It is the only ancient egyptian city which preserves great details of its internal plan in large part because it was abandoned almost completely shortly after the royal government of tutankhamun quit the city in favor of thebes (modern luxor). The amarna period was an era of egyptian history during the later half of the eighteenth dynasty when the royal residence of the pharaoh and his queen shifted from the old capital of thebes (waset) to akhetaten (literally horizon of the aten ) in what is now modern amarna. Amarna is the modern arabic name for the site of the ancient egyptian city of akhetaten, capital of the country under the reign of akhenaten (1353 to 1336 bce)
Here, akhenaten pursued his vision of a society dedicated to the cult of one god, the power of the sun (the aten). The amarna project website offers a comprehensive look at its excavation history, with reports from each year and major discoveries, guidebooks, downloadable magazine issues, and much more. Today, akhetaten is known as amarna, a sprawling archaeological site in the province of minya, halfway between cairo and luxor
Explore the fascinating history of the archaeological site of amarna, the capital city built by akhenaten, the heretic king of ancient egypt. Amarna was one of the most fascinating and enigmatic periods in ancient egyptian history.
