od. Ahmose's descendants, the rulers of the Eighteenth Dynasty, used the fertile fields of the Nile Valley and the mineral wealth of the Eastern and Western Deserts to transform Egypt into an imperial power, threatened only by the distant Babylonians, Mittanni and Hittites. The military achievements of Thutmose III in particular laid the foundations for the comparatively peaceful reign of Amenhotep III. The scene was set, however, for one of the stranger episodes, and even stranger cities, in Egyptian history.
Amenhotep IV, later called Akhenaten (Weigall 9), ascended to the throne of Egypt in 1353 BCE. He was the second son of Amenhotep III, one of the greatest kings of Egypt, who ruled an empire that stretched from Nubia to modern day Syria. Thus Amenhotep IV became king in the shadow of a famous father and was faced with the dual tasks of controlling the empire and ruling his own land effectively. During this period, Egyptians worshipped many gods, the most important of whom was Amun, the king of gods (Weigall 12). Monumental and splendid temples were built for him at Thebes, staffed by the most important priests in the kingdom. As the years of Amenhotep IV's reign progressed, the prominence of a minor god, the Aten, or "sun-disk," eventually superseded all the others. In 1349 BCE, the fifth year of his reign, Amenhotep IV officially changed his name to Akhenaten (or "Horizon of the Sun-Disk), and the cult of the Sun-Disk became the sole official cult of the Egyptian empire (Silverberg 57).
When Amenhotep IV ascended the throne as Akhenaten, he ordered that all temples throughout Egypt not dedicated to Aten be closed down. This fell into sharp contrast with the traditional Egyptian practice of worshipping many gods in many different forms. Akhenaten gave orders that the names of all other gods were to be chiseled out of temple inscriptions and monuments. By obliterating the names, so, too, was the power of the god...