THE GREAT ATEN

Year 5 is believed to mark the beginning of Amenhotep IV's construction of a new capital,
Akhetaten (Horizon of the Aten), at the site known today as Amarna.

Evidence of this appears on three of the boundary stelae used to mark the boundaries of
this new capital.

At this time, Amenhotep IV officially changed his name to Akhenaten (Agreeable to Aten)
as evidence of his new worship. The date given for the event has been estimated to fall
around January 2 of that year.

In Year 7 of his reign the capital was moved from Thebes to Akhetaten (near modern Amarna),
though construction of the city seems to have continued for two more years.

In shifting his court from the traditional ceremonial centres Akhenaten was signalling a dramatic
transformation in the focus of religious and political power.

The move separated the Pharaoh and his court from the influence of the priesthood and from
the traditional centres of worship, but his decree had deeper religious significance too — taken
in conjunction with his name change, it is possible that the move to Amarna was also meant
as a signal of Akhenaten's symbolic death and rebirth. It may also have coincided with the
death of his father and the end of the coregency.

In addition to constructing a new capital in honor of Aten, Akhenaten also oversaw the con-
struction of some of the most massive temple complexes in ancient Egypt, including one at
Karnak and one at Thebes, close to the old temple of Amun.