In the Light of the Dazzling Aten: An Ancient Egyptian TL

[Merovingian]

“Lo, the Two Lands[1] rejoice as Ra who is the Aten rises upon the horizon! Behold, Ma’at is established and Isfet[2] is vanquished from the land. All rejoice as the world is created. O living disc, o origin of light, o sole god apart from whom there is no other, your rays touch your creation. How great is your love for your cattle, those who live on Ma’at, and bounteous is your compassion for all that you have created. The Two Lands are in rejuvenation as you create the world, in celebration with your zenith, and when you descend into the Duat[3], your cattle pray for your victory against Isfet. Lament, for there are those who know not the sole god who is the Aten, the foul men of foreign lands who live in Isfet and worship demons. Have mercy upon them , o sole god Ra who is the Aten, for they know not of your infinite radiance. Rejoice, for in the Two Lands of Egypt, and in the Lands of Canaan and Nubia Ma’at has been established, the world has been created and the people have accepted you into their kas and their bas[4]. Pray, o Two Lands, that in Singira[5] and in Hatti[6], and even in farthest Punt may Ma’at be established and Isfet be vanquished. Rejoice, for the Two Lands are living on Ma’at. Praise those who interpret your laws and keep these Two Lands living on Ma’at, the judges in their kenbets[7] and the king in Akhetaten[8]. Rejoice for the Two Lands, living on Ma’at until the end of days.”
* * *
For the longest time, I’ve been fascinated by the reign of the “heretic pharaoh” Akhenaten and his attempted theological revolution. After floating around in my head for a while, I’ve decided to make a TL where Akhenaten’s new religion not only survives but flourishes. First, we need to establish some context. By the time Akhenaten ascended to the throne, Egypt was already ancient. To give a scale of just how long Egyptian civilization lasted, at the time when the pyramids were built there were still parts of the world where you could find mammoths, while Cleopatra’s defeat by the Romans was just a few decades before the birth of Christ. Within this vast stretch of time, Egyptian religion endured surprisingly little change, although to say that it was entirely static would be blatantly false. Different gods rose and fell in popularity throughout Egyptian history. Indeed, Akhenaten’s religious reforms can be viewed partially as an attempt to codify the Egyptian religion around a few core theological concepts with the monotheistic sun god at its center. At the time Akhenaten ascended to the throne, the most popular god was Amun, specifically syncretized with the sub god Ra as Amun-Ra. The priests of Amun-Ra were very powerful, almost as powerful as the pharaoh himself.

Amun’s rise to prominence coincided with the rise of the Eighteenth Dynasty. The Eighteenth Dynasty was founded by Ahmose I, who expelled the Hyksos(a Semitic people who had conquered the Nile Delta), and would be expanded by the female pharaoh Hatshepsut and her successor, Thutmose III. The Eighteenth Dynasty would continue to grow its influence before finally reaching its height of power under Amenhotep III. Amenhotep III brought Egypt to its greatest extent thus far. More than this, however, Amenhotep would seek to challenge the power of the Amun priesthood by elevating a previously minor god; the Aten. Originally an aspect of the sun god Ra, specifically representing the disc of the sun, Aten would become much more prominent during the reign of Amenhotep III, with the pharaoh even proclaiming himself to be the physical form of the Aten[9]. The stage had been set for Amenhotep’s son Akhenaten to begin his theological revolution, which would come to change Egypt and the world forever.




[1]”The Two Lands” is a poetic way of referring to Egypt(that is, the two lands of Upper and Lower Egypt)

[2]”Ma’at” and “Isfet” are Egyptian religious concept refering to cosmic order and disorder, respectively

[3]The Duat is the Egyptian underworld

[4]The “ka” and “ba” are parts of the Egyptian division of the soul

[5]Mesopotamia

[6]The Hittites

[7]A kenbet was a type of Egyptian law court. ITTL, it becomes an essential aspect of how the Atenist clergy functions

[8]Akhenaten’s capital city, modern day Tell al-Amarna

[9]Some have suggested that Amenhotep’s association of himself with the Aten, as well as Akhenaten’s tendency to refer to the Aten as “my father” and himself as “your son come forth from your body” might mean that Akhenaten may have viewed the Aten as being the deified Amenhotep. However, Egyptian kings had referred to themselves as the sons of whichever god was currently in favor for centuries and Akhenaten would have the word “Amun”(as in Amenhotep) systematically removed from his father’s name, which in Egyptian religion meant banishment from the afterlife, something that Akhenaten presumedly wouldn’t want to happen to the god he worshipped. This TL will be operating off the assumption that this was merely a poetic device in line with the traditional Egyptian conception of the pharaoh

 

[Xenophonte]

Interesting and interested...

