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Amarna Sunrise: Egypt from Golden Age to Age of Heresy
The latter part of the fifteenth century BC saw Egypt's political power reach its zenith, with an empire that stretched from beyond the Euphrates in the north to much of what is now Sudan in the south. The wealth that flowed into Egypt allowed its kings to commission some of the most stupendous temples of all time, some of the greatest dedicated to Amun-Re, King of the Gods. Yet a century later these temples lay derelict, the god's images, names, and titles all erased in an orgy of iconoclasm by Akhenaten, the devotee of a single sun-god. This book traces the history of Egypt from the death of the great warrior-king Thutmose III to the high point of Akhenaten's reign, when the known world brought gifts to his newly-built capital city of Amarna, in particular looking at the way in which the cult of the sun became increasingly important to even 'orthodox' kings, culminating in the transformation of Akhenaten's father, Amenhotep III, into a solar deity in his own right.
282 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2014
15 people are currently reading
210 people want to read
About the author
Aidan Dodson
53 books36 followersAidan Dodson is Honorary Professor of Egyptology in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of Bristol, UK, was Simpson Professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo in 2013, and Chair of the Egypt Exploration Society during 2011–16. Awarded his PhD by the University of Cambridge in 1995, he was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 2003. He is the author of some twenty-five books, including Sethy I, King of Egypt: His Life and Afterlife (AUC Press, 2019), Rameses III, King of Egypt: His Life and Afterlife (AUC Press, 2019), Amarna Sunrise: Egypt from Golden Age to Age of Heresy (AUC Press, paperback edition, 2016), Afterglow of Empire: Egypt from the Fall of the New Kingdom to the Saite Renaissance (AUC Press, paperback edition, 2020), Poisoned Legacy: The Fall of the 19th Egyptian Dynasty (AUC Press, paperback edition, 2016), Amarna Sunset: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian Counter-Reformation (AUC Press, paperback edition, 2018), and Monarchs of the Nile (AUC Press, paperback edition, 2015). Professor Dodson has also written on naval history from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present day.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 11, 2018
Well that ended abruptly. I was surprised to see the book come to an end at 50% on kindle – that’s just 128 pages (although the fourth appendix on genetic relationships of the Amarna royals is worth a read). I was a little confused by the overall pacing of the book. The title led me to believe that I’d be getting an intensive look at how Akhenaten’s predecessors built up to worship of the Aten, and possibly cover the first few years of Akhenaten’s reign, up until he changed his name and established the city of Akhetaten. After all, the book’s title is Amarna Sunrise, and I presumed that Amarna Sunset would start at the height of Akhenaten’s reign and take us to its conclusion and the reigns of the last few kings of the 18th dynasty as they attempted to reverse Atenism. Because the book is so short however, I felt like Dodson skimmed over Akhenaten’s reign. I’m hoping this is because he really does cover that in much more depth in Amarna Sunset, but I won’t know until I pick that book up next.
At the same time, I felt Dodson’s focus was off. He goes into too much detail at certain points, but he didn’t spend enough time on what I would consider to be the most interesting debates; the extraordinary power of royal women during the era, the family relationships, whether Akhenaten himself was medically abnormal, possibly insane, or merely a misguided spiritual visionary. That said, Dodson did have a few interesting points to make. He notes the caveats in the 2010 DNA tests – but on balance I still find the results convincing. He also discusses some interesting possibilities regarding the mummy variously identified as either Akhenaten or Smenkhkare, and the chance that Nefertiti could be Tutankhamun’s mother, since the genetic results indicate that Tutankhamun's mother was either Akhenaten’s full sister, or his double first cousin, although I personally was not convinced that Nefertiti was the mother.
