TELL EL-AMARNA tĕl ĕl ə mär’ nə. The city of Akh-en-aton (q.v.). The name is a misnomer formed by combining a village name, “El-Till,” with “El-Amarna,” one of the names of an Arab tribe that had settled in the area. “El-Till” has no etymological relation with the term “tell” (Arab. “hill”) commonly used by archaeologists to designate a stratified mound. The city’s ancient name was Akhet Aton (Egyp. ’ḵt-’tn, The Horizon of Aton).
I. Introduction. The site, Tell El-Amarna, has given its own name to the Amarna Age, the historical period described in the diplomatic correspondence found there. In addition, the name “Amarna” has become synonymous with bold experiment as a result of the cultural creativity of its founder. It is not an exaggeration to designate this radical cultural experiment as the Amarna Revolution.
Biblical scholars have several points of contact with Tell El-Amarna: Atonist theology is important for the backgrounds of Heb. monotheism. The Amarna Letters are indispensable for understanding Canaan just prior to the Heb. conquest. Finally, the possibility, usually rejected by contemporary scholars, that Akh-en-aton was the Pharaoh of the Exodus (q.v.) increases interest in the period.
Travelers had long known of the ruins at Tell El-Amarna; some of its ruins were discussed in scholarly lit. as early as 1842. However, interest in the site greatly increased with the accidental discovery of the first Amarna Letters in 1887. The peasant woman who first found them sold her rights in the discovery for ten piastres. First attempts to sell the tablets to European scholars resulted in silence or accusations of forgery, so the tablets were taken to Luxor to be sold to tourists. A large part of the original find was destroyed in transit. By this time some scholars were convinced that the tablets were genuine, and attempts to acquire the tablets began. Agents of the British Museum and of the Berlin Museum purchased most of the tablets, but smaller lots are found in museums and private collections throughout the world. With interest aroused by this discovery, excavations began in 1891 and were continued intermittently and by different agencies until 1937. The usable tablets of the original find amounted to about three hundred and fifty tablets. Later discoveries have added about another fifty.
The general antecedents of the Amarna Revolution are Egyp. Whereas the total combination of features in the Amarna Revolution was radically new, almost all of the constitutent details were anticipated in earlier Egyp. life. The individual religious motifs have their Egyp. antecedents; the luxury of the reign of Amen-hotep III looked forward to the ease of Akh-en-aton’s court; and even the artistic motifs can be regarded as the extension of trends already present in earlier Egyp. art. On the other hand, it is probable that exposure to foreign influences had a great role in defining the direction of the evolution of these native Egyp. trends.
Practical politics played a part in the Amarna Revolution. Akh-en-aton’s policies had the practical effect of suppressing the usual priesthoods, esp. that of Amon. On occasion, scholars have belittled the need to curb the power of Amon by noting that the king was the absolute ruler of the priestly establishments as well as the absolute ruler of the state. However, later Egyp. history witnessed the usurpation of royal authority by the priests of Amon despite their nominal submission to the crown. Thus Akh-en-aton was dealing with a real threat to royal power.
II. Cultural Significance
1. The city. Akhet Aton was one of three cities sacred to the Aton. Gem Aton in Nubia survived for a thousand years, although both the name and location of the Aton city in Syria are lost. Akhet Aton was located roughly halfway between Thebes (present Luxor) and Memphis (near Cairo). The sacred precincts included a half circle of land, mostly desert, about three m. by eight m., on the E bank of the Nile with a large area of agricultural land on the W bank. This area was marked off by the boundary stelae that contained Akh-en-aton’s oath not to pass beyond these borders. It is not certain that this oath was intended to keep Ahk-en-aton from ever leaving the city; rather it may have indicated that he would not pass the boundaries “to make for him Akhetaton therein” (Baikie 268, 269), i.e. to add to the sacred precincts of Aton. It is significant for the spirit of Egyp. religion that the new site was relatively free of the claims of other gods.
The city itself was built on a long, narrow strip of desert parallel to the river, but just beyond the cultivable land on the E bank of the Nile. Thus, cultivable land was spared while keeping the city reasonably near its water supply. There were three long streets running the length of the city with a larger number of shorter streets crossing its width. Land within the city seems first to have been allotted for important royal and public needs such as temple sites, royal gardens, and villas of officials. Then lesser needs and people crowded into the intervening spaces, thus giving the city a somewhat disorganized character.
