Chapter 29: The Reformation of Eheatun
readx;? The next day, Amenhoteb IV issued an order in front of the civil and military officials: "Due to the inspiration of the god Atun and the refusal of the priests of the temple of Amun to obey my orders, from this day onwards, the temples of the non-Atun gods will be closed, and the monks will be driven out of the temple gates to return home, and the people will be returned to the people." The name of Amun must be completely removed from all public buildings and monuments www.biquge.info. At least one temple of Atun must be erected in every city of the country, and local officials at all levels must take the lead in offering sacrifices to my father, Atun, and swearing eternal allegiance to the wise and great Creator, Atun. ”
Then Amenhotab IV declared: "The land of the other temples that have been confiscated is designated as the temple of Atun, and monks are forbidden to participate in politics." The capital was moved to Hilmo, 300 km north of Thebes, and was named 'Ekhtatun', which means 'the land of Atun'. Ayi was in charge of building the new capital, and Horen Haibu was in charge of banning all non-Atun worship. Officials at all levels must obey their assignments, and those who passively slack off their work or refuse to obey must be severely punished. When the civil and military officials heard this, they were all dumbfounded. ”
Amenhoteb IV turned a blind eye and waved his hand: "This decree has been issued, and it must be carried out if it is understood, and it must be carried out if it is not understood." Then he left the throne and turned to retreat.
In the afternoon, a large number of troops raided the major temples of Amun in Thebes and forcibly drove the monks out of the temples. Those who did not want to leave were dragged out of the door by the soldiers. Many monks left the temple where they had lived for many years with their luggage in their backs, with tears in their eyes and inwardly scolding Amenhotab IV. The monks of the temple of Atun were light-hearted and took over a large number of property, slaves, and other possessions of the temple of Amun.
When the old pharaoh Amenhoteb III heard that his son was acting so recklessly, he was angry and anxious, and soon died.
In 1379 BC, in the sixth year of the reign of Amenhotab IV, a new capital built by mobilizing hundreds of thousands of laborers, Ekhtatun (400 kilometers south of Cairo), was completed, including a magnificent royal palace, residences of high-ranking officials, the Temple of Atun, comparable to the Temple of Amun in Thebes, and army barracks. Amenhoteb IV was selected by the priests to have a good day and an auspicious day, led the Manchu civil and military officials, and brought their respective family servants and the garrison to defend the capital, and moved to the new capital.
In the same year, he officially changed his name to Amon, and changed his full name to Ehe Atun as proof of his worship of the god Atun.
The original name of Eheatun was Amenhortab, which means "servant of Amun". Amun was the main god of Thebes, and after the sun god Ra, became the main god of all of Egypt, and his name is written in Greek texts as "Amenophis" (Αμ?νoφi?), which is more in line with the Greek naming convention. For a long time, the name Amenophis was used by the Western archaeological community.
The title of Eheatun (tree bee title) is "ru-rê" (nefer-hepru-la), which literally means "the beautiful sun god Ra". Later, this title was added to the title: "wa-en-ra", which literally means "the one and only sun god Ra". In the famous ancient Egyptian text, the Amalnai Texts, a variant of the royal title appears: a.
After the Reformation of Ekhatun, in order to show his break with the faith of Amun and his support for the faith of Atun, he changed his name, and the preceding names all denote faith in the gods Ra and Amun. The new name clearly indicates the worship of Atun: "Ehe-Atun", which literally means "servant of Atun" or "radiant god Atun".
Ekhatun did not abandon his original title after the Reformation, but added a section to it: Meri Atun, which means "beloved god Atun".
Eheatun's Seth title is (meaning "Great Eheatun").
The Horus-style title of Eheatun (meaning "in praise of the god Atun").
Ekhatun built a number of grand temples throughout Egypt for the god Atun, including a temple at Karnak, which was originally dedicated to Amun.
After Eheatun moved to the new palace, he had no intention of ruling the government, and reveled in religious and court life all day long, with political affairs in charge of Ayi and military affairs entrusted to Horenheib. The two were loyal to Eheatun. Ekhatun himself neglected the government and relaxed his supervision, so that the rule became more and more relaxed, and the state apparatus was like an old carriage, which could run, but it creaked everywhere and did not work smoothly.
As a result of Ehatun's excessive focus on religious affairs, Egypt's influence abroad declined, and there was even a marked decline in national power. The pharaoh's disregard for political activities other than the Reformation undoubtedly caused great trouble in the Egyptian Empire, which was founded by Thutmose III.
The governors and kings of the vassal states in Asia wrote letters to the pharaoh, and they complained that they were often rebuked or deceived without cause. Early in his reign, Amenhotep IV was at odds with Tushrata, the king of Mitanni, a major Asian country.
Thus allied themselves with their former enemies, the Hittites, and these terrible Hittite warriors, under their great leader, Supiluriuma I, were attacking Mitanni in an attempt to establish their own supremacy.
King Tushrata of Mitanni wrote to Eheatun, recalling the generational friendship and in-law relationship between the two countries, and hoping for Egypt's assistance. But Eheatun ruthlessly rejected the request. This is clearly the wrong diplomatic line.
Many of the minor Asian princes who had submitted to Egypt were also threatened by the Hittites, who had to appeal to Pharaoh himself in Africa, to which Ekhatun ignored them.
In short, Egypt's control over Asia was weakened during his reign, and many scholars believe that it was at this end that the era of a heyday Egyptian empire ended.
The monks of Thebes still gathered openly and secretly to perform sacrifices to the god Amun. At first, the governors of various cities also strictly punished violators, but after a long ban, they simply turned a blind eye and cared more about enriching their own pockets. The common people were oppressed by the double oppression of taxation and hard labor, and they were full of complaints.
The New Kingdom is full of crises, but Eheatun is detached from reality and continues to live in his own ideals. He considered himself the only messenger of the god Atun to the world, and the couple took their children to the temple every morning to pray and make sacrifices, and stayed in the palace in the afternoon to have fun.
Ekhatun was fond of chants and carving, and a group of literati led by Ayi created poems praising Atun and Pharaoh, saying, "Because of your wisdom, there is peace everywhere, and "You are as holy as Atun, and people will live happily if they follow your teachings." Whenever he heard these eulogies, he was overjoyed.