 

[Gacha Hell]

And, I watched. I await to see more.

 

[Oracle of Sobek 𓆋]

Praise the living Re-Horakhty!

 

[Aluma]

Praise the living Re-Horakhty!

Nice to see the OG himself also here

 

[Merovingian]

Praise the living Re-Horakhty!

I doubt my Akhenaten TL will be nearly as good as yours, but that’s no reason not to try.

 

[Merovingian]

“Every lion emerges from its den, every snake bites”
—From the Great Hymn to the Aten


History has seen many pivotal moments where, had even just one thing gone different, everything would be changed forever. This timeline diverges from ours not in Egypt, but in a region that would eventually come to be known as eastern Anatolia. The Kingdom of Hayasa-Azzi[1] is being invaded by the neighboring Hittite Empire, led by their Prince Suppiluliuma. The Hittites have enjoyed initial successes, but their victory will soon be taken from them. Unbeknownst to the Hittites, a small venomous snake slithers into their encampment. Suppiluliuma notices the snake, only for it to bite him. He dies a few days later. With the death of Suppiluliuma, the Hittites began to falter and were eventually forced out of Hayasa-Azzi.
* * *
IOTL, after defeating the Hayasans, Suppiluliuma would go on to defeat the Kaskians, a pre-Indo-European people who were occupying the Hittite capital of Hattusa. He would then usurp the throne from his brother, Tudhaliya III, conquer the Mittani Kingdom(a prominent Egyptian ally), and inciting several of Egypt’s Levantine vassals into rebellion. ITTL, none of this happens. Instead, the Hittites continue under the incompetent rule of Tudhaliya III based out of the northern city of Sapinuwa[2], with their old capital at Hattusa under Kaskian occupation. The Hittites will eventually recover, they had suffered defeats by the Hayasans and Kaskians before, but it gives Akhenaten and his successors just enough breathing room to fully establish Atenism as the state religion by the next time the Hittites get a competent monarch who tries to expand their sphere of influence.





[1]The Hayasans are generally believed to be the ancestors of modern-day Armenians, although we are still not entirely sure. It ultimately has little effect on the TL, however.

[2]Now known by the Turkish name Ortaköy

 

[Merovingian]

“Unique god, there is none beside him”
—From the Great Hymn to the Aten


Amenhotep III had brought Egypt to its greatest extent thus far. No Egyptian king before him could rival his achievements, and no other Near Eastern leaders dared challenge him. However, nothing can last forever, and some time between 1353 and 1351 BC, the great Amenhotep died, believed by his subjects to take his place among the gods as all kings before him had. He was succeeded by his son, Amenhotep IV. Initially, Amenhotep IV’s reign was nothing extraordinary. He continued to support Egypt’s centuries-old state religion, worshipping gods such as Thoth, Horus, Osiris, and above all Amun. Temples and tombs continued to be built in the traditional Egyptian the traditional Egyptian artistic style, and the temples and priests of the old gods continued to receive state support. However, the young king began to show an obvious preference for one god in particular, the Aten. At first, this preference was nothing out of the ordinary, but would become much more prominent throughout the pharaoh’s reign.

First, Amenhotep’s wife Nefertiti would bear him a son, who he named Tutankhaten[1], meaning “living image of the Aten.” While this rather unusual name might have raised some eyebrows, it was nothing compared to what Amenhotep would do next. It had been traditional for pharaohs to expand the temple complex of Amun at Karnak. It was thus surprising when Amenhotep built a temple at Karnak dedicated not to his namesake, but to the Aten. The Gempaaten, and it’s associated temples the Hut Benben and Teni Menu, had no roof and portrayed the king and his family in a strange new architectural style. The pharaoh was portrayed with a sagging stomach, thin legs, thick thighs, broad hips, and an elongated skull. He and his family were not portrayed in the idealized poses traditional of Egyptian art, but in a naturalistic style showing mostly domestic subjects. Amenhotep and his family were shown in a domestic setting worshipping the Aten, represented as a sun disc with it’s rays emanating forth, each with a small hand holding an ankh at the end. To the priesthood of the old gods, this was tantamount to heresy[2].

