Author Description

Although much is known about ancient Egypt, thanks in no small part to their extensive written records, the Amarna Period following the death of Akhenaten is little understood. Why is this? Certainly, a contributing factor is the purge of monuments and records from that era by later pharaohs, but it also seems that those associated with Akhenaten and his sun-god, the Aten, distanced themselves from their former king after his death; names were changed, Akhenaten’s capital city of Akhetaten was abandoned, and the Aten disappeared from Egypt’s pantheon of gods.2 Bits and pieces of evidence have been unearthed over the past two hundred years which have led to a better understanding of what happened during Akhenaten’s reign and the years following, but there is still much speculation and controversy about what transpired. Even the experts who have devoted their careers to the study of the Amarna Period do not always agree on what happened. Popular fiction has portrayed Akhenaten as a heretic who rejected Egypt’s old gods and tried to implement monotheism. And, as a king out-of-touch with his people his legacy was overthrown by the ‘next’ king, Tutankhamun, who restored the old ways. But the actual events were much more complicated than that. Theories come and go, and slowly, more and more is learned through new excavations, study of long-lost museum acquisitions, and re-interpretation of old ‘accepted facts. This is the story of the people who lived after Akhenaten’s death, including his royal family, his nobles, and his middle-class workers and artisans. What happened to them, after Akhenaten died?