20. Akhenaten

Akhenaten was the son of Amonhotep III and ruled from 1652-1336 BCE. He worshipped the sun (Aten) as the one true God, and tried to convince the people of Egypt to do the same. However, he did not succeed in doing so. It is possible that some Hebrew concepts derived from Akhenaten's monotheistic way of worship. His original name was actually Amonhotep IV, but he changed it to Akhenaten, which means 'living spirit of Atem.' Akhenaten also introduced a new way of art that allowed for more creative freedom which was revolutionary at the time. Although, he was very unpopular for closing the temples, and he did not preform all of the duties of kingship. Akhenaten relocated the capital of Egypt to Amarna, north of Thebes, and he forced everyone in Thebes to move to Amarna. Akhenaten's neglect to the diplomatic world allowed for Egypt to weaken and for the Assyrians and Hittites to grow in power. He died with the danger of Egypt collapsing.

Source: [1] [2] Manual (122) -Ian Toubin 'Return to History 8 Egypt ID's