Pharaoh Akhenaten And The Role Of Divine Kingship In Ancient Egypt

Divine Kingship played a major role in ancient Egypt and formed the basis of the religious and political structure within the civilisation. Pharaoh Akhenaten (formerly Amenhotep IV) affected the religious system considerably, possibly being the first individual to bring in the belief of monotheism. Akhenaten’s monotheistic policies did not greatly change the values and beliefs of polytheistic ancient Egyptians. However, the legacy created had a significant impact on the religious beliefs of future generations.

Contrasting the beliefs of the society before and soon after Akhenaten’s rule, there was little difference. Before and after his ruling, the complex structure of divine kingship consisted of a polytheistic belief in the multiplicity

of divine forms (T Benderitter, http://www.osirisnet.net/docu/akhenaton, accessed 30th May 2016). Divine kingship was the belief that the right to rule was given by a god or gods. The favourable gods were known as the unique ones, the Pharaoh generally taking the God’s name and placing it on the end of their own. Before Aten, Amun- The king of gods- was most commonly added to the end of a pharaoh’s name. Gods were explanations of the origins of the universe and how each integral part of life and existence came to be. These religious beliefs changed as each pharaoh rose to power, with different Gods being described as the ‘unique one’. These common beliefs that were present in the time before Akhenaten’s reign remained after his time as pharaoh was over.
Akhenaten believed that the only god, Aten, gave him to right to reign, and forced this belief on the society.

Akhenaten was the son of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and ascended to the throne in 1358 BCE, after his father’s death. He began ruling at a time of crisis in polytheism when Egyptians couldn’t manage the divine world. He married his sister, perhaps cousin, Nefertiti and had six daughters. Akhenaten believed he was the human embodiment of Aten. According to T Benderitter of Osiris.net (http://www.osirisnet.net/docu/akhenaton, accessed 30th May 2016), Aten, the common name used to describe ‘sun’, was derived from the verbal root meaning ‘to be distant’. The author also states that Aten represented a disc in motion, visible everywhere by everyone, ‘encompassing the whole universe with its power by fulfilling its celestial circumnavigation’.

Aten was not a god that was able to be prayed to by anyone in the community. Akhenaten was believed to have been the only human with the ability to communicate with Aten. The Amarna Project (http://amarnaproject.com/, accessed 14th May 2016) displays a photograph taken at the south tombs of Armana, showing The Great Hymn of the Aten (Appendix 1) carved into the walls:

“And there is no other that knows thee save thy son Nefer-kheperu-Re,

Wa-en-Re, for thou hast made him well-versed in thy plans and in thy

strength”
As well as:
“Everything is made to flourish the king,…
Since thou didst found the earth
And raise them up for my son, who came forth from thy body: the King of
Upper and Lower Egypt, …Ak-en-Aten,… and the Chief Wife of the King Nefertiti”
These lines imply that Akhenaten was the sole divine intercessor, and the only one to have received the revelation of Aten, along with being the only one who could convey it. As well as this, in Akhenaten’s tomb, lines such ‘there is only he’, and ‘there is no god but thou’ were carved into the walls. These lines are very similar to common Christian beliefs in modern society, which proclaim that there is only one god, proving that the beliefs of Akhenaten greatly impacted future generations.
Although Akhenaten’s monotheistic beliefs were not present in the society after his death, he affected their culture greatly during his reign.

J Hill, reliable author of Ancient Egypt Online (http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/akhenaten.html, accessed 24th May 2016) states that in his first two years as pharaoh, nothing seemed to change. Akhenaten crowned himself the king of Thebes, city of Amon- who god was considered king of the gods and the supreme creator. The pharaoh began to subtly introduce a new solar divine entity, establishing his proximity to terrestrial royalty. After year 2, Akhenaten ordered the construction of several edifices in the domain of Amon at Karnak dedicated to Aten. Year 4 brought Akhenaten’s split from Thebes in order to erect the new capital called Amarna, in which he was supposedly guided by Aten in choosing the location that Amarna would be constructed. In the fifth or sixth year of his reign, his name was changed from Amenhotep IV to Akhenaten, taking the name of the god Aten. Then, in his ninth year of reigning, Akhenaten declared that Aten was the only god, and that he ‘was the only intermediary between Aten and the people.’ (J Hill, http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/akhenaten.html, accessed 24th May 2016) Amun’s name was also ordered to be cut and chiselled from his temples throughout Egypt. As well as this, the plural of god (gods), was erased, exposing and projecting Akhenaten’s monotheistic beliefs. As pharaoh, Akhenaten also

brought in a belief that the Queen’s role was almost, if not as important as the role of the pharaoh. The outings of the king and queen was viewed as being equivalent to the rising sun of the Aten, as their movement in the chariot was symbolic to Aten moving in the sky and bringing the breath of life. (T Benderitter, http://www.osirisnet.net/docu/akhenaton, accessed 30th May 2016) The occurrences of each year of Akhenaten’s reign proved that the pharaoh attempted to change the common beliefs and leave a long-term effect on the society.
After the end of Akhenaten’s reign ended when he died in his 17th year, the evidence of his time as pharaoh began to slowly disappear. The city emptied quickly of its inhabitants, all his images and his name being systematically destroyed, as well as his sarcophagus being smashed. Under the reign of his son Tutankhamun (previously Tutankhaten), the cults of the traditional gods and goddesses were re-established. In the time of Ramesses, he was known to the people as an enemy, rebel, and criminal. Australian Museum (http://australianmuseum.net.au, accessed 25th May 2016), stated that the ‘Egyptians had a tendency to merge new beliefs with old ones, rather than simply replace them.’ This implies that when Akhenaten came into power, his inclination to completely obliterate all knowledge and evidence of other religions was a great change for ancient Egyptians, as they were used to a merging of beliefs rather than a replacing. While Akhenaten may have had a large impact and enforced many new policies during his reign, the evidence of his time as pharaoh quickly faded.
Nevertheless, Akhenaten’s beliefs and policies provided new theological development regarding ‘the one’ and the beginning of the world. His beliefs fell into oblivion for thousands of years until the 19th century, the Amarna period being described as a breeding ground for monotheism. Therefore, although the legacy created had a significant impact on the religious beliefs of current times, Akhenaten’s monotheistic policies did not greatly change the values and beliefs of polytheistic ancient Egyptians in the time period.