Smenkhkare's successor, Tutankhaton, was married to Ankhesenpaton, the
third daughter of Akhenaton and Nofretete. Under Tutankhaton the capital
was moved back to Thebes, and the Amarna revolt was at an end. His name,
meaning "the living image of Aton," was changed to Tutankhamon, "the
living image of Amon," and Amon was restored to his place as chief deity
of Egypt. Ankhesenpaton's name was changed to Ankhesenpamon for the same
reason. Although Tuntankhamon was one of Egypt's lesser kings, the
discovery of his tomb by Howard Carter in 1923 has made him the best
known Pharaoh of Egyptian history to most westerners.
Tutankhamon's return to the worship of Amon was a conscious repudiation
of the Aton cult. He actually ascribes the calamities that befell Egypt
in the years of Akhenaton to the anger of Amon:
[Illustration: The Throne of Tutankhamon. The throne dates to the time
before Tutankhamon renounced Atonism. His name appears as Tutankhaton
in the inlay, but in the gold work where it could more easily be
altered it has been changed to Tutankhamon. The back of the throne
pictures the king and his wife under the sun disk (Aton).]
[Illustration: Tutankhamon and His God. A black granite statue depicts
the god Amon (large figure) with Pharaoh Tutankhamon, who renounced the
Aton faith of Akhenaton and returned to Thebes, the center of the Amon
priesthood.]
The temples of the gods and goddesses ... had gone to pieces. Their
shrines had become desolate and had become overgrown mounds.... The
land was topsy turvy and the gods turned their backs upon this land.
If one prayed to a god to seek counsel from him, he would never come
(at all). If one made supplication to a goddess, similarly she would
never come at all. Their hearts were hurt (?) so they destroyed that
which had been made.[59]
Following Tutankhamon's early death we meet a story of intrigue and
international politics which involves his widow. Ankhesenpamon, fearful
of the future of herself and her country, wrote to the Hittite king,
Suppiluliumas, asking that one of his sons be sent to Egypt to become
her husband:
My husband died, and I have no son. People say that you have many
sons. If you were to send me one of your sons, he might become my
husband. I am loath to take a servant of mine and make him my
husband.[60]
The Hittite king, suspecting something amiss, sent a servant to check on
matters in Egypt. When the envoy reached Thebes, the widowed queen
asked:
Why do you say, "They may try to deceive me." If I had a son would I
write to a foreign country in a manner which is humiliating to myself
and my country. You do not trust me and tell me such a thing. He who
was my husband died and I have no sons. Shall I perhaps take one of my
servants and make him my husband? I have not written to any other
country. I have written only to you. People say that you have many
sons. Give me one of your sons, and he is my husband and king in the
land of Egypt.[61]
Suppiluliumas was convinced of the good faith of the young widow and
sent a son to Egypt, but the young man never reached Thebes. Along the
way he was murdered by Egyptians who resented the thought of a foreigner
as their ruler. The result was a period of war between the Hittites and
Egypt. Another son of Suppiluliumas made a record of the affair:
When my father gave them (the Egyptians) one of his sons (to take over
the kingship), they killed him as they led him there. My father let
his anger run away with him; he went to war against Egypt and attacked
Egypt.[62]
The battle is not mentioned in the Egyptian annals. Probably it was
brief and indecisive, for the Hittites could not afford to throw a major
army into such a campaign. The rising power of Assyria was a threat to
Hittite control in the north, and she had to be ready to protect her
northern provinces. Had the Hittites launched a major campaign against
Egypt it is doubtful if she could have survived.
[Illustration: Horemhab. Granite statue of the commander of
Tutankhaton's armies, later a Pharaoh in his own right.]