The king of many names; Akhenaten 1352 – 1334 BC

BY DAVE RANKIN

The most famous of the seven children produced from Nesew Amenhotep the 3rd and his Great Royal wife Tiye, was Amenhotep the 4th before changing his name.

His older brother Crown Prince Thutmose (who was a priest of Ptah) had died somewhere in the third decade of Amenhotep the 3rd’s rule of an undisclosed illness. Therefore, leaving Amenhotep the 4th next in line for the throne. He had shared a co-regency with his father for approximately a dozen years before his passing. His mother Queen Tiye went on to assist him with daily matters until she passed some twelve years later.

His coronation name was ‘Neferkeprure’ which is translated, as “Beautiful of Form is Re.” There was another title that was added to his coronation name, “Wa-N-Re” or “the Unique One of Re.” When reading about the life of Amenhotep the 4th, this last title “Wa-N-Re” would surmise this Nesew very well.

In the book When Egypt Ruled the East, the authors state the following, “An extraordinarily single-minded character, when once he had embarked on a purpose, he held to it with tenacity and carried it through unwaveringly with nothing short of fanaticism.”

There are reports that Amenhotep the 4th “From the remotest times had boasted of unusual wisdom.” He continuously drenched himself with the concept that Re was “The creator and preserver of the world,” and that “He was without equal.” This thought would be ever present and eventually grow during his reign as we will explain later in this series.

While there are no exact records of the date of marriage, Amenhotep the 4th married Nefertiti early in his reign. One of the most famous Kemetian women in history, one can see her bust, which now lies in the West-Berlin Museum in Germany. The two went on to have six daughters.

In Amenhotep the 4th’s second year of reign, he deviated from the deity of Amen-Re and devoted himself to Aten. Up until then, he had noticed that the clergy had lost their way. They had become greedy and were lavished with gifts from Nesew before him. All of these things brought envy and jealousy to the ancient priests of the day. So, Amenhotep the 4th decided to make shocking reforms upon his kingdom.

Before we go into the reforms Amenhotep the 4th made, we would like to expound on the word Aten. The word Aten comes from the Old Kingdom and literally means “disc.”

Renowned author, Molefi K Assante tells us in his book “The Egyptian Philosophers” that Aten may also have meant, “’Day’s disc,” meaning “the sun in the sky.” So, when Amenhotep the 4th devoted himself to Aten, he was really reincarnating a practice that was once present in Kemet. As we will later show, the people of Kemet didn’t think that was the case.

Molefi K Assante writes about one of the changes or reforms that took place. Once again quoting from The Egyptian Philosophers: “Early in his second year of reigning, he ordered preparation for a jubilee or sed festival, usually reserved for the thirtieth year of rule.” He also “Had several buildings erected for the occasion, including the: “Sun Disc is Found,“”House of the BenBen,” “Sturdy of the monuments of the Sun disc forever,” and “Exalted are the monuments of the Sun disc forever.”

Amenhotep the 4th set a pattern during his reign on the throne. This and more will be unraveled in the next installment of our series.