Akhenaten

Akhenaten Amenhotep IV
Amenophis IV, Naphurureya, Ikhnaton[1][2]
Statue of Akhenaten at the Egyptian Museum
Pharaoh
Reign	1353–1336 BC[3] 1351–1334 BC[4]
Predecessor	Amenhotep III
Successor	Smenkhkare
Royal titulary Horus name Ka nakht qai shuti (Year 1–5)[5] Victorious bull, high of plumes[5] Mery Iten (after Year 5)[5] Beloved of the Aten[5] Nebty name Wer nesyt em Ipet Swt (Year 1–5)[5] Great of kingship in Karnak[5] Wer-nesut-em-Akhetaten (after Year 5)[5] Great of kingship in Akhetaten[5] Golden Horus Wetjes khau em Iunu shemay (Year 1–5)[5] Elevated of appearances in southern Heliopolis[5] Wetjes ren en Iten (after Year 5)[5] Who has elevated the name of the Aten[5] Prenomen  (Praenomen) Nefer-kheperu-Re, wa-en-Re (Year 1–17)[5] The perfect one of the manifestations of Re, the unique one of Re[5] Nomen Imen-hetep(u) netjer heqa Waset (Year 1–5)[5] Amun is satisfied, god, and ruler of Thebes[5] Akh-en-Iten (after Year 5)[5] The one who is beneficial to the Aten[5]
Consorts	Nefertiti Kiya An unidentified sister-wife (most likely) Tadukhipa Unidentified daughters of Šatiya and Burna-Buriash II
Children	Smenkhkare? Meritaten Meketaten Ankhesenamun Neferneferuaten Tasherit Neferneferure Setepenre Tutankhamun (most likely) Ankhesenpaaten Tasherit? Meritaten Tasherit?
Father	Amenhotep III
Mother	Tiye
Died	1336 or 1334 BC
Burial	Royal Tomb of Akhenaten, Amarna (original tomb) KV55 (disputed) [6][7]
Monuments	Akhetaten, Gempaaten
Religion	Ancient Egyptian religion Atenism
Dynasty	18th Dynasty of Egypt

Akhenaten (pronounced /ˌækəˈnɑːtən/),^[8] also spelled Akhenaton^[3][9][10] or Echnaton^[11] (Ancient Egyptian: ꜣḫ-n-jtn ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy, pronounced [ˈʔuːχəʔ nə ˈjaːtəj],^[12][13] meaning 'Effective for the Aten'), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning c. 1353–1336^[3] or 1351–1334 BC,^[4] the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Before the fifth year of his reign, he was known as Amenhotep IV (Ancient Egyptian: jmn-ḥtp, meaning "Amun is satisfied", Hellenized as Amenophis IV).

As a pharaoh, Akhenaten is noted for abandoning traditional ancient Egyptian religion of polytheism and introducing Atenism, or worship centered around Aten. The views of Egyptologists differ as to whether the religious policy was absolutely monotheistic, or whether it was monolatristic, syncretistic, or henotheistic.^[14][15] This culture shift away from traditional religion was reversed after his death. Akhenaten's monuments were dismantled and hidden, his statues were destroyed, and his name excluded from lists of rulers compiled by later pharaohs.^[16] Traditional religious practice was gradually restored, notably under his close successor Tutankhamun, who changed his name from Tutankhaten early in his reign.^[17] When some dozen years later, rulers without clear rights of succession from the Eighteenth Dynasty founded a new dynasty, they discredited Akhenaten and his immediate successors and referred to Akhenaten as "the enemy" or "that criminal" in archival records.^[18][19]

Akhenaten was all but lost to history until the late-19th-century discovery of Amarna, or Akhetaten, the new capital city he built for the worship of Aten.^[20] Furthermore, in 1907, a mummy that could be Akhenaten's was unearthed from the tomb KV55 in the Valley of the Kings by Edward R. Ayrton. Genetic testing has determined that the man buried in KV55 was Tutankhamun's father,^[21] but its identification as Akhenaten has since been questioned.^{[6][7][22][23][24]}

Akhenaten's rediscovery and Flinders Petrie's early excavations at Amarna sparked great public interest in the pharaoh and his queen Nefertiti. He has been described as "enigmatic", "mysterious", "revolutionary", "the greatest idealist of the world", and "the first individual in history", but also as a "heretic", "fanatic", "possibly insane", and "mad".^{[14][25][26][27][28]} Public and scholarly fascination with Akhenaten comes from his connection with Tutankhamun, the unique style and high quality of the pictorial arts he patronized, and the religion he attempted to establish, foreshadowing monotheism.