Internal Developments: Post-Amarna Reforms

Question 1

Overview of post Amarna reforms

Answer 1

• The Amarna period was regarded by later generations of pharaohs as a shameful episode in Egyptian history. Attempts to distance Egypt from the Amarna period and remove it from history defined religious and administrative policies of pharaohs, post-Amarna

Question 2

Religious restoration overview

Answer 2

• Efforts to restore Amun to his former status in the Egyptian pantheon began in Smenkhare’s short reign and was continued by later pharaohs: Tutankhamun, Horemheb, and Seti I

Question 3

Religious restoration under Tutankhamun

Answer 3

• Succeeded Smenkhare, and continued his project to restore Amun’s importance
• Changed his name and the name of his queen from Tutankhaten and Aknesenpa’aten to Tutankhamun and Akhesenpamun (Tutankhamun meaning “the living image of Amun”
• His throne name was Nebkheperure, “The lordly manifestation of Re”
• Despite the restoration of Amun, there was no immediate backlash against the Aten during Tutankhamun’s reign. Temples to the Aten remained open 10 years later in Thebes, Memphis and Heliopolis
• In the Restoration Stela, Tutankhamun claimed that he restored the temples and cult images of all gods, which had become “ruin heaps, overgrown with weeds”, during the Amarna period. He also claimed to commission new statues of Amun in gold, and comission new statues of other gods, especially Ptah. He rebuilt temples and doubled their incomes and offerings to promote their reinvigoration, and recruited many new, young priests
• At the Karnak temple, he carved reliefs of Amun and Mut on the sixth pylon, and a relief of himself partaking in a procession of Nile gods
• He restored the doctrine of the Osirian afterlife, as evidenced by his burial chamber, which show him buried in traditional Osirian style

Question 4

Political/Administrative reforms under Tutankhamun

Answer 4

• The capital was moved from Akhetaten to Memphis, and later back to Thebes, the patron city of Amun
• Tutankhamun’s Restoration Stela record the degeneration of Egypt’s military during the Amarna period, “if an army was sent to Syria, to expand the boundaries of Egypt, it was not granted the slightest success”
• The Stela mentions booty from Tutankhamun’s campaigns in Nubia. It is probably that he held a campaign in Nubia during his reign, perhaps in an attempt to regain control over the region where Egypt’s control had deteriorated

Question 5

Religious restoration under Horemheb

Answer 5

• Horemheb is credited for the attack on Atenism, which had not taken place during Tutankhamun’s reign
• Horemheb ordered the dismantling of the Aten temples at Thebes, and may also have began the systematic destruction of the city Akhetaten
• He oversaw full restoration of the Amun cult , and religious texts from this time emphasise that the Aten was only the physical form of the sun-god and Amun was the creator of all things
• Horemheb’s Coronation Stela depicts him being presented to Amun by his sponsor god, Horus, reaffirming the centrality of the orthodox gods Amun and Horus
• Coronation Stela also records that he appointed priests from the army ranks to serve in the newly reopened temples
• Claimed that “The king of gods (Amun) is the true god, his body is the sun-disc”, showing that the Aten was nothing more than the symbolic physical body of Amun, and not a separate god

Question 6

Political/Administrative restoration under Horemheb

Answer 6

• The Great Edict outlined the social reforms Horemheb undertook
• Great Edict recorded that Horemheb took measures to eliminate corruption throughout Egypt, decreeing that “every officer who seizeth the dues and taketh the crafts of any citizen of the army or any person who is in the whole land, the law shall be executed against him, in that his nose shall be cut off and he shall be set to Tharu” → Horemheb instituted harsh social reforms to correct the corruption that had flourished in Egypt due to the neglect of temple-based authority in the Amarna period

Question 7

Religious restoration under Seti I

Answer 7

• Like his father Ramesses I, Seti I continued the tradition of re-establishing the name and images of Amun. However, he emphasised the multiplicity of gods in Egypt and seemed keen to prevent any one cult from becoming too powerful
• His royal titles were deliberately inclusive of multiple deities: “Merenptah” (beloved of Ptah); “Men-maat-Re” (Eternal is the Justice of Re); “Renewing Appearances, Might o Arhcers, in All Lands” (a Golden Horus name); “Repeater of Births, Strong-Armed, Subduing the Nine Bows” (Two Ladies name); and his own name, Seti, meaning “he who belongs to Seth”
• He continued to add to the Temple of Amun at Karnak, adding war scenes to the walls
• Built the Temple of Seti at Abydos, a magnificent white limestone building featuring chapels dedicated to the worship of 7 gods including Osiris, Isis, Amun, Ptah, and Re-Horakhty, and the Osireion behind it
• Also honoured very ancient gods such as Atum, Shu, and Tefnut on the doorposts at Heliopolis, and enabled offerings to be made to Khnum there as well
• Elevated his father and himself to the same level as the gods in his Abydos temple

Question 8

Political/administrative restoration under Seti I

Answer 8

• Removed the Amarna and post-Amarna pharaohs from the list of pharaohs he built: The List of Kings at Abydos dates Ramesses I as Amenhotep III’s immediate successor
• Attempted to emulate the military of Thutmose III by embarking on a number of military campaigns, further strengthening his ties to the pre-Amarna pharaohs

Question 9

Military reforms under Seti I

Answer 9

• Embarked on a number of military campaigns, including into regions where Egypt’s control had weakened during the Amarna period. He re-established Egyptian presence in Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon
• Scenes from the Karnak temple show him presenting war booty to Amun, re-emphasising Amun’s importance in the Egyptian faith.