Egypt's Golden Couple

September 12, 2022
In this innovative and detailed study, husband-and-wife Egyptologists John and Colleen Darnell (Tutankhamun’s Armies) explore the 14th-century BCE reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti, the parents of Tutankhamun. The Darnells convincingly argue that Akhenaten and Nefertiti’s establishment of a monotheistic solar-based religion, support for architectural and artistic innovations, and strategic vision changed the course of Egyptian history. Early in his 17-year reign during Egypt’s Eighteenth Dynasty, Akhenaten changed his name from Amunhotep IV to Akhenaten, rejecting his father’s religious beliefs in favor of a new solar cult with the god Aten as its focus. Along with Queen Nefertiti, Akhenaten elevated Aten above all other deities, drastically altering Egypt’s religious infrastructure. The city of Akhet-Aten (also known as Tell el-Amarna) served as a sacred stage, reflecting the trinity of the god Aten, Akhenaten, and Nefertiti as god, high priest, and high priestess, respectively. Throughout, the Darnells draw on historical records, artwork, and archaeological discoveries to provide colorful vignettes of daily life during the era and share immersive descriptions of their own excavations and travels throughout Egypt. Readers will delight in this accessible study of a consequential period of Egypt’s history. Illus.

October 1, 2022
A husband-and-wife Egyptologist team delineate the life and legacy of Akhenaten and his queen, Nefertiti. Akhenaten (previously known as Amenhotep IV) and Nefertiti ruled from roughly 1352 to 1336 B.C.E. During their reign, they swept out the old gods in favor of a single sun god, Aten. Their legacy was powerful yet brief, all but erased by their son, Tutankhamun, who repudiated their iconoclasm and reinstated the former gods. In a multilayered narrative employing a variety of fictional re-creations, archaeological records, and descriptions of their own scholarly pursuits, the Darnells, co-authors of Tutankhamun's Armies, ably narrate the life and legacy of the titular "golden couple." The authors readily acknowledge the academic controversy and endless speculation about their subjects, and they demonstrate the widespread influence of Akhenaten's father on his outlook and methods. "As with so many of the seemingly innovative, unusual, or revolutionary actions of Amunhotep IV, his father's reign provided a precedent," write the Darnells. By the fifth year of his reign, "when the king changed his name to Akhenaten, he made an even more momentous decision, founding a new capital in Middle Egypt: Akhet-Aten. With that new name and in that new city, his new religion found its full expression." In addition to chronicling the complex political, social, economic, and architectural elements of the history, the Darnells offer a touching portrait of family life, and they briefly trace some of the biographical details of the couple's descendants. Acknowledging the cooperation of the Ministry of Antiquities in Egypt, the authors make good use of information gleaned from a variety of sites that have only recently undergone excavation, examining the evidence in a manner accessible to nonarchaeologists. The book also includes a brief chronology and a translation of the ancient poem "Hymn to Aten." For lay readers, a riveting, occasionally speculative portrait of ancient Egypt.

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Starred review from October 15, 2022
Husband-and-wife Egyptologists John and Colleen Darnell have spent years investigating the tombs of ancient Egyptian royalty. In this highly accessible work, they explore the lives of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, parents of the boy king, Tutankhamen. Akhenaten was characterized by rulers who came after him as an immoral heretic who abused his daughters and tried to end worship of the gods. More recently, he has been recast as a far-seeing leader ahead of his time and the first monotheist. Nefertiti, his "great royal wife," was a powerful ruler in her own right and may have exercised sole authority for a time. Together they revolutionized Egyptian society during their 17-year reign, centering it on sun worship, with themselves as gods on earth, and igniting a political and religious revolution with artistic and cultural ramifications. The Darnells are particularly interested in figurative representations of the couple, pointing out how depictions of Nefertiti as equal in size to her husband indicate her significant role, while images of the couple with their children depict them not only as a divine royal family but also a loving and human one. Switching between fictional reconstructions and a journal of their excavations, the Darnells create a lively and insightful portrait of the ultimate power couple.

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