second son of Yuya and identified...
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...The Mystery of the Death of King Tutankhamun Many believe that King Tutankhamun was murdered; others believe he died of natural causes deriving from an insect bite. According to a two-year long study conducted by Zahi Hawass of the Secretary-General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), scientists now believe that he likely died of a leg injury, further complicated by an attack of malaria (HASAN, 2010). Having different theories and no concrete evidence, the death of King Tut has always been and continues to remain a mystery. The manner, in which King Akhenaten (father of King Tutankhamun) died, brought concern to suspect that Tutankhamun would become a political target for assassination. King Akhenaten yielded a religious revolution creating a world filled with chaos and during this pandemonium, Tutankhamun was born. The religious uproar that he caused led to several attempted assassinations on his life, and after 17 years of reigning, he died. The cause of his death was unknown but was suspected to be murder. At the young age of 9, Tutankhamun was made king but it took him several years to mature and rise to power. King Tutankhamen then experienced an acute early death at age 19 leaving people to believe that his death may have been a politically motivated assassination. Since the discovery of his tomb in 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter, many theorized that the cause of Tutankhamun’s death was murder because of the hole in his skull. This was later...
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...com, 2010). Those that believed that he was murdered believed that this happened due to changes that Akhenaten (King Tut’s father) had made. Akhenaten had brought about a major change in Egypt when he started to push the idea of one god, and this concept went against everything Ancient Egyptians believed in. Other experts argue that King Tutankhamen died from malaria and osteonecrosis. Imaging results in a report, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, indicate that Tutankhamen had osteonecrosis of two metatarsal bones in one foot, according to the authors, and DNA evidence suggests that he was infected with the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Still others say that the king died due to an infection. New CT scans performed on King Tut shows a broken leg that could have become infected and ultimately caused his death. I feel as King Tutankhamen was murdered maybe by one of his servants. Researchers say that it was a known fact that Akhenaten brought a major change in Egypt. He had pushed the idea of one god and this concept went against everything the Ancient Egyptians believed in. Many believed the transition could have been hostile. Just being the son of Akhenaten must have been difficult for a young boy who probably wanted to go about his business uninterrupted. This situation alone breeds hate from those who oppressed Akhenaten and his new teachings. They...
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...Do you know what the Tut Mystery is? Well I say Horemheb and Tey killed Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, and Ankhesenamun just to be together and rule. Horemheb might’ve pushed the almost 20 year old king down some steps far away from the throne. With Ankhesenamun the only ruler, she had to marry her grandpa Aye making her grandma Tey jealous, so Tey killed her for it. Tey was also mad at Aye so she, and her secret lover, killed Aye allowing them to rule together. Horemheb killed Akhenaten, and then Tutankhamun by pushing him down stairs on a trip from home. Tut had many injuries before and after he died, three of the injuries before he died were a blow to the back of his head, a deep cut on his cheek, and a broken leg which makes it look like he was pushed or fell down some stairs. Also, Tutankhamun was covered in two coats of resin suggesting he died far away from home in which his servants would’ve come with him meaning Horemheb could’ve sabotaged him. No one liked Akhenaten , so why would they like his son, especially one of his advisers, Horemheb. With Akhenaten and Tut down, Ankhesenamun was alone and vulnerable....
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...King Tutankhamen commonly known as King Tut, was born in Ancient Egypt in 1341 B.C. It is thought that his parents are Akhenaten and "The Younger Lady", or Kiya. His childhood was different than that of a normal child. His father died when Tut was young, and was forced to become pharaoh of Egypt. He was only nine to ten years old when he took the throne, and because he was so young he had powerful advisors probably including General Horemheb. When King Tut became pharaoh he married his half-sister, Ankhesenamun. Together they had two children, both miscarriages. It is believed that Tut had a hard time of reign, because his father had decided to changed the way of belief for all Egyptians. People were enraged. They didn't want to change to other ways, they only wanted to keep the traditions of the past 100 years. This made scientists question whether King Tutankhamen died of natural causes or if he was murdered by an angry citizen....
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...Queen Nefertiti of Egypt was a great, well known, and mysterious Queen to many. She was a Great Royal Wife to Pharaoh Akhenaten. She had many children including: Ankhesenamun, Meritaten, Neferneferuaten Tasherit, Meketaten, Setepenre, and Neferneferure. She was very religious and worshipped only one egyptian god, Aten, the sun god. This was very unusual considering many Egyptians at the time worshiped many gods. But what is most interesting is her mysterious disappearance. Did she die from a sudden plague, did she try to flee, or did she pretend to be someone else during Tutankhamun's rule? Not much is known about Nefertiti's upbringing and birth. It is believed she was born in the Egyptian town Akhmim, where she was either the daughter or niece of a high official At, her mother is unknown. Other theories say she could have been born in a foreign country, such as Syria. Evidence shows she was born in 1370 BC....
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