Amenhotep II had several successful military campaigns in the Levant and also improved on various monuments to the gods. He built a temple at Giza to Horemakhet , the GOD identified with the Great Sphinx. The Sphinx and the Pyramids of Khufu and Khafra had become a place of pilgrimage from Thutmosis I`s reign. It also became the place where a cult to the ancestors was established. The worship of Horemakhet and of Egypt`s pharaohs continued here well into the times of Roman rule. Amenhotep II`s son (Thutmosis IV) placed a stele in the space between the Sphinx`s paws.

Amenhotep II added a pavilion to Karnak`s Temple of Amun for his "Sed" Festival. It was made up of relief-carved pillars which were decorated all around and became a new gateway in front of the Eighth Pylon. He also added to the northern area of this complex which now makes up the foundations to the temple built by Amenhotep III.

It was during Amenhotep II`s reign that peace with Mitanni was established. This is found on a stele at Memphis describing the arrival of various chiefs bringing gifts to the pharaoh. Amenhotep II had no Great Royal Wife apart from his mother, Merytra. He had many children by other wives but never publicly acknowledged them as "GOD's Wives of Amun". This may have been a deliberate attempt to ensure that no Queen could ever take over his throne, as was the situation with Queen Hatshepsut.

It is not known whether Amenhotep II`s successor Thutmosis IV was the legitimate heir, although he was a son of his. Thutmosis used divine legitimization to support his accent to the throne. There is an inscription on the "Sphinx Stele" which explains how Prince Thutmosis had sought the shade of the Sphinx to rest. He then fell asleep and dreamt that the Sphinx spoke to him saying "Look at me, observe me, my son Thutmosis. I am your father Horemakhet-Khepri-Ra-Amun. I shall give you the kingship (upon the land of the living) (Behold, my condition is like one of illness), all (my limbs being ruined). The sand of the desert, upon which I used to be, (now) confronts me; and it is in order to cause that you do what is in my heart that I have wanted". Thutmosis honored his request and excavated the Sphinx from the sand.

Thutmosis IV built and added to many temples throughout the land. He built a porch and door in front of the Fourth Pylon at Karnak. He later changed the limestone Fourth Pylon to Sandstone and built a Peristyle Court with elaborate decorations. An obelisk was also erected in the eastern part of the Karnak complex it had originally been made for Thutmosis III but had never been completed. This became the centre of worship for the Sun God and was erected on the axis of the temple.

Throughout his reign Thutmosis IV emphasized the divine and solar elements of Egyptian Kingship. On a stele at Giza, Thutmosis IV is wearing a "Shebiu-Collar", made of gold and armlets which are identified with the solar deity. He also had a statue erected of himself shown as the Falcon King at Karnak. This image was also seen on the decoration of his sandstone court at Karnak. He also identified the royal females with various gods. His mother, Tiaa, was given the role of "GOD's Wife of Amun", identifying her as the goddess Mut. She was also known as "King`s mother" and "Great Royal Wife". She was connected with the goddesses Isis and Hathor in these roles.
 

Following the death of Thutmosis IV his young son, Prince Amenhotep-Mer-Khepesh, succeeded him. Amenhotep III identified himself with national deities and even had himself represented as a substitute for gods. He had many building works completed all over Egypt but the most visible of these is in Thebes. The massive statues of Amenhotep III, now known as the Colossi of Memnon in Western Thebes, stood in front of the First Pylon of his funerary temple. To the south of this temple was his palace of "The Gleaming Aten". Massive statues of Ptah made from quartz were erected at his temple at Memphis. He was also the first king to be linked to the Apis-Bull burial in the Serapeum.

At Luxor Temple Amenhotep III replaced an early Thutmosis temple with one of sandstone with scenes showing the "Opet" feast, where the king renews his divine powers. This temple also contained a birth room with scenes depicting his birth from a union of Amun-Ra and his mother, Mutemwiya. A further temple was constructed at Luxor for the new cult of Amun of "Ipet Resy" or Luxor.

Amenhotep`s most important wife was Queen Tiye. She was actually deified in a temple built for her at Sedeinga in upper Nubia. She was not given the title of "God`s Wife of Amun" and therefore is not depicted on the monuments at Karnak and Luxor. Amenhotep III also married some of his own daughters, therefore increasing his own wealth by not sharing the royal estate with the husband of his daughters. It was Queen Tiye that was the mother of the next king, Amenhotep IV.
 
 

By the time of Amenhotep III`s death, Egypt was at peace with most of the neighboring countries and was wealthier and more powerful than it had been in the past. The people of Egypt believed that they were cared for and provided for by the Sun-God and Creator God "Ra" and their Pharaoh was Ra`s representative on Earth.

