Uncover Akhenaten's Religious Shifts, Erasure Curse!

By Ali Abo Dashish and Nawal Sayed

CAIRO, Feb. 20 (SEE) – The period of Amarna or the reign of King

Akhenaten and his successors was one of the most important periods that left

its mark on the ancient Egyptian antiquities, as well as the most eroded

periods.

Egyptian archaeologist Dr. Hussein Basir said

that Akhenaten was the first one to get rid of influence and antiques of other

gods as a key component of his new religious program, which focused on god

"Aton", whom he considered the first and only god.

Akhenaten transferred the capital of his rule

to the city of Akht Aton in Tal el-Amarna in Minya governorate in central

Egypt. As part of the major religious conversions that took place during his

rule, his men organized a campaign to erase and obliterate a large number of

religious elements in the texts and decorations of certain temples and other

sites across Egypt.

The blotting and erasure of the name and image

of Amun, the then-god, and his wife "Mout" were varied.

"Erasure means vandalism and deliberate destruction of texts or images engraved on former and contemporary antiques," Basir added. "Erasure was deemed a new art and artistic work."

He illustrated that "When we compare the

new to the first one that was destroyed, we may recognize the original text or

the original image and know the motives behind this sabotage."

"By studying the discovered antiques of Al-Amarna,

we are trying to figure out the number of inpiduals who have done this

erasure. We also try to identify the framework or content in which these antiques

were erased," the Egyptian archeologist said.

Akhenaten expelled all the Egyptian gods; most

notably Amun, the ruler of Taibah, from all places of worship from the Egyptian

land.

All gods' names were erased from all traces,

even within inpidual tombs. The names of the gods were erased and their

images destroyed.

Did Akhenaten know that the same fate would

befall him and his antiques after he initiated thas erasure in Egypt?

"He was cursed too," Basir added.

"If Akhenaten was alive, would he follow

the same erasing policies again?" he wondered.