Amarna Period
From ArchaeoWiki
The Amarna Period refers to brief period in ancient Egyptian history at the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty, generally understood to encompass the successive reigns of Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV), Smenkhkare, Tutankhamun and Ay.
The name given to the period derives from the site of el-Amarna in Middle Egypt, the location of the capital city and royal residence newly-established by Akhenaten as part of his wide-ranging reforms to Egypt's political and religious establishment. The Amarna Period was additionally characterised by considerable experimentation in artistic and literary expression.
The Amarna Letters provide unparalleled depth of documentation for relations between Egypt, its vassal rulers and rival empires during the Amarna Period.
The legacy of the Amarna Period was mixed. Certainly, subsequent rulers were at pains to obliterate the period from the national memory—in the Abydos King List of Seti I, for example, Amenhotep III is listed as the last king before Horemheb.
External links
- Pharaohs of the Sun - Museum of Fine Arts, Boston exhibition, 14 November 1999-6 February 2000