In Amenhotep’s second or third year as king, he held a Sed festival, or a ritual rejuvenation of the pharaoh. This was noticeably unusual, as Sed festivals usually only happened on around the thirtieth year of a king’s reign, and every three or so years afterward. During the Sed festival, Amenhotep made offerings only to one god; the Aten. Shortly after the end of the Sed festival, Amenhotep would change his birth name[3] to Akhenaten, meaning “effective for the Aten.” Not long after changing his name, Akhenaten decreed that Egypt’s capital city would be moved from Thebes to an entirely new city which was to be built. A previously unoccupied stretch of desert was chosen to be the site of a new capital, which Akhenaten called “Akhetaten“, or the horizon of the Aten. The new capital was dedicated entirely to the Aten, and was home to numerous temples dedicated to the sun god, the largest of which being the House of the Aten in the cities center. These temples had no roof, allowing the worshippers to bask in the Aten’s rays, and had no idols that were worshipped.

Most Egyptian gods had certain hymns dedicated to them, and the Aten was no different. Akhenaten would compose his new religion’s first holy text, the Great Hymn to the Aten. The Great Hymn praised the Aten thusly;

You arise beautiful from the horizon on heaven,
living disk, origin of light.
You are arisen from the horizon,
you fill every land with your beauty.
You are fine, great, radiant, lofty over and above every land.
Your rays bind the lands to the limit of all you have made,
you are the sun, you have reached their limits.
You bind them for your beloved son.
You are distant, but your rays are on Earth,
you are in their sight, but your movements are hidden.

You rest on the western horizon, and the land is in darkness in the manner of death,
sleepers in chambers, heads covered,
no eye can see its other.
Anything of theirs can be taken from under their heads, they would not know.
Every lion goes out from its den,
every snake bites.
Darkness envelopes, the land is in silence, their creator is resting in his horizon.
At daybreak, arisen from the horizon, shining as the disk in day,
you remove the darkness, you grant your rays,
and the Two Lands are in festival,
awakened and standing on their feet.
You have raised them up, their bodies cleansed, clothing on,
their arms are in adoration at your sunrise.

The entire land carries out its tasks,
every herd rests in its pastures,
trees and plants are sprouting,
birds flying up from their nests,
their wings in adoration of your spirit.
Every flock frolics afoot,
all that fly up and alight,
they live what you have shone for them.
Boats sail north and south too,
every road is opened at your sunrise,
and the fish on the river leap at the sight of you.
Your rays penetrate the Great Green.

You who cause the sperm to grow in women,
who turns seed into people,
who causes the son to live in the womb of his mother,
who silences him in stopping him crying.
Nurse in the womb, who gives breath to cause all he has made to live,
when he goes down from the womb to breathe on the day of his birth,
you open his mouth in form,
you give him his needs.
When the chick in the egg speaks in the shell,
you give it breath to cause it to live,
you have made him, he is complete, to break out from the egg,
and he emerges from the egg to speak to his completion,
and walks on his legs, going out from it.

How numerous are your works, though hidden from sight.
Unique god, there is none beside him.
You mold the Earth to your wish, you and you alone.
All people, herds and flocks,
all on Earth that walk on legs,
all on high that fly with their wings.
And in the foreign lands of Khar and Kush, in the land of Egypt,
you place every man in his place,
you make what they need,
so that everyone has his food,
his lifespan counted.

Tongues are separated in speech, and forms too—
their skins are made different,
for you make foreign lands different.

You make a flood in the Duat, and bring it at your desire
to cause the populace to live, as you made them for you,
lord of all they labor over,
the lord of every land.
Shine for them, o disk of day, great of dignity.
All distant lands, you make them live,
you place a flood in the sky, to descend for them,
to make waves over mountains live the Great Green,
to water their fields with their settlements.
How effective they are, your plans, o lord of eternity!
A flood in the sky for foreigners, for all the flocks of every land who go on foot,
land a flood to come from the Duat for Egypt,
your rays nursing every meadow,
you shine and they live and grow for you.
You make the seasons to nurture all you make,
winter to cool them,
heat so they may taste you.

You have made the far sky to shine in it,
to see what you make, while you are far, and shining in your form as living disk.
Risen, shining, distant, near,
you make millions of forms from yourself, lone one,
cities, towns, fields, the road of rivers,
every eye sees you on their entry,
you are the disk of day, master of your move,
of the existence of every form,
you create alone what you have made.

You are in my heart, there is none other who knows you
besides your son Neferkheperura-Waenre[4].
You instruct him in your plans, in your strength.
The land comes into being by your action, as you make them,
and when you have shone, they live,
when you rest, they die.
You are lifetime, in your body,
people live by you.
Eyes are on you beauty until you set.
All work is stopped when you set on the west,
shine, and strengthen all for the king.
Motion is in every leg, since you founded the Earth,
you rise them for you son who come from your body,
the king who lives on Ma’at, Lord of the Two Lands,
Neferkheperura-Waenre,
Son of Ra who lives on Ma’at, lord of risings,
Akhenaten, great in his lifespan,
and the great king’s wife whom he loves, Lady of the Two Lands
Neferneferuaten Nefertiti, eternally alive.
​

With the founding of Akhetaten and the composition of the Great Hymn, the new religion of Atenism had been founded. This new religion would go on to change the history of Egypt and the world forever.

