Akhenaten Biography

Akhenaten was an Egyptian Pharaoh who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC. While most rulers would think of invading neighbouring kingdoms to expand their territory, Akhenaten’s interests solely lied within the confines of Egypt. In his long tenure, Akhenaten focussed more on making ‘Atenism’ (a religion for the followers of the Sun god) the only religion of Egypt. His devotion for the Sun god was often reflected through the architecture in Egypt during his times, which glorified the deity. Akhenaten is also known for writing a long hymn in praise of the god. Artefacts which proved this Egyptian Pharoh’s existence were discovered only recently, in the 19th Century. Many of the inscriptions which were recovered revealed that Akhenaten was insensitive to his allies. He did little to help the neighbouring allies of Egypt recover from situations of acute political crisis. Many of the modern day-historians and researchers are of the opinion that Akhenaten was one of the very few ‘Scientific-thinking’ people of his times.