7 out of 10
October 13, 2014
Amarna Sunrise acts much like a prequel to Aidan Dodson's 2009 work,
Amarna Sunset
, providing the contextual lead-up to and exploration of Akhenaten's reign and his so-called revolution. There is some repetition of discussion found in Sunset, which is not surprising since there was bound to be some crossover between the two books. Neither is it unwelcome, as it allows Dodson to take into account new evidence and theories, such as 2010's much-discussed DNA testing on the "Tutankhamun kindred".
Unsurprisingly, Dodson has provided another excellent resource on the Amarna period. After exploring the mid-18th dynasty (Amenhotep II – Thutmose IV), he covers the reigns of Amenhotep III and Akhenaten in detail before finishing just as Amarna Sunset would begin. In addition to this wealth of information, Dodson also points out the difficulties in knowing when the Aten emerged as a deity in its own right in contrast to emerging as an aspect of an already-established solar deity.
Of particular interest to me is the appendix Dodson devotes to pouring a bucket of ice-water over the DNA results, pointing out many of the flaws contained in write-up and presentation of these results. Dodson seems to believe that the KV55 mummy is still Smenkhkara, but not necessarily the father of Tutankhamun (who Dodson still prefers to think of the son of Akhenaten and Nefertiti). Also posited is the theory that Nefertiti was the daughter of Ay and a sister of Amenhotep III, which isn't something I'm totally convinced by.
Despite my struggles to get on board with some of his assertions, Dodson presents his arguments well and in a very convincing light. There is a clear use of logic and order in his arguments, and I will admit that after a very long absence, I've rejoined Team Ay-is-Nefertiti's-Father. Additionally, Dodson makes it clear when there is a lack of evidence, acknowledges other theories, and makes it clear when he is offering only one interpretation on the available evidence. I also enjoyed that he does admit to being wrong in the past or having changed his mind – this flexibility is sometimes rare in Egyptology and it is very welcome to see.
There is some lack in the discussion. Though I haven't had the chance to read-up on the matter, I believe that evidence has been discovered that definitively proves the co-regency between Akhenaten and Amenhotep III. In Amarna Sunrise, Dodson pours doubt over the whole scenario – but I believe he has commented on this new evidence elsewhere.
One of the issues with this book is that the thoroughness of Dodson's approach can slow the reader down, bogging them down in details. It's not necessarily a bad thing, just that it can induce a feeling best indicated by this gif:
To that end, I would only recommend Amarna Sunrise (or Amarna Sunset and most of Dodson's other books, for that matter) to a reader who has at least a basic understanding of this time period. That said, both Amarna Sunrise and Amarna Sunset are excellent resources on this time period and are must-reads for anyone researching Akhenaten and his successors.
Unsurprisingly, Dodson has provided another excellent resource on the Amarna period. After exploring the mid-18th dynasty (Amenhotep II – Thutmose IV), he covers the reigns of Amenhotep III and Akhenaten in detail before finishing just as Amarna Sunset would begin. In addition to this wealth of information, Dodson also points out the difficulties in knowing when the Aten emerged as a deity in its own right in contrast to emerging as an aspect of an already-established solar deity.
Of particular interest to me is the appendix Dodson devotes to pouring a bucket of ice-water over the DNA results, pointing out many of the flaws contained in write-up and presentation of these results. Dodson seems to believe that the KV55 mummy is still Smenkhkara, but not necessarily the father of Tutankhamun (who Dodson still prefers to think of the son of Akhenaten and Nefertiti). Also posited is the theory that Nefertiti was the daughter of Ay and a sister of Amenhotep III, which isn't something I'm totally convinced by.
Despite my struggles to get on board with some of his assertions, Dodson presents his arguments well and in a very convincing light. There is a clear use of logic and order in his arguments, and I will admit that after a very long absence, I've rejoined Team Ay-is-Nefertiti's-Father. Additionally, Dodson makes it clear when there is a lack of evidence, acknowledges other theories, and makes it clear when he is offering only one interpretation on the available evidence. I also enjoyed that he does admit to being wrong in the past or having changed his mind – this flexibility is sometimes rare in Egyptology and it is very welcome to see.
