menhotep IV changed his name Akhenaten and began a revolutionary period in Egyptian history called the Amarna Period.[1] Although this period lasted only a relatively short time, it had a profound impact on Egyptian civilisation.

Why did Akhenaten, originally Amenhotep (IV), choose? Experts all over the world have been puzzled with this occurrence. Why did he do such an act, and how did this affect his power, the length of his reign and above all, his people. It amazes me that someone can turn his back on what his predecessors had done thousands of years before him; this essay has been created to show you an in-depth explanation on why Akhenaten chose monotheism over polytheism.

Amenhotep IV changed his name Akhenaten and began a revolutionary period in Egyptian history called the Amarna Period. Although this period lasted only a relatively short time, it had a profound impact on Egyptian civilisation. The nature of Akhenaten's revolution is well established--he overthrew Egyptian polytheism in favour of the worship of a single god, Aten, but the reason behind it is still unknown. As a young child Akhenaten was raised in a traditional Ancient Egyptian manner and observed religious rituals to the god Amon. When rose to crown prince and he was subjected to the influences that eventually caused him to attempt to altar Egyptian religion. By the time of Akhenaten's reign, the god Amen had risen to such a high status that the priests of Amen had become even more wealthy and powerful than the pharaohs. The reasons for Akhenaten's revolution still remain a mystery but until further evidence can be uncovered, it will be impossible to know just what motivated his unusual behaviour.

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He is certainly the only one of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs to promote a monotheistic religion. Akhenaten, one of many ancient Egyptian pharaohs, is possibly best renowned for his devotion to one deity at a time when the rest of the world worshipped several gods. When Akhenaten first promoted the change from polytheistic to monotheistic he earned to title ‘The Heretic Pharaoh’. The chosen deity of Akhenaton's worship was Aten, the Sun god. Akhenaten introduced a new religion to Egypt. Akhenaten only worshipped one god who was Aten which translated to the light that was in the sun. This light was believed to provide life for the Earth and to keep it alive. This new god was depicted as a sun disk emanating rays that ended in hands, and in order to worship the Aten, Akhenaten had a new type of temple constructed, these of which resembled the sun temples of the Fifth Dynasty (2500-2350 B.C.E) nearly 1,000 years earlier. These temples consisted of a series of open courts oriented towards the east so when the sun rises the rays illuminate the centre of the altar. Such temples were built at Thebes, Memphis, Heliopolis, and of course, Akhenaten. He attacked the cults of other deities in Egypt, especially Amon. Sites of Amon were desecrated and any evidence of worship to this god destroyed. Akhenaten even had his father's cartouches destroyed because it had Amon’s name encrypted upon it. This enraged the citizens even more. He moved the capital from the traditional centre in Thebes, where ancient Egyptian pharaohs had historically ruled, to an area in mid-Egypt. The new capital was initially named after the 'heretic' king, however today is known simply as el-Amarna.

The Amarna Period might be considered to include only the reign of Akhenaten. He founded the city we most frequently refer to as , which hardly lasted beyond his reign. Because the cult of Aten was confined to Amarna, the everyday Egyptian remained largely unaffected. Additionally, many of the court and bureaucratic functionaries never fully accepted the cult. It removed the once powerful and revered priests from their temples and from their comforts, putting them out onto the streets.

On the other hand, however, from this change a new religious literature arose. And perhaps more importantly an entire revolution in art took place; artists once confined to ritualistic forms of art now turned to a more realistic form of art. Akhenaten died in his 17th year as Pharaoh, and without him his religious movement fell apart. He was succeeded by Tutankhaten (popularly known as "King Tut"), who may have been his son. Tutankhaten changed his name from Tutankhaten, which means "living image of Aten," to Tutankhamun, which means "living image of Amun," and reversed the religious revolution, restoring the old order.

It cannot be denied that Amenhotep IV or Akhenaten as he is more widely known had a very large and significant impact on Egyptian religion and art during his reign as pharaoh. The effects and impacts of his reign spread across many aspects of Egyptian life and ranged from the art of Akhenaten and to religion and the Cult of Aten to building at this period but clearly, his changes were not well met by the ancient Egyptians and their refusal to his heresy, upon his death, was quick.