Akhet Aton was hurriedly built mostly of mud brick that was frequently covered with luxurious decoration. Among the more important structures of the new city were the temples to Akh-en-aton’s ancestors, the great temple to the Aton, the royal pleasure garden named Maru-Aton, and the palace and royal house. In addition, there were nobles’ villas, homes of commoners, and factories, notably those producing glaze.
The architectural emphasis of the great temple of the Aton was upon open courts. In the inner part of the temple, where one usually found the holy of holies where the image of the god dwelt in awesome seclusion, this temple had still another open court. Several altars for sacrifices were found in some of the courts of the temple. The emphasis on sun courts, of course, was not new. Earlier fifth dynasty (c. 2400 b.c.) sun temples were built around a single open court in which stood the benben, a huge sacred obelisk, which may have represented the deity. These earlier temples also lacked the holy of holies.
The palace was outstanding, both for its huge size and its rich decoration. Largest estimates of its size are 1,400 ft. by 500 ft. It seems to have contained a huge columned hall with 542 pillars. Available remains give only a limited picture of its lavish decoration, but the glaze and gold ornamentation of the capitals of the columns and of the naturalistic pavements that decorated many of the floors are known. The overall impression must have been one of extravagant wealth.
Maru-Aton, perhaps the official summer residence, featured an artificial pool and enclosed gardens as well as other structures. The decoration was more restrained; colored paste and yellow paint served instead of the glaze and gold of the palace.
After its brief period of glory during the life of its founder, the city slowly faded until Horemhab, in his zeal to eradicate the memory of the heretic king, completely razed the buildings that remained.
2. Amarna art. The art of Tell El-Amarna was revolutionary; but, as noted above, most of the innovation was a matter of development of trends present in earlier Egyp. art. For example, certain aspects of nature had always been presented in a naturalistic manner by the Egyp. artist. Animals, fish, birds, and even grotesque human beings such as dwarfs had long been the subjects of accurate, naturalistic representation. The innovation lay in the extension of naturalism to new levels of execution and to new subjects such as the person of the king. A freedom and softening of the human form under Akh-en-aton’s predecessors foreshadowed the treatment of the human form in Amarna Art.
Some typical artistic representations are the following: nature scenes with abundant wildlife and vegetation, scenes of the king done in a new realism and freedom, and conventional scenes with unconventional naturalism in details, as in a temple scene in which each of the sacrificial animals is given individualistic treatment.
Plastered-over sunken relief represents an innovation in technique. It replaced the earlier high relief, perhaps to adapt to the quality of stone available to Amarna artists. In this technique, the scene was done in high relief, but the scene itself was recessed until the highest portions of the scene were about level with the contiguous unworked stone surface. Then the whole scene was plastered and painted.
The treatment of the king in Amarna art is distinctive. Earlier artistic representations of the king depicted the remoteness, dignity and majesty of the divine king. Amarna art invaded the king’s private life and showed him in very human activities. The king was seen at work, at play, caressing his wife or daughters, and in other human activities. One scene showed the royal family eating a meal with an amusing, perhaps even crude, enthusiasm. Expression of the king’s humanity went so far as to portray his grief.
Amarna art, however, is best known for its grotesque exaggeration of the human physique. This exaggeration is best seen in representation of the king. Several factors may have influenced this treatment of the king: (1) the tendencies toward softening of form and realism already referred to, (2) an excessive movement toward artistic freedom as a reaction to the very strict canons formerly binding the Egyp. artist, and (3) a limited degree of physical abnormality in the king’s person. Artistic representations of the king show an extended neck, a protruding V-shaped chin, bulbous hips and limbs, and spindly ankles. The effect of these characteristics is something normally expected only in brutal political caricature. Not only the king, but other human figures were likewise distorted.