There is some lack in the discussion. Though I haven't had the chance to read-up on the matter, I believe that evidence has been discovered that definitively proves the co-regency between Akhenaten and Amenhotep III. In Amarna Sunrise, Dodson pours doubt over the whole scenario – but I believe he has commented on this new evidence elsewhere.
One of the issues with this book is that the thoroughness of Dodson's approach can slow the reader down, bogging them down in details. It's not necessarily a bad thing, just that it can induce a feeling best indicated by this gif:
To that end, I would only recommend Amarna Sunrise (or Amarna Sunset and most of Dodson's other books, for that matter) to a reader who has at least a basic understanding of this time period. That said, both Amarna Sunrise and Amarna Sunset are excellent resources on this time period and are must-reads for anyone researching Akhenaten and his successors.
December 15, 2018
I skimmed most of this finding it incredibly dry. It is definitely for specialists in Ancient Egyptian history.
January 29, 2023
Interesting and informative, especially about the "golden age" of Ancient Egypt's 18th Dynasty in the book's first half. Sadly, that cannot be said of the book's second half, concerning the Amarna period. Here, the author's own theories take center stage and the peer-reviewed work of other Egyptologists and scholars are pushed aside to make way.
Do not use this book as your preferred source on the Amarna period. The author's dismissal of the Supreme Council of Antiquity's 2010 Egyptian Mummy Project was jarring - and all because it clearly does not support his theories regarding the familial relations and events of the Amarna period.
Despite having no apparent professional background in genetics, Dodson makes sweeping statements regarding the validity of ancient genetic testing. He refutes the identification of almost every royal individual identified by the 2010 Mummy Project, including but not limited to Hatshepsut, Amenhotep III, Akhenaten, and Tiye.
His identification of Nefertiti as KV35YL deserves its own paragraph of discussion. KV35YL was identified by the 2010 project as the mother of Tutankhamen, a daughter of Queen Tiye and Amenhotep III and a full sister of KV55 (presumably Akhenaten). According to the historical record, Nefertiti was none of these things! However, Dodson wants KV35YL to be Nefertiti, and so the entire validity of the 2010 study must be dismissed to make it so. The author states multiple times that it makes the most sense (according to his view of the archaeological record) that Nefertiti be Tut's mother, and since Nefertiti is listed no where as a King's Sister or King's Daughter, that must mean that Tiye is simply the aunt of KV35YL. Dodson begins to posit multiple familial relationships to explain this - none of which are confirmed even archaeologically. Ay and Tiye must be brother and sister, Yuya and Mutemwia must be brother and sister, KV55 must be Tutankhamen's uncle, etc etc. Suddenly the DNA of aunts and uncles to a niece/nephew have the exact same appearance of a father or mother to a daughter or son.
This website (https://www.thetech.org/ask-a-genetic...) has images of how the DNA test results of a parent and child versus that of an aunt/uncle and niece/nephew appear. There is a pretty obvious difference between the two. The DNA of siblings (that are not identical twins) are not exact copies of each other - genetic recombination in the chromosomes ensures this. A person shares approximately half of their DNA with their parents and siblings, and only 25% of that same DNA with an uncle or aunt. Dodson’s assertion that then KV55 is the uncle of Tutankhamen rather than his father, and that Tiye is the aunt of KV35YL, does not make much sense at all. The 2010 Egyptian Mummy Project’s data was peer-reviewed before being published, with multiple teams analyzing the raw data and working blind to each other before putting forth their own conclusions. Dodson would have his reader disregard the work of multiple experts, in order to support his theories.
