Akhenaten the great.

Some historians think that Akhenaten served as a "co-pharaoh" alongside his father for several years. Others do not. Either way, Akhenaten took over as pharaoh around the year 1353 BC when his father died. Under his father's rule, Egypt had become one of the most powerful and wealthy nations in the world. The civilization of Egypt was at its peak around the time Akhenaten took control.

When Akhenaten became pharaoh, he still had his birth name of Amenhotep. His formal title was Pharaoh Amenhotep IV. However, around the fifth year of his reign as pharaoh, he changed his name to Akhenaten. This new name represented his belief in a new religion that worshipped the sun god Aten. It meant "Living Spirit of Aten."

Once he became pharaoh, Akhenaten decided to reform the Egyptian religion. For thousands of years, the Egyptians had worshipped a variety of gods such as Amun, Isis, Osiris, Horus, and Thoth. Akhenaten, however, believed in a single god named Aten.

Akhenaten built a number of temples to his new god. He also had many of the old temples closed and removed some of the old gods from inscriptions. Many of the Egyptian people and priests were not happy with him for this.

Around 1346 BC, Akhenaten decided to build a city to honour the god, Aten. The city was called Akhetaten by the Ancient Egyptians. Today, archaeologists call it Amarna. Amarna became the capital city of Egypt during Akhenaten's reign. It housed the royal palace and the Great Temple of the Aten.