Amenhotep IV better known as Akhenaten ruled in Egypt over 3,000 years ago, his reign which lasted 18 years was probably the most controversial of any pharaoh. At a time in Egyptian history when polytheism was the religion du jour Akhenaten tried to bring about a religious revolution by trying to establish a form of monotheism with the God Aten, as depicted by the sun’s disc, as the central deity. There is speculation that he may have introduced his new religion in an attempt to lessen the political power of the many priests. This meant that the Pharaoh, not the priesthood, was the sole link between the population and the Godhead which effectively ended the power of the various temples...

"O sole god without equal! You are alone, shining in your form of the living Aten."

During his reign he appeared to have some small success with this but after his death the true feelings of the people manifested in the virtual obliteration of Akhenaten and his sun God from art, literature and history.

His successors however failed in their attempts to erase him from the pages of history; in fact today he is probably one of the best known kings ever to have ruled Egypt. Unlike other pharaohs he will be remembered for more than just having a spectacular tomb or grand statues, he tried to make a difference to the prevailing belief systems of his day and by doing so may have affected the course of history.

Many believe that Akhenaten either was the Israeli leader Moses or that the two were close friends, there is also a school of thought which posits that he may have been the inspiration for Oedipus Rex.

There is no hard evidence that Akhenaten was actually the role model for the biblical Moses but that is one of several theories to have emerged in recent years, certainly both men are famous for their unshakeable conviction that there is one God not many gods.

Much about Akhenaten will remain speculation until such time as his tomb and/or body are found for example it is not clear if he is father, brother or cousin to the pharaoh Tutankhamen. Another mystery is to do with his rather unusual body shape which has led to speculation that he may actually have been a woman or may have suffered from a rare genetic illness, Marfan's syndrome.

He has left us one rather magnificent piece of work, The Hymn to Aten which was set to music and used as part of the superb opera Akhnaten by the composer Phillip Glass, no other Pharaoh has been so honoured as Glass has chosen him, alongside Einstein and Ghandi as one of the worlds most significant geniuses.

How manifold it is, what thou hast made!
They are hidden from the face (of man).
O sole god, like whom there is no other!
Thou didst create the world according to thy desire,
Whilst thou wert alone: All men, cattle, and wild beasts,
Whatever is on earth, going upon (its) feet,
And what is on high, flying with its wings.
The countries of Syria and Nubia, the land of Egypt,
Thou settest every man in his place,
Thou suppliest their necessities:
Everyone has his food, and his time of life is reckoned.
Their tongues are separate in speech,
And their natures as well;
Their skins are distinguished,
As thou distinguishest the foreign peoples.
Thou makest a Nile in the underworld,
Thou bringest forth as thou desirest
To maintain the people (of Egypt)
According as thou madest them for thyself,
The lord of all of them, wearying (himself) with them,
The lord of every land, rising for them,
The Aton of the day, great of majesty.

The hymn celebrates the depth of human sleep and awakening to daylight of lands, pastures and animals expressing the joy of warm sunlight, and the growth of plants, and creatures in the daily sustenance of the sun.

The hymn portrays the sun as the giver of all life, plunging the land into darkness and danger during the night, to reawaken to life, daily work and praise with the dawn. There is great emphasis on the diversity and holiness of all living things, who praise the Aten with their every action.