Akhenaten: King of Egypt

by Cyril Aldred

A biography of the notorious god-king of ancient Egypt

Genres: History, Egypt, Nonfiction, Biography, Egyptology, Ancient History, Historical

322 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Cyril Aldred was a British Egyptologist, art historian and author. He also served as the Keeper of Art and Archaeology for the Royal Scottish Museum.

Reviews

[Randee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cyril Aldred was one of the foremost voices in Egyptology and wrote many books on ancient Egypt. A Brit by birth, he spent the majority of his professional life as a curator at the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh, Scotland rising to the keeper of Art and Archaeology.

Even though Akhenaten was written in 1968 and more information has been discovered since then, it is a solid book of information and a fine addition
to my library of books on ancient Egypt. There are also many good pictures and drawings included. It is essential for anyone who is interested in Egypt's 18th dynasty.

I, myself, have been obsessed with Akhenaten and his relatives since I was a child. My parents took me to the Field Museum in Chicago which has a large ancient Egyptian collection, including mummies, when I was 8 or 9 and I was transfixed. I remember this visit clearly and remember looking at mummies and trying to wrap my mind around the fact that these were actual people who had walked the earth three thousand years in the past. The art...paintings and sculptures and all kinds of artifacts were like nothing I had ever seen and I thought their art and jewelry was exquisite. Being a bookworm long before 8 years old, I immediately began reading books on all things ancient Egypt and once I read about the 18th dynasty and Akhenaten and his parents, wife (Nefertiti), children and other relatives, I began a life long obsession of the mysteries surrounding this family which continue to puzzle Egyptologists today. Some things are now known but no where near enough to satisfy the likes of me and, I would assume, other interested parties.

I highly recommend reading any of Aldred books and especially this one if you have any interest in Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Tutankamun and their blood lines. I would give a lot to take a time machine back into this kingdom. I would gladly even accept a one way ticket. There would be sacrifices to be sure but the longer I live in the present, the better the past looks to me.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite being first published over twenty years ago, Cyril Aldred's Akhenaten: King of Egypt is one of the best books on Egypt's most enigmatic pharaoh. Why? The account that follows is in-depth, detailed, focused on the archaeological evidence rather than fringe/sensationalist theories and displays no obvious author bias.

Of course, there are flaws. The biggest one is the age of the book – some of the information contained is dated and some theories disproved, but in some cases it's interesting to see how old some theories are and how much uncertainty still remains. The writing style is OK, but not as accessible as other authors (see: Joyce Tyldesley, Aidan Dodson etc).

All images are black-and-white on plain paper, so some details aren't as clear as they could be. This may only be the case with the "print on demand" edition I own. Additionally, the references to plate/figure numbers would be greatly improved with a mention of the page number as I often ended up endlessly flipping through the book trying to find the right figure.

However, Akhenaten: King of Egypt remains one of the best books on the Amarna Period. There are four parts, varying between 50-100 pages. The first deals with the archaeology, the second provides the context, the third deals with the "enigmas" (/debates/tar pits) of the period and the fourth looks at the actual Amarna period itself. I found myself enjoying a number of sections, such as those on KV55, Akhenaten's queens and the role of the God's Wife of Amun.

A fascinating read.

[Sofus Maximus Caesar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detta är en biografi om den hedniska monoteisten Echnaton (18:e dynastin; efterträdare till Amenhotep III och företrädare till Smenkharē/Tutankhamun) som regerade bredvid drottning Nefertiti och (senare) deras äldsta dotter Meritaten.

Jag tycker att boken riktar sig in på ett oerhört nischigt område och därför inte lämpar sig för nybörjare. Även om boken beskriver det egyptiska lokallivet och utländska affärer underlättar det rejält om man har en grundläggande förkunskap. Det finns en del bilder och illustrationer som gör den annars mastiga texten lättare att få ner.

Anledningen till att den bara får en 4:a är för att så mycket fokus läggs på arkeologiska fynd och exkursioner när jag i själva verket bara är intresserad av de religiösa och personliga aspekten av kungafamiljens liv. Boken passar er som gillar konkreta beskrivningar och långdragen historia, men inte så mycket för oss som föredrar att avgränsa faraons roll. Jag fascinerades av genealogin beträffande Nefertiti, Smenkharē och Tutankhamun, och uppskattade de stycken som specifikt fokuserade på Echnatons religiösa reformer.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Akhenaten graced my thoughts for months and years after reading this book. I was transfixed.

[Les Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book. What we all have to remember is that we will never job the real truth about him as his predecessor destroyed (we don’t know how much), information about him. { late review as forgot to do so at the time}.

[Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

King Amenophis IV ruled Egypt for seventeen years in the 14th century BCE. In the fifth year of his reign, he broke with the god Amun and religious representations after that point exclusively focus on the sun-disc Aten and the formless god Re-Herakhte who is manifest in the sunlight. As part of this religious shift, he changed his name from Amenophis/Amunhotep to Akhenaten. Artistic representations of the king are androgynous which has been the subject of much speculation. In the 1960s Aldred explored the theory that he had a serious endocrine disorder, but in this book he acknowledged the difficulty of accounting for the king's apparently biological children.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars
It was interesting, but I probably won't remember much of the details presented. Not my usual fare, and I sometimes lost the thread of the narrative, but I'm very glad I read it.

