1.
Amarna Period
–
The Amarna Period was an era of Egyptian history during the latter half of the Eighteenth Dynasty when the royal residence of the pharaoh and his queen was shifted to Akhetaten in what is now Amarna. Aten was not solely worshipped, but the gods were worshipped to a significantly lesser degree. The Egyptian pantheon of the equality of all gods and goddesses was restored under Akhenatens successor, Akhenaten instigated the earliest verified expression of monotheism. Scholars believe that Akhenatens devotion to his deity, Aten, offended many in power below him, religion prompted many innovations in the name and service of religion. They viewed religion and science as one and the same, previously, the presence of many gods explained the natural phenomena, but during the Amarna period there was a rise in monotheism. With people beginning to think of the origins of the universe, Amun-Re was seen as the sole creator and Sun-god. The view of god is seen through the poem entitled Hymn to the Aten, When your movements disappear and you go to rest in the Akhet. Darkness a blanket, the land in stillness, with the one who makes them at rest in his Akhet, the land grows bright once you have appeared in the Akhet, shining in the sun disk by day. When you dispel darkness and give your rays, the Two Lands are in a festival of light, from the poem, one can see that the nature of the gods daily activity revolves around recreating the earth on a daily basis. It also focuses on the present life rather than on eternity, after the Amarna reign, these religious beliefs fell out of favor. This was partly because access to Amun-Re was limited only to the king, only they were allowed to worship, and the rest were left to worship the king and his family. The royal women of Amarna have more surviving text about them than any other women from ancient Egypt and it is clear that they played a large role in royal and religious functions. These women were portrayed as being very powerful. Many of the daughters had influences as great if not greater than his wives. Nefertiti was said to be the force behind the new monotheist religion, Nefertiti, whose name means the beautiful one is here, bore six of Amenhoteps daughters. There is a debate whether the relationship between Amenhotep and his daughters was sexual, although there is much controversy over this topic, there is no evidence that any of them bore his children. Amenhotep gave many of his daughters titles of queen, during Akhenatens reign, royal portraiture underwent dramatic change. Sculptures of Akhenaten deviate from conventional portrayal of royalty, Akhenaten is depicted in an androgynous and highly stylized manner, with large thighs, a slim torso, drooping belly, full lips, and a long neck and nose
Amarna Period
–
A relief of a royal couple in the Amarna-period style; figures may be
Akhenaten and
Nefertiti,
Smenkhkare and
Meritaten, or
Tutankhamen and
Ankhesenamun;
Egyptian Museum of Berlin.
Amarna Period
–
Queen Tiye, matriarch of the Amarna Dynasty. She was the mother of Akhenaten and wife of
Amenhotep III. She mainly ran Egypt's affairs of state for her son.
Amarna Period
–
Akhenaten, born Amenhotep IV, began a religious revolution in which he declared Aten was a supreme god and turned his back on the old traditions. He moved the capital to Akhetaten.
Amarna Period
–
Queen Nefertiti, the daughter of Ay, married Akhenaten. Her role in daily life at the court soon extended from Great Royal Wife to that of a co-regent. It is also possible that she may have ruled Egypt in her own right as pharaoh, Neferneferuaten.
2.
Akhenaten
–
Akhenaten known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV, was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC. An early inscription likens the Aten to the sun as compared to stars, Akhenaten tried to bring about a departure from traditional religion, yet in the end it would not be accepted. After his death, his monuments were dismantled and hidden, his statues were terminated and he was all but lost from history until the discovery during the 19th century of the site of Akhetaten, the city he built and designed for the worship of Aten, at Amarna. DNA analysis has determined that the man buried in KV55 is the father of King Tutankhamun, the future Akhenaten was a younger son of Amenhotep III and Chief Queen Tiye. The eldest son Crown Prince Thutmose was recognized as the heir of Amenhotep III but he died relatively young, there is much controversy around whether Amenhotep IV succeeded to the throne on the death of his father Amenhotep III or whether there was a coregency. Other literature by Donald Redford, William Murnane, Alan Gardiner, in February 2014, the Egyptian Ministry for Antiquities announced what it called conclusive evidence that Akhenaten shared power with his father for at least 8 years. The evidence came from the found in the Luxor tomb of Vizier Amenhotep-Huy. A team of Spanish archeologists have been working at this tomb, Amenhotep IV was crowned in Thebes and there he started a building program. He decorated the entrance to the precincts of the temple of Amun-Re with scenes of his worshiping Re-Harakhti. He soon decreed the construction of a dedicated to the Aten in Eastern Karnak. This Temple of Amenhotep IV was called the Gempaaten, the Gempaaten consisted of a series of buildings, including a palace and a structure called the Hwt Benben which was dedicated to Queen Nefertiti. Other Aten temples constructed at Karnak during this time include the Rud-menu, during this time he did not repress the worship of Amun, and the High Priest of Amun was still active in the fourth year of his reign. The king appears as Amenhotep IV in the tombs of some of the nobles in Thebes, Kheruef, Ramose, in the tomb of Ramose, Amenhotep IV appears on the west wall in the traditional style, seated on a throne with Ramose appearing before the king. On the other side of the doorway, Amenhotep IV and Nefertiti are shown in the window of appearance with the Aten depicted as the sun disc. In the Theban tomb of Parennefer, Amenhotep IV and Nefertiti are seated on a throne with the sun disk depicted over the king, among the latter-known documents referring to Amenhotep IV are two copies of a letter from the Steward Of Memphis Apy to the pharaoh. The documents were found in Gurob and are dated to regnal year 5, third month of the Growing Season, on day 13, Month 8, in the fifth year of his reign, the king arrived at the site of the new city Akhetaten. A month before that Amenhotep IV had officially changed his name to Akhenaten, Amenhotep IV changed most of his 5 fold titulary in year 5 of his reign. The only name he kept was his prenomen or throne name of Neferkheperure, some recent debate has focused on the extent to which Akhenaten forced his religious reforms on his people
Akhenaten
–
Statue of Akhenaten in the early
Amarna style.
Akhenaten
–
Relief representing Amenhotep IV before he changed his name to Akhenaten,
Neues Museum, Berlin
Akhenaten
–
Bronze plate with the titulary of Amenhotep IV before he changed his name to Akhenaten,
British Museum.
Akhenaten
–
Pharaoh Akhenaten (center) and his family worshiping the
Aten, with characteristic rays seen emanating from the solar disk.
3.
Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt
–
The eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is the best known ancient Egyptian dynasty. It boasts several of Egypts most famous pharaohs, including Tutankhamun, the dynasty is also known as the Thutmosid Dynasty for the four pharaohs named Thutmosis. Famous pharaohs of Dynasty XVIII include Hatshepsut, longest-reigning woman-pharaoh of a dynasty, and Akhenaten. Dynasty XVIII is the first of the three dynasties of the Egyptian New Kingdom, the period in which ancient Egypt reached the peak of its power, radiocarbon dating suggests that Dynasty XVIII may have started a few years earlier than the conventional date of 1550 BC. The radiocarbon date range for its beginning is 1570–1544 BC, the point of which is 1557 BC. The pharaohs of Dynasty XVIII ruled for two hundred and fifty years. The dates and names in the table are taken from Dodson and Hilton, many of the pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings in Thebes. More information can be found on the Theban Mapping Project website, several diplomatic marriages are known for the New Kingdom. These daughters of kings are often only mentioned in cuneiform texts and are not known from other sources. The marriages were likely a way to confirm good relations between these states, Dynasty XVIII was founded by Ahmose I, the brother or son of Kamose, the last ruler of the Dynasty XVII. Ahmose finished the campaign to expel the Hyksos rulers and his reign is seen as the end of the Second Intermediate Period and the start of the New Kingdom. Ahmose was succeeded by his son, Amenhotep I, whose reign was relatively uneventful, Amenhotep I probably left no male heir and the next pharaoh, Thutmose I, seems to have been related to the royal family through marriage. During his reign the borders of Egypts empire reached their greatest expanse, extending in the north to Carchemish on the Euphrates, Thutmose I was succeeded by Thutmose II and his queen, Hatshepsut. Thutmose III who later became known as the greatest military pharaoh ever and he had a second co-regency in his old age with his son Amenhotep II. Amenhotep II was succeeded by Thutmose IV, who in his turn was followed by his son Amenhotep III, the reign of Amenhotep III is seen as a high point in this dynasty. Amenhotep III undertook large scale building programmes, the extent of which can only be compared with those of the much longer reign of Ramesses II during Dynasty XIX. Amenhotep III may have shared the throne for up to twelve years with his son Amenhotep IV, there is much debate about this proposed co-regency. Some experts believe there was a lengthy co-regency, while others prefer to see a short one, there are also many experts who believe no such co-regency existed at all
Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt
–
Head of an Early Eighteenth Dynasty King, ca. 1539-1493 B.C.,37.38E,
Brooklyn Museum
Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt
–
Block Statue of Ay, ca. 1336-1327 B.C.E. 66.174.1,
Brooklyn Museum
Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt
–
Ahmose-Nefertari.
Ahmose-Nefertari was the daughter of
Seqenenre Tao II, a 17th dynasty king who rose up against the
Hyksos. Her brother Ahmose, expelled the Hyksos, and she became queen of a united Egypt. She was deified after she died.
Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt
–
Amenhotep I gained the throne after his two elder brothers had died. He was the son of Ahmose and Ahmose-Nefertari. He was succeeded by Thutmose I who married his daughter, Ahmose.
4.
New Kingdom
–
Radiocarbon dating places the exact beginning of the New Kingdom between 1570–1544 BC. The New Kingdom followed the Second Intermediate Period and was succeeded by the Third Intermediate Period and it was Egypt’s most prosperous time and marked the peak of its power. The later part of period, under the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties is also known as the Ramesside period. It is named after the pharaohs that took the name of Ramesses I. Egyptian armies fought Hittite armies for control of modern-day Syria, the Eighteenth Dynasty contained some of Egypts most famous Pharaohs, including Ahmose I, Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Amenhotep III, Akhenaten and Tutankhamun. Queen Hatshepsut concentrated on expanding Egypts external trade by sending an expedition to the land of Punt. Thutmose III expanded Egypts army and wielded it with success to consolidate the empire created by his predecessors. This resulted in a peak in Egypts power and wealth during the reign of Amenhotep III, during the reign of Thutmose III, Pharaoh, originally referring to the kings palace, became a form of address for the person who was king. Akhenatens religious fervor is cited as the reason why he was written out of Egyptian history. Under his reign, in the 14th century BC, Egyptian art flourished and attained a level of realism. Towards the end of the 18th Dynasty, the situation had changed radically, Ramesses II sought to recover territories in the Levant that had been held by the 18th Dynasty. His campaigns of reconquest culminated in the Battle of Kadesh, where he led Egyptian armies against those of the Hittite king Muwatalli II. Ramesses was caught in historys first recorded military ambush, although he was able to rally his troops, the outcome of the battle was undecided with both sides claiming victory at their home front, ultimately resulting in a peace treaty between the two nations. The last great pharaoh from the New Kingdom is widely considered to be Ramesses III, in the eighth year of his reign the Sea Peoples invaded Egypt by land and sea. Ramesses III defeated them in two great land and sea battles and he incorporated them as subject peoples and settled them in Southern Canaan although there is evidence that they forced their way into Canaan. Their presence in Canaan may have contributed to the formation of new states, such as Philistia and he was also compelled to fight invading Libyan tribesmen in two major campaigns in Egypts Western Delta in his sixth year and eleventh year respectively. The heavy cost of this warfare slowly drained Egypts treasury and contributed to the decline of the Egyptian Empire in Asia. Something in the air prevented much sunlight from reaching the ground, one proposed cause is the Hekla 3 eruption of the Hekla volcano in Iceland but the dating of this remains disputed
New Kingdom
–
New Kingdom at its maximum territorial extent in the 15th century BC.
New Kingdom
–
Relief of a Nobleman, ca. 1295-1070 B.C.E.
Brooklyn Museum
New Kingdom
–
Queen Ahmose-Nefertari
5.
Art of Ancient Egypt
–
Ancient Egyptian art is the painting, sculpture, architecture and other arts produced by the civilization of ancient Egypt in the lower Nile Valley from about 3000 BC to 30 AD. Ancient Egyptian art reached a level in painting and sculpture. It was famously conservative, and Egyptian styles changed remarkably little over more than three thousand years, much of the surviving art comes from tombs and monuments and thus there is an emphasis on life after death and the preservation of knowledge of the past. Ancient Egyptian art included paintings, sculpture in wood, stone and ceramics, drawings on papyrus, faience, jewelry, ivories and it displays an extraordinarily vivid representation of the ancient Egyptians socioeconomic status and belief systems. This appears as early as the Narmer Palette from Dynasty I, other conventions make statues of males darker than females ones. Egyptian art uses hierarchical proportion, where the size of figures indicates their relative importance, symbolism can be observed throughout Egyptian art and played an important role in establishing a sense of order. The pharaohs regalia, for example, represented his power to maintain order, animals were also highly symbolic figures in Egyptian art. Not all Egyptian reliefs were painted, and less prestigious works in tombs, Stone surfaces were prepared by whitewash, or if rough, a layer of coarse mud plaster, with a smoother gesso layer above, some finer limestones could take paint directly. Pigments were mostly mineral, chosen to withstand sunlight without fading. The binding medium used in painting remains unclear, egg tempera and various gums and it is clear that true fresco, painted into a thin layer of wet plaster, was not used. Instead the paint was applied to dried plaster, in what is called fresco a secco in Italian, small objects including wooden statuettes were often painted using similar techniques. Many ancient Egyptian paintings have survived in tombs, and sometimes temples, the paintings were often made with the intent of making a pleasant afterlife for the deceased. The themes included journey through the afterworld or protective deities introducing the deceased to the gods of the underworld, some tomb paintings show activities that the deceased were involved in when they were alive and wished to carry on doing for eternity. In the New Kingdom and later, the Book of the Dead was buried with the entombed person and it was considered important for an introduction to the afterlife. Egyptian paintings are painted in such a way to show a profile view, for example, the painting to the right shows the head from a profile view and the body from a frontal view. Their main colors were red, blue, green, gold, black, the monumental sculpture of ancient Egypts temples and tombs is world-famous, but refined and delicate small works exist in much greater numbers. The Egyptians used the technique of sunk relief, which is well suited to very bright sunlight. The distinctive pose of standing statues facing forward with one foot in front of the other was helpful for the balance and it was adopted very early and remained unchanged until the arrival of the Greeks
Art of Ancient Egypt
–
Thutmose,
Bust of Nefertiti, 1345 BC,
Egyptian Museum of Berlin
Art of Ancient Egypt
–
Sunk relief of the crocodile god
Sobek
Art of Ancient Egypt
–
Tomb of Sarenput II.
