1.2 The Amarna Revolution

The Amarna Period was an era of Egyptian history during the latter half of the Eighteenth Dynasty when Amenhotep IV institued a new form of religion. Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten (1353–1336 BC) in order to reflect the dramatic change of Egypt's polytheistic religion into one where the sun disc Aten was worshipped over all other gods.

Monotheism is the belief in a single all-powerful god, as opposed to religions that believe in multiple gods.

Akhenaten is represented in the following relief as a sphinx worshipping Aten

In order to address this dot point we must examine the period of Akhenaten's rule and the reforms that he instituted. Here are some past HSC questions to give you an idea of how you can be assessed on this dot point.

Past HSC Questions

To what extent were Akhenaten’s policies a revolution?
Evaluate the reign of Akhenaten.

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