Akhenaten sphinx amarna

Amarna Period (1353-1336BCE)

By baldwii
  • 1353 BCE

    Akhenaten begins reign

    Akhenaten begins reign
    Akhenaten (at the time referred as Amenhotep IV), begins his reign, which was to last twenty years. He rose to the throne in Thebes.
  • 1349 BCE

    Amenhotep III Death

    Amenhotep III Death
    Father of Amenhotep IV (later Akhenaten) reigns from c.1386-1349BCE. The pharaoh avoided war through diplomacy and political marriages with the Mitanni and Babylons. His "building boom" was successful due to high trade and tribute from foreign states.
  • 1349 BCE

    Meritaten birth

    Meritaten birth
    Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten's first child with Nefertiti is born when he begins to reign.
  • 1348 BCE

    Thebes construction begins

    Thebes construction begins
    Akhenaten begins construction of four temples dedicated to Aten in Thebes. These temples aimed to begin re-education regarding religion and the promotion of Aten, "the sun-disk" continued after the reign of Amenhotep III.
  • 1348 BCE

    First Jubilee celebration

    First Jubilee celebration
    The Sed Festival or the First Jubilee celebration was dedicated to promotion of the Aten.
  • 1346 BCE

    Construction in Akhetaten (Amarna) begins

    Construction in Akhetaten (Amarna) begins
    Akhenaten begins construction in Akhetaten (now referred as 'Amarna'), with the intention of moving the current capital city of Egypt, Thebes, to Akhetaten. This was because Amarna's god was the Aten, whilst, Thebes symbolised Amun-re.
  • 1346 BCE

    Mekhetaten and Ankhesenamun born

    Mekhetaten and Ankhesenamun born
    Akhenaten's and Nefertiti's second and third children, Mekhetaten and Ankhesenamun (consecutively) are born.
  • 1345 BCE

    Temples to Aten in Karnak complete

    Temples to Aten in Karnak complete
  • 1344 BCE

    Akhenaten changes his name

    Akhenaten changes his name
    Amenhotep IV changes his names (due to connotation with Amun-re) to Akhenaten, connotation with Aten. This occurred in Month 7, Year 5 of his reign.
  • 1342 BCE

    Government change to Akhetaten

    Government change to Akhetaten
    The Egyptian Government officially moves from Thebes to Akhetaten.
  • 1341 BCE

    Removal of previous god's

    Removal of previous god's
    Akhenaten makes worship of all previous gods (besides Aten and Re) illegal. This caused social confusion and began to lower perception of the pharaoh as god-king.
  • 1339 BCE

    Neferneferuaten born

    Neferneferuaten born
    Akhenaten and Nefertiti's fourth daughter are born.
  • 1338 BCE

    Queen Tiy death

    Queen Tiy death
    Mother of Akhenaten and wife of Amenhotep III dies in 1338BCE. Queen Tiy was highly respected and given a role in the reign of Akhenaten, however, was unable to perform this task well.
  • 1336 BCE

    Akhenaten ends reign

    Akhenaten ends reign
  • 1336 BCE

    Meketaten

    Meketaten
    Daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti dies in 1336BCE.
  • 1336 BCE

    Meritaten becomes Queen

    Meritaten, daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, rises to the throne.
  • 1335 BCE

    Nefertiti death

    Respected Nefertiti (often depicted as the same level as Akhenaten and perhaps ruled as co-regent) dies in 1335BCE.
  • 1334 BCE

    Smenkhkare marries Meritaten

    Additionally, Smenkhkare is suggested to have been co-regent with Akhenaten from c.1335-1332BCE.
  • 1332 BCE

    Akhenaten death

  • 1327 BCE

    Akhetaten (Amarna) destroyed

    Akhetaten is abandoned and destroyed, the capital city returns to Memphis during the reign of Tutankhamun. However, Horemheb returns to capital city to Thebes.
  • 1320 BCE

    Horemheb begins reign

    Horemheb rules Egypt from c.1320-1292BCE. He banned worship of Akhenaten and his monotheistic religion, working on Egypt after the decline of power.