One of the most compelling and controversial figures in history, Akhenaten has captured the imagination like no other Egyptian pharaoh. Known today as a heretic, Akhenaten sought to impose upon Egypt and its people the worship of a single god – the sun – and in so doing changed the country in every way.
In this immensely readable re-evaluation, Nicholas Reeves takes issue with the existing view of Akhenaten, presenting an entirely new perspective on the turbulent events of his seventeen-year reign. Reeves argues that, far from being the idealistic founder of a new faith, Akhenaten cynically used religion for purely political ends in a calculated attempt to reassert the authority of the king. Backed up by abundant archaeological and documentary evidence, Reeves’s closely written narrative also provides many new insights into questions that have baffled scholars for generations – the puzzle of the body in Tomb 55 in the Valley of the Kings; the fate of Nefertiti, Akhenaten’s beautiful wife, and the identity of the mysterious successor, Smenkhkare; and the theory that Tutankhamun, Akhenaten’s son and true heir, was murdered.
- ISBN13 9780500294697
- Publish Date 24 January 2019 (first published April 2001)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Thames & Hudson Ltd
- Format Paperback
- Pages 224
- Language English