[Abbey · Rating 3 out of 5]

You did that hungry!! I loved it, every twist and turn caught me by surprise!! I can’t wait to read more of your books....

[Gordon Eldridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Amarna period in Egypt is undoubtedly one of the most enigmatic and fascinating episodes of ancient history. The book begins with a systematic survey describing the evidence available for the reign of Akhenaten. This is followed by a very useful description of the milieu into which Akhenaten was born, which allows the reader to place the information contained in the book into context and to judge for themselves the extent to which Akhenaten's beliefs, policies and actions differed from those of his predecessors. Next follows an insightful discussion of the enigmas surrounding the Amarna period, including the possible identity of the mummy found in tomb 55, the question of a co-regency with Amenophis III and the nature of Akhenaten's religious beliefs. The final sections describe the reign of Akhenaten and some of the interpretations that have been given to it by various scholars.

Though of course almost all of the points discussed are contentious, Aldred argues convincingly from the evidence base. His style is extremely readable and the discussions of the enigmas in particular are laid out in a clear and logical manner. I have read a number of books about this fascinating pharaoh, but none have dealt as comprehensively and systematically with the evidence as Aldred does. This work must be considered to be one of the most definitive works on the subject and a must read for the student of the Amarna period

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Masterfully researched and written. The book is certainly dense, and far more educational than entertaining. It is a challenging book for someone (like me) with little background in Egyptology; however, becomes manageable as it is almost exclusively focused on the 18th Dynasty. I wish I had prepared a bit more with a review of Egyptian mythology; the introduction provides useful charts and maps to help the reader follow along with unfamiliar names and places.

I appreciate the detail that the author reveals that support his claims; I'm obliged to compare it to the Sweeney title that discusses Nefertiti that seemed to favor passing off the more outrageous claims about Akhenaten due to the relative paucity of conclusive evidence inherent in any ancient biography. I found Eldred far more convincing and honest, representing multiple popular theories even if he meant to impale them as strawmen all along

Akhenaten interests me, and I will use this as a starting point to explore a few more of his modern manifestations. Plus, the book is dated as Egyptology and more broadly, archaeology, continues to uncover more evidence as fuel for refined histories of this incredible civilization!

[James Zaworski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the books on Akhenaten, I think that Cyril Aldred’s book is the most important, followed closely by Donald Redford’s “Akhenaten: The Heretic King”. He is simply a master at providing the reader with the history and context of this remarkable pharaoh. He prefaces all of the information with the historical and cultural contexts, the archaeological discoveries, the interpretations, and brings it all together for the reader in succinct language, that is not beyond the layperson to grasp and understand and is essential to the Egyptologist and historian of ancient Egypt.

[Jimmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exceptionally well researched and illustrated, this tome on the mysterious Pharaoh Akhenaten suffers from the writer’s laboured prose and the omission of later evidence. It simply isn’t very accessible unless you’re already quite knowledgeable about the period and can overlook the grandiloquence. And despite his careful chronicling of the available information, Aldred still emerges as quite opinionated. However, it does provide invaluable insights into the Amarma period and its inherent mysteries.

[Cynthia · Rating 2 out of 5]

too detailed for my level of understanding!

[Stu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the writing style of the author, especially with such a dense topic! It is a bit dated but still seems mostly in line with current understandings.

[Piper · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked it! I could relate to much of the writing angst and decisions about stepping away from the novel writing. Not sure I’d recommend it for non-writers though.

[Glenn Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a time when all the Pharaohs were Gods and there were hundreds or thousands of Gods (Gods of love, of the sun rise, of the morning dew,,,,), this Pharaoh was different. He dictated that there was one God. He created a new capital, which was abandoned after his death. He revolutionized (or tried to) Egypt during his reign. He was either the father, the brother or grandfather of King Tut. A great deal of info in this book-meanings of the hieroglyphs, info on many of the God's, interactions with many of the other countries (tons of writings survived, including many draft versions of treaties, contracts and letters) and the other Pharaohs.

[Megaera · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a great deal of sentimental value attached to it for me, since it is one of the first books about the Amarna period that I ever read, and so it is tied up very closely with the beginning of my career in Egyptology. A lot of the information and ideas in the book are outdated, but Aldred writes about his subject with a charming enthusiasm and paints a glowingly vivid picture of the period.

[Lo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this biography about my favorite ancient Egyptian. I still recommend it, but with the caveat that it's very dated. New research has been done, but I'm not sure if there's a better single biography of the man yet.

[Mostafa Boraey · Rating 4 out of 5]

king's twilight years are treated with new insight and set within the framework of an authoritative overview of the entire period.
He said:There is only one God as we say there is no God but Allah.

[Mallory · Rating 3 out of 5]

For someone not so interested in archaeology it was a tough read for the first third of the book. After that it picks up story wise.

[Anne]

Very good