Akhenaten: Egypt's False Prophet [Paperback]

Nicholas Reeves (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2005

One of the most compelling and controversial figures in history, Akhenaten has captured the imagination like no other Egyptian pharaoh. Much has been written about this strange, persecuted figure, whose freakishly elongated and effeminate appearance is totally at odds with that of the traditional Egyptian ruler-hero. 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 to concentrate all power in his own hands. Backed up by abundant archaeological and documentary evidence, Reeves' 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.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

By using archaeological studies and theories, Reeves has written a captivating and educational interpretation of the life and times of Akhenaten, a legendary pharaoh of ancient Egypt. Akhenaten is probably best known for being the husband of Nefertiti and the father of Tutankhamun; he is also known for being the ruler who attempted to restructure the Egyptian multigod religion organization into a monotheistic form of worship. Reeves, author of The Complete Tut ankhamun (1990) and former curator of the British Museum's Department of Egyptian Antiquities, argues some new and original theories behind Akhenaten's actions regarding political policy and religion. Sexuality, the creation of his new capital city, the arts, and political intrigue are all topics discussed as Reeves describes this era of long ago. Anyone interested in the enthralling history of the pharaohs of antiquity should read Akhenaten for further insights into this long forgotten and notorious ruler, and his ultimate failures. Julia Glynn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

A captivating and educational interpretation of the life and times of Akhenaten. -- Booklist

A racy, irresistible detective story full of hidden clues—and bodies—magic geometry, and ruthlessness masked as mysticism. -- New York Times Book Review

For those interested in ancient Egypt, this highly informative book is required reading. -- Choice

Written in an engaging style for the general reader; provides a concise, up-to-date and highly readable overview. -- Religious Studies Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson (May 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500285527
• ISBN-13: 978-0500285527
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #441,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amarna revisited, April 28, 2001

By 

Lazaro Lopez "Queen of Egypt" (atlanta, georgia United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Akhenaten: Egypt's False Prophet (Hardcover)

Nicholas Reeves' latest book, Akhenaten is a convincing re-assessment of the 17 year reign of Egypt's heretic king. Drawing on recent discoveries and the re-examination of previous finds, to shed more light on this most controversial period of Egyptian history. Especially convincing were his arguments on the true identity of the mummy found in KV55, and the evidence pointing to Akhenaten's co-regency with Queen Nefertiti as Smenkhare. What I did find distressing and curious was Mr. Reeves' obvious distaste and criticism for Queen/King Hatshepsut. I do still recommend this book highly. An important work on a very important time in history.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Needed Reappraisal of Akhenaten, November 16, 2004

By 

Fabian Boudville (BC, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Akhenaten: Egypt's False Prophet (Hardcover)

In my view, Nicholas Reeves delivers a long needed reappraisal of Akhenaten's reign by arguing that most interpretations of this controversial Pharaoh--as a benevolent ruler who merely believed in the existence of One God are totally at odds with the surviving facts from his reign. Although Reeves' book is devoted to the monarch, Akhenaten does not take centre stage until the beginning of Chapter 4(p.75) when he accedes to the throne. In the previous chapters, Reeves meticulously lays out the rise of the New Kingdom Empire, the discovery of El-Amarna and the tremendous wealth that Egypt enjoyed under the prosperous 38 year reign of Amenhotep III, Akhenaten's father.

Reeves argues, compellingly that rather than being a devout Monotheist (someone who believes in the existence of one God--the Aten here), Akhenaten used his Religious revolution to cynically concentrate power in his hands--at the expense of more traditional political structures of Ancient Egypt such as the Amun Priesthood. The Amun priests were denied access to the considerable wealth of the Amun temples which had boosted the Egyptian economy after they had defied Akhenaten's wishes in his 4th Year. The wealth was instead conveniently diverted into the Treasury of the Egyptian state, ie. Akhenaten. Soon after, Reeves notes that Akhenaten unleashed a Wave of Terror against anything remotely concerning the old religious order--between his Year 8 and Year 12--as his agents actively destroyed non-Atenist religious statues and hacked out the names and images of these gods wherever they occured--on Temple Walls, Obelisks, Shrines and even on the accessible portions of Tombs. (pp.154-55) Rather than being a king who wished to reform the traditional Amun Priesthood or curb its power as Akhenaten's father had begun to do in the final years of his reign by paying more attention to the temples and shrines of other divinities such as Monthu, Re and Ptah, Akhenaten wished to create a New Order--his order.