​

[1]This isn’t OTL Tutankhamen, who was the son of Akhenaten and an unknown other wife rather than Akhenaten and Nefertiti. IOTL *Tutankhaten was born a girl and named Meritaten.

[2]The Egyptians believed that how a person was depicted in their current life effected how they would actually look in the afterlife. This is why Egyptian art tended towards idealized portrayals, as well as why so many Egyptian statues have parts of their body defaced.

[3]Egyptian pharaohs had several names, the most important of which being the throne name and the birth name. Previous kings had changed their throne names before, but to change the birth name as Akhenaten did was unprecedented.

[4]Akhenaten

 

[Oracle of Sobek 𓆋]

Suppiluliuma notices the snake, only for it to bite him. He dies a few days later.

Nice, it's "Illuyanka's Revenge"!

 

[Oracle of Sobek 𓆋]

​

With the founding of Akhetaten and the composition of the Great Hymn, the new religion of Atenism had been founded. This new religion would go on to change the history of Egypt and the world forever.

​

 

[Aluma]

Now every day shall be Sunday

 

[Gacha Hell]

Now every day shall be Sunday

Sun puns are now officially canon.

PRAISE THE SUN!

 

[Merovingian]

“In times of need, even the greatest may stray from the Aten’s light”
— From the Dialogues of the Two Kings

As Akhenaten’s reign continued, his religious reforms grew more and more radical. In the ninth year of his reign, he declared that the Aten was not only the supreme god, but the only god. Throughout Egypt, all references to the name “Amun” was defaced, even in his father’s name. The plural word “gods” was also removed. This was accompanied by a ban on images, with an exception for the sun-disk. The Aten was elevated from merely being the sun god to the universal god of all creation. Akhenaten’s son Tutankhaten grew up to be a capable heir and a devout Atenist. He had numerous conversations with his father about theology, philosophy, and the nature of the Aten and its creation. These conversations would later become the basis of the Dialogues of the Two Kings, one of the principle holy texts of Atenism. Tutankhaten would be followed by five daughters; Meketaten, Ankhesenpaaten, Neferneferuaten Tasherit[1], Neferneferure, and Setepenre. Tutankhaten would be married to the daughter of Babylonian[2] King Burna-Buriash II[3], who converted to Atenism and took the Egyptian name Ankhaten, meaning “life of the Aten.” Meketaten, meanwhile, would marry Paramessu[4], the son of a commander in the Egyptian army by the name of Seti.

In year twelve of Akhenaten’s reign, he received tribute from Egypt’s allies and vassals at Akhetaten to celebrate the zenith of his reign. Following year twelve, Egypt was struck by a plague. Many began to believe that the plague was punishment from the gods for Akhenaten’s theological revolution. Dissent began to grow, egged on by unemployed former priests. In the thirteenth year of Akhenaten’s reign, a rebellion would break out at Waset[Thebes] demanding the return of the old gods[5].
* * *
Waset, Upper Egypt, Year Thirteen in the Reign of Akhenaten Given Life, Strength, and Health

Ptahotep met his acquaintance, Nakhtmin, in a dingy tavern in the part of Waset that most never dared travel. He and his fellow priest had been put out of work by the king’s reforms. Normally, two priests of Amun would not dare being seen in a place like this, but it was this location that had been chosen for a secret meeting away from the auspices of the king’s soldiers. Ptahotep was greeted not only by Nakhtmin, but by several other former priests and civilians who wished the temples to be reopened. The crowd looked with hope and desperation at the two priests. Nakhtmin invited Ptahotep to speak.

”You are all gathered here for one reason” he began “as I speak, a terrible plague sweeps through the Two Lands! I have no doubt that many among you have lost someone important to this pestilence, and I have no doubt that all of you know why; the gods are punishing us! That criminal who dares call himself ‘king’ has closed their temples and banned their worship! He has even declared that there are no gods but the Aten. This is blasphemy!” Ptahotep sat down, and Nakhtmin picked up where he left off. “There is but one course of action!” Nakhtmin proclaimed “We must march upon Akhetaten and demand that the king reopen the temples of the gods! And if he does not, then we shall condemn him to the loving embrace of Ammit[6]!”

