Akhetaten overview
Modern name(s) Tell el Amarna
Region Egypt : Settlements
Section Upper Egypt
Latitude 27.64528963 N suggest info
Longitude 30.89624244 E
Status Accurate location
Info The city was built as the new capital of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, dedicated to his new religion of worship to the Aten. Construction started in or around Year 5 of his reign and was probably completed by Year 9, although it became the capital city two years earlier. To speed up construction of the city most of the buildings were constructed out of mud-brick, and white washed. The most important buildings were faced with local stone.

It is the only ancient Egyptian city which preserves great details of its internal plan, in large part because the city was abandoned after the death of Akhenaten. The city seems to have remained active for a decade or so after his death, and a shrine to Horemheb indicates that it was at least partially occupied at the beginning of his reign, if only as a source for building material elsewhere. Once it was abandoned it remained uninhabited until Roman settlement began along the edge of the Nile. However, due to the unique circumstances of its creation and abandonment, it is questionable how representative of ancient Egyptian cities it actually is. Akhetaten was hastily constructed and covered an area of approximately 13 km of territory on the east bank of the Nile River; on the west bank, land was set aside to provide crops for the city's population. The entire city was encircled with a total of 14 boundary stelae detailing Akhenaten's conditions for the establishment of this new capital city of Egypt.
Phases
Construction
time frame from 1346 BCE to 1341 BCE
Capital of Egypt
time frame from 1341 BCE to 1336 BCE
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27.645290, 30.896242 === 27.645290 N, 30.896242 E === 27° 38' 43.0" N, 30° 53' 46.5" E
Web Akhetaten at Wikipedia
Related sites Aten temple, circa 26 m (29 yd) east
Great Aten temple, circa 647 m (708 yd) north
Panehsy's House, circa 781 m (854 yd) east
North palace at Akhetaten, circa 2.8 km (1.8 mi) north
Nearest sites el-Sheikh Sa'id, circa 8.2 km (5.1 mi) north
Deir el-Bersha, circa 12.4 km (7.7 mi) north
Antinoopolis, Wadi Abada, circa 18 km (11.2 mi) north
Khnum, Khemennu, Hermopolis Magna, El-Ashmunein, circa 17.7 km (11 mi) north-west
Tuna el-Gebel, circa 21.4 km (13.3 mi) north-west
Cusas, Al Qusiyyah, circa 24.4 km (15.2 mi) south
Meir, circa 27.1 km (16.8 mi) south-west
Beni Hasan, circa 32.2 km (20 mi) north
Speos Artemidos, circa 28.9 km (17.9 mi) north
Pyramid of Khui, circa 37.6 km (23.4 mi) south
Mastaba at Zawyet el-Maiyitin, circa 45 km (28 mi) north
Hebenu, Kom el-Ahmar, circa 45.7 km (28.4 mi) north
Menat Khufu, Tmoone, Minya, circa 51.1 km (31.7 mi) north
Zawty, Lycopolis, Lykopolis, Asyut, circa 58.2 km (36.2 mi) south-east
Pr-Nemty, Hierakon, Theracon, Al Atawla, circa 55.1 km (34.3 mi) south-east
Dehenet, Mernefer, Akoris, Tihna el Gabal, circa 61.2 km (38 mi) north
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Database ID 3, created 25 Mar 2008, 23:50, Last changed 5 May 2012, 13:27