Our lord did nothing about these things . . . We have gone on writing to the king, our lord, the King of Egypt, for 20 years, and not a single word of our lord has reached us". |
Akhenaten was a significant leader in his time as he was known to be negligent towards the foreign policy, which is shown in the Amarna letters sent to him from other regions, complaining about his lack of support. EA 59 from the citizens of Tunip “Our lord did nothing about these things . . . We have gone on writing to the king, our lord, the King of Egypt, for 20 years, and not a single word of our lord has reached us”. This Amarna letter is clear evidence of the lack of communication Akhenaten has presented to the citizens of Tunip, thus effecting his relationships with other regions and the foreign policy. Because Akhenaten's religious worship was focused on the most during his reign, the foreign policy was somewhat ignored or Akhenaten believed it to be less important. This is shown as he did not reply to the citizens of Tunip for 20 years, resulting them to be upset and lose his trust and friendship. Akhenaten's lack of attention towards the foreign policy is proved through this source, supporting the thesis.
This source is some what reliable in giving us information on which regions Akhenaten failed to respond to, the regions distress in result of this mistreatment and the lack of attention towards this foreign policy. However, the reliability of this source is effected in a few ways. This Amarna letter states that the people of Tunip have been trying to contact Akhenaten for 20 years, which is strange considering Akhenaten only had a 17 year reign. Perhaps this Amarna letter is aimed towards Amenhotep III aswell, as he was at reign before Akhenaten, making us unsure if this letter is entirely aimed at Akhenaten. Also, the Amarna letters only provide the messages from the sender, the citizens of Tunip, and not of Akhenaten's, as there are no recordings of Akhenatens responses, giving us only one point of view. This source is a clear example of how Akhenaten ignored the regions around him’s needs, paying little attention to the foreign policy, making him significant in the fact that he managed to cause such a downfall in Egyptian history. |
Change In Egyptian History-The Aten
Ahkenaten was extremely significant as a pharaoh in terms of religious worship, as he managed to introduce a new god and introduce a whole new capital in Egypt for the Aten, called Akhetaten. Akhenaten's neglect towards the foreign policy was because he focused his sole worship to the new god, Aten. A Stelea shows Ahkenaten, Nefertiti, and their two eldest daughters worshipping the Aten. The families hands are raised, symbolizing their respect and prayer towards the Aten. The Aten’s rays are then shining down upon them, with each ray turning into a form of a hand, as if the Aten is answering their prayers. The hands at the end of the rays are holding Ankhs, the Egyptian symbol for life. Perhaps Akhenaten was emphasizing the importance the Aten had to sustain life and to supply the earth with what it needs, in hopes that the people of Egypt would understand and follow Akhenatens orders to worship it. This source is basically telling us that the Aten provides us with life, so therefore, we must worship it. The writing on this Stalae introduces Akhenaten's new capital, "changed Akhetaten, which was its name, into Pa-aten-haru ('the city of the delight of the Sun's disk')." This source is extremely useful in providing information about Akhenaten worshipping the Aten, and expressing that the Aten is so crucial to have in their lives as it is what brings life. This Stalae gives us an idea of the perspective Akhenaten had on the Aten, making is useful in knowing the significants it had on the Egyptian religion. It also gives us writing, which is about Akhenatens capital, Akhetaten, completely dedicated to the Aten. This source is quite damaged, effecting its reliability a little bit as we can not read entirely on what the writing says. This source proves the significance the Aten had on the religious history as Akhenaten introduced a new god, which had such a huge role in human life and created a whole new capital, making Akhenaten an extremely significant god in terms of the religion of Egypt.