The mob left Waset and began to march towards Akhetaten carrying whatever weapons they could find(mostly makeshift slings and repurposed farming tools), the crowd growing with every village they passed through. They finally reached Akhetaten, and demanded to speak with the king. The city guards of course denied them, and the mob responded by attempting to force their way to the kings palace. The guards fought back, and several members of the mob whose names have been lost to history were killed. The mob responded with an all-out riot, a riot that escalated into a full-blown massacre of anyone who got in their way of reaching the kings palace. Akhenaten would ultimately respond to the mob’s request, coming alongside several charioteers who swiftly defeated the untrained rioters. The two priests responsible for the events that had taken place were executed for treason, and most of the rioters were likewise arrested and/or executed for treason, murder, and/or destruction of property.

Akhenaten did not like what he saw. This was not the creation of the Aten. This was Isfet, a force of cosmic disorder. He knew that the Aten did not approve of this madness either. The priests of Amun would be subject to retribution from the state in response to the massacre at Akhetaten, but the king knew that this was not enough. It was his role as the Son of Ra to guide the people of the Two Lands along the path of Ma’at. He had much to think about. Soon, one of the most defining events in the history of Atenism would occur.





[1]”Tasherit” was Egyptian for “the younger” and is essentially the Egyptian equivalent of “junior”(with Neferneferuaten Senior being Nefertiti)

[2]Babylon by this point was ruled by the Kassites, an ethnic group of unknown origins

[3]There is some evidence that Akhenaten may have married one of Burna-Buriash’s daughters IOTL for diplomatic reasons. ITTL, it is Tutankhaten who enters said diplomatic marriage.

[4]IOTL, Paramessu would go on to become Ramesses I, founder of the Nineteenth Dynasty

[5]At least as far as we know, this rebellion never occurred IOTL

[6]Ammit was a demon in Egyptian mythology that devoured the hearts of those who had sinned in life

 

[eliamartin65]

This is an amazing TL so far.

 

[Merovingian]

“Lo, Ma’at is established and Isfet is expelled! I the king, the Lord of the Two Lands Akhenaten have prayed to my father the Aten, and He has revealed to me these laws of Ma’at.”
—Introduction to Akhenaten’s legal code

Following the riots at Akhetaten, and the ensuing massacre, Akhenaten had a lot to think about. The two priests were very public ally executed, much to the joy of the people of Akhetaten who got caught on the receiving end of the rioters’ fury, and the Amun cult would suffer state retribution. Far from the rioters’ goal of reopening the old temples, the Temple Complex at Karnak was leveled to the ground and its talatat[1] were taken to Akhetaten to build tombs for the victims of the massacre. The tomb complex in eastern Akhetaten that would be build would later come to be known as the Necropolis of the Innocent Martyrs and become one of the holiest places in Atenism, a common place of visitation for pilgrims. Numerous other temples were likewise torn down, with their talatat being used to build roofless temples to the Aten in their place. Armies of “idol-smashers”, as they came to be known, traveled from city to city destroying any and all idols they could find, particularly to Amun. The priests of the old gods had their money confiscated and put into the royal treasury, used to fund the construction of new temples to the Aten.

Still, Akhenaten realized that these measures were only temporary. Just as this campaign was retribution against the massacre, the priests would seek retribution themselves for the destruction of their idols and temples. He prayed daily to the Aten for a solution, until he had a sudden revelation. Towards the end of his thirteenth year on the throne, Akhenaten gave a speech before the people of Akhetaten that the Aten had given unto him “the instruments for which Ma’at shall be established and Isfet expelled from the Two Lands”; a new legal code. The Law Code of Akhenaten covered mundane things like cases of theft and marital disputes like previous legal codes had, but it also covered Atenist morality; Atenists were required to pray towards the Sun three times a day, in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. They were forbidden from work on the last day of the week, instead being required to attend a sun-temple. They were required to pray to the Aten before every meal, and at dinner were specifically required to sing the Great Hymn to the Aten in whole or in part. Non-Atenists were exempt from these rules, but were required to pay a special tax in exchange for religious freedom and the worship of Amun was specifically forbidden. Atenists were also exempt from slavery, but not serfdom or corvée labor.

The traditional Egyptian lunar calendar was repurposed for Atenist use. The old intercalary month[2] was set aside as a time of fasting which would be broken with the beginning of the season of Akhet[3], which was to be celebrated with a great feast at which the Great Hymn to the Aten was sung in its entirety. Atenists were required to give five to ten percent of their income to charity at the end of each month, with the temples of the Aten usually acting as the intermediary. While the Law Code of Akhenaten had all the copious use of the death penalty and bizarre punishments one would expect from a legal code created by a Bronze Age monarch, it was notable in that it gave the convicted a weeklong waiting period in which they could repent. Penitents had to have their claims judged to be true by at least three religious experts and repeat offenders were given no such mercy, but it was nevertheless revolutionary for its time.