The journey of the Sun-God through the heavens was glorified in the temples. Each day when the sun rose it was believed to be a repeat of the creation of the Earth. When the sun set each evening, it was believed that "Ra" entered the underworld. During his time there he was rejuvenated and would then be reborn as "Ra-Horakhty". The Egyptians strongly believed that without death there could be no new life. The deceased were thought to travel with "Ra" on his daily journey in order for them to be reborn into a better life.

"Osiris" was known as the God of the Dead and the Underworld. He was also believed to be an aspect of "Ra".During the hours of darkness "Ra" was believed to take on the character of "Osiris" and ensure that a new day and a new life could emerge. By the end of Amenhotep III`s reign "Ra" had taken on the position of the "supreme God", with other deities being a part of Ra`s creation.

During the 18th Dynasty up until this point, Memphis had been the state's administrative capital but Thebes, the home town of the kings of this dynasty, continued to be the major religious centre in Egypt. Amun (the hidden one) was the local Theban Deity. Amun had over time become linked with Ra and the combined deity "Amun-Ra was honored in every part of Egypt as the ultimate God.

The pharaoh was believed to have been born from the union of the Queen Mother and Amun. It was this union that was celebrated in the "Opet" festival in the Temple of Amun at Thebes. The king was acknowledged as the earthly form of Amun. As Amun-Ra was seen as the supreme god, his temple and estates grew in both political and economic strength, as did the Priesthood of Amun.

Amenhotep IV was crowned king by Amun at Thebes. It is uncertain if there was any co-regency with Amenhotep III and IV. From the beginning of his reign, Amenhotep IV undertook a massive building project at Karnak. These buildings were on the eastern side of the complex facing towards the sunrise. He did not dedicate these temples to Amun but to Ra-Horus. This was a new name for the sun god. It was later changed to "Aten", which meant the "Living Sun-Disc". Aten had been acknowledged in Amenhotep III`s reign but was shown as a man with a falcon`s head with a sun disc sitting on top of this. Amenhotep IV altered this depiction to be a disc with rays originating from it which developed into hands, bringing with them the gift of life and power. At this stage the Aten was now seen as the supreme god but other deities had not been forsaken.
 
 

It had been discovered that Amenhotep IV celebrated his "Sed" festival at Karnak within the first five years of his reign. In the inscriptions that depict these celebrations, the Aten was now seen as the deceased father, Amenhotep III, in a solarized form. The "Aten" was now seen as being the "Divine Father" and his son was the "Earthly Incarnation". Amenhotep IV was married to Nefertiti (1). She is seen in a prominent position throughout the decoration of the buildings that Amenhotep IV had erected. She took on a new name, Neferneferuaten, and is often shown with her daughter, Meritaten, performing tasks which had previously been only carried out by the king himself, e.g. presenting "Maat" (maintaining the order of the universe) and "Smiting the enemy" (overcoming the powers of chaos).

It was during Amenhotep IV`s fifth year in power that he removed Thebes as the religious centre and built a new city dedicated only to the Cult of Aten. It was also at this time when he changed his name to Akhenaten (which means "He who acts effectively on behalf of the Aten" or "Creative manifestation of the Aten". His new city was called Akhenaten, "Horizon of the Aten" and is now known as Amarna.

It is likely that there would have been considerable opposition to the changes to the worship of the traditional gods. The Priesthood of Amun at Karnak would have bee greatly affected, as the wealth of the estate of Amun was being diverted to the cult of the Aten, even before Akhenaten moved to Amarna. No further buildings were erected at Karnak once Amarna had become the religious centre and the inscriptions bearing the King`s name as Amenhotep IV were altered to read Akhenaten.

Later in his reign Akhenaten changed the name of Aten to mean, "The Living one, Ra, Ruler of the horizon who rejoices in the horizon in his identity of Ra the father who returned as the Sun-Disc". The original link of Ra with Horus was removed possibly because Horus had always been traditionally associated with Egyptian Kingship. The worship of any other God than Aten was banned at this time. The old state temples were all shut and none of the traditional religious festivals and holidays were celebrated. Akhenaten also attempted to remove the statues and inscriptions on monuments of all the other gods. Akhenaten could only have achieved these reforms if he had the backing of the army. 
 
 

During the Amarna Period the style of artistic representation underwent a drastic change. At the beginning of Amenhotep IV`s reign he was portrayed in a traditional manner, similar to how his father had been before him. Shortly after he had become king he was seen in portraits and sculptures as having a thin face with a pointed chin, thick lips, an elongated neck, "feminine looking "breasts, wide hips, a large rounded tummy, large thighs and thin legs not only was Akhenaten depicted in this style, so too were Nefertiti, his children and all other humans. It is uncertain how much Akhenaten`s actual appearance had upon this interpretation. 

