Xavier Snyder

RELB-477
Dr. Michael Hasel
9 Sept 2020
Annotated Bibliography
Silverman, D., Wegner, J., & Wegner, J. (2006). Akhenaten and Tutankhamun :
revolution and restoration (1st ed.). University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and
Anthropology.

This book by Silverman and the Wegners takes a look at the reign of Akhenaten and
specifically includes the details of the changes that he made as king—these included both
“changes in the social contract between himself and his subjects. . . and between his new
solar god, the Aten. . .” It further speaks on what his son Tutankhamun did following his
father’s death—but the important part of this research is that it includes how and why
Akhenaten made the changes in Egyptian culture that he did. This includes the
conversion to monotheism as a part of the analysis and investigation. This resource could
be rather helpful in seeing a perspective on Akhenaten’s true motives for converting to
monotheism.

Ridley, Ronald T. Akhenaten: A Historian’s View. Akhenaten. La Vergne: The

American University in Cairo Press, 2019.

This book, instead of taking a singular approach to the theories and narratives of
Akhenaten, looks at all the previous assumptions about the Egyptian pharaoh and also
includes what Ridley called the “neglected. . . historiography of ancient Egypt.” This
book’s insights could be rather helpful, but most helpful would be the primary sources
that Ridley references—the summary of the book suggests that there quite a few included
that are often overlooked in studies on Akhenaten.

Reeves, Nicholas. Akhenaten: Egypt’s False Prophet. Akhenaten. London: Thames &
Hudson, Limited, 2019.

In this book, Reeves makes the unapologetic argument that Akhenaten took the liberty of
forcing monotheism on Egypt for his own political gain and to confirm his power as
 monarch. Reeves also talks about how Akhenaten’s decision had a significant impact on
every aspect of Egyptian culture, including their art, which could be evaluated and used
as primary sources for this research. Other primary sources references by Reeves would
be valuable.

Redford, Donald B. Akhenaten, the Heretic King. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University
Press, 1984.

Redford addresses some of the previous theories that Akhenaten was probably a woman
or eunuch, and claims to utilize proper primary sources to unveil a “more fascinating”
context than the former far-fetched theories. While the summary does not explain any
details on this, this source would be worth looking into to determine what Redford
believes to be the reasoning for Akhenaten’s strange reputation and heresy. Primary

Manniche, Lise. The Akhenaten Colossi of Karnak. Cairo ;: American University in

Cairo Press, 2010.

This book is an analysis of the remaining statues of Akhenaten that mainly try to get an
idea of what he actually looked like and why he was perceived in certain ways. This book
could be a good guiding point towards statues that were created of him that also show
how he perpetuated monotheism, specifically Atenism, in his reputation. This could also
be used to prove theories that he used Atenism to consolidate political power, if Atenism
is included in the statues to deitize him as an individual and king. Primary sources in this
book are definitely of use.

Assmann, Jan. From Akhenaten to Moses : Ancient Egypt and Religious Change Cairo,
Egypt ;: The American University in Cairo Press, 2014.

This book seems to analyze the connections between Akhenaten’s monotheism and that
of Moses, while comparing and contrasting the religious changes that took place. This book may
not be as helpful to the research on Akhenaten’s motives for implementing monotheism but may
give some background to it. Primary sources in this book may be useful.
 Redford, Donald B., and Ray Winfield. Smith. The Akhenaten Temple Project.
Warminster [Wiltshire: Aris & Phillips, 1976.

These are records of Redford and Smith who were able to go to the Akhenaten Temple to
analyze different archeological findings. This is a great source that goes through the
artifacts found in this temple and give grounds for speculation on the research topic of
Akhenaten’s motives—although it may give more evidence for the influence of Atenism.
This source will definitely be utilized and searched thoroughly.

Murnane, William J., and Charles Cornell. Van Siclen. The Boundary Stelae of
Akhenaten London ;: Kegan Paul International, 1993.

This is a perfect source for my research, because the authors are taking the stelae of the
surrounding area of Akhenaten’s temple and translating them. These were commissioned
by Akhenaten and will likely give some evidence of the influence that Atenism had as
imposed by the new king. Given that these were commissioned by Akhenaten himself,
these should also shed light on some of his motives. This book compiles primary sources
that can be used, although the book on its own could be considered a primary source
trove.

Hornung, Erik. Akhenaten and the Religion of Light Ithaca: Cornell University Press,
1999.

Hornung takes a specific look at the details of the “light” religion that Akhenaten
founded, and acknowledges the Egyptian king not necessarily as a heretic but one of the
earliest founders of a new religion. This source could be helpful as the analysis of
Atenism could give some evidence as to Akhenaten’s motives in founding the religion.
Primary sources referenced could be useful, but in this case, Hornung’s synthesis could
be more valuable for this research.

Budge, E. A. Wallis. Tutankhamen: Amenism, Atenism and Egyptian Monotheism/with

Hieroglyphic Texts of Hymns to Amen and Aten. Tutankhamen. Dover Publications, 2012.

This is a great compilation of primary sources that include hymns written to Aten—
looking at the influence of Atenism and its relation to the king, at this point the son of
 Akhenaten, can help determine motive by the Egyptian predecessor. As founder of
Atenism, the hymns written will reflect Akhenaten’s intent and an analysis of these
hymns will shed light on the subject. This source will likely be utilized in conjunction
with other post-Akhenaten primary sources.

Hoffmeier, James K. Akhenaten and the Origins of Monotheism. Akhenaten and the
Origins of Monotheism. Cary: Oxford University Press, 2015.

On this research subject, this book will likely be the most helpful and answer the question
and possible subquestions in depth. By the title, it becomes apparent that Hoffmeier takes
time to analyze with meticulous detail the primary sources that give some hints as to the
intent of Akhenaten’s monotheistic rule. While this book will be largely helpful, I will
make attempts to base my own research’s synthesis and analysis on other primary and
secondary sources. (Introductory chapter could be helpful)

Torso of Akhenaten. Circa 1353–1336 B.C. MET Art Museum,

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/544676. Accessed 8 Sept 2020.

This is an artifact found at the MET museum which includes a torso or Akhenaten—this
primary source is helpful because on the sculpture, cartouches can be found that were
written for Aten and connect the king to this monotheistic imposition. The MET notes
that the feminine physique of the torso likely it to connect Akhenaten with the fertility of
Egypt, which could also be a result of his influence from Atenism.

*I acknowledge that I have included only one primary source in this starting
bibliography, but I can assure you that my final research will include significantly more
references to primary sources on this subject.

Question: Was it a form of monotheism or was it just a glorification of one deity above
the others?

Did Israel’s monotheism influence Akhenaten? Can it be related to Moses, Biblical

history?