The new legal code completely reorganized the Egyptian legal system. At the local level, each village had its own kenbet overseen by a judge who was required to be trained in Atenist law. A kenbet was a type of law court consisting of village elders which had existed before Akhenaten. Under the new law code, the kenbet would call upon witnesses and seek to determine innocence or guilt, and, if guilt, the appropriate punishment according to Atenist law. Just as every kenbet was presided over by a judge, all the judges in a sepat[4] would be overseen by a magistrate, and the magistrates were in turn overseen by the king. This system was purely meritocratic, with the kenbets electing the wisest and most educated among them as judges, and the magistrates choosing another judge to be their successor at the moment of their appointment. Both offices served for life. Not only had Akhenaten completely reformed Egypt’s legal system, but he had created an independent base of power to the various sepat-lords. To train future judges and magistrates, Akhenaten opened the House of Wisdom in Akhetaten, where Atenist law would be studied. Many of the imakhy nobility began sending their sons to train there. The Law Code of Akhenaten would become the basis of both Atenist religious law and civil law for centuries to come.





[1]Limestone blocks of a standard size used in Egyptian building projects at this time

[2]The Egyptians had an intercalary month, or Heriu Renpet(lit. “five days”) which didn’t technically belong to any month

[3]The Ancient Egyptian calendar was divided into three seasons; Akhet, when the Nile flooded, Peret, when the land around the Nile became fertile from the aforementioned flooding, and Shemu, when harvest began

[4]Sepats, also known as nomes in Greek, were the main administrative divisions of Ancient Egypt. Each sepat was ruled by a sepat-lord or nomarch.

 

[Oracle of Sobek 𓆋]

[2]The Egyptians had an inter alarm month, or Heriu Renpet(lit. “five days”) which didn’t technically belong to any month

Not to be that guy but <Ḥryw Rnpt> is the "(which are) Upon the Year" part of <Hrw 5 (djw) Ḥryw Rnpt> "the 5 (five) Days Upon the Year".

Akhenaten's reforms here are reminding me of a certain 7th century prophet and lawgiver... Some of these changes - notably the ban on slavery for coreligionists - might have pretty drastic effects on the wider world if (when) those ideas seep into other empires. I wonder if it might actually discourage formal conversion efforts against populations that future Egyptian regimes or profiteering interests might prefer to keep in fetters.

 

[Merovingian]

Akhenaten's reforms here are reminding me of a certain 7th century prophet and lawgiver... Some of these changes - notably the ban on slavery for coreligionists - might have pretty drastic effects on the wider world if (when) those ideas seep into other empires. I wonder if it might actually discourage formal conversion efforts against populations that future Egyptian regimes or profiteering interests might prefer to keep in fetters.

While the Islamic Shari’ah, alongside the Jewish Halacha, was one of my main inspirations for Akhenaten’s new legal code, it’s not intended to be a hundred percent parallel. Certain aspects specifically taken from OTL Islamic law(such as a tax on non-believers and a ban on slavery for co-religionists) were mostly added in because they would incentivize conversion. You are rights that these ideas might have drastic effects on the wider world, and that future Egyptian regimes might try to discourage conversion among certain populations. However, keep in mind that while fellow Atenists might be free from enslavement, they are specifically not exempt from other forms of forced labor like serfdom or corvée labor, the later of which seems to have been the most common form of forced labor in Ancient Egypt.

 

[Merovingian]

“The Aten has always been known to man, but his teachings were corrupted by Isfet. He has sent me to restore his worship.”
—From the Dialogues of the Two Kings

Prince Tutankhaten had been the first child to be raised into the Atenist faith, and he had grown to be quite devout. As a child, his father would tell him stories about the Aten’s greatness. As he grew older, he and his father would stay up late conversing about the nature of the Aten, of Ma’at and Isfet, and of mankind’s role in the universe. He always made sure to write these conversations down afterwards. After all, the role of the king was to uphold Ma’at, which included instructing the people how to live on Ma’at. Since he would one day become king, he knew that he would have to teach the Egyptian people the same lessons his father had taught him, and what better way to do that than through writing?

