Akhenaten Family Background

Describe the household and household background of Akhenaten. In your reply check with: the 18th dynasty pharaohs, his mom, his brother, Akhenaten’s wives, notably Nefertiti (her origin and roles) and his kids. Assess their importance to the pharaoh. In your reply check with no much less than 4 sources, ancient and modern. You can even present diagrams if you wish. (500-550 words) Akhenaten was the tenth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty; he reigned over New Kingdom Egypt for approximately 17 years. Akhenaten was the son of Amenhotep III and his chief spouse, Queen Tiy.

Scholars agree that Amenhotep III and Queen Tiy had 4 recognized daughters and two sons, Thutmoses and Akhenaten, who was originally named Amenhotep IV. Akhenaten was a sheltered youngster and gave the impression to be rejected by his father as he was not often included in portraits of the household and was never taken to any public events not like his brother, Thutmoses, as he was not assumed to take the throne. Akhenaten became pharaoh after the death of his father Amenhotep III in 1352BC, as Thutmoses had died prematurely.

It is believed that Akhenaten was already married to Nefernefruaten- Nefertiti when he came to the throne. Nefertiti’s origin or parents are unknown, there are two primary theories of her origin, and the most accepted is that Nefertiti is the daughter of Ay, vizier to varied pharaohs of the 18th dynasty and the assumed brother of Queen Tiy. This is believed as Nefertiti’s nurse was the wife of Ay, as properly as references that Nefertiti’s sister, Mutnojme, is prominently featured within the reliefs of Ay’s tomb.

Another theory is that Nefertiti was the Mitannian princess despatched to Egypt for a diplomatic marriage, known as ‘Tadhukhipa’, that is supported as Nefertiti means “the stunning girl has come”. Nefertiti was Akhenaten’s chief wife and it’s clear that Akhenaten valued his beloved wife, in his tomb he referred to her as ‘the mistress of his happiness’, and in accordance with C. Alfred on one of the boundary stelae at Amarna he describes her as “Fair of Face, Joyous with the Double Plume, Mistress of Happiness, Endowed with Favour, at hearing whose voice one rejoices, Lady of Grace, Great of Love, whose disposition cheers the Lord of Two Lands”.

In Akhenaten’s tomb and in tombs of the nobles, Nefertiti is depicted as equal to the pharaoh, in Akhenaten and the Amarna Bradley states “she’s is treated as the king’s companion not only in their household life however in spiritual and political life as well”, not like different pharaohs there are also many family reliefs depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti and their six daughters making offerings to the Aten; no son was ever depicted in reliefs. Akhenaten and Nefertiti are accepted to have had six daughters together. They were Meritaten, Meketaten, Ankhensenpaaten, Nefernefruten-tasherit, Nefernefure and Setepenre.

Meritaten ‘beloved of Aten’, married Akhenaten’s successor, Smekhkare. Around 12 months 15 of Akhenaten’s reign, Meritaten was given the rank of ‘Mistress of the House’ and favorite of the King, at this time she was depicted performing certain spiritual rituals within the temple of the Aten. Meketaten ‘protected of Aten’ possibly died at childbirth (Alfred) or on the age of eleven (Redford), mourning scenes of Akhenaten and Nefertiti are depicted in the king’s tomb. Ankhensenpaaten ‘her life is in the Aten’, married Tutankhamun and have become Ankhensenamun.

Nefernefruaten-tasherit ‘Nefernefruaten Junior –after Nefertiti’, Nefernefrure ‘beautiful as the brilliant thing about Re’, and Setepenre ‘chosen of Re’. What occurred to the youngest three daughters is unknown. In addition to Nefertiti, Akhenaten had many different minor wives that he inherited from Amenhotep III’s harem as well as those he would have chosen himself. Of explicit significance is Kiya, one of Akhenaten’s minor wives. Her full origin is unknown, however she seems to have come from an official family with hyperlinks to the royal household.

In Akhenaten’s inscriptions Kiya was described as the significantly beloved wife of the king, this was purely an acknowledgement of her position as secondary spouse and in particular because the mother of royal youngsters. She is believed to be the mom of Tutankhaten (later Tutankhamen) and possibly Smenkhkare, who succeeded Akhenaten’s reign. It seems Kiya was a favorite of Akhenaten’s for a reasonably long time. Describe the constructing initiatives of Akhenaten in East Karnak, near the traditional capital Thebes, and Akhetaten (his new cult centre).

Describe the options of the buildings and account for the stylistic adjustments, particularly to do with the worship of the Aten. In your reply embody evidence from sources historical and trendy. You can use diagrams and maps if you wish. When Akhenaten got here to power in 1353BC as an alternative of holding the holistic New Kingdom Egypt builder-warrior pharaoh, Akhenaten targeted on his constructing initiatives and the establishment of Aten worship in New Kingdom Egypt. In the first year of his reign Akhenaten ordered that his father’s construction project be accomplished, this was typical of New Kingdom pharaohs.