Art of Ancient Egypt
–
Wall painting of
Nefertari
6.
Relief
–
Relief, formerly known as Panorama, is a public affairs newsmagazine series in Canada, airing nightly in Ontario on TFO, the Franco-Ontarian public television network. The series is hosted by Gisèle Quenneville, reporters associated with the series include Melanie Routhier-Boudreau, Isabelle Brunet, Marie Duchesneau, Luce Gauthier, Frédéric Projean and Chantal Racine. Longtime host Pierre Granger retired from the series in 2009, the series was renamed RelieF in fall 2010. The show airs seven nights a week at 7 p. m, from Monday to Thursday, it airs news and public affairs. On Fridays, the program airs documentary programming, on Saturdays, it airs a week in review edition, and on Sundays it airs an arts and culture magazine
Relief
7.
Nefertiti Bust
–
The Nefertiti Bust is a painted stucco-coated limestone bust of Nefertiti, the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. The work is believed to have crafted in 1345 B. C. by the sculptor Thutmose, because it was found in his workshop in Amarna. It is one of the most copied works of ancient Egypt, owing to the work, Nefertiti has become one of the most famous women of the ancient world, and an icon of feminine beauty. A German archaeological team led by Ludwig Borchardt discovered the bust in 1912 in Thutmoses workshop and it is currently on display at the Neues Museum in Berlin, where it was originally displayed before World War II. The Nefertiti bust has become a symbol of Berlin as well as ancient Egypt. Nefertiti herself has become quite an icon, Nefertiti is widely known for her beauty and versatility. It has also been the subject of an argument between Egypt and Germany over Egyptian demands for its repatriation. It was dragged into controversy by the Body of Nefertiti art exhibition, however various testing and analysis of the bust have proved it to be authentic. Nefertiti was the 14th-century BC Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, Akhenaten initiated a new monotheistic form of worship called Atenism dedicated to the Sun disc Aten. Theories suggest she could have been an Egyptian royal by birth, a princess or the daughter of a high government official named Ay. She may have been the co-regent of Egypt with Akhenaten, who ruled from 1352 BC to 1336 BC, Nefertiti bore six daughters to Akhenaten, one of whom, Ankhesenpaaten, married Tutankhamun, Nefertitis stepson. Nefertiti was thought to have disappeared from history in the year of Akhenatens reign. She may also have become a pharaoh in her own right. However, it is now known that she was alive in the sixteenth year of her husbands reign from a limestone quarry inscription found at Dayr Abū Ḥinnis. Dayr Abū Ḥinnis is located on the side of the Nile. The bust of Nefertiti is believed to have been crafted about 1345 BC by the sculptor Thutmose, the bust does not have any inscriptions, but can be certainly identified as Nefertiti by the characteristic crown, which she wears in other surviving depictions, for example the house altar. The Nefertiti bust was found on 6 December 1912 at Amarna by the German Oriental Company and it was found in what had been the sculptor Thutmoses workshop, along with other unfinished busts of Nefertiti. Borchardts diary provides the main account of the find, he remarks
Nefertiti Bust
–
The iconic bust of
Nefertiti is part of the
Egyptian Museum of Berlin collection, currently on display in the
Neues Museum.
Nefertiti Bust
–
A "house altar" (c. 1350 BC) depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti and three of their daughters. Note Nefertiti wears a crown similar to that depicted on the bust.
Nefertiti Bust
–
Nefertiti bust
Nefertiti Bust
–
Right profile and front
8.
Berlin
–
Berlin is the capital and the largest city of Germany as well as one of its constituent 16 states. With a population of approximately 3.5 million, Berlin is the second most populous city proper, due to its location in the European Plain, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one-third of the area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers. Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world, following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of all-Germany. Berlin is a city of culture, politics, media. Its economy is based on high-tech firms and the sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, research facilities, media corporations. Berlin serves as a hub for air and rail traffic and has a highly complex public transportation network. The metropolis is a popular tourist destination, significant industries also include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, clean tech, biotechnology, construction and electronics. Modern Berlin is home to world renowned universities, orchestras, museums and its urban setting has made it a sought-after location for international film productions. The city is known for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts. Since 2000 Berlin has seen the emergence of a cosmopolitan entrepreneurial scene, the name Berlin has its roots in the language of West Slavic inhabitants of the area of todays Berlin, and may be related to the Old Polabian stem berl-/birl-. All German place names ending on -ow, -itz and -in, since the Ber- at the beginning sounds like the German word Bär, a bear appears in the coat of arms of the city. It is therefore a canting arm, the first written records of towns in the area of present-day Berlin date from the late 12th century. Spandau is first mentioned in 1197 and Köpenick in 1209, although these areas did not join Berlin until 1920, the central part of Berlin can be traced back to two towns. Cölln on the Fischerinsel is first mentioned in a 1237 document,1237 is considered the founding date of the city. The two towns over time formed close economic and social ties, and profited from the right on the two important trade routes Via Imperii and from Bruges to Novgorod. In 1307, they formed an alliance with a common external policy, in 1415 Frederick I became the elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which he ruled until 1440. In 1443 Frederick II Irontooth started the construction of a new palace in the twin city Berlin-Cölln
Berlin
Berlin
Berlin
Berlin
9.
Monotheism
–
Monotheism has been defined as the belief in the existence of only one god that created the world, is all-powerful and interferes in the world. Another, more broad definition of monotheism, is the belief in one god, a distinction may be made between exclusive monotheism, and both inclusive monotheism and pluriform monotheism which, while recognising various distinct gods, postulate some underlying unity. There are also monotheistic parody religions, such as Pastafarianism, the word monotheism comes from the Greek μόνος meaning single and θεός meaning god. The English term was first used by Henry More, according to Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition, monotheism was the original religion of humanity. Scholars of religion largely abandoned that view in the 19th century in favour of a progression from animism via polytheism to monotheism. Austrian anthropologist Wilhelm Schmidt had postulated an Urmonotheismus, original or primitive monotheism in the 1910s and it was objected that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam had grown up in opposition to polytheism as had Greek philosophical monotheism. Some writers believe that the concept of monotheism sees a gradual development out of notions of henotheism and monolatrism, quasi-monotheistic claims of the existence of a universal deity date to the Late Bronze Age, with Akhenatens Great Hymn to the Aten. A possible inclination towards monotheism emerged during the Vedic period in Iron-Age South Asia, the Rigveda exhibits notions of monism of the Brahman, in particular, in the comparatively late tenth book, dated to the early Iron Age, e. g. in the Nasadiya sukta. While all adherents of the Abrahamic religions consider themselves to be monotheists, Judaism does not consider Christianity to be monotheistic, Judaism is one of the oldest monotheistic religions in the world. God in Judaism is strictly monotheistic, a one, indivisible. The Babylonian Talmud references other, foreign gods as non-existent entities to whom humans mistakenly ascribe reality, One of the best-known statements of Rabbinical Judaism on monotheism is the Second of Maimonides 13 Principles of faith, God, the Cause of all, is one. This does not mean one as in one of a pair, nor one like a species, nor one as in an object that is made up of many elements, rather, God is a unity unlike any other possible unity. Judaism and Islam reject the Christian idea of monotheism, Judaism uses the term shituf to refer to the worship of God in a manner which Judaism does not deem to be monotheistic. During the 8th century BCE, the worship of YHWH in Israel was in competition with other cults. Some scholars hypothesize that Judaism was originally a form of monolatrism or henotheism, in this hypothesis both the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah had YHWH as their state god, while also acknowledging the existence of other gods. Shema Yisrael are the first two words of a section of the Torah, and is the title of a prayer that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services. Observant Jews consider the Shema to be the most important part of the service in Judaism. It is traditional for Jews to say the Shema as their last words, despite at least one earlier local synod rejecting the claim of Arius, this Christological issue was to be one of the items addressed at the First Council of Nicaea
Monotheism
–
Bahá'í House of Worship,
Langenhain, Germany
Monotheism
Monotheism
–
Krishna displays his
Vishvarupa (universal form) to
Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
Monotheism
–
A Sikh temple, known as Nanaksar
Gurudwara, in
Alberta, Canada.
10.
Aten
–
Aten is the disk of the sun in ancient Egyptian mythology, and originally an aspect of the god Ra. The deified Aten is the focus of the religion of Atenism established by Amenhotep IV, in his poem Great Hymn to the Aten, Akhenaten praises Aten as the creator, giver of life, and nurturing spirit of the world. Aten does not have a Creation Myth or family, but is mentioned in the Book of the Dead, the worship of Aten was eradicated by Horemheb. By analogy, the term silver aten was sometimes used to refer to the moon, the solar Aten was extensively worshipped as a god in the reign of Amenhotep III, when it was depicted as a falcon-headed man much like Ra. The full title of Akhenatens god was Ra-Horakhty who rejoices in the horizon, the god is also considered to be both masculine and feminine simultaneously. All creation was thought to emanate from the god and to exist within the god, in particular, the god was not depicted in anthropomorphic form, but as rays of light extending from the suns disk. Furthermore, the name came to be written within a cartouche, along with the titles normally given to a Pharaoh. Ra-Horus, more usually referred to as Ra-Horakhty, is a synthesis of two gods, both of which are attested from very early on. During the Amarna period, this synthesis was seen as the source of energy of the sun god, of which the visible manifestation was the Aten. Thus Ra-Horus-Aten was a development of old ideas which came gradually, the real change, as some see it, was the apparent abandonment of all other gods, especially Amun-Ra, prohibition of idolatry, and the debatable introduction of quasi-monotheism by Akhenaten. The syncretism is readily apparent in the Great Hymn to the Aten in which Re-Herakhty, Shu, others see Akhenaten as a practitioner of an Aten monolatry, as he did not actively deny the existence of other gods, he simply refrained from worshipping any but the Aten. Other scholars call the religion henotheistic, principles of Atens religion were recorded on the rock tomb walls of Akhetaten. In the religion of Aten, night is a time to fear, work is done best when the sun, Aten, is present. Aten cares for every creature, and created a Nile river in the sky for the Syrians, Aten created all countries and people. The rays of the sun disk only holds out life to the family, everyone else receives life from Akhenaten. When a good person dies, he/she continues to live in the City of Light for the dead in Akhetaten, the conditions are the same after death. Akhenaten judged whether someone should be granted an afterlife, and operated the scale of justice, the explanation as to why Aten could not be fully represented was that the god has gone beyond creation. The cult centre of Aten was at the new city Akhetaten, some other cities include Thebes
Aten
–
Pharaoh
Akhenaten and his family adoring the Aten, second from the left is
Meritaten who was the daughter of Akhenaten.
Aten
–
Small Temple of the Aten at Akhetaten
Aten
–
Pharaohs
11.
Amarna
–
The name for the city employed by the ancient Egyptians is written as Akhetaten in English transliteration. Akhetaten means Horizon of the Aten, the city of Deir Mawas lies directly west across from the site of Amarna. Amarna, on the east side, includes several villages, chief of which are el-Till in the north. The area was occupied during later Roman and early Christian times. The name Amarna comes from the Beni Amran tribe that lived in the region, the ancient Egyptian name was Akhetaten. It may be that the Royal Wadis resemblance to the hieroglyph for horizon showed that this was the place to found the city, the city was built as the new capital of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, dedicated to his new religion of worship to the Aten. Construction started in or around Year 5 of his reign and was completed by Year 9. To speed up construction of the city most of the buildings were constructed out of mud-brick, the most important buildings were faced with local stone. Once it was abandoned it remained uninhabited until Roman settlement began along the edge of the Nile, however, due to the unique circumstances of its creation and abandonment, it is questionable how representative of ancient Egyptian cities it actually is. The entire city was encircled with a total of 14 boundary stelae detailing Akhenatens conditions for the establishment of new capital city of Egypt. The earliest dated stele from Akhenatens new city is known to be Boundary stele K which is dated to Year 5, IV Peret and it preserves an account of Akhenatens foundation of this city. Located on the east bank of the Nile, the ruins of the city are laid out north to south along a Royal Road. The Royal residences are generally to the north, in what is known as the North City, with an administration and religious area. If one approached the city of Amarna from the north by river the first buildings past the boundary stele would be the North Riverside Palace. This building ran all the way up to the waterfront and was likely the residence of the Royal Family. Located within the North City area is the Northern Palace, the residence of the Royal Family. Between this and the city, the Northern Suburb was initially a prosperous area with large houses. Most of the important ceremonial and administrative buildings were located in the central city, located behind the Royal Residence was the Bureau of Correspondence of Pharaoh, where the Amarna Letters were found
Amarna
–
Small Temple of the
Aten at Akhetaten
Amarna
–
Royal Wadi
Amarna
–
Akhenaten seal ring in blue faience.
Walters Art Museum
Amarna
–
Statues to the left of Boundary stela U in el-Amarna
12.
Karnak
–
The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak, comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings. Building at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I in the Middle Kingdom and continued into the Ptolemaic period, the area around Karnak was the ancient Egyptian Ipet-isut and the main place of worship of the eighteenth dynasty Theban Triad with the god Amun as its head. It is part of the city of Thebes. The Karnak complex gives its name to the nearby, and partly surrounded, the complex is a vast open-air museum, and the second largest ancient religious site in the world, after the Angkor Wat Temple of Cambodia. It is believed to be the second most visited site in Egypt. It consists of four parts, of which only the largest is currently open to the general public. The term Karnak often is understood as being the Precinct of Amun-Ra only, the three other parts, the Precinct of Mut, the Precinct of Montu, and the dismantled Temple of Amenhotep IV, are closed to the public. There also are a few temples and sanctuaries connecting the Precinct of Mut, the Precinct of Amun-Re. The Precinct of Mut is very ancient, being dedicated to an Earth and creation deity, the original temple was destroyed and partially restored by Hatshepsut, although another pharaoh built around it in order to change the focus or orientation of the sacred area. Many portions of it may have carried away for use in other buildings. The key difference between Karnak and most of the temples and sites in Egypt is the length of time over which it was developed and used. Construction of temples started in the Middle Kingdom and continued through to Ptolemaic times, approximately thirty pharaohs contributed to the buildings, enabling it to reach a size, complexity, and diversity not seen elsewhere. Few of the features of Karnak are unique, but the size. The deities represented range from some of the earliest worshiped to those worshiped much later in the history of the Ancient Egyptian culture and it also contains evidence of adaptations, using buildings of the Ancient Egyptians by later cultures for their own religious purposes. One famous aspect of Karnak is the Hypostyle Hall in the Precinct of Amun-Re,122 of these columns are 10 meters tall, and the other 12 are 21 meters tall with a diameter of over three meters. The architraves on top of columns are estimated to weigh 70 tons. These architraves may have been lifted to these heights using levers and this would be an extremely time-consuming process and also would require great balance to get to such great heights. A common alternative theory regarding how they were moved is that large ramps were constructed of sand, mud, brick or stone, if stone had been used for the ramps, they would have been able to use much less material
Karnak
–
Pillars of the
Great Hypostyle Hall from the
Precinct of Amun-Re
Karnak
–
Great hall, Karnak.