These conversations between Akhenaten and Tutankhaten would later become the basis of the Dialogues of the Two Kings, one of the principal holy texts of Atenism. Although the Dialogues would not enter widespread circulation until after Tutankhaten’s ascension to the throne, most of the writing(and the conversations they were based on) took place during Akhenaten’s reign. In the Dialogues of the Two Kings, Akhenaten explains(to Tutankhaten) that in the beginning, there existed nothing but the primordial waters of Nun. The world was nothing but shapeless chaos, or Isfet. However, the sole god Ra emerged from Nun and shaped it into the world, establishing cosmic order or Ma’at. However, the forces of Isfet retreated to the Duat and continued to try to destroy Ra’s creation. Therefore, Ra took the form of the Aten[1], and continues to watch over the world and preserve it to this very day. The world is thus locked in a constant struggle between the cosmic forces of order and chaos, Ma’at and Isfet, in which humanity takes center stage.

Humans in this cosmology have the ability to choose between Ma’at and Isfet. Ma’at is viewed as inherently creative while Isfet is inherently destructive. Creation is ongoing in the Atenist worldview; to live on Ma’at aids the Aten in creating the world while bringing about Isfet hinders the continuation of creation. While neither of the two cosmic forces have the capability to fully overpower each other, if Isfet were to attain temporary victory than all of creation would be undone and the world would revert to shapeless chaos. Therefore, mankind’s role in the Atenist cosmology is to help the Aten stave off the end of the world.

Ancient Egyptian religion was known for an emphasis on the afterlife, and Atenism is no exception. Upon death, the deceased is reborn in the Duat, where they are judged. If they are judged to have lived on Ma’at, than they are let into the paradisiacal realm of Aaru. If not, they are forced to languish in the Duat. Aaru is a perfect reflection of the physical world; the residents of Aaru continue to live the same lives that they did in life, only now unburdened by Isfet. The living can honor their ancestors by leaving offerings at their tombs. Later on, it would be common for Atenist families to have family tombs that act as shrines to their ancestors living in Aaru. The Duat, on the other hand, is a realm of Isfet inhabited by malevolent demons. That said, there was still hope for the residents of the Duat; every night, the Aten would journey through the Duat on his solar barque inviting those who had truly repented to join him and enter Aaru. It was accepted that everyone would eventually be allowed into Aaru, just that some would take longer than others.
* * *
With the expanded theology of the Dialogues of the Two Kings, Atenism has been given enough theological weight to expand beyond Akhenaten’s court and become a truly universal religion. This expanded theology will be further expanded on by Atenist scholars in the future. While right now Isfet is seen as more of a purely philosophical concept, in the long run the figure of Apep fits perfectly into this cosmology. For those unaware, Apep was a demonic serpent and primordial manifestation of Isfet in Egyptian mythology. Every night, Apep would try to devour Ra’s sun barque, thereby ending existence. With the (temporary) victory of Isfet meaning the destruction of the universe in TTL’s Atenist cosmology, I find it likely that some later Atenist theologian will incorporate Apep into their writings as a primordial force of Isfet locked in a permanent cosmic struggle with the Aten.

Apep won’t be the only pre-Atenist figure incorporated into Atenist theology. While your average Egyptian peasant might eventually come around to abandoning the worship of Amun, it’ll take a lot more to get them to give up Bes or Min. Atenist missionaries will have to find some way to incorporate Egypt’s various village gods into their religion while still remaining monotheistic. The Atenists believe that the old Egyptian polytheism emerged from Atenism rather than the other way around; Atenism had been the original religion of humanity and Akhenaten was just sent by the Aten to restore the correct doctrine. Therefore, it wouldn’t be that hard for some theologian to declare that the various Egyptian village gods weren’t actually gods, just lesser supernatural beings subordinated to the Aten that had been mistakenly worshipped as gods.

Speaking of Egypt’s traditional polytheism, much of the TL so far has been about the conflict between Atenism and the cult of Amun. Aten and Amun cannot coexist, they simply share too much in common. They are both all-encompassing solar deities closely tied to the pharaonic cult of personality. To the Atenists, the cult of Amun is a perversion of Atenism. Amun will be demonized similar to how Ba’al was following the rise of Judaism. The priesthood of Amun will likewise be demonized, the most common accusations against them being corruption and hypocrisy. As the memory of Amun-worship grows more distant, Atenist writers will come up with more creative accusations[2], with polemics using the cult of Amun as a stand-in for whatever aspect of society they disapprove of, especially if they see it as corrupt, power-hungry, and/or hypocritical. However, in the long run, the cult of Amun won’t be Atenism’s greatest rival. Amun’s popularity was heavily tied to both the patronage of the monarchy and the prestige of Thebes(Amun’s patron city) as the capital, both of which no longer apply ITTL. Instead, Atenism’s greatest rival will be the cult of Osiris.

