Compare and contrast ancient and modern interpretations of Akhenaten
Akhenaten as a pharaoh has been subject to many conflicting interpretations regarding the ancient and modern views of his controversial reign. Successive rulers have deliberately destroyed evidence from Akhenaten’s reign in an attempt to erase records of his reign as pharaoh from history, which has given way for the various interpretations of this king’s reign. It is also known that Akhenaten’s contemporaries only presented a negative view of him, making it almost impossible to gain a “correct” interpretation of Akhenaten’s reign. Most interpretations of Akhenaten are of a negative nature. Ramesside tomb inscriptions describe Akhenaten as being the “enemy” and many inscriptions clearly describe the occupant of the tomb to be “the enemy of Akhenaten”.