Akhenaten: Dweller in Truth

Akhenaten: Dweller in Truth, Naguib Mahfouz, Anchor Books, 2000

Set in ancient Egypt, this is the story of the pharaoh Akhenaten, whose sudden rejection of the Egyptian deities and embrace of monotheism earned him the title "heretic pharaoh."

A man named Meriamun travels past the deserted city of Akhetaten, once the grandest city in all of Egypt, and is struck by a strong desire to discover the real story behind the "Sun King." He talks to Akhetaten's tutor (and father-in-law), his chief priest, one of his childhood friends, the head of th army, even his wife, Nefertiti, among others, each of whom give their own recollections.

Physically, Akhenaten was small, scrawny and rather effeminate looking. He was either a slavering madman who should never have been allowed anywhere near the throne, or he was a visionary of the type that comes along once in a lifetime. Growing up, Akhenaten showed no interest in learning the ways of war. Tuthmosis, his older brother, who would have made an excellent pharaoh, died when they were children. His father, and pharaoh, Amenhotep III, sent Akhenaten on a tour of the empire, hoping to make a man out of him. It didn't work. Akhenaten was summoned back home to take over the throne on his father's death.

Akhenaten showed little interest in actually being Pharaoh, but his wife, Queen Nefertiti, showed herself to be an expert in running the empire. One day, he heard the voice of the One and Only God, and immediately set about changing the "state religion," getting rid of all traces of the regular deities. His obsession with his religion, to the exclusion of all else, made the outlying provinces easy pickings for raiders. The seat of power had already moved from Thebes to the brand new city of Akhetaten. As the empire descended into near-anarchy, Akhenaten continued to insist that faith in his god would prevail.

I really enjoyed this book. It talks about a part of the world, and a period in history, about which few westerners know very much. The characters in the book feel like real people, especially Akhenaten, who is portrayed very completely. I found it to be well worth reading.