Akhanaten: Was This Ancient Egypt's Mad King? | Flashbacks | Odyssey

Few Pharaohs are more controversial than Akhanaten. The mysterious figure who, along with his Queen Nefertiti, completely changed Egypt and the religion that bound the kingdom together.

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[theseustoo]

I don't think Akhenaten was 'mad' at all... just ahead of his time. As Oscar Wilde once remarked, "Anyone who is truly ahead of his time will either be thought to be mad, or else he will be completely ignored..."

[pazthakrar]

A very contradicting documentary, no proper conclusions and findings - more baffling then other documents... switched it off half way through.

[LeeCarter]

Remember, those who control His-story write the narrative. Akhenaten was a brave man. The only issue that's maddening in my opinion, are the "actors" in this video 😂. God bless y'all!☀️

[AwkwardM]

thats so interesting no one talking about Hz Yusuf

[heatherprice]

Just because he chose to worship one God the Aten doesn't make him mad, the Aten was introduced to him by his father Amenhotep the third who was trying to break the power of the priests of Amun.

[theseustoo]

I think the reason he was hated so much was due to the number of priests of the other gods who he made unemployed by instating his 'one-god' religion... and possibly also because of the apparent failure of his Armana experiment.

[aliceputt]

When Akhenaten declared there was only one god Aten, he displaced the priests and closed their temples, cutting off their finances. So yes he probably had a lot of guards. There’s a lot of innuendo in this video probably to make it more dramatic and interesting. The actual known history is fascinating enough without the additions.

[debbieflaherty]

Basically, the family tree did not fork.

[dizziechef]

Sounds like the song I heard “ I’m my own Grampa “

[StephiSensei]

I'm always a bit skeptical of "Docu-Dramas" that pose the question, "Can it be possible that...?" I always answer, "Why are you asking me? You're the one making the Documentary!" I know that programs like this one were designed to be appealing to both adults and children, but sometimes it's a bit too much Hollywood and not enough Sandalwood!

[konradx]

This video’s claims are distorted. The explanation is simple. In any society organized around religion (e.g. ancient Egypt) there are constant power struggles between kings and priests. Akhenaten defeated the arrogant priests by starting his own religion, and founding his own city. After he died the priests reimposed their tyranny over the people, and they obliterated Akhenaten’s memory. Subsequent pharaohs consented to the priests’ wishes, just to keep order. No mystery; just politics.

[DomenicoIppolito-zc]

From the finds it can be deduced that Akhenaten's heretical religion was the cause of malformation and desertification in strong contrast with the official Egyptian religion which depended on the prosperity of the Nilo river!

[deviantoutcast]

Please note that this documentary was made in 2002. A lot - *a lot!* - has happened in the world of Egyptology since. New finds, new technology, new and deeper research. New evidence. All leading to new, more accurate, conclusions.
This documentary is a fairly - or at least somewhat - good representation of populist ideas 20 years ago. However, it is not - by any means - a good representation of what we know about the subject today. It is, in fact, not even a very good representation of what was known by Egyptologists 20 years ago.

As an example: In passing, the hole in the back of the head of Tutanchamun's mummy is mentioned as a sign of blunt force trauma causing the death of the young king. This is what Egyptologists call a _zombie fact_ - zombie facts are ideas that at some point were proposed and even though we know, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are incorrect, they refuse to die and continue to live on. In the case of the damage to the back of Tut's mummified head, we know it has absolutely *_nothing_* to do with how or why he died. Well, that is, unless he somehow survived mumification and lived on to be the oldest individual ever and died at the extremely ripe old age of 3300 years old. Spending about 3280 of those years incased, under ground, in layers upon layers of gilded wood, quartzite and granite, and - of course, ca. 245 lb solid gold. -- Yes, it's absurd. It's actually just as absurd as the idea that the king died from a blow to the head, since we know exactly how, and when, that hole occurred: In the 1960's the mummy was brought out and an x-ray was performed. When handling the mummy, it was dropped, causing even further damage to the already mistreated mummy - including sawing it in three, breaking of the penis, and severing the head from the body; all done in the 1920's in the attempt to remove the mummy from the inner most coffin - the one made of solid gold. But that's another story for another time.

Just know: the past is never changing, it remains forever as it were. Our knowledge about the past however, does not.

Stay Safe, and Stay Sane
Cheers!

[shirleyhill]

Akhenaten is still considered the world's first monotheist.

[cavlizzy]

Akhenaten is definatly one of the most interesting Pharaohs! The Egyptian museum in Berlin is wonderful.

[jjmulvaney]

Akhenaten is the son of Amenhotep the third and the father of Tutankhamun.

[JesusSkateboardsdotnet]

Fascinating topic and production, thank you very much.

[cj]

Akhenaten and his queen Nefertiti were intelligent to understand that worshipping Cows and other animals didnt make sense. All are living beings and face death. My recent visit to the upgraded National Museum of Egypt where Akhenaten and his queen Nefertiti is shown mentions that Akhenaten argued there is only one God and it is Sun. It showers light on all creatures including Cows etc... Akhenaten and his queen Nefertiti did not promote a single God concept as known to Christians, Muslims and Jews. By the way, it is interesting to note that India, Vedas also promoted single God concept around BC1500 (especially - Rig Veda). However, both in India and Egypt, the single God concept was opposed by vested priestly political, power and wealth interests . That is why Akhenaten was poisoned. By the way, is there any historical proof that Joseph (Yousef) governed Egypt (e.g from the scrolls of Pharaoh)? Our guide said there is no such proof. However, he stated that Pharaoh records mention about Moses as a Prince and got a "Khatoush"" as he was really smart Prince, but due to slave ancestry, no noble brides were available . Lack of brides may be one of the reasons why Moses chose to join his ancestry tribe quitting the Princely path.

[ckbeep]

these archeologists think that the pyramids were built in 20 years with primitive tools without the wheel also, everything they say i take with a giant grain of salt

[pharellkevins]

I'm watching this video for the third time time, (3 months intervals) and I'm loving it, the Amarna period is my favorite., which made Amenhotep the 4th my Absolute favorite pharaoh, which inturn made the 18th Dynasty my favorite dynasty of all Dynasties.from this video you'll learn everything you might need to understanding the Branded Heretic pharaoh... AKHENATEN BUT one thing I can't get over is the fact that all the actors in this film and or "Documentary" are white 😅...but hey, you work with what you've got, it's just one of those uncomfortable things that immediately keeps getting me out of the ellement when i see overall it's good... especially for beginners into THE ARMANA PERIOD 💪🙌☀️🏜️💛