This project was of two adorned pylon gateways on the temple of Amun-Re at Karnak. The relief scenes carved on the pylon right now present Akhenaten in a traditional means, in addition they depict the Aten as a falcon-headed god. In the second year Akhenaten ordered the development of 4 temples dedicated to the Aten to be constructed at East Karnak, outdoors the enclosure wall on the east of the Great Temple of Amun-Re. These temples had been Gempaaten – ‘sun disk is found’ , the Mansion of the Ben-ben stone, Rud-menu – ‘Sturdy are the Monuments of the sun-disk Forever,’ and Teni-menu – ‘Exalted are the Monuments of the sun-disk Forever’.

The Gempaaten was an open rectangular court roughly 300m by 200m enclosed with a mud-brick wall, surrounding this was a roofed colonnade. The temple itself was adorned with colossal statues of Akhenaten. The decorative scenes shown within the temple showed a celebration of the Heb-sed festival within the second and third 12 months of the king’s reign. According to an unknown source within the depictions of the primary year the ritual was enacted earlier than officers from all of the districts and the gods of Egypt, whose statues had been introduced from close to and much to be positioned in shrines.

Akhenaten offered to the gods individually and was accepted by every to continue ruling. However, within the Heb-sed festival of the third year all the shrines of the gods of Egypt are changed by the Aten and Akhenaten in the reliefs. Typically when a pharaoh is being depicted with a god he’s either drawn equal or depicted kneeling to the deity, however because the sun-disc is proven at the high of relief scenes Akhenaten’s single standing figure turns into extra distinguished. There isn’t any firm proof of the opposite three Aten temples purpose or location at Karnak, as they have been destroyed and the constructing materials have been reused in later pharaohs constructing projects.

It is believed that the Mansion of the Ben-ben stone was constructed for Nefertiti, the Ben-ben stone is typically depicted as a pyramid formed stone, but in this temple it was proven as an obelisk. In the aid scenes Nefertiti is portrayed making offerings to the Aten as this role was generally undertaken by Akhenaten, these reliefs were the first to incorporate Nefertiti within the triad of the Aten. A major change in the depiction of Akhenaten began appearing in these temples, he was not portrayed because the tradition pharaoh but instead his face turn into elongated, he showed little or no higher physique tone and had a pot belly.

However large and remarkable Akhenaten’s Aten temples had been, they would never be able to overcome the dominance of Amun at Karnak. This concern led to Akhenaten’s need to type a new capital metropolis totally devoted to the Aten sun-disc. In 12 months six of his reign Akhenaten chosen a website midway between Memphis and Thebes, where the cliffs on the east bank type an amphitheatre reverse from the river Nile, this naturally occurring amphitheatre was 13km in diameter and 5km broad.

Akhenaten arrange boundary stelae to mark the bounds of his new city in every instructions, he affirmed that the bottom did not belong to any deity and it was the Aten himself who had revealed the land to Akhenaten. On the boundary stelae the king states the town is to be called Akhetaten meaning ‘the Horizon or seat of the Aten’, the message on the stelae mentions the temples Akhenaten intends to assemble in the city – A House of the Aten, a Mansion of the Aten, a Sunshade of the Queen and a House of Rejoicing for the Aten in the Island.

Evidence of most of these temples and buildings has not been found or confirmed. Akhetaten was divided into a quantity of main building areas; these included the Main metropolis – with the royal palace and temples, the North Suburb, South city, Maru-aten (Southern Palace), a staff village and rock reduce tombs. The Great Temple of the Aten was constructed as the centre of worship in Akhetaten. The building was an 800m by 300m open roofed rectangular courtroom, similar to the Gempaaten in structure however much larger.

The temple was not open to the basic public and solely the royal household or excessive priest could enter into the Great Temple of the Aten. R. J. Unstead states the temple was designed in a processional way; entrance to the temple was from the west between two tall pylons, this entrance let into a small courtyard, forward of this was the House of Rejoicing or Per-Hai. This was a corridor crammed with columns and adorned with reliefs of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. From Per-Hai you attain the next a part of the temple Gem-Aten ‘finding of the Aten’, this courtyard contained rows of mud brick offering tables.

Ahead of the Gem-Aten is the entrance to an extended slim courtroom with a raised altar, beyond this alter is then entrance to another court docket, adopted by a second and finally into three smaller sanctuary or backyard courts. Each courtroom of the temple, except for the Gem-Aten had its own altar and colossal statues of Akhenaten in addition to representations of the Aten on wall reliefs. There was no exit at the different end of The Great Temple so the procession of Akhenaten, Nefertiti and the Aten monks needed to turn round and exit via the west entrance.