  The high hopes of Akhenaton’s early years met an untimely end. The Asiatic provinces of Egypt fell away to the Hittites or to local Canaanite princes who had little sympathy with the Empire. Although there is no evidence of revolt in Egypt itself, Akhenaton’s alienation from the older priesthood must have resulted in dislocations of the economy, and difficulties in the smooth running of government. SmenkhkareThere is some evidence to suggest that Nofretete lost favor with her husband and moved to a new palace in the northern sector of Akhetaton. The king gave high honor to his eldest daughter Meritaton, whose husband, Smenkhkare became his successor on the throne of Egypt. We have no records indicating events in the earliest years of Smenkhkare’s reign but in the third year he is known to have gone to Thebes. The reason for the visit can only be conjectured, but it may have been a gesture to appease the Amon priesthood which was still firmly entrenched there. Our sources fail us again, but neither Akhenaton nor Smenkhkare are mentioned after ca. 1350 B.C. Whether they died natural deaths, or perished at the hands of assassins, can only be guessed. We are not even sure if Smenkhkare was co-regent with his father-in-law or if Akhenaton had died before he came to the throne. At most Smenkhkare reigned but four years. If his trip to Thebes was made to bring about a reconciliation with the Theban priesthood, it seems to have failed completely. Tutankhaton-TutankhamonSmenkhkare’s successor, Tutankhaton, was married to Ankhesenpaton, the third daughter of Akhenaton and Nofretete. Under Tutankhaton the capital was moved back to Thebes, and the Amarna revolt was at an end. His name, meaning “the living image of Aton,” was changed to Tutankhamon, “the living image of Amon,” and Amon was restored to his place as chief deity of Egypt. Ankhesenpaton’s name was changed to Ankhesenpamon for the same reason. Although Tuntankhamon was one of Egypt’s lesser kings, the discovery of his tomb by Howard Carter in 1923 has made him the best known Pharaoh of Egyptian history to most westerners. Tutankhamon’s return to the worship of Amon was a conscious repudiation of the Aton cult. He actually ascribes the calamities that befell Egypt in the years of Akhenaton to the anger of Amon: The Throne of Tutankhamon. The throne dates to the time before Tutankhamon renounced Atonism. His name appears as Tutankhaton in the inlay, but in the gold work where it could more easily be altered it has been changed to Tutankhamon. The back of the throne pictures the king and his wife under the sun disk (Aton). Tutankhamon and His God. A black granite statue depicts the god Amon (large figure) with Pharaoh Tutankhamon, who renounced the Aton faith of Akhenaton and returned to Thebes, the center of the Amon priesthood.
Following Tutankhamon’s early death we meet a story of intrigue and international politics which involves his widow. Ankhesenpamon, fearful of the future of herself and her country, wrote to the Hittite king, Suppiluliumas, asking that one of his sons be sent to Egypt to become her husband:
The Hittite king, suspecting something amiss, sent a servant to check on matters in Egypt. When the envoy reached Thebes, the widowed queen asked:
Suppiluliumas was convinced of the good faith of the young widow and sent a son to Egypt, but the young man never reached Thebes. Along the way he was murdered by Egyptians who resented the thought of a foreigner as their ruler. The result was a period of war between the Hittites and Egypt. Another son of Suppiluliumas made a record of the affair:
The battle is not mentioned in the Egyptian annals. Probably it was brief and indecisive, for the Hittites could not afford to throw a major army into such a campaign. The rising power of Assyria was a threat to Hittite control in the north, and she had Horemhab. Granite statue of the commander of Tutankhaton’s armies, later a Pharaoh in his own right. Eye and HoremhabThe rule of Egypt fell to the aged vizier Eye, who had been a counselor and friend of Akhenaton. After four years Eye was succeeded by Horemhab (ca. 1340-1310 B.C.), an energetic ruler who sought to restore Egypt’s fortunes abroad and erase the memory of the Amarna revolt at home. As a young general, Horemhab had espoused the cause of Akhenaton, but as a Pharaoh he sought to obliterate the records of the Amarna kings with as great enthusiasm as Akhenaton had sought to eliminate the name of Amon. Later orthodox king lists omit the names of Akhenaton, Smenkhkare, Tutankhamon, and Eye, placing the name of Horemhab immediately after Amenhotep III. Although the Amon priests of Thebes seemed to be more firmly entrenched than ever after the accession of Horemhab, the calendar could not be pushed back completely. Egyptian |
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