World Religion 5 April 2012 Akhenaten and Constantine Belief in monotheism can be trace back to eighteenth dynasty Egypt when there was a dynamic shift of religious philosophy, this occurred during the rule of a very bold and controversial lost pharaoh by the name of “Akhenaten” . One thousand years later another ruler led different revolution of the religious kind; the Emperor ”Constantine the Great” of Rome. Both these men brought about the departure of their countries traditional religion in favor of a new theology; only Constantine was able to have long lasting influence after his death. To better understand their contributions to history I’ll examine the early
Prior to becoming king, Darius placed Xerxes in the position of satrap of Babylon for 12 years from him to gain experience in a position of power and authority. Also in 498 a palace was built for the kings’ son in Babylon. The invasion of Greece, planned by his father, was put on hold because he faced a rebellion in Egypt in 486bc. Xerxes led the campaign against Egypt and ‘decisively crushed them’ (Herodotus) and reduced the Egyptians to abject slavery and placed the country once again firmly under Persian control. Unlike, his father, who made
Before this time, Egyptians worshipped many different gods but the primary god was Amun-Ra. During his reign, Akhenaten altered traditional Egyptian religion in one of his most controversial decisions as Pharaoh. Akhenaten changed the focus of Egyptian religion to one sole god, Aten. This is why Akhentan changed his name from Amenhotep IV to Akhenaten, as he took on the name of the god. As Angela P Thomas noted in her book Akhenaten’s Egypt, “Aten was given a titulary like the king and the god’s name was written in double cartouches.
THE CRUSADERS AND THE CHURCH The crusades represent a part of church history that many have attempted to forget and leave hidden within the history books. Some claim the crusades to be a courageous time for the Christian church as they attempted to trample out false doctrine and protect the Holy Land from the cult of Islam. Others will quickly identify the crusades as the darkest and most regretful period of time in the history of the church. Either way, there is much detail surrounding the history of the crusades and how they developed. It is not quite as easy as a black and white assumption because many of the men involved had mixed intentions and sentiments regarding what the crusades were actually about.
The Hyksos made significant contributions to Egyptian society in the form of new technologies, weaponry, as well as everyday items. They Hyksos forced them into a Militaristic culture adopting new policies to keep a strong country secure. Manetho states "during the reign of Tutimaos a blast of God smote us, and unexpectedly from the regions of the East, invaders of obscure race marched in confidence of victory against our land. By main force they easily seized it without striking a blow; and having overpowered the rulers of the land they then burned our cities ruthlessly.4 Manetho gives us a detailed report of the invasion of the Hyksos how it started and what they did. The Hyksos introduced many good things to Egypt but they created this great fear of the north after being beaten by the Hyksos they lost the northern part of Egypt this left Egypt as a small civilisation known as Thebans rather than Egyptians.
However, through historical and scientific research, many of the ideas conveyed by the tomb were proven to be false. This has led to many misconceptions about the life and death of Tutankhamun. The tomb provides a story on Tut, a story that may not be entirely true. History has uncovered the truth, and determined that the tale being told by King Tut’s tomb is merely how he wanted to be perceived. It is the legacy that lives on after his death.
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.
In a case like that a pharaoh would destroy that cult’s temples and kill or banish the priests. Through out Egypt’s history people in authority have also influenced the pharaoh. Pharaohs have been manipulated by priests, viziers, or even the queen into decisions that favor them. But regardless of who influenced the pharaohs, ancient Egypt greatly benefited from having strong rulers to guide the
These monarchs were lavished with lifestyles only fit for a ruler. When they transitioned to the afterlife, all of their worldly treasures, including their slaves, were sent with them, so they would be taken care of even in death. The Pharaoh of Egypt served as a symbol of their strength as an empire, but over time the significance and power of the Pharaoh began to wane as officials and nobles assumed greater authority. The Pharaoh was no longer seen as a god in the eyes of his people, and Osiris, the god of the dead, became the new focus of worship for the Egyptians. With the loss of faith in its leader, Egypt dissolved into principalities, thus leaving its people unprotected by its strength and subjected to the invasion of their power-hungry neighboring
Rodolfo Acuna also mentions that in Cortez’s spread of Christianity and destruction of indigenous religion, he burned 400,000 manuscripts and destroyed 20,000 idols. After the invasion, the catholic church became the ”colonial religious institution”. The Catholic God then replaced all of the indigenous gods by Cortez’s choice. This caused a major effect on indigenous beliefs, they were forced to worship a God they never had before, they were forced to stop worshiping the Gods they did in fact believed on and their religious views were dramatically changed. Although the pope at the time had prohibited slavery, he stated that natives could only be enslaved if they were cannibals, therefore the Spaniards justified the enslavement of natives with the claim that they were cannibals.