In a hymn written by Akhenaten to Aton, it has been determined that there are obvious similarities with the 104th hymn of the Bible. The Aton religion was a religion with no moral merits but owed reverence to the sun for life and warmth.
(14th century BC) Egyptian pharaoh. He made religious reforms, which is considered the beginning of monotheism. Birth and death dates are unknown. He is the son of III Amenhotep (III Amenophis). He has crowned in 1379 BC and is thought to have ruled until 1362 BC. In the early years of his reign, he was referred to as IV Amenhotep (IV Amenophis), using his family name. Amenhotep IV was the pharaoh of the 18th dynasty (1367-1320 BC), which ruled for nearly two centuries. In this period, Egypt's empire, which also dominated Palestine, Phoenicia, and Sudan, led to cultural changes. “The influence of the Egyptian gods spread to other regions as well. The most important gods of Egypt, Amon, and Ra were combined and became known as Amon-Ra or Amon-Ra-Harakte.
After Amenotep IV became pharaoh, he continued to believe in the Theban God Amon and the Sun God Re-Harakte. The first temples he built near the city of Thebes bore the characteristics of traditional architecture. This architectural form, in which giant stone blocks were used, expressed his respect for Re-Harakte. But soon, in disagreement with the priests of Amon, he stopped the construction of the temple and began to build a temple for the new Sun God. The name of the new god, symbolized by the sun-sphere, was Aton. According to historical findings, the worship of the sun globe also existed during the reign of Tutmosis IV (1425-1417 BC).
Aton never took the form of a human or animal, but the rays of the sun gathered in human hands, symbolizing the heat, light, and life-giving nature of the sun. Aton was worshiped not in the secrecy of the temple, but in the sun-warmed open space. New temples were built at Karnak, near Thebes. The flamboyant temples, in which giant stone blocks were used, were replaced by fine structures. The importance given to creativity in art revealed a feature that approached caricature in lines, and the expression of vitality from the stasis of eternity in art was made. In the pictures, the king began to be shown kissing or eating his wife. The families that ruled the region for years were under the influence of the God of Amon. In order to break this tradition, Amenophis IV changed his name to Akhenaten in the sixth year of his reign. The new religion was formalized with this name, meaning Servant of Aton. He moved the capital to the region known as Amarna, 300 km from Thebes, east of the Nile river, and named the new city Aketaton (the region of Aton's influence) which he started to establish.
Efforts were made to make the city attractive. The walls of the villas of the new nobility, which developed with the Aton religion, were depicted in line with the newly developing art. The Aton religion is not fully understood. But monotheism, with the mention of other gods in many places and sometimes giving up on saying "all gods", the figure of Nefertiti in a stone sarcophagus replacing the guardian deities, Akhenaten and Nefertiti worshiping only Aton, is considered the religion closest to monotheism. has caused. In a hymn written by Akhenaten to Aton, it has been determined that there are obvious similarities with the 104th hymn of the Bible. The Aton religion was a religion with no moral merits but owed reverence to the sun for life and warmth.
Akhenaten did not pay enough attention to the administration of the empire, as he devoted himself largely to the development of religion and culture. Due to the weakening of the army and navy, foreign trade decreased. Tax officials began to corrupt. High officials and military commanders in Syria and Palestine were left unsupervised. The wishes of the vassal princes to trade with Egypt were not taken into account. Dissatisfied with the situation, clergy, and civil servants joined the army to campaign to undermine confidence in the new religion. The Amarna Tablets mention that some lands came out of the hands of Egypt and the empire began to disintegrate.
After his death, he was succeeded by his first stepson, Semakare, and later, by his second son, Tutankhaton. Tutankhamun was forced to remove Aton from the end of his name and change it to Tutankhamun. Thus, the God of Aton was abandoned and Amon was brought to the fore. The capital was also moved to Thebes as before. After his death, Akenaten's memory was forgotten and his name was "scraped" from the monuments.