Amarna Period - Egyptian-Hittite Diplomacy and Akhenaten's Revolution
Akhenaten elevated the Aten, the physical disc of the sun, to the status of sole deity, suppressing the traditional Egyptian pantheon. This religious transformation was dramatically reversed after Akhenaten's death by his young successor, later known as Tutankhamun. For the history of Mesopotamia, the Amarna period is equally significant for the remarkable archive of diplomatic correspondence discovered at the site in 1887. The Amarna Letters comprise approximately 382 clay tablets written in Akkadian cuneiform, the international diplomatic language of the Bronze Age, exchanged between Egypt and the rulers of Babylonia, Assyria, Hatti, Mitanni, Cyprus, and Canaan. For Mesopotamia specifically, the period saw Assyria begin its ascent to regional power, freed from Mitannian overlordship as Hittite expansion broke Mitanni's strength.
- Year: 1353 BCE
- Category: Political
