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Akhenaten

Akhenaten was an  Egyptian pharaoh who ruled for 17 years during the 18th dynasty. In partnership  with Nefertiti, introduced a new monotheistic religion centered around the sun-disk  Aten, relocated the capital to Amarna, and promoted artistic realism. His reign  ended with a succession crisis and subsequent restoration of traditional  religious practices. What kind of world did he create?

Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji (Photo credits: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden/CC BY-SA 4.0, Leiden; Dr Chris Naunton, Heidi Kontkanen and A. K. Moyls); Deriv.
9 June, 2017 - 15:37 anand balaji

The Many Mysteries of Maya: Faith, Labor and Love for the Motherland–Part II

The sudden and unfortunate death of Tutankhamun created an unprecedented power vacuum that had to be filled swiftly, if order was to be maintained in the Egyptian state. It is probable that a tussle...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji
7 June, 2017 - 15:27 anand balaji

The Many Mysteries of Maya: On the Trail of Tutankhamun’s Valued Courtier–Part I

The Amarna Period brought to fore many interesting personages, especially from the ruling disposition. While éminence grise Aye and the generalissimo Horemheb became pharaohs after the death of...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji
26 May, 2017 - 15:28 anand balaji

Tutankhamun and the Age of Appropriation: Missing Skullcap of the Last Sun King–Part II

The oft-repeated phrase “the Amarna era is shrouded in mystery” could be a thing of the past if only closer scrutiny of key artifacts from Tutankhamun’s tomb are permitted by the authorities...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji
24 May, 2017 - 15:32 anand balaji

Tutankhamun and the Age of Appropriation: Priceless Secrets and Palimpsests Hidden in Plain Sight–Part I

Among the stupefying hoard of over five thousand objects that were recovered from the tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62), some sported distinct Atenist leanings. While the golden throne of the boy-king is...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji
28 April, 2017 - 15:45 anand balaji

Unraveling Tutankhamun’s Final Secret: Enigmatic Sarcophagus the Key to Proof of a Double Burial? – Part II

The sarcophagus in which Tutankhamun was interred upon his untimely demise in the confines of his tomb has for long puzzled Egyptologists. The existence of anomalies on its surface is perplexing...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji
26 April, 2017 - 15:44 anand balaji

Unraveling Tutankhamun’s Final Secret: Cloak of Mysteries Reside in a Sepulchral Masterpiece–Part I

Are we poised to discover an Amarna royal in a hitherto unimagined location that will rewrite history — or will this be the final nail in the coffin for the ‘double burial’ theory? It is quite...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji
29 March, 2017 - 15:37 anand balaji

The Magic, Mystery and Madness of Tomb 55: Shadowy Sovereigns and Risky Reburials–Part IV

The German Egyptologist Walther Wolf was unsparing in his description of Akhenaten, calling him a man who epitomized “sick ugliness and nervous decadence”. The greatest irony of the entire Amarna...
Collection of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji; Deriv.
22 March, 2017 - 14:38 anand balaji

The Magic, Mystery and Madness of Tomb 55: Resurrecting the Rebel Ruler–Part III

Akhenaten’s short-lived capital, Amarna, was the epicenter of the unpalatable religious changes that pharaoh had unleashed on his country. The ensuing tumult which pervaded Egypt during this dark...
Collage of Egyptian Art, design by Anand Balaji; Deriv.
15 March, 2017 - 14:46 anand balaji

The Magic, Mystery and Madness of Tomb 55: Saga of a Botched Excavation–Part II

The entire Amarna epoch and those who strutted upon its stage have always presented a conundrum for Egyptologists. In early 1907, one of the most valuable finds – Tomb 55 – promised to finally lift...
Collage designed by Anand Balaji (photo credits: Dave Rudin, Heidi Kontkanen,);Deriv.
13 March, 2017 - 16:34 anand balaji

The Magic, Mystery and Madness of Tomb 55: Seeking the Amarna Dead–Part I

When Pharaoh Akhenaten abandoned the traditional capital Thebes (Waset) and headed to his dream city Akhetaten – built to glorify the solar deity, the Aten – he swore never to return. But, such...
The Dakhamunzu Chronicles: Fate of Queen and Country —Part II
8 February, 2017 - 16:16 anand balaji

The Dakhamunzu Chronicles: Fate of Queen and Country —Part II

Despite the desperate attempts that were made by a queen of Egypt, with the best intentions at heart; the audacious move to invite a foreigner to marry her and take the throne spelled her doom. It...
: Portraits of Akhenaten and Nefertiti from the workshop of Thutmose, the royal sculptor. Tell el-Amarna. Neues Museum, Berlin. (Photo: Heidi Kontkanen)
6 February, 2017 - 16:15 anand balaji