In interpreting these characteristics, however, it is necessary to note that Amarna art displays two distinct artistic phases in its representation of the human figure. In the earlier period, the distortion is extreme, and it is this period that is represented by the wellknown artistic works referred to above. In the artistic representations of the later phase, mostly portrait busts and other statuary, these same characteristics were softened until they were merely “weak” or “effeminate” rather than grotesque. Some of the physical characteristics so grossly distorted in earlier Amarna art can be discerned even in the famous statue of Nefertiti, but there in a softened, more pleasant form. One may conclude that some, if not all, of the royal abnormalities were considerably exaggerated by the artists of Tell El-Amarna.
3. Language. Even language and writing did not escape the revolution. Like Egyp. life in general, written Egyp. was rigidly conservative, preserving elements in writing which were obsolete in the spoken language. The Amarna desire for realism produced a modernization of written Egyp. to bring it in line with the spoken language. The stage of Egyp. language referred to by scholars as “Late-Egyptian” originated in this way.
III. Atonism
1. Formative influences. Clear Egyp. antecedents are found for most of the features of Atonism. The prominence of the sun disk, the Aton, was foreshadowed by the general prominence of the sun in earlier Egyp. religion; even Amon, the hidden one of Thebes, had to become identified with Re, the Sun, before he could become the national god of Egypt. The monotheistic trend of Atonism was anticipated both by the normal syncretism of Egyp. religion, i.e. the tendency to unite originally distinct deities into one figure, and by the tendency to explain other deities as specific manifestations of one chief deity. The name “Aton” had been previously used as a divine title.
Political factors prob. influenced theological thought. An international age like the Amarna Age usually produces a movement of international syncretism, though specific examples of such syncretism are not available for the Amarna Age. Furthermore, just as national unity had produced the need for a national god of Egypt, internationalism opened men’s eyes to the need for a universal deity. Finally, exposure to foreign ideas may have had some influence upon Egypt.
Lastly, there are evidences, including Atonism itself, that the Egyp. mind of that age had reached such a level of rational development that it sought to avoid some of the worst crudities and superstitions of traditional Egyp. religion.
2. Theology. Akh-en-aton’s monotheism has been over-stated; philosophical monotheism, in fact, is not the point at issue. The major premise of Atonism was not that there was only one god, or one divine principle; but rather that the other gods were usurpers who had seized prerogatives belonging only to the Aton. Usurpers were normally dealt with by effacing their names. Although the spirit of Atonism was such that it prob. would have developed into monotheism had it continued to develop, there is no conclusive evidence that pure monotheism was reached.
The evidence for Amarna theology is the following: (1) literary evidence consisting of the long hymn to the Aton and a number of shorter hymns, (2) scenes of life in Akhet-Aton in tombs and monumental scenes, and (3) such ideas as can be surmised from tombs, temples, and governmental policies.
The famous long hymn to the Aton (tr. in C. F. Pfeiffer, Tell el Amarna and the Bible, 38-42) gives the fullest exposition of Atonist theology. This hymn was inscribed on the walls of the tomb of Ai. Some believe it was a ritual recitation spoken by the king himself. In it is found the Aton, the sun disk, eloquently described as the universal, almost omnipotent, providential power sustaining the ordered universe.
The opening lines contrast the universal beauty and sway of the rising Aton with the chaos and fear that dominate the earth during the Aton’s nightly absence. This passage is in contrast to the Heb. poet who saw Yahweh as sovereign over both day and night (cf. Ps 104:20-23). The Egyp. hymn sees night as a break in the sovereignty and power of the Aton.
The poet then described the various phases of the Aton’s sovereignty: mankind’s joyful work and praise began with the appearance of the Aton. Other beings, animals, plants, sea and river life, also lived in the light of the Aton. The broader view of the Aton as creator and regulator of the universe was developed. Man was conceived and grew through the activity of the Aton. The chick in the egg was the Aton’s work. Aton’s control of the universe was so full and gracious that he provided a “Nile-in-the-sky” (i.e. rain) for those lands that did not have the river Nile. The seasons and “beauty of forms” were also his work.
The closing lines define the role of the king in Atonism. Only Akh-en-aton knows the Aton; the Aton has revealed knowledge to the king. Thus, the king, theoretically, is the sole mediator between the Aton and humanity (Akh-en-aton did, nevertheless, appoint a high priest to aid in the mediating). Here also appears the only remnant of older physical superstition in the hymn. The king is the Aton’s son who came forth from the Aton’s limbs. This, of course, could have been “spiritualized” to remove the incongruity.