According to Dodson, it is also inconceivable that Akhenaten may have had a prestigious sister-wife in Amarna who gave birth to Tutankhamen when there is a lack of attributable evidence to her existence. I found this incredibly interesting, as Dodson states multiple times throughout the book that the archaeological evidence that we have today survived by simple luck. In other words, the theories we have today regarding the Amarna period are based on the scant evidence that was not destroyed after Akhenaten's death, removed from its original provenance, or was simply lucky enough to survive to the modern era. Besides that, a large number of the sculptures and carvings of the royal women of Amarna are not attributed to a specific member of the royal family with 100% certainty (for more information, reference the Royal Women of Amarna by Dorethea Arnold). We very well could have an image of this sister-wife in a museum without any way of knowing who she was. Also, Akhenaten did have at least one sister in Amarna - Beketaten, so there is a contemporary option for Tutankhamen's mother. In one of the tombs that she is depicted in, a sculptor (the tomb owner?) is even making a statue of her!
Dodson's insistence on this point raised multiple questions within me. Why does Nefertiti have to be the mother of Tutankhamen - is there some special significance to mothering a son that is missing from the birth of the six daughters that she actually did have? Why does it only make sense for Nefertiti to be Tutankhamen's mother, when it is known that Akhenaten had multiple wives, and children with women besides Nefertiti [for example, Kiya and her daughter(s)]?
These were only the major issues that stood out to me while reading this book - there were more, but I won’t stress myself out attempting to tease them apart further. I do not believe I will be purchasing Dodson’s follow-up book Amarna Sunset. I have had quite my fill of the author’s opinions regarding this topic.
Do not use this book as your preferred source on the Amarna period. The author's dismissal of the Supreme Council of Antiquity's 2010 Egyptian Mummy Project was jarring - and all because it clearly does not support his theories regarding the familial relations and events of the Amarna period.
Despite having no apparent professional background in genetics, Dodson makes sweeping statements regarding the validity of ancient genetic testing. He refutes the identification of almost every royal individual identified by the 2010 Mummy Project, including but not limited to Hatshepsut, Amenhotep III, Akhenaten, and Tiye.
His identification of Nefertiti as KV35YL deserves its own paragraph of discussion. KV35YL was identified by the 2010 project as the mother of Tutankhamen, a daughter of Queen Tiye and Amenhotep III and a full sister of KV55 (presumably Akhenaten). According to the historical record, Nefertiti was none of these things! However, Dodson wants KV35YL to be Nefertiti, and so the entire validity of the 2010 study must be dismissed to make it so. The author states multiple times that it makes the most sense (according to his view of the archaeological record) that Nefertiti be Tut's mother, and since Nefertiti is listed no where as a King's Sister or King's Daughter, that must mean that Tiye is simply the aunt of KV35YL. Dodson begins to posit multiple familial relationships to explain this - none of which are confirmed even archaeologically. Ay and Tiye must be brother and sister, Yuya and Mutemwia must be brother and sister, KV55 must be Tutankhamen's uncle, etc etc. Suddenly the DNA of aunts and uncles to a niece/nephew have the exact same appearance of a father or mother to a daughter or son.
This website (https://www.thetech.org/ask-a-genetic...) has images of how the DNA test results of a parent and child versus that of an aunt/uncle and niece/nephew appear. There is a pretty obvious difference between the two. The DNA of siblings (that are not identical twins) are not exact copies of each other - genetic recombination in the chromosomes ensures this. A person shares approximately half of their DNA with their parents and siblings, and only 25% of that same DNA with an uncle or aunt. Dodson’s assertion that then KV55 is the uncle of Tutankhamen rather than his father, and that Tiye is the aunt of KV35YL, does not make much sense at all. The 2010 Egyptian Mummy Project’s data was peer-reviewed before being published, with multiple teams analyzing the raw data and working blind to each other before putting forth their own conclusions. Dodson would have his reader disregard the work of multiple experts, in order to support his theories.
