Which pharaoh introduced monotheism

He is famous for changing the traditional religion of Egypt from the worship of many gods to the worship of a single god named Aten. The Aten was the disc of the sun and originally an aspect of Ra, the sun god in traditional ancient Egyptian religion, but Akhenaten made it the sole focus of official worship during his reign.

Akhenaten was a pharaoh of Egypt who reigned over the country for about 17 years between roughly B. Egypt During the New Kingdom, the cult of the sun god Ra became increasingly important until it evolved into the uncompromising monotheism of Pharaoh Akhenaten Amenhotep IV , B. According to the cult, Ra created himself from a primeval mound in the shape of a pyramid and then created all other gods. Who was Akhenaten's wife? When was Amenhotep born? What age did Tut die? How do you pronounce Akhenaten?

The pharaoh also, cut the first grain, control taxes and trade. He wasn't. Apart from a brief period of monotheism during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten, who ruled Egypt between and BCE, the ancient Egyptians were consistently polytheistic, as was almost every other culture in the ancient Near East.

Only the Zoroastrian religion of the Iranian region was monotheistic until monotheism was adopted in Judah during the seventh century BCE. For a leader. Ancient Egyptians did. But the egyptians were a tribe. A new pharaoh was eleccted when an old one died. Log in. Ancient History. See Answer. Best Answer.

Study guides. Q: Which pharaoh introduced monotheism to the Egyptians? Write your answer Related questions. Which Egyptian pharaoh introduced monotheism to Egypt? Which Pharaoh intruduced the worship of one god? He believed in a single, universal god, Aten, who had created the world and who continued to affect the world through his active presence. Before much of the archaeological evidence from Thebes and from Tell el- Amarna became available, wishful thinking sometimes turned Akhenaten into a humane teacher of the true god, a mentor of Moses, a Christlike figure, a philosopher before his time.

But these imaginary creatures are now fading away one by one as the historical reality emerges. There is little evidence to support the notion that Akhenaten was a progenitor of the full-blown monotheism that we find in the Bible. Donald B. Redford, "Monotheism of Akhenaten", n. Redford Proffessor, Pennsylvania State. Redford is professor of classics and ancient Mediterranean studies and history at Penn State. Egypt was an important neighboring nation of Israel and it is frequently mentioned in the Bible, where it is presented in both positive and negative terms.

Knowing something about ancient Near Eastern history and culture will deepen the historical understanding of the documents that compose the Hebrew Bible. An Egyptian archaeological site built by Akhenaten and notable for its cache of ancient diplomatic letters. Hebrew is regarded as the spoken language of ancient Israel but is largely replaced by Aramaic in the Persian period.

He also declared that he was the only intermediary between Aten and the people of Egypt thus eliminating the priests. Akhentaten was dedicated to his new religion of worship to the Aten. The temples built there were roofless so that rays of the sun would fall on the worshipers.

The site today is known as Amarna. It is one of the most important historical sites in Egypt and exploration of the city continues to this day.

Akhenaten presided over one of the wealthiest period of ancient Egypt. Numerous structures were constructed during his reign, the most famous being the Temple of Amenhotep IV. Art was revolutionized during his reign with more realistic artistic portrayals. It was radical for its time as it focused on ordinary activities and domestic scenes.