The clear teaching of the hymn is of a beneficent, providential deity whose sovereignty extends over the entire universe—except during his nightly absence.
The shorter hymns, inscribed in various tombs, largely repeat the motifs of the longer hymn. Many of them are interspersed with references, praising the king since they were written in behalf of nobles who desired to express their personal appreciation to the king as well as to the Aton.
Pictorial scenes from Akhet-Aton, esp. from the tombs, amplify the theology of the poems. The Aton is pictured with his rays extending like outstretched arms to the earth. Akh-en-aton is usually the leading human figure in such scenes. The frequent presence of the “life key,” the hieroglyphic sign meaning “life,” in the hands makes more explicit the concept of the Aton as the giver of all life.
Tomb decoration and structure in general is striking, for the absence of the customary magical apparatus designed to guarantee the future well-being of the deceased. Magic spells carved on walls and furniture, magical scenes of benefits thus conferred upon the deceased, and all other such are absent. One may suppose that in Atonism the power of such magic was replaced by the effectiveness of the king’s personal good will. Thus, the purpose of the magic apparatus is served by hymns honoring the Aton and the king.
The prominence of open courts in the temples and the absence of the equipment for idolatrous ritual are in harmony with the high spiritual level of the hymns. The existence of other sacred cities, not only in Nubia, which was almost “Egyptianized” but even in Syria, which was quite clearly foreign, reflects Aton’s international character and points toward monotheism. The violence of Akh-en-aton’s proscriptions of other deities would lead to the theological doctrine of the jealous god who demands exclusive worship from his people.
The limitations of evidence should be kept in mind in evaluating Atonism. For example, the lack of ethical concepts indicates that the evidence is incomplete rather than that Atonism had no ethical sensibility.
Looked at from the perspective of its individual motifs, there is little that is new in the above materials. The innovation lay in the purging of baser religious elements so that the old ideas suddenly constituted a new, more spiritual religious concept. Overt polytheism and superstition were purged. The result was a landmark in the history of thought.
3. Impact of Atonism. Neither Atonism nor the official cult of Amon had any great impact among the masses. The popular form of the cult of Osiris, Isis, and Horus held this distinction as is shown by the funerary stelae set up by commoners in honor of this cult. Atonism owed its existence only to the energy of Akh-en-aton, and after his death its component ideas were reabsorbed into the common stream of Egyp. superstition.
4. Atonism and Hebrew religion. Some of the resemblances between Atonism and Heb. religion are the following: common tendency toward philosophical monotheism (philosophical monotheism, strictly understood, came fairly late in the development of Biblical Heb. thought), the attribute of jealousy on the part of the chief deity in his demand for exclusive worship and loyalty, the minimizing of funerary cult in both religions, the rejection of idolatry, and the intellectual advancement of both cults in contrast with the general superstition and idolatry of their historical settings. Furthermore, one should note the similarities in motifs between the longer hymn to the Aton and Psalm 104.
On the basis of these similarities, some have concluded that the “makers” of Heb. religion borrowed from Atonism at some point. Looking at the evidence more closely, direct borrowing seems unlikely. The strongest evidence for direct borrowing is provided by the similarities between the hymn to Aton and the psalm, but this evidence has been grossly exaggerated. Barely seven vv. of the psalm show clear resemblances, and in these seven vv. there is one striking contrast, Yahweh’s sovereignty over night as well as day. It is safer to see both the Egyp. psalmist and his later Heb. counterpart as utilizing similar bodies of international, interreligious, nature motifs that were available for the use of all religious poets, whatever deity may have been worshiped. Biblical Wisdom lit. also shows evidence that the inspired writer made use of such an international, interreligious body of wisdom motifs.
Other resemblances between the two religions also are better accounted for through general similarity in backgrounds and in intellectual climate than through direct contact. For example, the movement toward international syncretism, with attestation during the intervening period, had gathered several hundred years of additional momentum by the time of the Heb. prophets. Hebrew imperialism, like Egyp. imperialism, encouraged an international, universal concept of deity.
