Some Observations on the Military Background of the Amarna Period

Bibliographic Data

ID10959623
AuthorsAlan R Schulman (corresponding author)
Year1964
Volume3
Pages51
Publication date1964-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of the American Research Center in Egypt (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0065-9991 • E-ISSN: 2330-1880
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/40000985
OpenAlexW2334762122
LanguageEN
Citations received16

It has been assumed by most scholars that the loss of Egypt's Asiatic empire was due mainly to the combination of the indolent pacifism of Akhenaton and his intense preoccupation with his religious innovations.1 Although it is now accepted that Akhenaton could not have ruled without the tacit support of th army, the degree and extent of this suppor has not been sufficiently established. Even twenty-five years ago when H. W. Helck published his thesis on the gradual infiltration and increasing influence of the military leaders into the political and administrative control of the 18th Dynasty, culminating in the reign oi the general Horemheb, he did not give the Amarna period the full treatment it deserves.2 It is the present writer's belief that there was no break in the Amarna period with the earlier military traditions of the Dynasty, and that the army, far from being the mute instrument of the crown, actually became so powerful that, in the end, it not only determined the royal policies, but installed its own leaders on the throne. Because of his physical weakness, it is quite understandable why Akhenaton alone of the kings of the Thutmoside House is not represented as an active participant in those pastimes of horsemanship, archery, and seamanship in which his forebears excelled,3 and it was un* The substance of this paper was read before the 173rd General Meeting of the American Oriental Society, held at the Henry Hudson Hotel, New York, on 8 April 1964. I should like to acknowledge, with my sincerest gratitude, the kindness of Prof. Klaus Baer for reading over the manuscript and discussing a number of its problems with me, and also that of Mr. Edward L. B. Terrace for calling to my attention several very important unpublished reliefs in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 1 See, e.g., W. C. Hayes, The Scepter of Egypt II (1959) 280-281, 295; J.A.Wilson, The Culture of Ancient Egypt (1957) 230-231; E. Otto, Agypten, der Weg des PharaonenRetches (1953) 166-169; G. Steindorff and K. C. Seele, When Egypt Ruled the East 2nd ed. (1957) 220-221; E. Drioton and J. Vandier, L'figypte 4th ed. (1963) 414-416 and supplement on 664; C. Desroches-Noblecourt, Tutankhamen (1963) 151; J. Pirenne, Histoire de la Civilisation de Vilgypte Ancienne II (1962) 321-325; H. W. Helck, Die Beziehungen Agyptens zu Vorderasien im 3. und 2. Jahrtausend v. Chr. (1962) 174-180; C. Aldred, The Egyptians (1962) 133; T. J. Meek, Hebrew Origins revised ed. (i960) I9ff; for a somewhat different viewpoint, however, see A. H. Gardiner, Egypt of the Pharaohs (1961) 229-230 where he notes that it is an often repeated accusation that by his sloth and his hatred of war, he (Akhenaton) threw away the great Egyptian empire built up in Palestine and Syria. . . .The whole question needs

Aesthetics · Ancient history · Art · Period (music) · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Ancient Near East History · Archaeology and Historical Studies · History

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