Brooklyn Museum Archives, Goodyear Archival Collection
Karnak
–
Hieroglyphs from the great obelisk of Karnak, transcribed by
Ippolito Rosellini in 1828
Karnak
–
Photograph of the temple complex taken in 1914 - Cornell University Library
13.
Tutankhamun
–
Tutankhamun was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom or sometimes the New Empire Period. He has, since his discovery, been referred to as King Tut. His original name, Tutankhaten, means Living Image of Aten, in hieroglyphs, the name Tutankhamun was typically written Amen-tut-ankh, because of a scribal custom that placed a divine name at the beginning of a phrase to show appropriate reverence. The 1922 discovery by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon of Tutankhamuns nearly intact tomb received worldwide press coverage and it sparked a renewed public interest in ancient Egypt, for which Tutankhamuns mask, now in the Egyptian Museum, remains the popular symbol. Exhibits of artifacts from his tomb have toured the world, in February 2010, the results of DNA tests confirmed that he was the son of Akhenaten. His mother was Akhenatens sister and wife, whose name is unknown, the mysterious deaths of a few of those who excavated Tutankhamuns tomb has been popularly attributed to the curse of the pharaohs. Tutankhamun was the son of Akhenaten and one of Akhenatens sisters, as a prince, he was known as Tutankhaten. He ascended to the throne in 1333 BC, at the age of nine or ten and his wet nurse was a woman called Maia, known from her tomb at Saqqara. His teacher was most likely Sennedjem, when he became king, he married his half-sister, Ankhesenpaaten, who later changed her name to Ankhesenamun. They had two daughters, both stillborn, computed tomography studies released in 2011 revealed that one daughter died at 5–6 months of pregnancy and the other at 9 months of pregnancy. No evidence was found in either mummy of congenital anomalies or an apparent cause of death, given his age, the king probably had very powerful advisers, presumably including General Horemheb and Grand Vizier Ay. Horemheb records that the king appointed him lord of the land as hereditary prince to maintain law and he also noted his ability to calm the young king when his temper flared. In his third year, under the influence of his advisors. He ended the worship of the god Aten and restored the god Amun to supremacy, the ban on the cult of Amun was lifted and traditional privileges were restored to its priesthood. The capital was moved back to Thebes and the city of Akhetaten abandoned and this is when he changed his name to Tutankhamun, Living image of Amun, reinforcing the restoration of Amun. As part of his restoration, the king initiated building projects, in particular at Karnak in Thebes, many monuments were erected, and an inscription on his tomb door declares the king had spent his life in fashioning the images of the gods. The traditional festivals were now celebrated again, including those related to the Apis Bull, Horemakhet and his restoration stela says, The temples of the gods and goddesses. Their shrines were deserted and overgrown and their sanctuaries were as non-existent and their courts were used as roads
Tutankhamun
–
Mask of
Tutankhamun's mummy, the popular icon for ancient Egypt at
The Egyptian Museum.
Tutankhamun
–
Stripped of all its jewels, the mummy of Tutankhamun remains in the
Valley of the Kings in his
KV62 chamber
Tutankhamun
–
Bust of Tutankhamun found in his tomb, 1922
Tutankhamun
–
Wooden bust of the boy king, found in his tomb
14.
Osiris
–
Osiris was an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld, and the dead, but more appropriately as the god of transition, resurrection, and regeneration. He was also associated with the epithet Khenti-Amentiu, meaning Foremost of the Westerners, as ruler of the dead, Osiris was also sometimes called king of the living, ancient Egyptians considered the blessed dead the living ones. Osiris was considered the brother of Isis, Set, Nephthys, and Horus the Elder and he was described as the Lord of love, He Who is Permanently Benign and Youthful and the Lord of Silence. The Kings of Egypt were associated with Osiris in death – as Osiris rose from the dead they would, in union with him, inherit eternal life through a process of imitative magic. By the New Kingdom all people, not just pharaohs, were believed to be associated with Osiris at death, Osiris was widely worshipped as Lord of the Dead until the suppression of the Egyptian religion during the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Osiris is a Latin transliteration of the Ancient Greek Ὄσιρις IPA, in Egyptian hieroglyphs the name is appears as wsjr or jsjrt. Since hieroglyphic writing lacks vowels, Egyptologists have vocalized the name in various ways as Asar, Yasar, Aser, Asaru, Ausar, Ausir, Wesir, Usir, several proposals have been made for the etymology and meaning of the original name wsjr. John Gwyn Griffiths proposed a derivation from wsr signifying the powerful, moreover, one of the oldest attestations of the god Osiris appears in the mastaba of the deceased Netjer-wser. David Lorton proposed that Wsjr is composed by the morphemes set-jret signifying ritual activity, wolfhart Westendorf proposed an etymology from Waset-jret she who bears the eye. He also carries the crook and flail, the crook is thought to represent Osiris as a shepherd god. The symbolism of the flail is more uncertain with shepherds whip, fly-whisk and he was commonly depicted as a pharaoh with a complexion of either green or black in mummiform. The Pyramid Texts describe early conceptions of an afterlife in terms of travelling with the sun god amongst the stars. Amongst these mortuary texts, at the beginning of the 4th dynasty, is found, An offering the king gives, by the end of the 5th dynasty, the formula in all tombs becomes An offering the king gives and Osiris. Osiris is the father of the god Horus, whose conception is described in the Osiris myth. The myth described Osiris as having been killed by his brother Set, Isis joined the fragmented pieces of Osiris, but the only body part missing was the phallus. Isis fashioned a golden phallus, and briefly brought Osiris back to life by use of a spell that she learned from her father and this spell gave her time to become pregnant by Osiris before he again died. Isis later gave birth to Horus, as such, since Horus was born after Osiris resurrection, Horus became thought of as a representation of new beginnings and the vanquisher of the evil Set. Ptah-Seker thus gradually became identified with Osiris, the two becoming Ptah-Seker-Osiris, Osiris soul, or rather his Ba, was occasionally worshipped in its own right, almost as if it were a distinct god, especially in the Delta city of Mendes
Osiris
–
Head of the God Osiris, ca. 595-525 B.C.E.
Brooklyn Museum
Osiris
–
Osiris with an Atef-crown made of bronze in the
Naturhistorisches Museum (Vienna)
Osiris
–
The gods Osiris,
Anubis, and
Horus, from a tomb painting.
Osiris
–
The family of Osiris. Osiris on a
lapis lazuli pillar in the middle, flanked by
Horus on the left and
Isis on the right (22nd dynasty,
Louvre,
Paris)
15.
Great Hymn to the Aten
–
The Great Hymn to the Aten is the longest form of one of a number of hymn-poems written to the creator god Aten. It is attributed to King Akhenaten, who radically changed traditional forms of Egyptian religion replacing them with Atenism, egyptologist Toby Wilkinson said that It has been called one of the most significant and splendid pieces of poetry to survive from the pre-Homeric world. Egyptologist John Darnell asserts that the hymn was sung, various courtiers rock tombs at Amarna have similar prayers or hymns to the deity Aten or to the Aten and Akhenaten jointly. One of these, found in almost identical form in five tombs, is known as The Short Hymn to the Aten, the long version discussed in this article was found in the tomb of the courtier Ay. The 18th dynasty Pharaoh Akhenaten forbade the worship of other gods, finally, Akhenaten issued a royal decree that the name Aten was no longer to be depicted by the hieroglyph of a solar disc emanating rays but instead had to be spelled out phonetically. Akhenatons religious reforms have been described by scholars as quasi-monotheistic. From the middle of the text, How manifold it is and they are hidden from the face. O sole god, like there is no other. Thou didst create the world according to thy desire, Whilst thou wert alone, All men, cattle, and wild beasts, Whatever is on earth, going upon feet, And what is on high, flying with its wings. The countries of Syria and Nubia, the land of Egypt, Thou settest every man in his place, Thou suppliest their necessities, Everyone has his food, and his time of life is reckoned. Their tongues are separate in speech, And their natures as well, Their skins are distinguished, earth come from your hand as you made them. When you have dawned they live, when you set they die, You yourself are lifetime, one lives by you. All eyes are on beauty until you set, All labor ceases when you rest in the west, When you rise you stir for the King, Every leg is on the move since you founded the earth. You rouse them for your son who came from your body, analyses of the poem are divided between those considering it as a work of literature, and those considering its political and socio-religious intentions. James Henry Breasted considered Akhenaten to be the first monotheist and scientist in history, how much Akhenaten understood, we cannot say, but he certainly bounded forward in his views and symbolism to a position which we cannot logically improve upon at the present day. Not a rag of superstition or of falsity can be found clinging to this new worship evolved out of the old Aton of Heliopolis, miriam Lichtheim describes the hymn as a beautiful statement of the doctrine of the One God. In 1913 Henry Hall contended that the pharaoh was the first example of the scientific mind, in his book Reflections on the Psalms, C. S. Lewis compared the Hymn to the Psalms of the Judaeo-Christian canon, as did Breasted. A specific literary interdependence is not probable, egyptologist Dominic Montserrat discusses the terminology used to describe these texts, describing them as formal poems or royal eulogies
Great Hymn to the Aten
–
Pharaoh
Akhenaten and his family adoring the Aten.
Great Hymn to the Aten
–
Drawing of the inscription of the hymn text (1908 publication).
16.
Faience
–
Faience or faïence is the conventional name in English for fine tin-glazed pottery on a delicate pale buff earthenware body. It is originally associated by French speakers with wares exported from Faenza in northern Italy. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, the invention seems to have been made in Iran or the Middle East before the ninth century. A kiln capable of producing temperatures exceeding 1,000 °C was required to achieve this result, the result of millennia of refined pottery-making traditions. The term is now used for a variety of pottery from several parts of the world, including many types of European painted wares. Technically, lead-glazed earthenware, such as the French sixteenth-century Saint-Porchaire ware, does not properly qualify as faience, semi-vitreous stoneware may be glazed like faience. However, this material is not pottery at all, containing no clay, the Metropolitan Museum of Art displays a faience hippopotamus from Meir, Egypt, dated to Dynasty 12, ca. Examples of ancient faience are also found in Minoan Crete, which was influenced by Egyptian culture. Faience material, for instance, has recovered from the Knossos archaeological site. The Moors brought the technique of tin-glazed earthenware to Al-Andalus, where the art of lustreware with metallic glazes was perfected, from Málaga in Andalusia and later Valencia these Hispano-Moresque wares were exported, either directly or via the Balearic Islands to Italy and the rest of Europe. This type of Spanish pottery owed much to its Moorish inheritance, in Italy, locally produced tin-glazed earthenwares, initiated in the fourteenth century, reached a peak in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. The first northerners to imitate the tin-glazed earthenwares being imported from Italy were the Dutch, English Delftware produced in Lambeth, London, and at other centers, from the late sixteenth century, provided apothecaries with jars for wet and dry drugs. Many of the potters in London were Flemish. By about 1600, blue-and-white wares were being produced, labelling the contents within decorative borders, the production was slowly superseded in the second half of the eighteenth century with the introduction of cheap creamware. Dutch potters in northern Germany established German centres of faience, the first manufactories in Germany were opened at Hanau and Heusenstamm, in Switzerland, Zunfthaus zur Meisen near Fraumünster church houses the porcelain and faience collection of the Swiss National Museum in Zurich. Faïence parlante bears mottoes often on decorative labels or banners, wares for apothecaries, including albarello, can bear the names of their intended contents, generally in Latin and often so abbreviated to be unrecognizable to the untutored eye. Mottoes of fellowships and associations became popular in the 18th century, at the low end of the market, local manufactories continued to supply regional markets with coarse and simple wares. These so-called majolica wares were also made by Wedgwood and numerous smaller Staffordshire potteries round Burslem
Faience
–
Maiolica in traditional pattern made in
Faenza
Faience
–
Egyptian pendant of lions or Apis Bull. The Walters Art Museum.
Faience
–
Rococo tureen, Marseille, ca 1770
Faience
–
Luneville Faience
17.
Brooklyn Museum
–
The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At 560,000 square feet, the museum is New York Citys third largest in physical size, the museum initially struggled to maintain its building and collection, only to be revitalized in the late 20th century, thanks to major renovations. Significant areas of the collection include antiquities, specifically their collection of Egyptian antiquities spanning over 3,000 years, African, Oceanic, and Japanese art make for notable antiquities collections as well. American art is represented, starting at the Colonial period. Artists represented in the collection include Mark Rothko, Edward Hopper, Norman Rockwell, Winslow Homer, Edgar Degas, Georgia OKeeffe, the museum also has a Memorial Sculpture Garden which features salvaged architectural elements from throughout New York City. The roots of the Brooklyn Museum extend back to the 1823 founding by Augustus Graham of the Brooklyn Apprentices’ Library in Brooklyn Heights, in 1890, under its director Franklin Hooper, Institute leaders reorganized as the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences and began planning the Brooklyn Museum. The initial design for the Brooklyn Museum was four times as large as the actualized version, Daniel Chester French, the noted sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial, was the principal designer of the pediment sculptures and the monolithic 12. 5-foot figures along the cornice. The figures were created by 11 sculptors and carved by the Piccirilli Brothers, by 1920, the New York City Subway reached the museum with a subway station, this greatly improved access to the once-isolated museum from Manhattan and other outer boroughs. The Brooklyn Institutes director Franklin Hooper was the museums first director and he was followed by Philip Newell Youtz, Laurance Page Roberts, Isabel Spaulding Roberts, Charles Nagel, Jr. and Edgar Craig Schenck. Thomas S. Buechner became the director in 1960, making him one of the youngest directors in the country. Buechner oversaw a major transformation in the way the museum displayed art and brought some one thousand works that had languished in the museums archives and put them on display. Buechner played a role in rescuing the Daniel Chester French sculptures from destruction due to an expansion project at the Manhattan Bridge in the 1960s. The Brooklyn Museum changed its name to Brooklyn Museum of Art in 1997, on March 12,2004, the museum announced that it would revert to its previous name. In April 2004, the museum opened the James Polshek-designed entrance pavilion on the Eastern Parkway façade, in September 2014, Lehman announced that he was planning to retire around June 2015. In May 2015, Creative Time president and artistic director Anne Pasternak was named the Museums next director, member institutions occupy land or buildings owned by the City of New York and derive part of their yearly funding from the City. The Brooklyn Museum also supplements its earned income with funding from Federal and State governments, as well as donations by individuals. Major benefactors include Frank Lusk Babbott, the museum is the site of the annual Brooklyn Artists Ball which has included celebrity hosts such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Liv Tyler. The Brooklyn Museum exhibits collections that seek to embody the rich heritage of world cultures
Brooklyn Museum
–
Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Museum
–
Replica of the
Statue of Liberty in back lot.