There was a difference in the style of temples built in the Amarna Period to that of traditional temples. The traditional temples were usually fronted by a Pylon followed by an open Peristyle Court, leading to a number of other rooms and courtyards. The rooms became gradually smaller and darker as the Inner Sanctum was approached. It was in the Sanctum that the Shrine to the God was contained. Here there would have been a shrine often containing an image of the god. This shrine would have been almost completely dark. The Amarna Temples were very different. They were open to the sky allowing as much light as possible into the temple. The Aten was worshipped in open courtyards containing some small altars to make offerings to the god upon. The homes of Amarna subjects contained a shrine on which statues of the Royal Family would have been worshipped in place of the traditional statues of the gods.

The belief in Osiris and his role in the resurrection of the dead was rejected by Akhenaten. He dictated that the Aten was a God of Life-Giving Light. He felt that at night he was not present and that the deceased were asleep in the same way as the living, along with the Aten. The tombs in Amarna were located in the east, resurrecting the dead as the sun rose. The tombs were only seen as places for the deceased to sleep. The judgment of the dead by Osiris was no longer believed to give access to eternal life. To earn the privilege of Life After Death, the kings subjects were expected to follow his teachings and show him loyalty at all times.

In the late period of Akhenaten`s reign he appointed his wife, Nefertiti, as his co-regent and was known as Neferneferuaten. She also had a Throne Name which was Ankh(Et)Kheperura. It is not known for certain if Nefertiti was alive when Akhenaten died. Some people believe that Nefertiti took on the name of Smenkhkara following her husband's death with her daughter, Meritaten, acting as the Queen Consort. Smenkhkara did not reign for very long before Akhenaten`s son,Tutankhaten, took the throne.

Following his ascension to the throne, Tutankhaten left Amarna and returned the royal court to Memphis. The worship of the traditional gods was reinstated and Thebes returned to being the main religious centre. Soon after this he changed his name to TUTANKHAMUN. He was married to his half sister, Ankhesenpaaten, who also changed her name to Ankhesenamun. As Tutankhamun was only a child when he became king, Horemheb, the Commander-In-Chief of the army acted as regent. The army had no doubt come to the conclusion that Akhenaten`s changes were not successful and had removed their support.

On the "Restoration Stele" there is a description of the condition of the country following Akhenaten`s reforms. It described how temples had fallen into ruin and how the traditional gods had abandoned Egypt. It tells of the prayers being made to the gods no Longer being answered and the failure of the Egyptian army in a conflict with Syria.

Throughout Tutankhamun`s short reign major restoration work was carried out at the sites of traditional worship, from the Delta down to Elephantine. The temples and other buildings at Amarna were gradually demolished, as were the temples to Aten at Thebes. Some of the small bricks known as Talatat used to build the temples to Aten at Thebes have been discovered in pylons built later at Luxor and Karnak.

Tutankhamun died in the tenth year of his reign. It is still uncertain how or why he died at such a young age and many theories abound regarding this. At the time of his death Egypt was at war with the Hittites and it is thought that Horemheb, Tutankhamun`s regent, was away with the army. There is no evidence to suggest that Horemheb was involved with the funerary arrangements of Tutankhamun which appear to have been overseen by one of Akhenaten`s senior advisors, Ay.

Tutankhamun was never one of the best known pharaohs which was not surprising due to his short reign and the association to his father, Akhenaten. Many of the monuments and records that were associated with Akhenaten and his family were destroyed by subsequent kings in an attempt to completely remove any trace of the "Heretic King". It was, of course, the discovery of Tutankhamun`s tomb by Howard Carter in 1922 that made him one of the most well known Egyptian kings in the world!

Following the death of Tutankhamun, Ay succeeded him to the throne. It is uncertain if this was as a temporary measure while Tutankhamun`s widow tried to find a suitable person to re marry, so that he would become king. It is thought that Ankhesenamun tried to arrange to marry a Hittite Prince in a bid to bring peace to the two countries. After much convincing the Hittite king sent one of his sons,  Zannanza for him only to be killed on his journey. This caused an escalation of the war between Egypt and the Hittites. Ay only ruled for three years and was succeeded by Horemheb, Tutankhamun`s regent.

Horemheb continued to have problems with the Hittites and it is thought that he may have agreed a peace treaty with them which remained in place until it was broken by Seti I (1294-1279 BC). He began the building of the Karnak Great Hypostyle Hall and continued the demolition of Amarna. Horemheb introduced many legal changes which were outlined on the stele known as the "Great Edict" at Karnak. He justified his position as pharaoh by stressing his position as Regent to Tutankhamun and the fact that he had wished for Horemheb to succeed him. Horemheb also emphasized that as a young man he had been chosen by the god "Horus of Hutnesu" (the deity of his home town) to become ruler of all Egypt. In his Opet Procession Horus of Hutnesu was seen presenting Horemheb to Amun who then crowned him king.
 
 

      (To be continued)