Terms and topics relating to Amarna, with explanations
and links. In definitions, words listed elsewhere in the glossary
are italicized. If you think a term is missing, or there is some
mistake, please email me.
Akhenaten / Akhenaton: Pharaoh
of the Eighteenth Dynasty, primary figure of the Amarna
Period. Approximate dates of reign: 1352-1336 BC. 'Akhenaten'
is usually translated 'Glory of the Aten'. Coronation name: Neferkheperura
Wa-En-Ra. Previous name: Amenhotep IV. Local info:
Akhenaten. Links: Akhenaten.
Akhetaten / Akhetaton: New capitol
city founded by Akhenaten, on a site now called Tell
el-Amarna. Local info: Akhetaten.
Links: Akhetaten.
Amarna / Amarnah / Amarneh: General
term used to apply to the reign of Akhenaten and surrounding
years, as well as to the site of the city of Akhetaten,
properly called in modern times Tell el-Amarna. Local
info: Introduction. Links: General.
Amarna Letters: A collection of
clay tablets containing diplomatic correspondence of the Amarna
period, found at Tell el-Amarna. Local info: Literature.
Links: Amarna Letters.
Amarna Period: Period of Ancient
Egyptian history. See Amarna.
Amenhotep III: Pharaoh who ruled
immediately before Akhenaten, apparently Akhenaten's father.
Married to Queen Tiye. Approximate dates of reign: 1382-1244
BC. Coronation name: Nebmaatre. Local info: Akhenaten.
Links: Royalty.
Amenhotep IV: Previous name of
Akhenaten. See Akhenaten.
Ankhesenamun: Later name of Akhesenpaaten,
after her marriage to Tutankhamun. See Akhesenpaaten.
Ankhesenpaaten: Daughter of Akhenaten
and Nefertiti. Later called Ankhesenamun. Possibly
married to her father and later definitely to Tutankhamun.
May also have married Ay after Tutankhamun's death.
Translation of name: May She Live for the Aten. Links:
Royalty.
Ankhkheperure: Alternate name of
Smenkhkare. See Smenkhkare.
Apy: Steward to Akhenaten
at Akhetaten. Links: Royalty.
Aten / Aton: The deity which Akhenaten
worshipped in place of all other egyptian gods. Represented by
a sun disc. An aspect of Ra, sun god. Local info:
Aten. Links: Aten.
Aten-Ra / Aton-Re: The deity referred
to as Aten is closely associated with Ra and is
sometimes seen simply as an aspect of Ra. Therefore the
god or force of "Aten-Ra" is sometimes referred to.
Local info: Aten. Links: Aten.
art: Local info: Art.
Links: Art, Artifacts and Pictures.
Ay / Aye: Powerful courtier
in Akhenaten's time. Links: Royalty.
Bek: Chief sculptor of Akhenaten.
Links: Royalty.
Beketamen / Baketamun: Youngest
sister of Akhenaten, who changed her name to Beketaten
during the Amarna period. Thought by some to be a daughter
of Akhenaten instead. Links: Royalty.
Beketaten / Beketaton: Youngest
sister of Akhenaten, known previously as Beketamen.
Links: Royalty.
Central City: The portion of Akhetaten
containing the Royal Palace, the so-called Window of
Appearance, the offices and harem, etc. Local info: Central
City, Akhetaten. Links: Akhetaten.
correspondence: See Amarna Letters.
daughters: The daughters of Akhenaten
and Nefertiti were (it is thought) Meritaten, Meketaten,
Akhesenpaaten, Nefernefruaten-Tasherit, Nefernefrure, Setepenre.
Links: Royalty.
disc of the sun: See Aten.
EES / Egypt Exploration Society:
One of the primary excavators at Tell el-Amarna, past and
present. Links: EES.
Eighteenth (18th) Dynasty: The
Dynasty during which the Amarna period took place. During
the New Kingdom. Links: Egypt
Timeline.
