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(More customer reviews)The title of this book is a bit deceptive in that the authors, all professors at the University of Pennsylvania, are more concerned with instilling in their readers an excellent mental image of the city of Akhet-Aten than anything else. The greater portion of the text offers logical reasons for the layout/design of that city and the location of the various palaces, temples, etc. therein, which is, admittedly very interesting and informative; this leaves the reader with a much better idea of what the city was actually like. Beyond speculating about various aspects of that city, the book provides a basic overall view of Akhenaten, his religion and reign; nothing particularly new. As very little is actually known about the life and reign of Tutankhamun beyond what has been learned from the contents of his tomb, very little of the book directly concerns him, apart from some interesting speculation about the large number of statues that Tut commissioned only to have Horemheb later claim as his own. The photos, although somewhat dark at times, add to the book in that a number of them show items from the Univ. of Pennsylvania's collection that are not widely published in other books on this subject. Another plus is the admirable way in which the authors refrained from promoting their own opinions or personal agenda regarding this controversial period. As they so rightly state, "Modern interpretations of Akhenaten tend to reflect to a significant extent the surrounding ethos of the commentators themselves." The authors have avoided making that mistake here.
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Egypt's eighteenth dynasty, a period of empire building, was also for a short time the focus of a religious revolution. Now called the Amarna Period (1353-1322 BCE), after the site of an innovative capital city that was the center of the new religion, it included the reigns of the heretic Pharaoh Akhenaten and his presumed son, the boy king Tutankhamun.Three Penn Egyptologists examine the concept of royal power and demonstrate how Akhenaten established, projected, and maintained his vision of it. They investigate how and why this unique pharaoh made fundamental changes in the social contract between himself and his subjects on one side, and between his new solar god, the Aten, and himself on the other. The authors also look at the radical religion, politics, and art, he introduced to Egypt as well as at the consequences of his actions after his death, including how his successors, most notably, Tutankhamun, Egypt's most famous pharaoh, dealt with the restoration of traditional ways. Why did this reversal take place? Could a youth effect such changes without significant help?In concise and readable form, this generously illustrated volume takes a fresh approach to a most fascinating period in Egyptian history. It deals with such topics as the evolution of Akhenaten's ideology and the concepts surrounding the foundation, construction, and use of his innovative city and its unique palaces, temples, and houses. Egypt's empire, the role of its women, its relations with other nations of the ancient world, and the remarkable place both Akhenaten and Tutankhmun hold in history are also among other issues discussed. An epilogue recaps how Amarna's modern discovery helped solve the mysteries surrounding this city, its unique founder, and the aftermath of his revolution.
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