The cult of Osiris had long been popular with the common people, in contrast with the solar theology which Atenism emerged from which was strongly connected to pharaonic ideology. Osiris was originally an agricultural god, but would become associated with death and the underworld fairly early in Egyptian history. With Amun’s decline in popularity, Osiris will gradually replace him as head of the pantheon among the remaining pagans(who by this point are the majority of the population). Osiris’ cult was centered on his role as god of the underworld. He was the judge of the dead, and thus the central aspect of his cult was to live a life that he would deem worthy so as to have a better afterlife. Any Osirian religion that emerges would have much of the same appeal as Atenism, with the added bonus that it has centuries of established precedent and allows believers to worship their village gods. Atenism will still emerge the dominant religion; any religion which has the backing of the state has better chances than one that doesn’t and Akhenaten and his successors will create economic incentives for Egyptians to convert, but the cult of Osiris will be a serious rival.

The Egyptians didn’t have a concept of different religions; as far as they were concerned, there were only the gods. What particular gods you worshipped didn’t particularly matter, they were simply an accepted part of life. However, with the rise of Atenism, Egypt now has two very distinct religions with radically different theologies. There will be conflict, but there will also be dialogue. This is where an Osirian religion might emerge. The rise of a new religion is often accompanied by a flowering of philosophy[3], and Atenism will be no different. As Atenism’s greatest rival, the cult of Osiris will have to respond to Atenist ideas. Thus, Egypt will be the birthplace of two religions; Atenism and Osirianism. One a monotheistic religion practiced by the majority of the population focused on the Sun which rises in the east and centered on the cosmic battle between order and chaos, the other a polytheistic religion practiced by a decently sized but nevertheless small minority focused on the underworld and the west which is centered on the mysteries of death.

Going back to Atenism, it’s success will have far-reaching implications for Egyptian civilization. No empire can last forever, and Egypt’s geography makes it particularly vulnerable to conquest. The Bronze Age Collapse will still happen ITTL, and Egypt will still be overshadowed by other civilizations(although OTL civilizations like the Greeks, Persians, Phoenicians, etc. will be butterflied). The difference is that Egyptian culture ITTL comes with a monotheistic religion attached. Polytheistic belief systems tend to syncretize, while monotheistic religions tend to resist syncretism[4]. This means that just as Judaism and Zoroastrianism IOTL allowed the Maccabees and Sassanids to overthrow the Hellenistic yoke and restore their native religions, so to will Atenism allow TTL’s Egypt to avoid assimilation by any foreign power and eventually rise from its ashes and once again establish itself as a major power.

Something else to consider is proselytization. Atenism conceives of the Aten as a universal god rather than the specific god of Egypt, lending itself to proselytization. On the other hand, the Egyptians were a notoriously xenophobic people and tended to view all non-Egyptians as barbarians[5]. TTL’s Atenists might eventually come to see Ma’at as synonymous with Egyptian culture. The Egyptians also traditionally associated Isfet with the desert that existed beyond the Nile, lending to the interpretation that Ma’at originated in Egypt and had to be spread outwards(which also justifies imperial expansion). Atenism will eventually spread beyond Egypt, especially with cultures that either conquered or were conquered by Egypt, but how far beyond has yet to be determined. Hypothetically, the Egyptians could convert the *Phoenicians, who convert the *Greeks, who convert the *Estruscans, who convert the *Celts, spreading Atenism throughout Europe and the Middle East, but this is unlikely to happen. Areas that will definitely convert to Atenism are Canaan, Nubia, and most likely the Mittani. In the long run, Atenism will spread throughout the parts of the Middle East that fall under Egyptian rather than *Persian influence, with maybe Osirianism being adopted by some kingdom that wished to remain neutral for trade reasons. What is certain is that some variation upon Ancient Egyptian civilization will last for much longer than IOTL.







[1]Ra refers to the name of the god(and according to later Atenists, the totality of existence) while the Aten is its physical form. In general, the name “Ra” is only used in past tense, since Ra is generally seen as having “become” the Aten, so to speak.

[2]By which I mean make stuff up

[3]Also, Akhenaten’s ban on enslaving fellow Atenists creates incentivizes parts of the population to keep a few pagans left

[4]Not that monotheistic religions don’t ever syncretize, just ask Saint Brigid

[5]This is, of course, an oversimplification. For example, Egypt had many foreign dynasties and the Kushites/Nubians in particular would become particularly assimilated into Egyptian culture

 

[Zireael]

inter alarm month

nitpick: you spelled it correctly in the update but the footnote has this ^^ and I was very confused for a moment

Also there's no [4] in the last update.

(BTW Egyptian religion was already VERY syncretic!)

 

[Merovingian]

nitpick: you spelled it correctly in the update but the footnote has this ^^ and I was very confused for a moment

Also there's no [4] in the last update.

I’ll fix both