El-Amarna / -ah / -eh: See Tell
el-Amarna.
family life: Local Info: Akhetaten.
Links: Royalty.
foreign policy: See The Amarna
Letters.
Gem-pa-Aten: Temple devoted to
the Aten in Karnak. Links: Archaeological
sites related to Amarna.
Gem-Aten: Inner part of the Great
Temple devoted to the Aten in Akhetaten. Local
info: Central City, Akhetaten.
Links: Akhetaten.
Great Hymn to Aten: A hymn attributed
to Akhenaten dedicated to the Aten, found in the
tomb of Ay. Local info: Literature,
Lichtheim's Partial Translation, Wilson's
Full Translation. Links: Aten and the
Great Hymn.
Great Temple to the Aten: Large
temple devoted to the Aten in Akhetaten. Local
info: Central City, Akhetaten.
Links: Akhetaten.
Hatshepsut: Ruler in the Eighteenth
Dynasty earlier than Akhenaten. Links: Hatshepsut.
Hera-Aten: Later didactic name
of the Aten. Earlier: Hor-Aten. Local info: Aten.
Links: Aten.
Heliopolis: An ancient Egyptian
city particularly associated with worship of sun-deities. Links:
Map
of Ancient Egypt.
homosexuality: Local Info: FAQ.
House of the Aten:
Hor-Aten: Earlier didactic name
of the Aten. Later: Hera-Aten. Local info: Aten.
Links: Aten.
Horemheb: Ruler of Egypt after
Tutankhamun, who vigorously reverted Egypt to the old religion.
Married to Mutnedjmet. Links: Royalty.
hymn to Aten: See Great Hymn
to Aten.
Ikhnaton: Alternate spelling of
Akhenaten. See Akhenaten.
Ipet-isut: Ancient name of Karnak.
See Karnak.
Luxor: Modern name for ancient
religious site of Egypt. Links: Archaeological
sites associated with Amarna.
Karnak: Complex of ancient Egyptian
religious buildings near modern Luxor and Thebes.
Links: Archaeological sites associated
with Amarna.
Kemp, Barry: Egyptologist currently
working at Tell el-Amarna, member of the Egypt Exploration
Society. Links: EES.
Kiya: Lesser wife of Akhenaten.
Links: Royalty.
KV 55: Mysterious tomb in the Valley
of the Kings, found with confused funerary equipment for a
mummy which has been identified as Tiye, Akhenaten
and Smenkhare, to name a few. Links: Archaeological
sites associated with Amarna.
letters: See Amarna Letters.
literature: Local info: Literature.
Links: Aten and the Great Hymn.
Marfan's Syndrome: Disease which
Akhenaten may have had, according to some scholars and
medical specialists. Links: Akhenaten.
Maru-Aten: "Viewing Place
(?) of Aten." Positioned south of Akhetaten,
seems to be a palace/garden or temple of some sort. Local info:
City Map, Akhetaten.
Links: Akhetaten.
May: "Fan bearer on the King's
[Akhenaten's] Right Hand" Links: Royalty.
Maya / Maia: Tutankhamun's
Wet Nurse, whose tomb has been found recently. Links: Royalty,
Maya's
Tomb.
Meketaten: Daughter of Akhenaten
and Nefertiti, known from reliefs at Karnak and
from the Royal Tomb at Amarna. Translation of name:
"She Whom the Aten Protects". Links: Royalty.
Meritaten: Eldest daughter of Akhenaten
and Nefertiti. Shown in reliefs at Karnak. May have
been given the status of King's Wife. May have married Smenkhkare.
Translation of name: "Beloved of the Aten". Links:
Royalty.
Meryre I: The "Greatest of
Seers" of the Aten in the House of the Aten
in Akhetaten. Has a tomb at Tell el-Amarna. Links:
Royalty.
monotheism: Often applied to the
worship of Aten. See Aten.
Moses: Leader of the Exodus in
Biblical History, often associated with Akhenaten because
of the seeming monotheism of the worship of the Aten.
