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: : :I suggest that you read "Kingdom of the Ark" by Lorraine Evans pub: Simon and Schuster ISBN 0-684-86064-3 : : : : I have recently been reading and writing about ancient : : : : Egypt. In my research I have come up with a problem. : : : : The two text books I have say that Ihknaten was the : : : : pharoah of the 18th dynasty (Father of King Tut, : : : : Nefertiti's husband) that attempted to convert egypt : : : : to monotheism. But in other sources ("The Twelfth : : : : Transforming" by Pauline Gedge) he is refered to as : : : : Akenaten or Akhnaton. To confuse matters even more : : : : his original name was Amenhotep IV or Amenophis IV : : : : and he changed it himself. The city that he constructed : : : : was also named after him (whatever his name was). : : : : Does anyone know what the story is, did they make : : : : some recent discovery that negates my older reference : : : : material? I just don't want to look stupid when my : : : : international best seller is released and the pharoah's : : : : name is spelt wrong. : : : re: : : : You said that you have had problems with the name of the Pharao.The reason behind this is different interpretations of his cartouche (shenu in egyptian, a hieroglyphic wich signify the concept of encircling protection). Inside the shenu the kings throne name (nsw-bit) and birth name (sa Ra). These names are written in hieroglyphics. The interpretation of these cartouches are sometimes different between egyptologists. The most frekvent use of the pharaos name would be Akhenaten, but you can also find Akhenaton, Echnaton and other variations. : : : The reason why he changed his name is because of the convertions from the traditional religion to a monotheism. The previous main god had been Amon/Amun and the new religion adopted was the woreship of Aton/Aten (the sun disc). His original name was Amenhotep IV and then he changed it to Akhenaten. As you can see, the name of the main gods are included in these names, and changing religion also meant that he had to change his name. : : : You also mentioned that he was the father of Tuthankamon, wich is widely discussed. He was born during the Amarna period and his original name was Tuthankaton (the living image of Aton), and when he changed the religion of the country back to the original beliefs, he took the name Tuthanhkamon (the living image of Amon). : : : The different names Amenhotep and Amenophis is also a question of interpretation. : : : Whatever name of the pharao you choose, it is not wrong, since it only is a matter of interpretation! : : : : : Thanks Annika, : : I knew about the Major Gods name being incorporated but not about the throne name or the birth name or the shenu. As you can see my research is lacking in certain areas. I'm a computer guy by trade definitely not a historian. Are you a student or just interested in history? I guess I'll stick with Ihknaten since it was the : : first I found. I just think that if historians are going to state something that isn't a known fact they should qualify it with a statement like "Also known as..." or "His most popular name...". But oh well my story is a fiction novel anyways so it's not a big deal.

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