The Dakhamunzu Chronicles: End Game of the Sun Kings—Part I

The history of the dying days of the Eighteenth Dynasty remains shrouded in mystery. The late Amarna succession and its aftermath remain an unsolved conundrum. Out of the mist of this perplexity...
: The 14 columns of the The Colonnade of Amenhotep III - Luxor Temple and Statue of the Pharaoh
19 January, 2017 - 02:30 anand balaji

Dazzling Nebmaatre: Sunset in Waset—Part III

The efflorescent era of Amenhotep III ushered in a period of unsurpassed prosperity for Egypt. During this time, the country grew economically and militarily powerful. But the Sun was bound to set on...
Dazzling Nebmaatre: Queen Tiye, the Matchless Matriarch—Part II
10 January, 2017 - 02:13 anand balaji

Dazzling Nebmaatre: Queen Tiye, the Matchless Matriarch—Part II

In March, 1898 within a dark side chamber of Amenhotep II's tomb (KV35) the famed French Egyptologist, Victor Loret gazed upon the face of a severely damaged mummy of an ancient woman, which to him...
Imagination vs Reality: What if Nefertiti Was Not as Lovely as We are Expected to Believe?
7 January, 2017 - 14:49 Natalia Klimczak

Imagination vs Reality: What if Nefertiti Was Not as Lovely as We are Expected to Believe?

Nefertiti is one of the most iconic persons of ancient Egypt. She is still extremely famous and faith in her great personality is visible in pretty much any book that mentions the queen. But who was...
A Tough Commute: Long Hike to Work in the Valley of the Kings Caused Laborers to Suffer from Arthritis
26 November, 2016 - 03:44 Mark Miller

A Tough Commute: Long Hike to Work in the Valley of the Kings Caused Laborers to Suffer from Arthritis

In the ancient world, work was so hard that bone pathologies show up in skeletal remains even to this day. In ancient Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, workers labored hard to build the mortuary temples...
The Royal Tombs of Tanis
4 November, 2016 - 02:54 Natalia Klimczak

Three Famous Sites in One – The Story of the Legendary City of Tanis

For centuries, it was believed the city of Tanis was nothing more than a legend. Many people had doubts that it ever really existed. But that all changed when researchers who Napoleon Bonaparte...
A Dream Destination for Egyptologists: The Amazing Amarna Necropolis
28 September, 2016 - 14:55 Natalia Klimczak

A Dream Destination for Egyptologists: The Amazing Amarna Necropolis

Amarna is a dream destination for many Egyptologists. The temples, tombs, and houses left by the people who lived in the area thousands of years ago make up one of the most impressive discoveries in...
Detail of panel with adoration to Aten.
22 July, 2016 - 21:53 Natalia Klimczak

A Pharaoh Thrice Buried? The Mystery of the Tombs of Pharaoh Akhenaten

Pharaoh Akhenaten is one of the most mysterious kings of Ancient Egypt. Researchers have discovered three tombs dedicated to him - all full of even more secrets. These tombs do, however, provide...
Tiye, the Great Royal Wife of Amenhotep III and mother of Akhenaten and grandmother of Tutankhamun
6 March, 2016 - 19:40 Natalia Klimczak

Tiye: One of the Most Influential Women of Ancient Egypt

Tiye was the Great Royal Wife of the ancient Egyptian equivalent to Louis XIV – Amenhotep III. Her son Akhenaten, was one of the biggest causes of scandal during the pharaohs’ time in Egypt. She was...
A relief of Kiya, remade from Amarna limestone.
3 January, 2016 - 15:03 Natalia Klimczak

Kiya - The Most Mysterious Woman of Amarna

The only thing we really know for certain about Kiya is her name, written in the forms kiya, kiw, kia, kaia, and that she was a wife of Akhenaten titled The Great Beloved Wife . Much information...
An undisturbed skeleton of a man in the extended, supine posture typical at the cemetery; and the burial of a man with a common pattern of disturbance in which the upper torso has been jumbled by robbers and the skull removed.
11 November, 2015 - 14:50 Mark Miller

Builders under Pharaoh Akhenaten worked so hard they broke their backs

When ancient Eygptian pharaoh Akhenaten ordered the construction of the new city of Amarna dedicated to the sun god Aten, more than 20,000 people moved there to do the back-breaking work. The work...
The iconic bust of Nefertiti, discovered by Ludwig Borchardt, is part of the Ägyptisches Museum Berlin collection, currently on display in the Altes Museum.
12 August, 2015 - 21:47 Mark Miller

The Elusive Tomb of Queen Nefertiti may lie behind the walls of Tutankhamun's Burial Chamber

An archaeologist studying electronic scans of the walls of the ancient Egyptian King Tutankhamun's tomb thinks he has found a false wall that may lead to the tomb of Nefertiti, the famous successor...
The desecrated royal coffin found in Tomb KV55.
26 January, 2015 - 00:46 mrreese

The Mystery of Egyptian Tomb KV55 in the Valley of the Kings

In 1907, a mysterious tomb was discovered in Egypt. Known as KV55, the tomb contained a variety of artifacts and a single body. Identification of the body has been complicated by the fact that the...

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