Links: Religion, Moses, Oedipus and
Akhenaten.
Mutnedjmet: Wife of Horemheb.
Translation of name: "Sweet Mother". Links: Royalty.
Nakht: Also called 'Nakht-pa-Aten',
a Vizier in Akhenaten's court at Amarna, whose house
is famous now as a 'typical Amarna house' - however, the
Vizier was a very high court official, like a prime minister to
Akhenaten, so this is not really a true evaluation. Local:
Akhetaten. Links: Royalty,
Akhetaten.
naturalism: term often applied
to Amarna art for its more realistic portrayal of people
and animals than in traditional Egyptian art. Local: Art.
Links: Art and Artifacts.
Neferkheperura Wa-En-Ra: Alternate
name of Akhenaten. See Akhenaten.
Nefernefruaten: Probably an alternate
name of Nefertiti when she was co-ruler with Akhenaten,
or may indicate another personality altogether. Translation: "Perfect
is the Beauty of Aten". Links: Royalty.
Nefernefruaten-Nefertiti: Name
adopted by Nefertiti early in her husband's reign. See
Nefernefruaten and Nefertiti.
Nefernefruaten-Tasherit: "Nefernefruaten
the Younger", a daughter of Nefertiti and Akhenaten
presumably named after her mother. Links: Royalty.
Nefernefrure: Daughter of Akhenaten
and Nefertiti. Links: Royalty.
Nefertiti: Chief Wife of Akhenaten.
Local: Nefertiti. Links: Nefertiti.
New Kingdom: Term applied to several
dynasties late in Ancient Egyptian history, including the Eighteenth,
which includes the Amarna period. Links: Egypt
Timeline.
Nile: River flowing through Ancient
Egypt, on which were situation most major cities, including Akhetaten.
Links: Map
of Ancient Egypt.
Oedipus: Character of Ancient Greek
Mythology, who slayed his father and married his mother. Theorized
as based on the life of Akhenaten by Velikovsky.
Links: Religion, Moses, Oedipus and
Akhenaten, Oedipus,
Bookshop (for Velikovsky's book).
Pendlebury, John: Member of the
Egypt Exploration Society, excavated at Tell el-Amarna
in the 1930's. Links: Egypt
Exploration Society.
Per-Aten
perspective
Petrie
Psalm 104: Often compared with
Akhenaten's Great Hymn to the Aten. Local info:
Psalm 104. Links:
Aten and the Great Hymn.
pylon
Ra / Re
Ramose: Military Standard-Bearer
at Akhetaten. Links: Royalty.
Ranofer: Chief Charioteer at Akhetaten.
Links: Royalty.
Redford, Donald B.
Royal Palace
Royal Tomb
Setepenre: Daughter of Akhenaten
and Nefertiti. Links: Royalty.
Sitamun: Thought to be a daughter
of Amenhotep III and Tiye, mentioned in the Royal
Tomb at Amarna. Links: Royalty.
Smenkhkare / Smenkhkara
Smith, Ray Winfield
stele
sun disc
tablets
talatat
Tell el-Amarna: Modern name of
the Archaeological site on which Akhetaten was situated.
Source of the term 'Amarna' as applied to Ancient Egyptian
history, as in 'the Amarna period.' Local info: Akhetaten.
Links: Akhetaten.
temples
Temple of Amun
Teye / Tey
Thebes
Tiy: Wife of Ay, presumed
to be Nefertiti's stepmother. Links: Royalty.
Tiye: Chief wife of Amenhotep
III, Akhenaten's father and predecessor on the throne.
Survived her husband to reside at Akhetaten. Links:
Royalty.
tombs
Tutankhamun / -en / -on
Tutankhaten: Previous name of Tutankhamun.
See Tutankhamun.
Valley of the Kings
Velikovsky, Immanual
Vizier Nakht: See Nakht.
Wa-en-re: "Only one of Ra."
See Neferkheperura Wa-En-Ra.
Window of Appearance
Workmen's Village
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