2408–2425 AM · ≈ 1353 BCE — 1336 BCE · world history
Akhenaten and Amarna
A pharaoh closes the temples of the old gods, worships the solar disc Aten, and builds a new capital.
Amenhotep IV changes his name to Akhenaten, leaves Thebes, and on empty ground in the desert founds the city of Akhetaten. Worship is fixed on the solar disc; the name of Amun is erased from the monuments, and the priesthood loses its revenues. The art of these years changes sharply: elongated faces, family scenes, the king with his wife Nefertiti and their daughters. In the same city an archive of diplomatic correspondence in Akkadian was found — letters from the rulers of Canaan pleading for help. After Akhenaten's death the capital is abandoned and the old gods are brought back.