CHAPTER XXVIII

readx;? Due to the special position of Amenhotep IV's Reformation in the history of ancient Egypt, as well as the unique nature of its monotheistic religion, many researchers have aroused strong interest in the pharaoh's mental state and related historical facts. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. biquge。 In particular, the fact that the Atun faith is the first known monotheistic religion in history has undoubtedly stimulated many to look for its relationship to several monotheistic religions that later emerged in the Middle East - Judaism, Christianity and ****** Christianity. They have come up with many interesting theories, but they are rarely convincing.

One of the most interesting theories comes from the Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freud, the founder of the psychoanalytic school. Freud came to the very striking conclusion based on the fact that Moses' name was similar to the syllable "Moss" in many of the Egyptian pharaonic names: Moses was an Egyptian and had some kind of relationship with Amenhotep IV. In fact, "Moss" means "son" in ancient Egyptian, and is often followed by the name of a deity to form a personal name (e.g., Thutmose).

Freud deduced that the name of Moses preserved in the Old Testament was incomplete and that its original form was most likely "Atenmoth". Because Moses was the founder of strict monotheistic Judaism, and the only monotheism he could have come into contact with in Egypt was the Atun faith promoted by Amenhoteb IV.

Freud went on to speculate that Moses may have been an official loyal to the new religion of Amenhoteb IV, or even the son of Pharaoh! In any case, the "Hymn to Atun" in the inscription unearthed by Amarnai found that the content and description of this passage of praise for the one true God "Atun" are very similar to the Bible verse 104 that has been handed down to this day. This has led many scholars to make a number of possible assumptions about the connection between Amenhoteb IV's religion and early Judaism.

Although there was a main god in ancient Egypt, there were all kinds of lower-level local gods in various places. You worship yours, I worship mine, and the water of the well does not interfere with the water of the river, one place or several things. Many objects of worship may seem incomprehensible to people today. For example, a bow and arrow, a wooden carving, or a stone can all become sacred objects. As for the land, the rivers, the rain, the springs, the thunder, and the lightning, they worship them even more. In addition, many birds, beasts, and insects are also idols, and there is simply no god everywhere.

While Amenhotab IV promoted new gods throughout the country to ban the old gods, he swept away other gods that had been worshipped by the ancient Egyptians for thousands of years by executive order. This was a very strange move to the Egyptians, who were accustomed to Amun and the local gods: "What is going on? Why is it that the good god Amun is not allowed to be worshipped, and our own gods are not allowed to be worshipped?"

For a while, the people who did not know the inside story had a feeling of impending great disaster: "The country has been quiet for a long time, and it seems that there will be a big mess again." So the rich were busy hiding their personal possessions and moving to the countryside to avoid trouble.

Like ants on a hot pot, the monks jumped up and down in an attempt to influence Amenhoteb IV's decision-making. There was also no peace within the court. Members of the royal family and some high-ranking monks asked the abdicated old pharaoh Amenhotab III and the old queen Tii to persuade Amenhotab IV.

The old pharaoh and the old queen knew that their sons would not listen to them, but they feared that the country would be in turmoil, so they said to Amenhoteb IV one evening when he greeted them: "Son, do not go to extremes. In this life, I have been under the care of God Amun, and the country is peaceful and peaceful. You have changed your course and treated God Amun and his servants in this way, not only by sinning against God, but by angering many people. It is better to take back your destiny now, give up the plan to establish the god of Atun, turn movement into stillness, and restore peace in the country. ”

When Amenhoteb IV heard this, he frowned and said, "Father, I have heard many rumors in recent days, and there are also people who have cursed me behind my back, and those who are ready to move, and I have ordered the army to take strict precautions. Now come and admonish me. I know you're different from them and you're worried that I'm messing things up. I understand what you're saying. However, the monks of the temple of Amun are too powerful and often interfere in the government, and now they are even more arrogant, slandering the monarch and inciting the people, if they do not take decisive measures, they will definitely cause a catastrophe in the future, it is better to cut through the chaos as soon as possible, abolish the god Amun, and only respect the god Atun, so as to make the country stable. ”

The old pharaoh said, "Although your opinion is good, but the monks have served the court sincerely for many years, and the god Amun has worshipped the people for many years, if you change your religion, even your mother and I will not understand, how can you convince the world? ”

Amenhoteb IV replied: "Father, I have made up my mind and will never change it. I know that Amun is the protector of Thebes, and it can be said that it is deeply rooted. The intertwined relationship between the monks of the temple of Amun and their families has made it difficult for me to carry out my decree. I thought of a plan to move the capital to the central part of the country, to avoid the entanglement of the monks of the temple of Amun, and to facilitate the administration of Upper and Lower Egypt and the provinces of Asia. As for the people who don't understand it for a while, it's only a matter of time, and sooner or later they will get used to the new gods. ”

When the old pharaoh heard this, he shook his head and said, "Absolutely not. The relocation of the capital is a major event for the state, and it cannot be decided lightly. Even if you do, your mother and I won't move. We are old, you have grown up, and you can not listen to your father's words, but you must know that we all say this for your own good. We also want to say, you can't go overboard. ”

Amenhoteb IV said: "I have memorized the words of my parents, and you can rest assured. When he returned to the palace, Amenhoteb IV was sullen, and Queen Nefertiti asked him why he was so unhappy, and he told the old pharaoh and the queen what had advised him, and Queen Nefertiti thought for a moment and said to Amenhoteb IV, "If this is the case, I advise Your Majesty to hold off on your duties."

Amenhoteb IV said: "The opposition of the monks was expected, but it was not expected that I would be so dissatisfied with my actions. They were naturally satisfied with the retraction of their orders, but my own face and authority were lost in front of the world. And the monks may not stop there, they despise my cowardice in their hearts. As the king of a country, he must do what he says and do what he does. I offended the monks of Amun God to the end, but at the same time, I also obtained the approval of the monks of Atun God, and there are gains and losses. Moreover, a group of generals, led by Horenheb, had pledged their allegiance to me, and they were dissatisfied with what the monks had done. If you have an army and a group of men, you are not afraid that these people who pretend to be gods and ghosts will make waves. Seeing that Amenhoteb IV had made up his mind, Nefertiti stopped persuading.