Brooklyn Museum
–
Book of the Dead of the Goldworker of Amun, Sobekmose, 31.1777e
Brooklyn Museum
–
Brooklyn Papyrus 664-332 BCE
18.
Nefertiti
–
Neferneferuaten Nefertiti was an Egyptian queen and the Great Royal Wife of Akhenaten, an Egyptian Pharaoh. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a revolution, in which they worshiped one god only, Aten. Together Akhenaten and Nefertiti were responsible for the creation of a new monotheistic religion which changed the ways of religion within Egypt. With her husband, she reigned at what was arguably the wealthiest period of Ancient Egyptian history, some scholars believe that Nefertiti ruled briefly as Neferneferuaten after her husbands death and before the accession of Tutankhamun, although this identification is a matter of ongoing debate. She was made famous by her bust, now in Berlins Neues Museum, the bust is one of the most copied works of ancient Egypt. It was attributed to the sculptor Thutmose, and it was found in his workshop, the bust is notable for exemplifying the understanding Ancient Egyptians had regarding realistic facial proportions. Nefertiti, Egyptian Nfr. t-jy. tj, original pronunciation approximately Nafteta, Nefertitis parentage is not known with certainty, but one often cited theory is that she was the daughter of Ay, later to be pharaoh. Nefertitis Scenes in the tombs of the nobles in Amarna mention the queens sister who is named Mutbenret, another theory that gained some support identified Nefertiti with the Mitanni princess Tadukhipa. The exact dates when Nefertiti married Akhenaten and became the great royal wife of Egypt are uncertain. Their six known daughters were, Meritaten, No later than year 1, ankhesenpaaten, also known as Ankhesenamen, later queen of Tutankhamun Neferneferuaten Tasherit, Year 8, possibly later became Pharaoh Neferneferuaten. Nefertiti first appears in scenes in Thebes, in the damaged tomb of the royal butler Parennefer, the new king Amenhotep IV is accompanied by a royal woman, and this lady is thought to be an early depiction of Nefertiti. The king and queen are shown worshiping the Aten, in the tomb of the vizier Ramose, Nefertiti is shown standing behind Amenhotep IV in the Window of Appearance during the reward ceremony for the vizier. During the early years in Thebes, Akhenaten had several temples erected at Karnak, one of the structures, the Mansion of the Benben, was dedicated to Nefertiti. She is depicted with her daughter Meritaten and in some scenes the princess Meketaten participates as well, in scenes found on the talatat, Nefertiti appears almost twice as often as her husband. She is shown smiting the enemy, and captive enemies decorate her throne, in the fourth year of his reign, Amenhotep IV decided to move the capital to Akhetaten. In his fifth year, Amenhotep IV officially changed his name to Akhenaten, the name change was a sign of the ever-increasing importance of the cult of the Aten. It changed Egypts religion from a religion to a religion which may have been better described as a monolatry or henotheism. The boundary stelae of years 4 and 5 mark the boundaries of the new city, the new city contained several large open-air temples dedicated to the Aten
Nefertiti
–
The
bust of Nefertiti from the
Ägyptisches Museum Berlin collection, presently in the
Neues Museum.
Nefertiti
–
A "house altar" depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti and three of their daughters; limestone; New Kingdom,
Amarna period, 18th dynasty; c. 1350 BC - Collection: Ägyptisches Museum Berlin, Inv. 14145
Nefertiti
–
A standing/striding figure of Nefertiti made of limestone. Originally from Amarna, part of the
Ägyptisches Museum Berlin collection.
Nefertiti
–
Nefertiti worshipping the Aten. She is given the title of Mistress of the Two Lands. On display at the
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
19.
Tutankhamun Exhibition
–
The artifacts had sparked a furor of interest in ancient Egypt with their discovery in 1922, but most of them remained in the Cairo Museum until the 1960s, when they began to be exhibited abroad. Because of these exhibitions, relics from the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun are among the most travelled artifacts in the world, probably the best-known exhibition tour was The Treasures of Tutankhamun tour, which ran from 1972 to 1981. Standing exhibitions include the Tutankhamun Exhibition in Dorchester, England, that contains exact replicas of many of the artifacts, all of the artifacts exhumed from the Tutankhamun tomb are, by international convention, considered property of the Egyptian government. Consequently, these pieces are kept at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The first travelling exhibition of a number of Tutankhamun artifacts took place from 1961 to 1966. The exhibition, titled Tutankhamun Treasures, initially featured 34 smaller pieces made of gold, alabaster, glass, the exhibit travelled to 18 cities in the United States and six in Canada. The exhibition had a purpose in mind, to stimulate public interest in the UNESCO-sponsored salvage program for Nubian monuments threatened by the Aswan Dam project. The exhibition opened in November 1961 at the Smithsonians National Gallery of Art, in Washington, the exhibition was shown in eighteen cities in the United States, and in six cities in Canada, including Montreal, and Ottawa. The Japanese exhibition saw nearly 3 million visitors and it was first shown in London at the British Museum from March 30 until December 30,1972. More than 1.6 million visitors came to see the exhibition, some queuing for up to eight hours, the exhibition moved on to other countries, including the USSR, United States, Canada, and West Germany. Egyptian cultural officials initially stalled prospects of an American tour, as Egypt was then more closely aligned with the Soviet Union, where fifty pieces had toured in 1973. However, relations thawed later that year when the U. S. interceded on Egypts behalf to prevent the destruction of Egypts Third Army during a military conflict with Israel. U. S. S. tour including one more city than the Soviet tour had included, the showing was the largest of Tutankhamuns artifacts, with 53 pieces. The Metropolitan Museum of Art organized the U. S. exhibition, the Metropolitans exhibition was designed to recreate for visitors the drama of the 1922 discovery of the treasure-filled tomb. The Smithsonian described the exhibit as one of the initial exhibits which sparked the museum communitys interest in such exhibitions. After the six U. S. tour locations were named, as a result, museum trustees flew to Egypt to meet with the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, where they worked out a mutual agreement for a seventh stop. Profits after exhibition expenses resulted in $10+ million going to the Egyptian Museum for refurbishing, after the exhibition left London in 1972, it toured the USSR from 1973–1975. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg National Art Museum of Ukraine and he later filed a lawsuit against the city on the theory that his injury had resulted from the legendary Curse of the pharaohs
Tutankhamun Exhibition
–
The gilded bier from the base of Tutankhamun's Sarcophagus.
Tutankhamun Exhibition
–
A pectoral belonging to Tutankhamun, representing his Prenomen.
Tutankhamun Exhibition
–
One of the golden shrines, now on display in the
Egyptian Museum.
Tutankhamun Exhibition
–
The iconic burial mask of Tutankhamun was among the most popular pieces in the Treasures of Tutankhamun exhibition.
20.
Ankh
–
The ankh, also known as crux ansata is an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic ideograph with the meaning life. The Egyptian gods are often portrayed carrying it by its loop, or bearing one in each hand, the ankh appears in hand or in proximity of almost every deity in the Egyptian pantheon. The ankh symbol was so prevalent that it has found in digs as far as Mesopotamia and Persia. The symbol became popular in New Age mysticism in the 1960s, unicode has two characters encoding the symbol, U+2625 ☥ in the Miscellaneous Symbols block and U+132F9
Ankh
–
Merenptah offering an ankh,
djed, and
was to
Ptah
Ankh
–
The ankh, during the reign of
Hatshepsut (1508–1458 BC), from the
Royal Ontario Museum
Ankh
–
Crux ansata in
Codex Glazier
21.
Nefertiti bust
–
The Nefertiti Bust is a painted stucco-coated limestone bust of Nefertiti, the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. The work is believed to have crafted in 1345 B. C. by the sculptor Thutmose, because it was found in his workshop in Amarna. It is one of the most copied works of ancient Egypt, owing to the work, Nefertiti has become one of the most famous women of the ancient world, and an icon of feminine beauty. A German archaeological team led by Ludwig Borchardt discovered the bust in 1912 in Thutmoses workshop and it is currently on display at the Neues Museum in Berlin, where it was originally displayed before World War II. The Nefertiti bust has become a symbol of Berlin as well as ancient Egypt. Nefertiti herself has become quite an icon, Nefertiti is widely known for her beauty and versatility. It has also been the subject of an argument between Egypt and Germany over Egyptian demands for its repatriation. It was dragged into controversy by the Body of Nefertiti art exhibition, however various testing and analysis of the bust have proved it to be authentic. Nefertiti was the 14th-century BC Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, Akhenaten initiated a new monotheistic form of worship called Atenism dedicated to the Sun disc Aten. Theories suggest she could have been an Egyptian royal by birth, a princess or the daughter of a high government official named Ay. She may have been the co-regent of Egypt with Akhenaten, who ruled from 1352 BC to 1336 BC, Nefertiti bore six daughters to Akhenaten, one of whom, Ankhesenpaaten, married Tutankhamun, Nefertitis stepson. Nefertiti was thought to have disappeared from history in the year of Akhenatens reign. She may also have become a pharaoh in her own right. However, it is now known that she was alive in the sixteenth year of her husbands reign from a limestone quarry inscription found at Dayr Abū Ḥinnis. Dayr Abū Ḥinnis is located on the side of the Nile. The bust of Nefertiti is believed to have been crafted about 1345 BC by the sculptor Thutmose, the bust does not have any inscriptions, but can be certainly identified as Nefertiti by the characteristic crown, which she wears in other surviving depictions, for example the house altar. The Nefertiti bust was found on 6 December 1912 at Amarna by the German Oriental Company and it was found in what had been the sculptor Thutmoses workshop, along with other unfinished busts of Nefertiti. Borchardts diary provides the main account of the find, he remarks
Nefertiti bust
–
The iconic bust of
Nefertiti is part of the
Egyptian Museum of Berlin collection, currently on display in the
Neues Museum.
Nefertiti bust
–
A "house altar" (c. 1350 BC) depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti and three of their daughters. Note Nefertiti wears a crown similar to that depicted on the bust.
Nefertiti bust
–
Nefertiti bust
Nefertiti bust
–
Right profile and front
22.
Thutmose (sculptor)
–
Since it gave his occupation as sculptor and the building was clearly a sculpture workshop, it seemed a logical connection. Among many other sculptural items recovered at the time was the polychrome bust of Nefertiti, apparently a master study for others to copy. Eight of these have been identified as members of the royal family including Akhenaten, his other wife Kiya, his late father Amenhotep III. The rest represent unknown individuals, presumably residents of Amarna. One of the plaster faces depicts a woman, with wrinkles at the corner of her eyes and bags under them. This piece has been described as showing a variety of wrinkles than any other depiction of an elite woman from ancient Egypt It is thought to represent the image of a wise. Examples of his work recovered from his abandoned studio can be viewed at the Ägyptisches Museum Berlin, the Cairo Museum, in 1996 the French Egyptologist Alain Zivie discovered at Saqqara the decorated rock cut tomb of the head of the painters in the place of truth, Thutmose. The tomb dates to the time shortly after the Amarna Period, Amarna Sunset, Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian Counter-Reformation. The American University in Cairo Press, chronicle of the Queens of Egypt. The Representation of Older and Ageing Women in Ancient Egyptian Art, journal of the American Research Center in Egypt. Cyril Aldred, Akhenaten, King of Egypt, pp.59, rita E. Freed, Yvonne J. Markowitz, Sue H. DAuria, Pharaohs of the Sun, Akhenaten - Nefertiti - Tutankhamen, pp. 123–126. Sculptor Thutmose’s Complex – image comparisons, Rifkinds World
Thutmose (sculptor)
–
Thutmose's
bust of Nefertiti, on display at the
Neues Museum Berlin
Thutmose (sculptor)
–
Pharaohs
23.
Cairo
–
Cairo is the capital and largest city of Egypt. Cairo has long been a center of the political and cultural life. Cairo has the oldest and largest film and music industries in the Arab world, as well as the worlds second-oldest institution of higher learning, Al-Azhar University. Many international media, businesses, and organizations have regional headquarters in the city, with a population of 6.76 million spread over 453 square kilometers, Cairo is by far the largest city in Egypt. An additional 9.5 million inhabitants live in proximity to the city. Cairo, like many other mega-cities, suffers from high levels of pollution, Cairos metro, one of only two in Africa, ranks among the fifteen busiest in the world, with over 1 billion annual passenger rides. The economy of Cairo was ranked first in the Middle East in 2005, Egyptians often refer to Cairo as Maṣr, the Egyptian Arabic name for Egypt itself, emphasizing the citys importance for the country. In Coptic the city is known as Kahire, meaning Place of the Sun, possibly referring to the ancient city of Heliopolis, the location of the ancient city is the suburb of Ain Shams. The ancient Egyptian name for the area is thought to be Khere-Ohe, The Place of Combat, sometimes the city is informally referred to as Kayro. The area around present-day Cairo, especially Memphis, had long been a point of Ancient Egypt due to its strategic location just upstream from the Nile Delta. However, the origins of the city are generally traced back to a series of settlements in the first millennium. Around the turn of the 4th century, as Memphis was continuing to decline in importance and this fortress, known as Babylon, remained the nucleus of the Roman, and, later, the Byzantine, city and is the oldest structure in the city today. It is also situated at the nucleus of the Coptic Orthodox community, many of Cairos oldest Coptic churches, including the Hanging Church, are located along the fortress walls in a section of the city known as Coptic Cairo. Following the Muslim conquest in 640 AD the conqueror Amr ibn As settled to the north of the Babylon in an area became known as al-Fustat. Originally a tented camp Fustat became a permanent settlement and the first capital of Islamic Egypt, in 750, following the overthrow of the Ummayad caliphate by the Abbasids, the new rulers created their own settlement to the northeast of Fustat which became their capital. This was known as al-Askar as it was laid out like a military camp, a rebellion in 869 by Ahmad ibn Tulun led to the abandonment of Al Askar and the building of another settlement, which became the seat of government. This was al-Qattai, to the north of Fustat and closer to the river, Al Qattai was centred around a palace and ceremonial mosque, now known as the Mosque of ibn Tulun. In 905 the Abbasids re-asserted control of the country and their returned to Fustat
Cairo
–
Cairo القاهرة al-Qāhirah
Cairo
–
Louis Comfort Tiffany (American, 1848-1933). On the Way between Old and New Cairo, Citadel Mosque of Mohammed Ali, and Tombs of the Mamelukes, 1872. Oil on canvas.
