or Akhnaton orig. Amenhotep IV
(r. 1353–36 BC) Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty (1539–1292 BC).
He came to power during a period of Egyptian preeminence, with Egypt controlling Palestine, Phoenicia, and Nubia. Shortly after his reign began, he began to encourage the exclusive worship of the little-known deity Aton , a sun god he regarded as the source of all blessings. Assuming the name Akhenaton ("One Useful to Aton"), he moved his capital from Thebes to present-day Tutankhamen , but after Tutankhamen's early death the army took over the throne, and Akhenaton's new religion was abandoned.
Akhenaton, detail of the sandstone pillar statue from the Aton temple at Karnak, с 1370 BC; ...
Hirmer Fotoarchiv, Munchen