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Akhenaten came to power as the pharaoh of Egypt in either the year 1353 or 1351 BCE and reigned for roughly seventeen years. He ascended to the throne under his birth name, Amenhotep IV, but in year five of his rule the king chose to change his name to one that better reflected his philosophical ideas for which he is now best known. Shortly after this first bold step Akhenaten initiated a series o... read moref unprecedented changes in the spheres of Egyptian religion, art, writing, and architecture. Each of these groundbreaking innovations was closely tied to the new natural philosophy that the king espoused and was intended to replace traditional Egyptian religion. Akhenaten centered his new philosophy on the minor sun god, the Aten, whose existence was first recorded during the 12th Dynasty (1991-1778 BCE). It is the aim of this thesis to understand the nature of Akhenaten_�_s innovations within Egyptian religion, to characterize the specific belief structure of Atenism, and to recognize the pharaoh_�_s motivation for enacting such upheaval.read less
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