Brooklyn Museum
Cairo
–
A rendition of
Fustat from A. S. Rappoport's History of Egypt
Cairo
–
Cairo map 1847
24.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
–
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially the Met, is located in New York City and is the largest art museum in the United States, and is among the most visited art museums in the world. Its permanent collection contains two million works, divided among seventeen curatorial departments. The main building, on the edge of Central Park along Manhattans Museum Mile, is by area one of the worlds largest art galleries. A much smaller second location, The Cloisters at Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan, contains a collection of art, architecture. On March 18,2016, the museum opened the Met Breuer museum at Madison Avenue in the Upper East Side, it extends the museums modern, the Met maintains extensive holdings of African, Asian, Oceanian, Byzantine, Indian, and Islamic art. The museum is home to collections of musical instruments, costumes and accessories, as well as antique weapons. Several notable interiors, ranging from first-century Rome through modern American design, are installed in its galleries, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870. The founders included businessmen and financiers, as well as leading artists and thinkers of the day and it opened on February 20,1872, and was originally located at 681 Fifth Avenue. The Met maintains extensive holdings of African, Asian, Oceanian, Byzantine, the museum is also home to encyclopedic collections of musical instruments, costumes and accessories, and antique weapons and armor from around the world. A number of interiors, ranging from 1st century Rome through modern American design, are permanently installed in the Mets galleries. In addition to its permanent exhibitions, the Met organizes and hosts traveling shows throughout the year. The director of the museum is Thomas P. Campbell, a long-time curator and it was announced on February 28th,2017 that Campbell will be stepping down as the Mets director and CEO, effective June. On March 1st,2017 the BBC reported that Daniel Weiss shall be the acting CEO until a replacement is found, Beginning in the late 19th century, the Met started to acquire ancient art and artifacts from the Near East. From a few tablets and seals, the Mets collection of Near Eastern art has grown to more than 7,000 pieces. The highlights of the include a set of monumental stone lamassu, or guardian figures. The Mets Department of Arms and Armor is one of the museums most popular collections. Among the collections 14,000 objects are many pieces made for and used by kings and princes, including armor belonging to Henry VIII of England, Henry II of France, Rockefeller donated his more than 3, 000-piece collection to the museum. The Mets Asian department holds a collection of Asian art, of more than 35,000 pieces, the collection dates back almost to the founding of the museum, many of the philanthropists who made the earliest gifts to the museum included Asian art in their collections
Metropolitan Museum of Art
–
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
–
The facade of the Met dominates the city's "
Museum Mile ".
Metropolitan Museum of Art
–
The Great Hall
25.
Sunk relief
–
Relief is a sculptural technique where the sculpted elements remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term relief is from the Latin verb relevo, to raise, to create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane. What is actually performed when a relief is cut in from a surface of stone or wood is a lowering of the field. The technique involves considerable chiselling away of the background, which is a time-consuming exercise. In other materials such as metal, clay, plaster stucco, ceramics or papier-mâché the form can be just added to or raised up from the background, and monumental bronze reliefs are made by casting. There are different degrees of relief depending on the degree of projection of the form from the field. There is also sunk relief, which was restricted to Ancient Egypt. However the distinction between high relief and low relief is the clearest and most important, and these two are generally the only used to discuss most work. Hyphens may or may not be used in all these terms, works in the technique are described as in relief, and, especially in monumental sculpture, the work itself is a relief. Reliefs are common throughout the world on the walls of buildings and a variety of settings. Relief is more suitable for depicting complicated subjects with figures and very active poses, such as battles. Most ancient architectural reliefs were painted, which helped to define forms in low relief. Rock reliefs are carved into solid rock in the open air. This type is found in cultures, in particular those of the Ancient Near East and Buddhist countries. A stele is a standing stone, many of these carry reliefs. The distinction between high and low relief is somewhat subjective, and the two are often combined in a single work. In particular, most later high reliefs contain sections in low relief, a low relief or bas-relief is a projecting image with a shallow overall depth, for example used on coins, on which all images are in low relief. Other versions distort depth much less and it is a technique which requires less work, and is therefore cheaper to produce, as less of the background needs to be removed in a carving, or less modelling is required
Sunk relief
–
A
Persian mid-relief (mezzo-rilievo) from the
Qajar era, located at
Tangeh Savashi in
Iran, which might also be described as two stages of low-relief.
Sunk relief
–
A face of the high-relief
Frieze of Parnassus round the base of the
Albert Memorial in London. Most of the heads and many feet are completely undercut, but the torsos are "engaged" with the surface behind.
Sunk relief
–
Lorenzo Ghiberti 's cast
gilt-bronze "Gates of Paradise" at the
Florence Baptistery in
Florence, Italy, combine high-relief main figures with backgrounds mostly in low relief.
Sunk relief
–
Bas-relief,
Banteay Srei,
Cambodia;
Ravana shaking Mount
Kailasa, the Abode of
Siva
26.
Talatat
–
Talatat are stone blocks of standardized size used during the 18th dynasty reign of the Pharaoh Akhenaten in the building of the Aton temples at Karnak and Akhetaten. The standardized size and their small weight made construction more efficient and their use may have begun in the second year of Akhenatens reign. After the Amarna Period talatat construction was abandoned, apparently not having withstood the test of time, the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak is built on thousands of these blocks, as is the Second Pylon. Tens of thousands of the talatat have been recovered, the decorated stones are being photographed and the scenes they depict are reconstructed as part of the Akhenaten Temple Project. The term talatat was apparently used by the Egyptian workmen and introduced into the language of archaeology by the Egyptologist H. Chevrier, some think it may be derived from Italian tagliata, meaning cut masonry. Talatat wall Scene www. usu. edu Akhenaten worshipping scene, Talatat Article euler. sle. edu
Talatat
–
Talatat block in pylon at
Karnak
Talatat
–
Reconstructed Talatats from the
Gempaaten.
Talatat
–
Talatat with
Nefertiti worshipping the
Aten, on display at the
Ägyptisches Museum Berlin.
Talatat
–
Akhenaten worshipping the
Aten, on display at the
Ägyptisches Museum Berlin.
27.
Great Temple of the Aten
–
The Great Temple of the Aten was located in the city of el-Amarna, Egypt. It served as the temple for the worship of the deity Aten during the reign of the 18th dynasty Pharaoh Akhenaten. Akhenaten ushered in a period of ancient Egyptian history by establishing the new religious cult dedicated to the sun-disk Aten. Although he began construction at Karnak during his rule, the association the city had other gods drove Akhenaten to establish a new city. Akhenaten built the city along the east bank of the Nile River, setting up workshops, palaces, suburbs, the city of Akhetaten was built rather hastily and was constructed mostly of mud-brick. Mud-bricks were made by drying in the sun and they measured 33–37 cm x 15–16 cm x 9–10 cm, although bricks for temple walls were slightly larger. During construction, bricks were laid down with an amount of mortar between the rows and no mortar between adjacent bricks. There was no rain to deteriorate the bricks but they would wear down from wind-swept sand, while this helped walls keep their form, it also acted to weaken the walls so particularly high constructions meant to hold a lot of weight had to be made differently. Stone columns conformed to the style found elsewhere in Egypt. To lay out structural elements like offering tables and pits on a plaster floor, the string was first dipped in black paint and stretched tightly and was allowed to touch the ground, leaving a mark. In some instances the string was even pushed into the plaster floor, a similar technique was used to divide up wall surfaces before they were decorated with relief. The actual construction of the temple was accomplished in a series of steps, before anything was built, there was already some kind of dedication ceremony at the site. A ceremonial gateway with receptacles for liquid offerings stood at the beginning of a paved avenue, the avenue extended eastward and was lined with sphinxes, but they were later replaced by trees. The avenue led up to a small shrine which was later built into the main design scheme of the Temple. The first main construction undertaken by Akhenaten was the building of the temenos wall, as the wall was being completed, the stone Sanctuary at the east end of the enclosure was built. This Sanctuary seemed to function on its own for some time until a few years later when Akhenaten added the Gem-Aten on the west side of the enclosure, with this addition, the original ceremonial gate had to be taken down and a raised causeway was built over it. The Gem-Aten was originally constructed in stone, but it seems that as went on Akhenaten ran low on materials. The Great Temple of the Aten lay to the north of the Central City part of Akhetaten and was separated from the Palace by many storehouses
Great Temple of the Aten
–
Surviving stela from the Great Temple of Aten at Akhetaten.
Great Temple of the Aten
–
Contents
Great Temple of the Aten
Great Temple of the Aten
–
City
28.
Small Temple of the Aten
–
The Small Aten Temple is located in the abandoned city of Akhetaten. It is one of the two ancient temples in the city, the other being the Great Temple of the Aten. The edifice is situated close to the Kings House and the Royal Palace, original known as the Hwt Aten or Mansion of the Aten, it was probably constructed before the larger Great Temple. Like the other structures in the city, it was constructed quickly, and hence was easy to dismantle and reuse the material for later construction
Small Temple of the Aten
–
Reconstruction of the Small Aten Temple at Amarna
Small Temple of the Aten
–
City
29.
Temple of Amenhotep IV
–
Constructed outside the boundaries of the Precinct of Amon-Re, to the east, the main temple in the complex was named Gm–p3–itn, which means The Sun Disc is Found in the Estate of the God Aten. The others were named Hwt–bnbn, Rwd–mnw–n–itn–r–nḥḥ, and Tni–mnw–n–itn–r–nḥḥ, very little of these buildings remains, they were built quickly, using Talatat blocks, and could therefore easily be demolished and reused as core for later structures. The Gempaaten appears to have no roof and its offering tables were exposed to direct sunlight, in this building were red granite and sandstone statues of Akhenaten, red granite offering tables and other statues, including a sphinx inscribed with the name of the Aten. It was of a size, but it was so completely destroyed that its foundations have been nearly obliterated. Erected in east Karnak, the Hwt benben or Mansion of the Benben was devoted to a solar cult, the Teni–menu seemed to contain domestic and storage rooms, and may have been a royal residence, although not enough of the structure remains to clarify the use. The walls of the Teni-menu were reused in the Ninth Pylon of the main Karnak temple and they have since been identified and reassembled like a giant puzzle and are partly exhibited in the Luxor museum. Donald Redford, Akhenaten, The Heretic King, Princeton,1984
Temple of Amenhotep IV
–
Reconstructed Talatats from the Gempaaten
Temple of Amenhotep IV
–
General
Temple of Amenhotep IV
–
Pharaohs
30.
Art of ancient Egypt
–
Ancient Egyptian art is the painting, sculpture, architecture and other arts produced by the civilization of ancient Egypt in the lower Nile Valley from about 3000 BC to 30 AD. Ancient Egyptian art reached a level in painting and sculpture. It was famously conservative, and Egyptian styles changed remarkably little over more than three thousand years, much of the surviving art comes from tombs and monuments and thus there is an emphasis on life after death and the preservation of knowledge of the past. Ancient Egyptian art included paintings, sculpture in wood, stone and ceramics, drawings on papyrus, faience, jewelry, ivories and it displays an extraordinarily vivid representation of the ancient Egyptians socioeconomic status and belief systems. This appears as early as the Narmer Palette from Dynasty I, other conventions make statues of males darker than females ones. Egyptian art uses hierarchical proportion, where the size of figures indicates their relative importance, symbolism can be observed throughout Egyptian art and played an important role in establishing a sense of order. The pharaohs regalia, for example, represented his power to maintain order, animals were also highly symbolic figures in Egyptian art. Not all Egyptian reliefs were painted, and less prestigious works in tombs, Stone surfaces were prepared by whitewash, or if rough, a layer of coarse mud plaster, with a smoother gesso layer above, some finer limestones could take paint directly. Pigments were mostly mineral, chosen to withstand sunlight without fading. The binding medium used in painting remains unclear, egg tempera and various gums and it is clear that true fresco, painted into a thin layer of wet plaster, was not used. Instead the paint was applied to dried plaster, in what is called fresco a secco in Italian, small objects including wooden statuettes were often painted using similar techniques. Many ancient Egyptian paintings have survived in tombs, and sometimes temples, the paintings were often made with the intent of making a pleasant afterlife for the deceased. The themes included journey through the afterworld or protective deities introducing the deceased to the gods of the underworld, some tomb paintings show activities that the deceased were involved in when they were alive and wished to carry on doing for eternity. In the New Kingdom and later, the Book of the Dead was buried with the entombed person and it was considered important for an introduction to the afterlife. Egyptian paintings are painted in such a way to show a profile view, for example, the painting to the right shows the head from a profile view and the body from a frontal view. Their main colors were red, blue, green, gold, black, the monumental sculpture of ancient Egypts temples and tombs is world-famous, but refined and delicate small works exist in much greater numbers. The Egyptians used the technique of sunk relief, which is well suited to very bright sunlight. The distinctive pose of standing statues facing forward with one foot in front of the other was helpful for the balance and it was adopted very early and remained unchanged until the arrival of the Greeks
Art of ancient Egypt
–
Thutmose,
Bust of Nefertiti, 1345 BC,
Egyptian Museum of Berlin
Art of ancient Egypt
–
Sunk relief of the crocodile god
Sobek
Art of ancient Egypt
–
Tomb of Sarenput II.
