Assess Ancient and Modern Interpretations of Akhenaten's Reign

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Akhenaten ascended the throne of Egypt in the 18th dynasty. His father, Amenhotep III had led a stable and prosperous empire, so the onus was on Akhenaten to continue the prosperity. In some ways he did, however, many people, ancient and modern, criticise Akhenaten. Interpretations of his reign have changed over time. Ancient interpretations are negative and criticise his religious reforms. Modern interpretations are more subjective, though they are still quite negative. Like any ruler, Akhenaten had aspects of his reign he did well, and other aspects that were not done so well. Many of Akhenaten's criticisms are based on his massive religious reforms. One aspect of his reign that is often seen in a positive light is the artistic reform that occurred in the Amarna period. Overall he had a short reign that did not achieve much, and yet did not leave much of a negative impact on Egypt. Akhenaten's reign brought about massive religious reform, deemed by most as a failure. His choice to switch from the traditional worship of many gods to the worship of only one god brought about massive social and political changes in Egypt. Certainly these changes were massive, quite abrupt and differed drastically from the norm; however that does not necessarily make them bad. Except, that is how they are viewed by many historians today. The historian N.Reeves believes Akhenaten was unsuccessful, but more in his religion reforms. 'For ordinary folk, there is little doubt that Akhenaten's actions as king over time inflicted the greatest misery: the people were confused by the man's religious vision, frightened by the ruthless manner in which it was imposed and quite likely appalled by his personal behaviour.' Reeves believe that the changes would have confusing and scary for the common people. Certainly, Akhenaten brought about his reforms with swift determination, which would have
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