TAA i.3.9.7

                                         –           3            –    

he died. He was an artist, and he was a dreamer. Contented in

his new faith and enjoying great domestic happiness he was content

with his dreamland, while around him Egypt’s great empire was

slipping away by revolt and invasion<;> and beneath the surface the

was the disatisfaction^sic of the people. As long as he lived Akhen-

Aten enforced his new religion, but the people never liked it, and

there was an undercurrent of restess^sic grumbling. The priests of

the ancient faith of Amon were waiting [for] an opportunity to restore

their dispossessed religion, the soldier class were discontented

at their inaction, the harem and court into which <a> very foreign

element had been introduced were hottbeds of intrigue, and the

merchants, as foreign trade declined, became dissatisfied. And

then the common people, who were intolerant of change, mourned the

loss of their familiar gods, and were quick to attribute any loss

or misfortune to the anger of their ancient and deserted gods. I

mention all this so that one may realise the state of Egypt when

Tutankhamen became king. Aken – Aten died and was succeeded by

his son-in-law Smenkhi-ka-Re, who died shortly afterwards. In fact

he may even have been/<pre->deceased Akhen – Aten, and <M^r.> Howard Carter

finds evidence to support this view in Tutankhemen<’>s^sic tomb. He

was succeeded by Tutankhamen, who was another son-in-law of Akhen-

Aten. It is important however, to realise that at this time the

king<’>s name was Tutankhaten, – “The living image of the god Aten”,

for the new religion of Akhen – Aten still held.

          Of himself we know very little; we know, as I have

briefly described, more about the political conditions of his time

than we do of him personally. Doubtless before very long we shall

known much more.