Aten Worship Grips Egypt - 1300's BC

One of the most controversial and interesting figures of Egypt is Akhenaten. During Akhenaten's reign, which occurred roughly 1353 BC and 1334 BC (scholars are not completely clear on the date), he, alongside his wife Nefertiti, brought his fist down on the polytheism of Egypt to establish the worship of one deity, the sun in its form in a disc named Aten. Akhenaten took it to such an extent that he moved the capital of Egypt to Amarna in an isolated part of the desert. Akhenaten reigned from there until his death, spreading Aten worship. Once he died, a Pharaoh named Smenkhkare ruled for a small number of years until he was replaced by Nefernefeuaten. Many believe this figure to be Nefertiti, and that she moved the capital of Egypt back to Thebes, abandoning Amarna and reestablishing polytheism in Egypt.

What if Neferenefeuaten was as zealous as Akhenaten was in Aten worship? What if he/she had effectively exterminated the worship of the old Egyptian gods and established Aten worship? How would this have changed history and the belief system we now possess today?
 
Top