Amenhotep III

Amenhotep IV ascended the throne of Egypt following the death of his father, Amenhotep III. This new ruler proved to be different in almost every way from both his predecessors and the pharaohs who ruled after him. The purpose of this essay is to present the issues of religion, art, architecture, literature and foreign policy in relation to the rule of this unique pharaoh. Newby (1980) states that the most noticeable difference rested in the religious …

…from other pharaohs before him. Akhenaten was an idealist who believed in a universal god who could care for all men regardless of race or nationality. With respect to ruling his subjects, he was a king who found war distasteful and “in whose heart there was no trace of barbarism” (Weigall, 1922, p. 251). In many ways he was a humanitarian who sought to be regarded by his people as a man rather than a god (Weigall, 1923).