Akhenaten's Amarna Revolution and the Aten Cult (c. 1353–1336 BCE)

1. Amenhotep IV begins his reign

   Jan 1, 1353 BCELabels: Amenhotep IV, 18th Dynasty

   • Britannica
   • Amarna Period

2. Early Aten building program at Karnak

   Jan 1, 1353 BCELabels: Karnak, talatat

   • Cleveland MFA
   • Britannica

3. Akhenaten changes name and royal ideology

   Jan 1, 1348 BCELabels: Akhenaten, royal ideology

   • Britannica
   • Amarna Period

4. Founding proclamation for Akhetaten is issued

   Feb 13, 1348 BCELabels: Akhetaten, founding proclamation

   • Amarna Project
   • Britannica

5. Boundary stelae mark Akhetaten’s sacred limits

   Jan 1, 1347 BCELabels: boundary stelae, Akhetaten

   • Boundary Stelae
   • Britannica

6. Construction begins at Akhetaten (Amarna)

   Jan 1, 1346 BCELabels: Akhetaten, royal residences

   • Amarna
   • Britannica

7. Government relocates from Thebes to Akhetaten

   Jan 1, 1344 BCELabels: Thebes, Akhetaten

   • Amarna Period
   • Britannica

8. Aten cult expands and traditional cults are suppressed

   Jan 1, 1342 BCELabels: Aten cult, state religion

   • Amarna Period
   • Great Hymn

9. Great Hymn to the Aten circulates at Amarna

   Jan 1, 1340 BCELabels: Great Hymn, Amarna tombs

   • Great Hymn
   • Amarna

10. Amarna Letters archive documents foreign diplomacy

    Jan 1, 1340 BCELabels: Amarna Letters, diplomacy

    • Met Museum
    • Amarna Letters

11. Smenkhkare appears late in Akhenaten’s reign

    Jan 1, 1336 BCELabels: Smenkhkare, co-regency

    • Britannica
    • Amarna Period

12. Death of Akhenaten and rapid succession

    Jan 1, 1336 BCELabels: Akhenaten death, succession

    • Amarna Period
    • Akhenaten

13. Akhetaten is abandoned soon after the Amarna rulers

    Jan 1, 1332 BCELabels: Akhetaten, abandonment

    • Amarna
    • Amarna Period

14. Tutankhamun’s Restoration Stela reverses Atenist policies

    Jan 1, 1329 BCELabels: Restoration Stela, Tutankhamun

    • Restoration Stela
    • Dodson AUC

15. Amarna Letters are rediscovered in modern times

    Jan 1, 1887Labels: Amarna Letters, archaeology

    • Amarna Letters
    • Met Museum