as demonstrated in foreign
lands almost as clearly as in Egypt. Thrusting aside all the
multitudinous deities of Egypt and all the mythology even of Heliopolis,
he devoted himself to the cult of the visible sun-disk, applying to it
as its chief name the hitherto rare word Aton, meaning "sun"; the
traditional divine name Harakht (Horus of the horizon), given to the
hawk-headed sun-god of Heliopolis, was however allowed to subsist and a
temple was built at Karnak to this god. The worship of the other gods
was officially recognized until his fifth year, but then a sweeping
reform was initiated by which apparently the new cult alone was
permitted. Of the old deities Ammon represented by far the wealthiest
and most powerful interests, and against this long favoured deity the
Pharaoh hurled himself with fury. He changed his own name from Amenhotp,
"Ammon is satisfied," to Akhenaton, "pious to Aton," erased the name and
figure of Ammon from the monuments, even where it occurred as part of
his own father's name, abandoned Thebes, the magnificent city of Ammon,
and built a new capital at El Amarna in the plain of Hermopolis, on a
virgin site upon the edge of the desert. This with a large area around
he dedicated to Aton in the sixth year, while splendid temples, palaces,
houses and tombs for his god, for himself and for his courtiers were
rising around him; apparently also this "son of Aton" swore an oath
never to pass beyond the boundaries of Aton's special domain. There are
signs also that the polytheistic word "gods" was obliterated on many of
the monuments, but other divine names, though almost entirely excluded
from Akhenaton's work, were left untouched where they already existed.
In all local temples the worship of Aton was instituted. The confiscated
revenues of Ammon and the tribute from Syria and Cush provided ample
means for adorning Ekhaton (Akhetaton), "the horizon of Aton," the new
capital, and for richly rewarding those who adopted the Aton teaching
fervently. But meanwhile the political needs of the empire were
neglected; the dangers which threatened it at the end of the reign of
Amenophis III. were never properly met; the dynasts in Syria were at war
amongst themselves, intriguing with the great Hittite advance and with
the Khabiri invaders. Those who relied on Pharaoh and remained loyal as
their fathers had done sent letter after letter appealing for aid
against their foes. But though a general was despatched with