Art of ancient Egypt
–
Wall painting of
Nefertari
31.
Amarna letters
–
The letters were found in Upper Egypt at Amarna, the modern name for the ancient Egyptian capital of Akhetaten, founded by pharaoh Akhenaten during the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. The Amarna letters are unusual in Egyptological research, because they are written in Akkadian cuneiform. The written correspondence spans a period of at most thirty years, the Amarna letters are of great significance for biblical studies as well as Semitic linguistics, since they shed light on the culture and language of the Canaanite peoples in pre-biblical times. These Canaanisms provide valuable insights into the proto-stage of those languages several centuries prior to their first actual manifestation and they had originally been stored in an ancient building that archaeologists have since called the Bureau of Correspondence of Pharaoh. Once the location where they were found was determined, the ruins were explored for more, the first archaeologist who successfully recovered more tablets was Flinders Petrie, who in 1891 and 1892 uncovered 21 fragments. Émile Chassinat, then director of the French Institute for Oriental Archaeology in Cairo, since Knudtzons edition, some 24 more tablets, or fragments, have been found, either in Egypt, or identified in the collections of various museums. The initial group of letters recovered by local Egyptians have been scattered among museums in Germany, England, Egypt, France, Russia, the archive contains a wealth of information about cultures, kingdoms, events and individuals in a period from which few written sources survive. It includes correspondence from Akhenatens reign, as well as his predecessor Amenhotep IIIs reign, the tablets consist of over 300 diplomatic letters, the remainder comprise miscellaneous literary and educational materials. These tablets shed light on Egyptian relations with Babylonia, Assyria, Syria, Canaan, and Alashiya as well as relations with the Mitanni. The letters have been important in establishing both the history and the chronology of the period, letters from the Babylonian king, Kadashman-Enlil I, anchor the timeframe of Akhenatens reign to the mid-14th century BC. Specifically, the letters include requests for help in the north against Hittite invaders. Note, Many assignments are tentative, spellings vary widely, william L. The Amarna archive, it is now generally agreed, spans at most about thirty years, perhaps only fifteen or so. Moran notes that scholars believe one tablet, EA16. However, this speculation appears improbable because the Amarna archives were closed by Year 2 of Tutankhamun, a small number of the Amarna letters are in the class of poetry. EA153, entitled, Ships on hold, from Abimilku of Tyre is a short, lines 6-8, and 9-11 are parallel phrases, each ending with. before the troops of the king, my lord. -. Both sentences are identical, and repetitive, with only the subject statement changing, the entire corpus of Amarna letters has many standard phrases. It also has some phrases, and quotations used only once, some are parables, A bird in a cage —Rib-Hadda subcorpus of letters. A brick may move from under its partner, still I will not move from under the feet of the king, my lord. —Used in letters EA266,292, EA292 by Adda-danu of Gazru
Amarna letters
–
One of the Amarna Letters (from
Alashiya)
Amarna letters
–
EA 161, letter by
Aziru, leader of
Amurru (stating his case to
pharaoh), one of the Amarna letters in cuneiform writing on a clay tablet.
Amarna letters
–
Pharaohs
32.
Smenkhkare
–
Ankhkheperure Smenkhkare Djeser Kheperu was a short-lived pharaoh in the late 18th dynasty. His names translate as Living are the Forms of Re and Vigorous is the Soul of Re – Holy of Forms and his reign was during the Amarna Period, a time when Akhenaten sought to impose new religious views. He is to be distinguished from his predecessor, the female ruler Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten. Unlike Neferneferuaten, Smenkhkare did not use epithets in his name or cartouche. Very little is known of Smenkhkare for certain because later kings, beginning with Horemheb, for the complete historiography regarding the names, see Neferneferuaten Smenkhkare was known as far back as 1845 from the tomb of Meryre II. There he and Meritaten, bearing the title Great Royal Wife, are shown rewarding the tombs owner, the names of the king have since been cut out but had been recorded by Lepsius circa 1850. Later, a different set of names emerged using the throne name. This led to a deal of confusion since throne names tended to be unique. For the better part of a century, the repetition of names was taken to mean that Smenkhare changed his name to Neferneferuaten at some point. Indeed, Petrie makes exactly that distinction in his notes of 1894. By the 1970s, feminine traces in some versions of the name, among them, that Nefertiti was masquerading as Smenkhkare before changing her name again to Neferneferuaten. When considered with various stela depicting Akhenaten with another king in familiar, if not intimate poses, in 1978, it was proposed that there were 2 individuals using the same name, a male king Smenkhkare and a female Neferneferuaten. Ten years later, James Allen pointed out the name Ankhkheperure nearly always included an epithet referring to Akhenaten such as desired of Wa en Re when coupled with Neferneferuaten. Smenkhkare, as son in law, might be desired of Akhenaten, by the start of the 21st Century, a fair degree of consensus emerged that Neferneferuaten was a female king and Smenkhkare a separate male king, particularly among specialists of the period. Almost as important, when presented with just the name Ankhkheperure, aside from the Meryre tomb depiction already mentioned there are several pieces of evidence which establish Smenkhkare as king. A calcite globular vase from the tomb of Tutankhamun bears the double cartouche of Akhenaten alongside the full double cartouche of Smenkhkare. This is the object to carry both names side by side. A single wine docket, Year 1, wine of the house of Smenkhkare, line drawings of a block depicting the nearly complete names of King Smenkhkare and Meritaten as Great Royal Wife were recorded before the block was lost
Smenkhkare
–
Line drawing from Meryre II. The lost names had been recorded previously (inset) as Smenkhkare and Meritaten.
Smenkhkare
–
The desecrated royal coffin found in Tomb KV55
Smenkhkare
–
The skull of the KV55 mummy, believed to be Smenkhkare.
Smenkhkare
–
A royal vulture pectoral which was found placed on the head of the KV55 mummy.
33.
Neferneferuaten
–
For other individuals named Neferneferuaten, see Neferneferuaten. Ankhkheperure-mery-Neferkheperure/ -mery-Waenre/ -mery-Aten Neferneferuaten was a used to refer to either Queen Meritaten or more likely Queen Nefertiti. The archaeological evidence relates to a woman who reigned as pharaoh toward the end of the Amarna Period during the Eighteenth Dynasty and her gender is confirmed by feminine traces occasionally found in the name and by the epithet Akhet-en-hyes, incorporated into one version of her second cartouche. She is to be distinguished from the king who used the name Ankhkheperure Smenkhkare-Djeser Kheperu, with little dated evidence to fix their reigns with any certainty, the order depends on how the evidence is interpreted. Many encyclopedic sources and atlases will show Smenkhkare succeeding Akhenaten on the basis of dating back to 1845. The period from the 13th year of Akhenatens reign to the ascension of Tutankhaten is very murky, the reigns of Smenkhkare and Neferneferuaten were very brief and left little monumental or inscriptional evidence to draw a clear picture of political events. Adding to this, Neferneferuaten shares her prenomen, or throne name, with Smenkhkare, the Egyptians themselves tried to hide the evidence of the Amarna kings reigns from us. The result is that 3300 years later, scholars would have to piece together events, with the evidence so murky and equivocal, at one time or another, the name, gender, identity and even the existence of Neferneferuaten has been a matter of debate among Egyptologists. Manetho was a priest in the time of the Ptolemies in the Third Century B. C. E and his Egyptian History divided the rulers into dynasties which forms the basis of the modern system of dating Ancient Egypt. His work has been lost and is only in fragmentary form from later writers quoting his work. As a result of the suppression of the Amarna kings, Manetho is the ancient record available. Manethos Epitome, a summary of his work, describes the late 18th Dynasty succession as Amenophis for 30 years 10 months, who seems likely to be Amenhotep III. Then his son Orus for 36 years 5 months, this is seen as a corruption of the name Horemheb with the entire Amarna period attributed to him. Next comes his daughter Acencheres for 12 years 1 month then her brother Rathotis for 9 years, Acencheres is Ankhkheperure according to Gabolde, with a transcription error assumed which converted 2 years,1 month into the 12 years,1 month reported by the addition of 10 years. Most agree that Rathotis refers to Tutankhamun, therefore, the order also supports Acencheres as Ankhkheperure. Rathotis is followed by his son Acencheres for 12 years 5 months, his son Acencheres II for 12 years 3 months which are inexplicable, there are several items central to the slow unveiling regarding the existence, gender and identity of Neferneferuaten. These continue to be key elements to various theories today, the name of King Ankheprure Smenkhkare-Djeserkheperu was known as far back as 1845 from the tomb of Meryre II. There, he and Meritaten, bearing the title Great Royal Wife, are shown rewarding the tombs owner, the names of the king have since been cut out but had been recorded by Lepsius ca 1850
Neferneferuaten
–
Inscription from Carter 001k, a box from Tutankhamun's tomb.
Neferneferuaten
–
Image commonly taken to be Smenkhkare and Meritaten, but may not be them.
Neferneferuaten
–
Ankhkheperure with feminine indicators (93, 94) and without (95). These read: (93) Ankhkheperure desired (f) of Neferkheperure (Akhenaten). (94) Ankh-et-kheprure (f) desired (f) of Wa-en-Re (using indicators in the name and epithet). (95) Ankhkheeprure desired of Wa-en-Re. From Tell el Amarna, Flinders Petrie; 1894
Neferneferuaten
34.
Tiye
–
Tiye was the daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu. She became the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III and she was the mother of Akhenaten and grandmother of Tutankhamun. Her mummy was identified as The Elder Lady found in the tomb of Amenhotep II in 2010. Tiyes father, Yuya, was a non-royal, wealthy landowner from the Upper Egyptian town of Akhmin, Tiyes mother, Thuya, was involved in many religious cults, as her different titles attested, which suggests that she was a member of the royal family. Some suggest that the strong political and unconventional religious views might have been due not just to a strong character. Tiye also had a brother, Anen, who was Second Prophet of Amun, other Egyptologists speculated that Ay, a successor of Tutankhamun as pharaoh after the latters death, also might have been descended from Tiye. Tiye was married to Amenhotep III by the year of his reign. He had been born of a wife of his father. He appears to have been crowned while still a child, perhaps between the ages of six to twelve. They had at least seven, possibly children, 1) Sitamun- The eldest daughter. 2) Isis- Also elevated to the position of Great Royal Wife, 3) Henuttaneb- Not known to have been elevated to Queenship, though her name does appear in a Cartouche at least once. 4) Nebetah- Sometimes thought to have been renamed Baketaten during her brothers reign, 5) Crown Prince Thutmose- Crown Prince and High Priest of Ptah, pre-deceasing his father. 6) Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten- Succeeded his father as pharaoh, husband of Queen Nefertiti, father of Ankhesenamun, Sometimes identified with the mummy from KV55, and therefore Tutankhamuns father. 8) The Younger Lady from KV35- A daughter of Amenhotep III and Tiye, mother of Tutankhamun, presumably one of the already-known daughters of Amenhotep III and Tiye. 9) Baketaten- Sometimes thought to be Queen Tiyes daughter, usually based on a stelae with Baketaten seated next to Tiye at dinner with Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Her husband devoted a number of shrines to her and constructed a dedicated to her in Sedeinga in Nubia where she was worshipped as a form of the goddess Hathor-Tefnut. He also had a lake built for her in his Year 12. As the American Egyptologists David OConnor and Eric Cline note, Tiye wielded a great deal of power during both her husband’s and son’s reigns, Amenhotep III became a fine sportsman, a lover of outdoor life, and a great statesman
Tiye
–
The Great Royal Wife Tiye, matriarch of the Amarna Dynasty - now in the Neues Museum/Ägyptisches Museum in Berlin, Germany
Tiye
–
Queen Tiye, whose husband,
Amenhotep III, may have been depicted to her right in this broken statue
Tiye
–
Pharaohs
35.
Kiya
–
Kiya was one of the wives of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Little is known about her, and her actions and roles are poorly documented in the record, in contrast to those of Akhenatens first royal wife. Her unusual name suggests that she may originally have been a Mitanni princess, surviving evidence demonstrates that Kiya was an important figure at Akhenaten’s court during the middle years of his reign, when she bore him a daughter. She disappears from history a few years before her royal husband’s death, in previous years, she was thought to be mother of Tutankhamun, but recent DNA evidence suggests this is unlikely. The name Kiya itself is cause for debate, Tadukhipa married Amenhotep III at the very end of his reign, and the Amarna Letters indicate that she was a nubile young woman at that time. In particular, Amarna Letters 27 through 29 confirm that Tadukhipa became one of Akhenaten’s wives, thus some Egyptologists have proposed that Tadukhipa and Kiya might be the same person. However, there is no confirming evidence that Kiya was anything, in fact, Cyril Aldred proposed that her unusual name is actually a variant of the Ancient Egyptian word for monkey, making it unnecessary to assume a foreign origin for her. In inscriptions, Kiya is given the titles of The Favorite and The Greatly Beloved, but never of Heiress or Great Royal Wife, all artifacts relating to Kiya derive from Amarna, Akhenatens short-lived capital city, or from Tomb KV55 in the Valley of the Kings. She is not attested during the reign of any other pharaoh, Kiyas existence was unknown until 1959, when her name and titles were noted on a small cosmetic container in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It had been bought almost thirty years previously, without provenance and she may also be depicted by three uninscribed sculptors studies. Her coffin and canopic jars were taken over for the burial of a king, almost all of Kiyas monuments were usurped for daughters of Akhenaten, making it fairly certain that she was disgraced some time after Year 11. Akhenaten and his family were based in Thebes for the first four years of his reign, Kiya is not attested during this early period. Only after the move to Amarna does she emerge through inscriptional evidence as one of Akhenatens wives, Kiyas name appeared prominently in the temple installation known as the Maru-Aten, at the southern edge of the city, according to epigraphic studies. The inscriptions in the Maru-Aten were eventually recarved to replace the name and titles of Kiya with those of Akhenatens eldest daughter, one or more sunshades or side-chapels in the city’s largest temple to the Aten, the Per-Aten, also originally bore the name of Kiya. These sunshades were later reinscribed for Meritaten and Ankhesenpaaten, the daughter of Akhenaten. Some of the inscriptions indicate that Kiya had a daughter. Marc Gabolde proposes that Kiyas daughter was Beketaten, who is often identified as a daughter of Amenhotep III. The most spectacular of Kiya’s monuments is a wooden coffin of costly
Kiya
–
Talatat with the picture of Kiya and a child, a ray of Aten extends toward them
Kiya
–
A plaster study of a young woman wearing large earrings, generally identified as Kiya, currently on display at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
Kiya
–
Pharaohs
36.
