易克纳唐

Akhenaton,亦作Akhnaton。,原名阿孟霍特普四世(Amenhotep IV)。

第十八王朝的埃及法老。继任当时埃及已经征服巴勒斯坦腓尼基(Phoenicia)、奴北亚(Nubia)。即位没多久就开始鼓励人信奉较不为人知的太阳神阿顿(Aton),认为祂是所有幸福之源。他还把姓氏由阿孟霍特普改为易克纳唐(亦即对阿顿有益者),把首都从底比斯迁至尼罗河东岸的阿马纳(Jellel-Amarna)。他在这里开始营造一座新城。一种新的艺术风格於焉诞生,其焦点放在描述真实生活,而不是千篇一律的情况。易克纳唐虽想重掌以往统治者的大权(当时大部分落入官僚和官员手中),但他一头栽进新宗教的崇拜迷思中,无暇顾及朝政和边防,以致丧失亚洲大量领土。死後由两个女婿斯曼赫卡拉(Smenkhkare)和图坦卡门(Jutankhamen)继位,但图坦卡门早死,军队接掌政权,废除易克纳唐的新宗教信仰。

前1353~西元前1336年在位

Akhenaton

Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty (1539-1292 BC). He came to power during a period of Egyptian preeminence, with Egypt controlling Palestine, Phoenicia, and Nubia. Shortly after his reign began, he began to encourage the exclusive worship of the little-known deity Aton, a sun deity he regarded as the source of all blessings. Assuming the name Akhenaton (“One Useful to Aton”), he moved his capital from Thebes to present-day Tell el-Amarna to escape established religious powers and make a fresh start. A new art style that focused on the details of actual life rather than on timeless conditions became popular. In government, Akhenaton tried to recapture the old authority of the ruler, which had been largely diverted to bureaucrats and officials, but his focus on his new religion to the exclusion of affairs of state resulted in the disintegration of Egypt's Asian empire. He was succeeded by two of his sons-in-law, Smenkhkare and Tutankhamen, but on Tutankhamen's early demise the army took over the throne and Akhenaton's new religion was abandoned.