The author observes that the scale of the anti-Amun persecutions were so terrifying that mass paranoia reigned throughout Egypt. Archaeological discoveries at Akhetaten show that many ordinary residents of this city chose to gouge or chisel out all references to the god Amun on even minor personal items that they owned--like commemorative scarabs or make-up pots--perhaps for fear of being accused of having Amunist sympathies. References to Amenhotep III, Akhenaten's father, were partly erased since they contained the traditional Amun form of his name. As the author aptly concludes: "Such displays of frightening self-censorship and toadying loyalty are ominous indicators of the paranoia which was beginning to grip the country. Not only were the streets [of Akhetaten] filled with the pharaoh's soldiers...; it seems the population now had to contend with the danger of malicious informers." (pp.154-55) In the end, Akhenaten's revolution collapsed from within after his death since the enormous costs of founding a new capital city at Akhetaten in modern day El-Amarna and the closing of the Amun temples choked off the growth of the Egyptian economy. A byproduct of Akhenaten's centralisation tendencies was the appearance of massive corruption among the king's state officials who held unprecedented control over all the wealth and produce of Egypt. Later Egyptians rejected Akhenaten's unhappy reign by systematically dismantling all his monuments, denouncing him as "that criminal from Akhetaten" (see 'The Inscription of Mes' dating to Ramses II) and abandoning Akhetaten, the seat of Akhenaten's religious Revolution, to the Desert.

On other matters, Reeves decisively rejects the view of a long 12 year coregency between Akhenaten and his father, Amenhotep III in favour of a shorter period of only one year. Reeves notes the clear evidence of docket EA 27--on a diplomatic letter written to Akhenaten--which is dated to the latter's Year 2 plus the evidence from Amenhotep III's own tomb, in which this king's name is always represented in his traditional prenomen/nomen form of Nebmaatre Amenhotep, rather than the later Akhenaten inspired "Nebmaatre Nebmaatre" which omitted any reference to his father's Amun-affiliated birth name. (pp.75-78) Regarding the mysterious Dahamanzu who corresponded with Suppiluliuma of Hatti, the author argues that this Queen could only be Nefertiti, rather than Ankhesenamun, as is traditionally believed. Reeves notes that the approximate time of the first correspondence by this newly widowed Queen occured late in the Autumn Season (ie: September/October)--a time which Hittite records show that Suppiluliuma I was beseiging the city of Carchemish. This corresponds perfectly with the known time of Akhenaten's death when the bottling of Wine from his Royal vinery was taking place. One of his Year 17 wine dockets was even been changed into Year 1 of Akhenaten's successor (cf. CAH)--which proves that Akhenaten had died during this process--to reflect this political change. Tutankhamun, by contrast, clearly died late in the Winter Season (December or early January) as the presence of the Blue Lotus flower in his tomb--which only blossoms in late February and early March--proves when one takes into account the traditional 70 day mummification process. The existence of a diplomatic letter, EA 170, found in El-Amarna from one of Akhenaten's Canaanite vassals which makes reference to a Hittite attack on the city of Amki is undoubtedly the same one which Hittite Annals record as being in progress at the time of Dahamanzu's first correspondence. (pp.172-77) In contrast, Tutankhamun had abandoned Akhetaten (El-Amarna) for Thebes at least 7 or 8 years prior to his death in his Year 10--a fact which removes the case for identifying Dahamanzu with Ankhesenamun, Tutankhamun's Queen.

However, Reeves' suggestion in his book that Neferneferuaten was the same person as the male king Smenkhkare must now be rejected based on new evidence collated in 2004 which demonstrates that the former was a woman. (cf. Dodson & Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, 2004, p.285, note 111)

Reeves' excellent prose and penetrating insight into the disastrous situation that Egypt was facing under Akhenaten's crisis filled reign shows the tremendous value of this masterful work. I consider it a must read on Akhenaten's tumultous 17 year reign and its terrible aftermath which left behind a weak and chastened Egypt bereft of her imperial possessions in Syria (which had now been lost to the Hittites), and struggling to recover her confidence and belief in the divine kingship of Pharaoh. It took 3 different Pharaohs--Tutankhamun, Ay and Horemheb--to fix the mess that Akhenaten left behind. The sole regret which I have with this work is its relative brevity--at 194 pages--before you reach the Bibliography and Index sections. But this does not detract from its great value and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to the general reader.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally! An Accessible Scholarly Title on Akhenaten, July 16, 2001

By 

Jeffrey C. Collins (Jersey City, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Akhenaten: Egypt's False Prophet (Hardcover)

This book is the best book-length treatment of the Heretic King since Aldred's famous "Akhenaten: King of Egypt" (1988), and of course, it is more up-to-date. Beautifully illustrated, scholarly but eminently readable. The author's grasp of most of the complex and controversial issues surrounding the Amarna period is on the money. He develops the equation of Queen Nefertiti with King Smenkhkare in a way that is the most convincing yet (although I must still disagree with that theory, I confess). For sheer reading pleasure, I must say it is on a par with Mme Desroches-Noblecourt's "Tutankhamen" (1963). There's a surprise on almost every page for even the seasoned Amarnaphile (Who else could tell you that Hitler was a great admirer of the "Aryan" bust of Queen Nefertiti?). In summary, this book is easily without peer on all counts and, in fact, is the best thing the author has written to date.