The Younger Lady
–
The Younger Lady is the informal name given to a mummy discovered in the Egyptian Valley of the Kings, in tomb KV35 by archeologist Victor Loret in 1898. Through recent DNA tests this mummy has been identified as the mother of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun, the mummy also has been given the designation KV35YL and 61072, and currently resides in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Early speculation was that this mummy was the remains of Queen Nefertiti, which remains plausible, all were found together, lying naked side-by-side and unidentified in a small antechamber of the tomb. All three mummies had been damaged by ancient tomb robbers. There has been speculation as to the identity of the Younger Lady mummy. Upon finding the mummy, Victor Loret initially had believed it be that of a man as the mummys head had been shaved. A closer inspection later made by Dr. Grafton Elliot Smith confirmed that the mummy was that of a female, recently, autosomal and mitochondrial DNA testing have shown conclusively that the mummy is that of a female and, that she was the mother of Tutankhamun. The results also show that she was a full-sister to her husband, the mummy from KV55, and that they were both the children of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye. There is also a theory that the lady is Meritaten, daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. The theory goes that Meritaten married Smenkhare, believed to be her uncle, the theory holds weight as inbreeding makes it harder to distinguish the generations, but there is one problem with this theory. Meritaten must be a descendant of Queen Tiye, or her mother Thuya. Nefertitis lineage is nowhere specified, and if Meritaten is the younger lady and it has been suggested that, indeed, the Younger Lady is Nefertiti, as incest was not uncommon. This would mean that Akhenaten did marry his own sister and that he, furthermore, Nefertiti, who may have survived her husband, may be identical with Smenkhare and may have adopted this name if she took over the reign after Akhenatens death. All this is not proven, but should be mentioned as a plausible scenario. Grafton Elliot Smith provided a description of the mummy in his survey of the ancient royal mummies at the beginning of the twentieth century. He found the mummy to be 1.58 m in height and he also noted the major damage done by ancient tomb robbers, who smashed the anterior wall of the mummys chest, and had torn the right arm off just below the shoulder. Smith presumed that she was a member of the royal family
The Younger Lady
–
Discovery
The Younger Lady
37.
Tey
–
Tey was the wife of Kheperkheprure Ay, who was the penultimate pharaoh of Ancient Egypts 18th dynasty. She was also the wet nurse of Queen Nefertiti and he is believed to be connected to the royal family, he was probably a brother of Queen Tiye. On inscriptions from the Amarna period, Tey is called “nurse of the Great Royal Wife” and this indicates that even if Ay was Nefertitis father, Tey was not her mother, according to this theory, she was possibly the second wife of Ay after Nefertitis mother died. It has been proposed that Mutbenret was Ay and Teys daughter who later married Horemheb, however the name Mutbenret and Mutnedjmet, Horemhebs queen are not identical which implies that these 2 different women. It is also possible that Ays intended successor, Nakhtmin, was his son, Tey may have had a sister called Mutemnub. A dignitary named Ay is called second priest of Amun, high priest of Mut and this mans parents are recorded on the statue as Mutemnub and Nakhtmin. Mutemnub is said to be a sister of Queen Tey, Tey is depicted in her husbands unused Amarna tomb. On the North Wall, East Side a reward scene is depicted, Aye and Tey are shown before the window of appearances. Akhenaten is shown in a Khepresh crown and Nefertiti in her blue crown. Meritaten, Meketaten and Ankhesenpaaten are shown in the window of appearances as well, the eldest two seem to be throwing rewards to Aye and Tey, while Ankhesenpaaten stands on the pillow before Nefertiti and is caressing her chin. Tey is also mentioned on a wooden box, the box is inscribed for The true scribe of the king whom he loves, troop commander, overseer of cavalry, and Father of the God, Ay. And the text mentions, The much-valued one, the one of Re, appreciated by the Great Royal Wife. When Ay took the throne after the death of Tutankhamen, Tey became his Great Royal Wife, Queen Tey also held the titles Hereditary Princess, Great of Praises, Lady of The Two Lands, Great King’s Wife, his beloved, and Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt. Queen Tey is depicted in the tomb of Ay in the Valley of the Kings and she appears behind Ay in a scene where Ay appears to be pulling lotus flowers from a marsh. The images are rather severely damaged, Tey may have been buried with her husband in WV23, and fragments of female human bones found in the tomb may be Teys. Tey is also depicted in a chapel dedicated to fertility god Min in Akhmim
Tey
–
Queen Tey as depicted at the chapel at Akhmim (From Lepsius Denkmahler)
Tey
–
Ay and Tey as depicted in Amarna tomb 25. They are receiving gifts from Akhenaten and Nefertiti. (From Lepsius Denkmahler)
Tey
–
Ay and Tey as depicted in WV23 (From Lepsius Denkhmahler)
38.
Meritaten
–
Her name means She who is beloved of Aten, Aten being the sun-god her father worshipped, Meritaten also may have served as pharaoh in her own right under the name, Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten. Meritaten was the first of six born to Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife. Her sisters are Meketaten, Ankhesenpaaten, Neferneferuaten Tasherit, Neferneferure and she was married to Pharaoh Smenkhare. Inscriptions mention a princess named Meritaten Tasherit, who may be the daughter of Meritaten. Inscriptions from Ashmunein suggest that Meritaten-tasherit is the daughter of Meritaten, the scene dates to the reign of Akhenaten, and this means the father of the young princess could be Akhenaten himself. If so, this means Akhenaten took his own daughters as a wife, another princess named Ankhesenpaaten Tasherit had been suggested as an additional daughter of Meritaten, but it is more likely that she is a daughter of Ankhesenpaaten. She was born early in her fathers reign most likely in Thebes, the royal family lived in Thebes, and the royal palace may have been part of the Temple Complex of Akhenaten at Karnak. The exact use of the buildings in Karnak is not known, Meritaten is depicted beside her mother Nefertiti in reliefs carved into the Hut-Benben. The Hut-Benben was an associated with Nefertiti, who is the main officiant in the scenes. Meritaten appears behind her mother shaking a sistrum and her younger sisters Meketaten and Ankhesenpaaten also appear in some of the scenes but not as often as Meritaten. In year 5 of her father Akhenatens reign, Meritaten appears on the boundary stelae designating the boundaries of the new capital, during Akhenatens reign, she was the most frequently depicted and mentioned of the six daughters. Her figure appears on paintings in temples, tombs, and private chapels and she is shown not only on the pictures showing the family life of the pharaoh, which were typical of the Amarna Period, but on official ceremonies too. The two structures most associated with Meritaten at Amarna are the North Palace and the Maru-Aten, the Maru-Aten was located to the south of the city limits of Amarna. The structure consisted of two enclosures containing pools or lakes and pavilions set in an area planted with trees, an artificial island contained a pillared construction which held a painted pavement showing scenes from nature. Meritatens name seems to replace that of another lady in several places, among them in the Northern Palace. Meritaten is mentioned in letters, by the name Mayati. She is mentioned in a letter from Abimilki of Tyre, the reference is usually thought to date to the period when Meritatens position at court became more important during the latter part of the reign of Akhenaten. It is possible, however, that the letter refers to the birth of Meritaten, Meritaten appears as a Great Royal Wife in the tomb of Meryre II in Amarna
Meritaten
–
A daughter of King Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti, perhaps the young Meritaten, later a queen - collection of the
Louvre, Paris
Meritaten
–
Amarna Princess - Museum in Berlin
Meritaten
–
Smenkhare and Meritaten shown in the tomb of
Meryre II
Meritaten
–
Inscription mentioning
Akhenaten,
Neferneferuaten and Meritaten. Form the tomb of
Tutankhamen
39.
Meketaten
–
Meketaten was the second daughter of six born to the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti. She was probably born in year 4 of Akhenatens reign, although little is known about her, she is frequently depicted with her sisters accompanying her royal parents in the first two thirds of Akhenatens reign. Meketaten was the daughter born to Akhenaten and Nefertiti. She had a sister named Meritaten and four younger sisters named Ankhesenpaaten, Neferneferuaten Tasherit. Meketaten’s approximate year of birth is in or before year 4 of Akhenaten, Meketaten is first depicted on the walls of the Hut-benben temple dedicated to her mother Nefertiti in Thebes. Meketaten appears behind her older sister Meritaten in some of the later inscriptions, further arguments to suggest Meketaten was born in or before year 4 come from the fact that her figure was added to one of the boundary stela recording events in year 4 and carved in year 5. Meketaten moved to the new capital city Akhetaten with her family when she was still a small child and she is depicted in several of the tombs of the nobles in Amarna. Meketaten is depicted in the tomb of Ay holding a tray of gifts while wrapping one arm around her mother’s neck, other monuments mentioning Meketaten include a stela from Heliopolis, a statue base from the Fayoum, and the tombs of Panehesy and Parennefer. Meketaten died in approximately year 14 of Akhenaten, meketatens death could have resulted either from a plague, or from childbirth. The presence of a baby causes many to believe the young princess died in childbirth. Chambers α and γ depict very similar scenes, Akhenaten and Nefertiti bend over the body of a woman. Nearby a nurse stands with a baby in her arms, accompanied by a fan-bearer, the names in the scene in chamber α have been hacked out. In the chamber γ however the hieroglyphs identify the young woman as Meketaten. In the same chamber another scene shows Meketaten standing under a canopy which is associated with childbirth. In front of her, amongst courtiers, stand Akhenaten, Nefertiti and it is possible that chamber α was the burial place of someone other than Meketaten. There may even have been two burials which may have been those of Neferneferure and Setepenre, but this is not certain, another theory is that one of the scenes depicts Kiya and that the baby is Tutankhamun. John Harris also agrees with Van Dijks conclusions according to the author, fragments of Meketaten’s sarcophagus were found in the royal tomb. Inscriptions mention her parents Akhenaten and Nefertiti, her sister Ankhesenpaaten as well as her grandparents Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye
Meketaten
–
Meketaten on her mother's lap (left).
Meketaten
–
Meketaten under the canopy, on the wall paintings of the Chamber. In front of her: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Meritaten, Ankhesenpaaten and Neferneferuaten Tasherit.
Meketaten
–
Pharaohs
40.
Ankhesenamun
–
Ankhesenamun was a queen of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Born as Ankhesenpaaten, she was the third of six daughters of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti. The change in her name reflects the changes in Ancient Egyptian religion during her lifetime after her fathers death and her youth is well documented in the ancient reliefs and paintings of the reign of her parents. Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun shared the same father but Tutankhamuns mother has recently established by genetic evidence as one of Akhenatens sisters. She was most likely born in year 4 of Akhenatens reign and he possibly made his wife his co-regent and had his family portrayed in a realistic style in all official artwork. Ankhesenamun was definitely married to one king, she was the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Tutankhamun and it is also possible that she was briefly married to Tutankhamuns successor, Ay, believed by some to be her maternal grandfather. It has also been posited that she may have been the Great Royal Wife of her father, Akhenaten, after the death of her mother. Recent DNA tests released in February 2010 have also speculated that one of two late 18th dynasty queens buried in KV21 could be her mummy, both mummies are thought, because of DNA, to be members of the ruling house. Ankhesenpaaten was born in a time when Egypt was in the midst of a religious revolution. Her father had abandoned the old deities of Egypt in favor of the Aten, hitherto a minor aspect of the sun-god and she is believed to have been born in Waset, but probably grew up in her fathers new capital city of Akhetaten. The three eldest daughters – Meritaten, Meketaten, and Ankhesenpaaten – became the Senior Princesses and participated in many functions of the government and she is believed to have been married first to her own father. This was not unusual for Egyptian royal families and she is thought to have been the mother of the princess Ankhesenpaaten Tasherit when she was twelve, although the parentage is unclear. After her fathers death and the reigns of Smenkhkare and Neferneferuaten. Following their marriage, the couple honored the deities of the religion by changing their names to Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun. The couple appear to have had two stillborn daughters, as Tutankhamuns only known wife was Ankhesenamun, it is highly likely the fetuses found in Tutankhamuns tomb are her daughters. Some time in the year of his reign, at about the age of eighteen, Tutankhamun died suddenly. A ring discovered is thought to show that Ankhesenamun married Ay shortly before she disappeared from history, on the walls of Ays tomb it is Tey, not Ankhesenamun, who appears as queen. She probably died during or shortly after his reign and no burial has been found for her yet, a document was found in the ancient Hittite capital of Hattusa which dates to the Amarna period, the so-called Deeds of Suppiluliuma I
Ankhesenamun
–
Discovery
Ankhesenamun
–
Tutankhamun receives flowers from Ankhesenpaaten as a sign of love.
Ankhesenamun
–
Pharaohs
41.
Neferneferuaten Tasherit
–
Neferneferuaten Tasherit or Neferneferuaten junior was an Ancient Egyptian princess of the 18th dynasty and the fourth daughter of Pharaoh Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti. Year 8 and 9 of her fathers reign and she was the fourth of six known daughters of the royal couple. It is likely that she was born in Akhetaten, the capital founded by her father and her name Neferneferuaten is the exact copy of the name Nefertiti took in the 5th regnal year. She had three sisters named Meritaten, Meketaten, and Ankhesenpaaten and two younger sisters named Neferneferure and Setepenre. One of the earliest depictions of Neferneferuaten Tasherit is in a fresco from the King’s House in Amarna and she is depicted sitting on a pillow with her sister Neferneferure. The fresco is dated to ca, year 9 of Akhenaten, and the entire family is depicted, including the baby Setepenre. Neferneferuaten Tasherit is depicted in tombs in Amarna and appears on monuments. In the tomb of Huya, the chief Steward of Neferneferuatens grandmother Queen Tiye, the extended scene shows Akhenaten and Nefertiti on the left with their four eldest daughters, while on the right hand side Amenhotep III, Queen Tiye and princess Baketaten are shown. In the reward scene in the tomb of Meryre II, Neferneferuaten Tasherit is shown with four of her sisters and she is depicted at the Durbar in year 12 in the tomb of the Overseer of the royal quarters Meryre II in Amarna. Akhenaten and Nefertiti are shown seated in a kiosk, receiving tribute from foreign lands, the daughters of the royal couple are shown standing behind their parents. Neferneferuaten is the first daughter in the lower register and she is holding an object which is too damaged to identify. Her sisters Neferneferure and Setepenre are standing behind her, Neferneferure is shown holding a pet gazelle and Setepenre is shown reaching over to pet the animal. Neferneferuaten also appears in the scene of Panehesy. She is shown standing in the building near the window of appearance as her parents, Akhenaten and Nefertiti, in another scene in this tomb Neferneferuaten and her three older sisters all accompany their parents who are shown offering flowers to the Aten. The four royal daughters are all shown holding bouquets of flowers, Neferneferuaten Tasherit is shown with her sisters Meritaten and Ankhesenpaaten mourning the death of Meketaten in ca. Year 14 in the Royal Tomb in Amarna and her younger sisters Neferneferure and Setepenre are not present in this scene. It is unknown what became of Neferneferuaten Tasherit, but it has suggested she died before Tutankhamun. It is possible she was one of the buried in chamber α in the Royal Tomb in Amarna
Neferneferuaten Tasherit
–
Neferneferure and Neferneferuaten Tasherit (right) on a wall painting in the King's house
Neferneferuaten Tasherit
–
From left to right: Setepenre, Neferneferure, and Neferneferuaten Tasherit at the Durbar in year 12.