According to Dodson, it is also inconceivable that Akhenaten may have had a prestigious sister-wife in Amarna who gave birth to Tutankhamen when there is a lack of attributable evidence to her existence. I found this incredibly interesting, as Dodson states multiple times throughout the book that the archaeological evidence that we have today survived by simple luck. In other words, the theories we have today regarding the Amarna period are based on the scant evidence that was not destroyed after Akhenaten's death, removed from its original provenance, or was simply lucky enough to survive to the modern era. Besides that, a large number of the sculptures and carvings of the royal women of Amarna are not attributed to a specific member of the royal family with 100% certainty (for more information, reference the Royal Women of Amarna by Dorethea Arnold). We very well could have an image of this sister-wife in a museum without any way of knowing who she was. Also, Akhenaten did have at least one sister in Amarna - Beketaten, so there is a contemporary option for Tutankhamen's mother. In one of the tombs that she is depicted in, a sculptor (the tomb owner?) is even making a statue of her!
Dodson's insistence on this point raised multiple questions within me. Why does Nefertiti have to be the mother of Tutankhamen - is there some special significance to mothering a son that is missing from the birth of the six daughters that she actually did have? Why does it only make sense for Nefertiti to be Tutankhamen's mother, when it is known that Akhenaten had multiple wives, and children with women besides Nefertiti [for example, Kiya and her daughter(s)]?
These were only the major issues that stood out to me while reading this book - there were more, but I won’t stress myself out attempting to tease them apart further. I do not believe I will be purchasing Dodson’s follow-up book Amarna Sunset. I have had quite my fill of the author’s opinions regarding this topic.
June 26, 2020
If you love ancient Egyptian history and have a firm grasp on some of the key figures which shaped their times, this book is a must read. Amarna Sunrise was actually written after Amarna Sunset, which it pre-dates historically, and both volumes together offer a fascinating, meticulously researched, vignette into the Amarna period. This book is not a 'starter' edition for those wishing to get their feet wet in the realm of Egyptology. Without some knowledge of ancient Egyptian history going in, the reader will be quickly overwhelmed by a barrage of names and places establishing a timeline. For some, this might be a total turn off, and I totally get that. The only other negative I can give the book is that there are many (many) references to pages/illustrations that are scattered throughout the book, forcing the reader to continuously stop and flip, temporarily, to another section of the book. While this halts the fluidity of the reading experience, if you are willing to go to the referenced page/illustration, you will be that much better for it! The strength in Aidan Dodson's approach in every book he has written (and there are quite a few), is that he takes the scholarly approach and just tells you what is possible according to the evidence that has been discovered. He doesn't wax poetic about what he would have liked to have happened, but just sticks to the facts. I am a fan of Mr. Dodson and look forward to his next book. I believe it will be called Nefertiti and is coming out later this year. Sign me up!
May 14, 2021
An enjoyable book about the earlier part of the 18th dynasty in Egypt, leading up to the 'Age of Heresy', when Akhenaten briefly established a (sort of?) monotheistic cult of the sun god Aten and founded a new capital. It's a very interesting period, but a lot of what has been written about it in the past has been based as much in supposition and extrapolation as in hard evidence, and Dodson does his best to remedy that and to stick to the facts. Which, unfortunately, means that the book doesn't provide a lot of answers, since our knowledge is so fragmentary. It was interesting, though, to learn that of the other gods, only Amun was really proscribed and removed from monuments and such. Other priesthoods, particularly in Lower Egypt, may have ceased to receive royal support, but seem to have continued pretty much unmolested. Anyway, a good book, sadly limited by our scant knowledge of the period.
January 18, 2024
This is a very good overview of the rise of the Amarna period into it's height. I do, though, think the author could have done some things better. For example, he didn't include translations or even common pronunciations for certain terms in Ancient Egyptian, just their spelling withing the system used to write Egyptian sounds. I found that annoying. I also felt like he could have given more detail on certain topics, like the sunshade temples and the identification of a particular mummy on skeletal grounds. A lot of those topics I have read more details elsewhere, but was hoping for more from an expert like Dodson. I did appreciate the discussion about the genetic research that has been done.