However, through its contribution to the general intellectual development of the ancient Near E, Atonism certainly contributed something to the intellectual climate out of which Heb. religion developed. In this indirect fashion, Atonism almost certainly influenced Heb. religious attitudes.
One last difference should be noted. Only Heb. religion combined the kind of historical factors noted above with an act of special revelation to produce inspired Scriptures. There is no reason to believe that Akh-en-aton’s spiritual insights went beyond those made possible by common grace and natural revelation.
IV. The Amarna Letters
1. Significance. The Amarna Letters show that Akkad. was the language of international diplomacy even for proud, prestigious Egypt, although the kings of Mitanni sometimes wrote in Hurrian. Occasional Amorite glosses in letters from Pal. give the Sem. philologist insight into pre-Mosaic Canaanite. More relevant to present purposes, however, are three other matters: (1) the Amarna Letters are the most important primary evidence for the history of the Amarna Age; (2) they refer to the Hapiru (q.v.), a subject relevant for the study of Heb. origins; and (3) they show the internal socio-political situation of Canaan just prior to the Heb. conquest.
2. Historical setting. Among the more important developments of the age were the rise of the Hitt. empire and the destruction of the Mitanni empire. In the reign of Amenhotep III, a Hitt. attack on Mitanni was turned back only by means of Egyp. military assistance. Subsequent Hitt. policy had two goals: the undermining of Egyp. influence in Asia and the destruction of the Mitanni empire. Largely due to Akh-en-aton’s inactivity, the Hittites succeeded in both goals. The Hittites and Assyrians divided up the Mitanni empire, and Egyp. arms were driven back to southern Pal.
The undermining of Egyp. authority in Syria and Pal. was facilitated by the internal state of affairs. Local princes desired to rebel against Egypt and gain their independence. Hittite encouragement made them all the more eager to rebel. The Amarna Letters give several cases of conflicts between such rebels and loyal vassals, both of whom were sending letters to Egypt in which they proclaimed their loyalty and complained of the disloyalty of others. The Egyp. court appears to have been unable to distinguish honest letters from false. This difficulty was increased by the fact that the rebels often had friends high in the court who looked after their interests, to the detriment of Egyp. interests. Among the loyalists was Ribaddi of Byblos whose vain struggle against the rebel Abdi-shirta and his sons is well known through the letters. Further S, Abdikhepa of Jerusalem stood loyally for Egypt as the surrounding princes allied themselves with the Hapiru and rebelled.
3. The Hapiru. (q.v.). In the Amarna Letters the Hapiru appear as intruders and troublemakers from the outside. They were outside the normal social structure of the region. Their numbers were being augmented by dwellers in the cities who deserted their leaders to join themselves with the Hapiru. Members of the Hapiru were available for military service as mercenaries for anyone who wished to hire them. In general they were seen as a threat both to Egyp. power and to the existing social structure of Pal.
4. Socio-political conditions of Canaan. Except for the presence of Egyp. authority in Pal. of the Amarna Age, the socio-political state of Canaan was quite similar to that of the time of the Heb. invasion of Canaan. The land was divided into many small city-states each with its own “king.” Both the Amarna Letters and archeological remains indicate that there was a measure of social stratification, with the letters giving evidence of social unrest in their references to citizens who were joining the Hapiru. The two different aspects of the Heb. conquest as seen in Joshua and Judges may be related to the prevailing social stratification. The initial campaign, with its relatively quick victory as described in Joshua, may have dealt with the somewhat small, but militaristic ruling classes. The longer, less successful process alluded to in Judges may have dealt with the longer process of reaching an accomodation with the subject peoples even after the ruling classes had been eliminated. Thus the cities destroyed but not held, in the original campaign, had to be reconquered and reabsorbed at a later date.
Bibliography J. H. Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, II (1906), 382-419; J. Baikie, The Amarna Age (1926); H. Frankfort, The City of Akhenaten (1933); W. C. Hayes, The Scepter of Egypt, II (1959), 280-325; J. Voyotte, “Akhnaton,” “Amarna,” and “Aton,” in A Dictionary of Egyptian Civilization (1962); C. F. Pfeiffer, Tell el Amarna and the Bible (1963); R. Silverberg, The Rebel Pharaoh (1965).