Editing Amarna (section)

==City of Akhetaten==
{{Amarna Image Map|width=425}}
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The area of the city was effectively a virgin site, and it was this city that Akhetaten described as the Aten's "seat of the First Occasion, which he had made for himself that he might rest in it".

It may be that the [[Royal Wadi and tombs|Royal Wadi]]'s resemblance to the [[egyptian hieroglyph|hieroglyph]] for ''horizon'' showed that this was the place to found the city.

The city was built as the new capital of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, dedicated to his [[Atenism|new religion]] of worship to the [[Aten]]. Construction started in or around Year 5 of his reign (1346 BC) and was probably completed by Year 9 (1341 BC), although it became the capital city two years earlier. To speed up construction of the city most of the buildings were constructed out of [[mudbrick]], and white washed. The most important buildings were faced with local stone.<ref>Grundon (2007), p. 89</ref>

It is the only ancient Egyptian city which preserves great details of its internal plan in large part because it was abandoned almost completely shortly after the royal government of [[Tutankhamun]] quit the city in favor of Thebes (modern [[Luxor]]). 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,<ref name="kemp">{{cite web |url=http://www.archaeology.org/online/interviews/kemp.html |title=Excavating Amarna |publisher=Archaeology.org |date=2006-09-27 |access-date=2007-06-06 |df=dmy-all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711043111/http://www.archaeology.org/online/interviews/kemp.html |archive-date=11 July 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>  if only as a source for building material elsewhere. Once it was abandoned, it remained uninhabited until Roman settlement<ref name="roman" /> 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. Amarna was hastily constructed and covered an area of approximately {{convert|8|mi|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.<ref name="davidp125"/> The entire city is encircled with a total of 14&nbsp;boundary [[stela]]e (labeled A thru V with discontinuities left for those thought to be missing, Stele B was defaced by locals in 1885) detailing Akhenaten's conditions for the establishment of this new capital city of Egypt.<ref name="davidp125"/>

The earliest dated stele from Akhenaten's new city is known to be ''Boundary stele&nbsp;K'' which is dated to Year&nbsp;5, IV&nbsp;Peret (or month&nbsp;8), day&nbsp;13 of Akhenaten's reign.<ref name="aldredp47">Aldred (1988), p. 47</ref> (Most of the original 14&nbsp;boundary stelae have been badly eroded.) It preserves an account of Akhenaten's foundation of this city. The document records the pharaoh's wish to have several temples of the Aten to be erected here, for several royal tombs to be created in the eastern hills of Amarna for himself, his chief wife [[Nefertiti]], and his eldest daughter [[Meritaten]] as well as his explicit command that when he was dead, he would be brought back to Amarna for burial.<ref>Aldred (1988), pp. 47–50</ref> Boundary stela K introduces a description of the events that were being celebrated at Amarna:

{{blockquote|His Majesty mounted a great chariot of [[electrum]], like the [[Aten]] when He rises on the horizon and fills the land with His love, and took a goodly road to Akhetaten, the place of origin, which [the Aten] had created for Himself that he might be happy therein. It was His son Wa'enrē [i.e. Akhenaten] who founded it for Him as His monument when His Father commanded him to make it. Heaven was joyful, the earth was glad every heart was filled with delight when they beheld him.<ref name="aldredp48">Aldred (1988), p. 48</ref>}}

[[File:Amarna boundary stela U 02.JPG|thumb|Statues to the left of Boundary stela U in el-Amarna]]
This text then goes on to state that Akhenaten made a great [[oblation]] to the god Aten "and this is the theme [of the occasion] which is illustrated in the [[lunette (stele)|lunettes]] of the stelae where he stands with his queen and eldest daughter before an altar heaped with offerings under the Aten, while it shines upon him rejuvenating his body with its rays."<ref name="aldredp48"/>

===Site and plan===
Located on the east bank of the Nile, the ruins of the city are laid out roughly north to south along a "Royal Road", now referred to as "Sikhet es-Sultan".<ref name="waterson81">Waterson (1999), p. 81</ref><ref name="grundon92">Grundon (2007), p. 92</ref> The Royal residences are generally to the north, in what is known as the [[North City, Amarna|North City]], with a central administration and religious area and the south of the city is made up of residential suburbs.

