Would be 5-star if not for author's misogyny ( )

Pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti, the Amarna period (14th century BCE), the "exclusive" worship of the solar disk Aten, and especially the Mannerist iconography, are things that continue to intrigue experts on ancient Egyptian history. These topics are extremely interesting and controversial at the same time. So much so that scientists are still not sure how to place and interpret them. The classical view, inspired by biblical study, that Akhenaten single-handedly invented monotheism and that it passed directly from him to the Hebrews has long since been superseded, as more than 700 years elapsed between the Egyptian and the Hebrew model, and probably even more.
In recent decades, historians have placed more and more emphasis on continuity within the history of the Egyptian New Kingdom: long before Akhenaten there were attempts at a more exclusive religious worship, in particular of the solar disc 'Aten'. Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves agrees with this view. He points to the pharaohs who preceded Akhenaten, who had clearly already entered into battle with the mighty temple of the god Amun at Thebes. A political battle, therefore, in which the pharaoh tried to temper the power of the priests through all kinds of manoeuvres, and reverted to the old tradition of divinisation of the king. Akhenaten then seems no more than a continuation of that policy.
So continuity, also at Reeves. Only, with this author Akhnaton nevertheless is portrayed as an aberration, someone who continued the line to the point of the absurd and also focused on himself and his immediate environment (especially Nefertiti and his children) in other domains. Reeves writes absolutely interesting about all this, but certainly in the last third of this book he becomes downright tendentious, and that is actually incomprehensible. More about that in my History account on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5446708000 ( )

A very good and interesting book on the pharoah Akhenaten, the father of the famous boy-king Tutankhamen; who ruled from 1353 to 1335 BC(E), instituted monotheistic worship of a sun god and very nearly destroyed Egypt.

Reeves schetst een zeer breed beeld van de Amarnatijd. Hij vertrekt bij Hatsjepsoet, de vrouwelijke farao die volgens de auteur zwaar beroep deed op de priesters van de Amoncultus om haar positie te legitimeren. De farao's na haar probeerden deze invloed weer in te perken, een strijd die culmineerde in de stichting van een nieuwe hoofdstad en de ontmanteling van alle tempels, ook die van alle andere goden. Nog steeds volgens Reeves zou de tegenbeweging al weer ingezet zijn nog tijdens de laatste jaren van Echnatons regering en wel door niemand minder dan zijn eega Nefertiti. Hoe dat te rijmen valt met haar centrale positie, bijna gelijkwaardig aan die van de farao zelf, in de Aten-cultus, is een vraag waar Reeves zijn hoofd niet over breekt.

Het wordt allemaal met veel overtuiging en weinig zin voor nuance verteld. Maar het verhaal rammelt. Allicht heeft dat te maken met het feit dat Reeves Echnatons revolutie uitsluitend benadert als een politiek manoeuvre. Maar als dat de enige motivatie was van de ketter-koning, dan was het wel een zeer onhandige zet. Hij toont weinig interesse voor de inhoud van de nieuwe religie en alle tekortkomingen ervan, terwijl juist die mee verklaren hoe de restauratie zo snel na Echnatons dood gerealiseerd kon worden.

Voordeel van dit alles is dat Reeves een samenhangend relaas brengt met duidelijke relaties tussen de protagonisten. Alleen verdient een boeiende maar enigmatische periode als deze véél meer vraagtekens. Het laatste woord hierover is immers nog lang niet gezegd. ( )

Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves came into the public eye recently for the theory that a feature in the tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62) was a sealed doorway to a passage and/or chamber beyond, possibly even the tomb of Nefertiti; radar surveys demonstrated that this probably isn’t the case, but it was an interesting and testable idea. In Akhenaten: Egypt’s False Prophet he discusses the famous “heretic king”. One of the ironies of ancient history is new information turns up much more commonly than it does with recent history; so it is with Akhenaten and the Amarna period. Reeves gives his own version of Akhenaten’s reign and it’s scholarly yet an easy read; the only problem I see is Reeves doesn’t mention the alternative theories that continuously turn up. Thus for Reeves the mummy in KV55 is Akhenaten, without a mention of the alternative theory that it’s Smenkhkare; and Smenkhkare is actually queen Nefertiti as a ruling pharaoh under the name Ankhkheprure Smenkhkare, again without much mention of various theories as to who’s who at the end of the Amarna period.

For all that, the discussion of the reigns of Amarna period, the Aten religion, and the city of Akhetaten is very well done and informative. The image of Akhenaten has changed over the years, from a idealistic but impractical reformer to a brutal religious fanatic; Reeves is more of the later opinion and recent excavations at the Akhetaten site - which show the life of the commoner inhabitants as nasty, brutish, and short – seem to bear him out. I recommended this book for those interested in Egyptology in general and the Amarna period in particular, with the caveat that you shouldn’t take it as the last word – ancient history is always changing. ( )