inor. A few of the chieftains who
were not actually in arms against him had written to him every now and
then assuring him that all was well in his dominions; and, strange to
relate, the tribute of many of the cities had been regularly paid. The
Asiatic princes, in fact, had completely fooled the Pharaoh, and had led
him to believe that the nations were loyal while they themselves
prepared for rebellion. Akhnaton, hating violence, had been only too
ready to believe that the despatches from Tunip and elsewhere were
unjustifiably pessimistic. He had hoped to bind together the many
countries under his rule, by giving them a single religion. He had hoped
that when Aton should be worshipped in all parts of his empire, and when
his simple doctrines of love, truth, and peace should be preached from
every temple throughout the length and breadth of his dominions, then
war would cease and a unity of faith would hold the lands in harmony one
with the other.

When, therefore, the tribute suddenly ceased, and the few refugees came
staggering home to tell of the perfidy of the Asiatic princes and the
fall of the empire, Akhnaton seems to have received his deathblow. He
was now not more than twenty-eight years of age; and though his
portraits show that his face was already lined with care, and that his
body was thinner than it should have been, he seems to have had plenty
of reserve strength. He was the father of several daughters, but his
queen had borne him no son to succeed him; and thus he must have felt
that his religion could not outlive him. With his empire lost, with
Thebes his enemy, and with his treasury wellnigh empty, one feels that
Akhnaton must have sunk to the very depths of despondency. His religious
revolution had ruined Egypt, and had failed: did he, one wonders, find
consolation in the sunshine and amidst the flowers?

His death followed speedily; and, resting in the splendid coffin in
which we found him, he was laid in the tomb prepared for him in the
hills behind his new capital. The throne fell to the husband of one of
his daughters, Smenkhkara, who, after an ephemeral reign, gave place to
another of the sons-in-law of Akhnaton, Tutankhaton. This king was
speedily persuaded to change his name to Tutankhamon, to abandon the
worship of Aton, and to return to Thebes. Akhnaton's city fell into
ruins, and soon the temples and palaces became the haunt of jackals and
the home of owls. The nobles returned with their ne