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