====North City====
{{Main|North City, Amarna}}
[[File:Egyptian - Seal Ring with the Name of Akhenaten - Walters 42201 - Top.jpg|thumb|upright=0.55|Akhenaten seal ring in [[Egyptian faience|blue faience]]. [[Walters Art Museum]]]]
If one approached the city of Amarna from the north by river the first buildings past the northern boundary stele would be the [[North Riverside Palace]]. This building ran all the way up to the waterfront and was likely the main residence of the royal family.<ref name=":0">Kemp, Barry, The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and its People, Thames and Hudson, 2012, pp. 151–153</ref> Located within the North City area is the [[Northern Palace (Amarna)|Northern Palace]], the main residence of the royal family.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Müller |first=Miriam |date=2013 |title=Akhenaten's Workers: The Amarna Stone Village Survey, 2005–2009 (Book Review) |url=https://www.academia.edu/2058416 |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |volume=117 |issue=4 |doi=10.3764/ajaonline1174.Muller |issn=1939-828X|doi-access=free }}</ref> Between this and the central city, the Northern Suburb was initially a prosperous area with large houses, but the house size decreased and became poorer the further from the road they were.<ref name="grundon92"/>

====Central City====
Most of the important ceremonial and administrative buildings were located in the central city. Here the [[Great Temple of the Aten]] and the [[Small Aten Temple]] were used for religious functions and between these the Great Royal Palace and Royal Residence were the ceremonial residence of the king and royal family, and were linked by a bridge or ramp.<ref>Waterson (1999), p. 82</ref> Located behind the Royal Residence was the [[Bureau of Correspondence of Pharaoh]], where the [[Amarna Letters]] were found.<ref>Moran (1992), p. xiv</ref>

This area was probably the first area to be completed, and had at least two phases of construction.<ref name="waterson81"/>

====Southern suburbs====
To the south of the city was the area now referred to as the ''Southern Suburbs''. It contained the estates of many of the city's powerful nobles, including [[Nakhtpaaten]] (Chief Minister), Ranefer, [[Panehesy]] (High Priest of the Aten), and Ramose (Master of Horses). This area also held the studio of the sculptor [[Thutmose (sculptor)|Thutmose]], where the famous bust of Nefertiti was found in 1912.<ref>Waterson (1999), p. 138</ref>

Further to the south of the city was [[Kom el-Nana]], an enclosure, usually referred to as a ''sun-shade'', and was probably built as a sun-temple.,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/amarna_the_place/komelnana/index.shtml|title=Kom El-Nana |access-date=2008-10-04 |df=dmy-all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008020948/http://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/amarna_the_place/komelnana/index.shtml |archive-date=8 October 2008 |url-status= live}}</ref> and then the [[Maru-Aten]], which was a palace or sun-temple originally thought to have been constructed for [[Akhenaten]]'s queen [[Kiya]], but on her death her name and images were altered to those of [[Meritaten]], his daughter.<ref>Eyma (2003), p. 53</ref>

====City outskirts====
{{See also|Workmen's Village, Amarna}}
Surrounding the city and marking its extent, the [[Boundary Stelae of Akhenaten|Boundary Stelae]] (each a rectangle of carved rock on the cliffs on both sides of the Nile) describing the founding of the city are a primary source of information about it.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/amarna_the_place/boundary_stelae/index.shtml |title=Boundary Stelae |access-date=2007-06-09 |df=dmy-all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070529001036/http://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/amarna_the_place/boundary_stelae/index.shtml |archive-date=29 May 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:TutankhamunBerlin.jpg|thumb|Tutankamun Amarna portrait. [[Altes Museum]], [[Berlin]]]]
Away from the city Akhenaten's [[Royal Wadi and Tombs|Royal necropolis]] was started in a narrow valley to the east of the city, hidden in the cliffs. Only one tomb was completed, and was used by an unnamed Royal Wife, and Akhenaten's tomb was hastily used to hold him and likely [[Meketaten]], his second daughter.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/amarna_the_place/royal_tombs/index.shtml|title=Royal Tomb|access-date=2008-10-04 |df=dmy-all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080927231423/http://www.amarnaproject.com/pages/amarna_the_place/royal_tombs/index.shtml |archive-date=27 September 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the cliffs to the north and south of the Royal Wadi, the nobles of the city constructed their [[Tombs of the Nobles (Amarna)|Tombs]].