Bold moves uproot the daily life of Kemet and its Empire; the Reforms of Akhenaten 1352 – 1334 BC

BY DAVE RANKIN

“Wa-N-Re” or the “Unique One of Re” began to show his uniqueness through his actions.

As mentioned in the previous edition, Amenhotep the 4th deviated from the worship of the deity of Amen-Re and devoted himself strictly to the Aten. Once again drawing upon reference from famed African scholar Molefi K Assante, and his work “The Egyptian Philosophers,” the word Aten simply meant, “disc” or “day’s disc” meaning “the sun in the sky.”

Amenhotep the 4th reincarnated a very old practice by observing the Sun as the highest object lesson, a feat not taken too kindly by the rest of the nation. His preparation of the “Jubilee” or “Sed festival” was another thing Amenhotep the 4th did that was out of the ordinary since this was usually reserved for nesew in their 30th year of reign. But this was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

In his 4th year of reign Amenhotep the 4th and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti visited the future site, which was to become his new capital. Revealed to him by the god Aten, this was “virgin territory” like no other. To Amenhotep the 4th the land reminded him of the “Mound of sand in Heliopolis from which the universe was said to be created.” Following in the footsteps of this well-known myth, Amenhotep the 4th acted just like the architect, and began the creation of his universe.

The following year, he began the erection of what was now to be called Akhetaten or “Horizon of the Sun-disc” better known to the world as El-Armana. The author of “When we ruled,” Robin Walker writes the following about the new city: “Armana was landscaped with flowers and beautiful gardens. The temples and personal chapels were open to the air. This allowed for the worship of the sun.” I encourage the reader to look for the aforementioned book as well as “When Egypt Ruled the East,” for a more complete description of the city.

The 6th year of Amenhotep the 4th’s reign is where he really cemented his reform. First, Aten now became the faith of the nation and its surrounding empire, which included parts of Nubia and Western Asia. While members of his newly appointed court did not have their hearts in it, they worshiped Aten to placate their nesew.

Next, he went on to destroy some of the statues of the old gods and close the temples. This move outraged the clergy even more. Not only were they left out of the process of assisting with the building of the new city, none of the existing clergy were chosen to be a part of Amenhotep the 4th’s new council. They were totally powerless. Something they were not used to. Of course, this would ignite their disdain.

Amenhotep the 4th went even further with his next move. He had everyone who “Bore a name compounded with Amen” to have it changed. As an example, he started with himself. Amenhotep the 4th was no longer, he was now Akhenaten which means “He who is Beneficial of Aten.” Finally, he now moved the nation’s capital to Akhetaten, where he could worship Aten with “tranquility and fervor.”

To Akhenaten, he didn’t care that the clergy and members of his nation were angry at him for making these moves. All he cared for was that the worship of the Aten was performed at its highest degree without any of the atrocities of the past.

As much as these bold moves uprooted the daily life of Kemet and its empire, Akhenaten’s single-minded focus on Aten, and blatant neglect of how to run the nation, especially in the area of economics would come back to haunt him.