Amarna Sunrise: Egypt from Golden Age to Age of Heresy

The latter part of the fifteenth century bc saw Egypt's political power reach its zenith, with an empire that stretched from beyond the Euphrates in the north to much of what is now Sudan in the south. The wealth that flowed into Egypt allowed its kings to commission some of the most stupendous temples of all time, some of the greatest dedicated to Amun-Re, King of the Gods. Yet a century later these temples lay derelict, the god's images, names, and titles all erased in an orgy of iconoclasm by Akhenaten, the devotee of a single sun-god. This book traces the history of Egypt from the death of the great warrior-king Thutmose III to the high point of Akhenaten's reign, when the known world brought gifts to his newly-built capital city of Amarna, in particular looking at the way in which the cult of the sun became increasingly important to even 'orthodox' kings, culminating in the transformation of Akhenaten's father, Amenhotep III, into a solar deity in his own right.

AIDAN DODSON is a senior research fellow in the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Bristol, where he teaches Egyptology. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 2003. He is the author of Amarna Sunset (AUC Press, 2009), Poisoned Legacy (AUC Press, 2010), and Afterglow of Empire (AUC Press, 2012).