Neferneferuaten Tasherit
–
Meketaten under the canopy, on the wall paintings of the Chamber. In front of her: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Meritaten, Ankhesenpaaten and Neferneferuaten Tasherit.
Neferneferuaten Tasherit
–
Pharaohs
42.
Neferneferure
–
Neferneferure was an Ancient Egyptian princess of the 18th dynasty. She was the fifth of six daughters of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Neferneferure was born in or before the 8th regnal year of her father Akhenaten in the city of Akhetaten and she had four older sisters named Meritaten, Meketaten, Ankhesenpaaten and Neferneferuaten Tasherit, as well as a younger sister named Setepenre. One of the earliest depictions of Neferneferure is in a fresco from the King’s House in Amarna and she is depicted sitting on a pillow with her sister Neferneferuaten Tasherit. The fresco is dated to ca, year 9 of Akhenaten, and the entire family is depicted, including the baby Setepenre. Neferneferure is depicted at the Durbar in year 12 in the tomb of the Overseer of the royal quarters Meryre II in Amarna, Akhenaten and Nefertiti are shown seated in a kiosk, receiving tribute from foreign lands. The daughters of the couple are shown standing behind their parents. Neferure is the daughter in the lower register. She is holding a gazelle in her arm and a lotus flower in her left. She is standing right behind her sister Neferneferuaten Tasherit and her sister Setepenre is standing behind her and is shown reaching over to pet the gazelle. Neferneferure probably died in the 13th or 14th regnal year, possibly in the plague swept across Egypt during this time. She is absent from one scene and her name was plastered over in another scene in the Royal Tomb in Amarna. To be specific, on Wall C of the chamber α of the Royal Tomb her name was mentioned among the five princesses and this suggests that she is likely to have died shortly before the decoration of these chambers was finished. It is possible that Neferneferure was actually buried in chamber α of the royal tomb, alternatively she may have been buried in Tomb 29 in Amarna. This theory is based on an amphora handle bearing an inscription mentioning the inner chamber of Neferneferure. If Neferneferure was buried in tomb 29, then this may mean the Royal Tomb was already sealed at the time of her burial, a small box bearing her picture on its lid was found among the treasures of Tutankhamun. It shows the princess crouching, with a finger pressed to her mouth, interestingly, on this box lid Res name in her name was written phonetically instead of the usual circled dot. Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt, Tutankhamen – Life and Death of a Pharaoh
Neferneferure
–
Neferneferure (left) and her elder sister
Neferneferuaten Tasherit on a wall painting in a private house
Neferneferure
–
From left to right: Setepenre, Neferneferure, and Neferneferuaten Tasherit at the Durbar in year 12.
Neferneferure
–
Pharaohs
43.
Setepenre (princess)
–
Setepenre or Sotepenre) was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 18th dynasty, sixth and last daughter of Pharaoh Akhenaten and his chief queen Nefertiti. Setepenre was born around the 9th to 11th year of her father Akhenaten in the city of Akhetaten and she had five older sisters named Meritaten, Meketaten, Ankhesenpaaten, Neferneferuaten Tasherit, and Neferneferure. One of the earliest depictions of Setepenre is in a fresco from the King’s House in Amarna and she is depicted sitting on her mother Nefertitis lap. The fresco is much damaged and only a hand of Setepenre remains The fresco is dated to ca. Year 9 of Akhenaten, and the family is depicted. The next time the six princesses appeared together was in Year 12, on the day of the second month of winter. This event was depicted in the Amarna tombs of Meryre II, in the tomb of Meryre II, Akhenaten and Nefertiti are shown seated in a kiosk, receiving tribute from foreign lands. The daughters of the couple are shown standing behind their parents. Setepenre is the last daughter in the lower register and she is standing right behind her sister Neferneferure, who is holding a gazelle. Setepenre is shown reaching over to pet the gazelle, on Wall C in Room α of the Royal Tomb of Akhenaten the names of five princesses are listed, that of Neferneferure is plastered over and only four of the princesses are depicted. This probably means that Setepenre predeceased Neferneferure, and it is likely that Setepenre died around Year 13 or 14 and she was possibly the first of the princesses to die. It is possible that her body was moved to Room α of the Royal Tomb
Setepenre (princess)
–
From left to right: Setepenre,
Neferneferure, and
Neferneferuaten Tasherit at the Durbar in year 12.
Setepenre (princess)
–
Pharaohs
44.
Meritaten Tasherit
–
Meritaten Tasherit, which means Meritaten the Younger was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 18th dynasty. She is likely to have been the daughter of Meritaten, eldest daughter of Pharaoh Akhenaten, the father of this child remains under debate. Many assume it to be other than Meritatens father, Akhenaten. The fate of this child is uncertain, meanwhile, the name Aten was dropped from popular use during this time. A Delta-Man in Yebu, Occasional Volume of the Egyptologists Electronic Forum No
Meritaten Tasherit
–
Pharaohs
45.
Ankhesenpaaten Tasherit
–
Ankhesenpaaten Tasherit was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 18th dynasty. Ankhesenpaaten Tasherit and another princess, Meritaten Tasherit are two princesses who appear in scenes dating to the later part of the reign of Akhenaten. The titles of at least one of the princess is of the form sherit, born of, the inscription is damaged and the name of the mother and grandmother of the princesses has not been preserved. Ankhesenpaaten Tasherit has been known to archaeologists since 1938, when a talatat with her picture, several different sets of parents have been proposed for Ankhesenpaaten Tasherit. She is most commonly held to have been the daughter of Ankhesenpaaten and Akhenaten himself, the title of the princess is thought to have been Ankhesenpaaten-tasherit, born of Ankehenpaaten, born of the Kings Great Wife Nefertiti. If we assume that Ankhesenpaaten Tasherit was the daughter of Ankhesenpaaten and Akhenaten, since Ankhesenpaaten was born around the 5th year of her fathers reign, the earliest year she could have had a child was around Year 16 of his reign. Dodson proposed Ankhesenpaaten-tasherit was a daughter of the royal couple Meritaten. The young princess would have named after Meritatens sister
Ankhesenpaaten Tasherit
–
Pharaohs
46.
Mutbenret
–
For Egyptian ladies called Mutnedjmet see Mutnedjmet Mutbenret was an Egyptian noblewoman, and said to be the Sister of the Great Royal Wife Nefertiti. Her name used to be read as Mutnedjemet, the hieroglyphs for nedjem and bener are similar and so is their meaning. The name is now thought to be Mutbenret however, one theory holds that Mutbenret was the same person as Mutnedjmet the wife of Horemheb, the last ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty. But there is no evidence for this theory, and some challenge this theory. Mutbenret is depicted behind the royal princesses in the scene for Parennefer. Mutbenret is depicted in the scene for Tutu in tomb 8. In the register below the King and Queen we see the Queens Sister Mutbenret with her two dwarfs, several fan bearers and the nurses of the Princesses, in the tomb of May the royal family is shown worshipping the Aten. Akhenaten and Nefertiti are accompanied by three princesses, Meritaten and Meketaten are named as the two princesses in the lower register, the third princess depicted above them is most likely Ankhesenpaaten. All three are shown shaking a sistrum, above the princesses we see the Queens sister Mutbenret accompanied by her two dwarfs. The lintel in anonymous tomb 20 shows the royal family adoring the Aten and we see the same scene on the left and the right but in mirror image. Akhenaten is shown on both sides wearing the Khepresh crown, Nefertiti and her daughters were never carved. The inscriptions show that Nefertiti was supposed to follow her husband, behind the princesses we see the Queens sister Mutbenret. In anonymous tomb 22, the shows the royal family adoring the Aten. Akhenaten is shown wearing the Khepresh crown, Nefertiti, wearing her blue crown, followed her husband, followed by three princesses, probably Meritaten, Meketaten and Ankhesenpaaten. Behind the princesses we see the Queens sister Mutbenret, Mutbenret is depicted in the tomb of Ay, where she is shown as a young girl. Her formal titles include The Sister of the Kings Chief Wife, Mutbenret is depicted in a scene on the thickness of an outer wall. She is accompanied by her two dwarfs Hemetniswerneheh and Mutef-Pre and it is speculated that an alabaster piece found in Tutankhamens tomb of a boat carrying a lady with a dwarf represents Mutbenret with one of these men
Mutbenret
–
Mutbenret behind
Meritaten,
Meketaten and
Ankhesenpaaten and their nurses. Award scene of Parennefer. (From Lepsius Denkmäler)
Mutbenret
–
Mutbenret behind two bowing courtiers. Accompanied by two dwarfs. (Lepsius Denkmäler)
Mutbenret
–
Pharaohs
47.
Aperel
–
Aperel was a Vizier of Ancient Egypt. He served as vizier during the reigns of the 18th Dynasty kings Amenhotep III, besides being Vizier, Aperel was also a commander of chariots and had the title Gods Father. Aperel and Tawosret had at least three sons, Seny, Hatiay and Huy, Seny was a steward and Hatiay was a priest of Nefertem. Huy, who was a commander of horse, commander of chariots, aperels tomb was discovered in 1987 by the French under supervision of Alain Zivie. The tomb is designated as I.1 and is located in the cliffs of the Bubasteion. Taweret, Aperias wife, may have been an important lady in her own right as she is the only New Kingdom woman identified to date to have buried in a set of three coffins. Their son Huy was buried in year 10 of Akhenaten or even later, also mentioned in the tomb are Aperel’s sons Seny, an official, and Hatiay, a priest
Aperel
–
Pharaohs
Aperel
–
The Vizier Aperel
48.
Bek (sculptor)
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Bek or Bak was the first chief royal sculptor during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten. His father Men held the position under Akhenatens father Amenhotep III. Bek grew up in Heliopolis, an important cult centre of the sun god Ra, the young prince Amenhotep had a palace here, and it is likely that his religious views were formed in part by the Heliopolitan teachings. Bek followed his lord to Akhet-Aten, the city founded by Akhenaten and he oversaw the construction of the great temple statues of the king and the opening of the Aswan and Gebel es-Silsila stone quarries, from where the stone was transported. A stela found in Aswan, made around the 9th regnal year of Akhenaten shows Men, on the right side Men stands before the statue of Amenhotep III. The statue is very likely to be one of the colossi of the pharaoh that was made by Men. On the left side of the stela Bek is shown before Akhenaten, a typical feature of Amarna era pictures, the rays of Aten end in hands. Atens and Akhenatens name was later chiseled out, on the stela Bek states that he is the apprentice whom His Majesty taught. It is likely that he oversaw the making of the statues which show Akhenaten and his family in a naturalistic style. A stela shows Bek with his wife Taheret and this is possibly the first self-portrait in history. The inscription of this stela also mentions him being taught by Akhenaten, a drawing of Akhenaten, which depicts the pharaoh and Aten and is likely to have been made in the early years of his reign, is possibly Beks work. This picture shows Aten with a man, which was an attribute of Ra. Some other sculptors of the Amarna period are known by name, including Thutmose and Yuti
Bek (sculptor)
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Pharaohs
Bek (sculptor)
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The Aswan stela of Men and Bek
49.
Meryre II
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He had a tomb constructed at Amarna, Tomb 2, although his remains have never been identified. The tomb has the last dated appearance of Akhenaten and the Amarna family, dating from second month, south Wall West Side, The Queen filling the Kings cup. Nefertiti is shown standing before a seated Akhenaten, pouring a drink through a sieve for the king, Meritaten stands between Akhenaten and Nefertiti, facing her father and offering him something. Behind Nefertiti we see Meketaten offering a perfume cone, while Ankhesenpaaten offers a bouquet of flowers, below this scene we see female musicians and male servants. South Wall, East Side, Reward of Meryra Meryra is shown before the window of appearance, Akhenaten and Nefertiti are shon handing out collars of gold. In the palace behind the window we see Merytaten and Meketaten handing gold collars to their mother, Ankhesenpaaten is shown standing before Neferneferuaten Tasherit and Neferneferure. Ankhesenpaaten is shown wearing earrings and three bracelets on each arm. She also appears to be wearing a rather elaborate cape or collar, on the east wall of the main chamber is a scene depicting the tribute of the chieftains of every foreign land. Akhenaten and Nefertiti are shown sitting on a throne in a kiosk with all six of their daughters standing behind them and this tribute takes place in year 12. Their six daughters are shown behind them, Meritaten, Meketaten and Ankhesenpaaten are shown holding hands. Neferneferuaten is holding something in her hands, neferure is shown holding a gazelle. The youngest daughter, Setepenre, holds a bouquet of flowers while petting the gazelle her older sister is holding. North Wall East Side, Meryre rewarded by the King Meryre is shown before The Lord of the Two Lands | Son of Re |, Meritaten appears as a Great Royal Wife and is depicted alongside her husband, Pharaoh Ankhkheperure Smenkhare-djeserkheperu. The scene shows the royal couple bestowing honors and gifts on Meryre, the scene appears on the wall adjacent to the wall depicting the Durbar of year 12. Smenkhare may have served as a co-regent to Akhenaten, Meritaten was the Great Royal Wife to Smenkhare, while Nefertiti continued as the consort of Akhenaten. Nefertiti still held the Great Royal Wife title in year 16, hence Smenkhare must have been a co-regent or otherwise ruled with his wife Meritaten sometime after year 16 of Akhenaten
Meryre II
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Meryra before
Smenkhare and
Meritaten.
Meryre II
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Pharaohs
