New Kingdom · 18th Dynasty

Akhenaten

Reign: 1353–1336 (1351–1334) BC
Throne name: Nefer-kheperu-Re-wa-en-Re
Other names: formerly Amenhotep IV
Dynasty: 18th Dynasty
Period: New Kingdom, c. 1550–1070 BC
Capital at the time: Thebes, Memphis, at times Akhetaten (Amarna) and Pi-Ramesses

Akhenaten is listed in the king list under ‘18th Dynasty’ and so belongs to this period: New Kingdom (c. 1550–1070 BC). Reign: 1353–1336 (1351–1334) BC. The figures in brackets give the alternative dating by the Egyptologist Jürgen von Beckerath. The throne name is Nefer-kheperu-Re-wa-en-Re. Other recorded names: formerly Amenhotep IV.

Akhenaten in portrait

Raised the sun god Aten to the central deity and founded the new capital Akhetaten (Amarna).

Akhenaten (originally Amenhotep IV) shifted worship away from Amun towards Aten, the sun disc, and had rituals performed in the open air. The art of his time — Amarna art — depicts the pharaoh and his family with unusual naturalism. After his death his inscriptions were destroyed and his name erased as that of a ‘heretic king’.

What is known about Akhenaten

Having succeeded his father as Amenhotep IV, Akhenaten founded the first known monotheistic religion in world history with the worship of the Aten as the only god. At Amarna he had the new residence ‘Akhet-Aten’ (Horizon of the Aten) built. After his death his memory was erased and the cult of the Aten was banned.
From the German Wikipedia list of pharaohs, CC BY-SA 4.0, translated and edited.

During this reign

c. 1350 BCAkhenaten places the sun god Aten at the centre of worship and builds the new capital Akhetaten (Amarna).

Other events of the period

c. 1323 BCDeath of Tutankhamun. His almost intact tomb, KV62, is discovered by Howard Carter in 1922.
1274 BCBattle of Kadesh between Ramesses II and the Hittites.

More about this period: New Kingdom

Akhenaten

Akhenaten in portrait

What is known about Akhenaten

During this reign

Other events of the period

18th Dynasty: all rulers

Further reading