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Chapter XXXIX. A New Dynasty.AKHENATEN reigned for about eighteen years, and at some point after his death, his young son, Tut-ankh-at´en, became Pharaoh. He was too young to rule, however; and as both his parents were now dead, his regents were the prime minister, and the general of the army. These officials believed it was best to restore the traditional worship of Amon, and the many gods of the Egyptians. Therefore the Pharaoh’s name was changed to Tut-ankham ´en, to reflect his regard for Amon. The royal palaces at Thebes, and at Memphis, were both reopened, and the new city of Akhetaten was abandoned. All the worship and temples of Amon were restored, and new temples built. As a final rebuke of his father, the statues and monuments of Akhenaten were toppled, and the name of Aten obliterated from the inscriptions. Ancient Egypt never worshipped one god again. It is probable that the regents, and the priests of Amon, were responsible for these changes, and not the boy Pharaoh. The regent-general, Ho´rem-heb, next successfully subdued some of Egypt’s former territories, and tribute resumed once more. However, Tutankhamen died young, without heirs. His mummy indicates that he may have been poisoned. His widow, a daughter of Akhenaten, married the regent-prime minister, Ay; for this man, who was not of the royal family, became the next Pharaoh, and Tutankhamen’s widow is listed as his First Royal Wife. However, his reign was brief, for a short time later the regent-general, Horemheb, became the next Pharaoh. It may be that the general, out of jealousy toward his former peer, who was now his overlord, played a role in ending this Pharaoh’s life. To make fast his position as Pharaoh, Horemheb instituted just and fair reforms throughout the land, to ease the plight of the common Egyptian. He also secured the favor of the high priest of Amon, by restoring all the glory to Amon that his predecessor had left undone. He furthermore erased the names of Akhenaten, Tutankhamen, and Ay from the king lists and the monuments; and instead listed himself as the heir of Amenhotep, Akhenaten’s father; and added their ruling years to his reign. This Horemheb is written in the king lists as the last of Amosis’ dynasty, for he was, as he had styled himself, the successor of Amenhotep. However, he was never a member of the royal family, and as such, was not educated in the history or learning of the Egyptians, but was raised in a small provincial town; and only rose to rank because of his prowess in the military. As Horemheb had no sons, he appointed his most able military commander to rule after him. This man, who is written in the king lists as the founder of a new dynasty, took the name of Ramesses I. Of course, this Ramesses was no more a member of the royal family than Horemheb had been, and suffered the same defect of education. Thus a new Pharaoh, who was born after the death of Joseph, founded a new family of Pharaohs, all ignorant of the history which Amosis’ family had cherished. They knew nothing of the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine, and of the great deliverance and wealth which Joseph had wrought for Egypt, and of all the honors which were bestowed on him and on his people by a grateful nation. All they knew of the Hebrews, was that a nation had prospered on the fat of the land of Egypt, and had multiplied and grown great; moreover, these same foreigners were those who had filled Akhenaten’s head with nonsense, as they supposed, of one God; which had nearly brought about the downfall of the nation. Thus it can be truly said, that “there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph,” (Ex 1:8).
Go to the next chapter: The Conquest of the Promised Land
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Nothing New Press: Chapter XXXIX: A New Dynasty, from The Story of the Ancient World by Christine Miller
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This page last revised December 2006
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