August 18, 2023
Aidan Dodson’s book on Ancient Egypt takes us through the early history of the Eighteenth Dynasty to the reign of Akhenaten, and serves as a companion text to his earlier book Amarna Sunset.
Dodson’s research and knowledge are obvious throughout the text and it is clear that he has a real interest in the period. However he fails to make the history interesting, ignoring many of the fascinating elements of the historical period. The book is also short with only 153 pages of text out of 256, with the rest being taken up by notes, index etc.
Dodson’s research and knowledge are obvious throughout the text and it is clear that he has a real interest in the period. However he fails to make the history interesting, ignoring many of the fascinating elements of the historical period. The book is also short with only 153 pages of text out of 256, with the rest being taken up by notes, index etc.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 4, 2025
I have always been interested in Ancient Egypt and in particular the history of Akhenaten and his family. I enjoy the theories put forth by Aidan Dodson and the further discoveries made by Egyptologists.
Read
January 21, 2020Attracted to the book by its characterisation of the Akhenaten reign as one of Reformation (questionable). Did not get much out of it.
November 24, 2020
Well written and reasoned. I recommend reading Amarna Sunset first then picking up Amarna Sunrise.
February 15, 2023
This is a very academic text with lots of information, in-depth discussion and sources. It delivered on exactly what I wanted which was a refresher on the rise of Akhenaten and gave some fascinating alternate theories.
I wouldn’t recommend this to people without a basic knowledge of the period as, given it’s intended as an academic work, assumes a lot of knowledge.
I wouldn’t recommend this to people without a basic knowledge of the period as, given it’s intended as an academic work, assumes a lot of knowledge.
Read
November 9, 2025A very god description of an important interlude in Egyptian history. Akhenaten basically crashed the system with a shift to a single god.
September 22, 2021
Amarna Sunrise: Egypt from Golden Age to Age of Heresy
By Aidan Dodson
Reviewed September 22, 2021
Amarna Sunrise tells the story of the evolution of the Aten Cult, from being merely an aspect of the Egyptian sun god under earlier pharaohs of the XVIIIth Dynasty to the full blown Amarna Heresy of Akhenaten.
The main portion of the book opens with the founding of the XVIIIth Dynasty by the expulsion of the Hyksos, and the accession of Ahmose I to the throne of a once-more united Egypt, and concludes with Akhenaten and the Cult of Aten, and the end of the dynasty with the reign of Tutankhamun.
This isn’t a book for the casual reader, as some of the information presented can get quite detailed. Even I found it a tad hard going at times, and I consider myself very familiar with much of this period. But Dodson knows his material, down to who was sem-priest under this pharaoh, or web-priest under that; who was the First Prophet, Second Prophet, or Third Prophet of Amun at which time.
He often spells place names in their original forms. For example, he mentioned two towns on Egypt’s northern border that were conquered, má-pá-śi-n and há-tá-śi-n, which to be honest I have no idea how to properly pronounce.
Then there are names owned by more than one person, and clarified by roman numerals with each, like Mery xx, Ramose xx, Amenhotep-Huy (xx), and so forth. All of these meaning you have to really pay attention to what’s being discussed.
This is followed by four appendices that cover an Outline Chronology of Ancient Egypt, Relative Chronology of Egyptian and Foreign Kings during the Fourteenth Century BC (a chart), Royal Names of the Later Eighteenth Dynasty (showing the Horus name, Nebti name, Golden Falcon name, Prenomen, and Nomen in hieroglyphics), and The Genealogy of the Eighteenth Dynasty (some of which is dated thanks to more recent DNA research).
Though a bit dry at times, this is an excellent work on the subject for those who are interested in much more detail.
By Aidan Dodson
Reviewed September 22, 2021
Amarna Sunrise tells the story of the evolution of the Aten Cult, from being merely an aspect of the Egyptian sun god under earlier pharaohs of the XVIIIth Dynasty to the full blown Amarna Heresy of Akhenaten.
The main portion of the book opens with the founding of the XVIIIth Dynasty by the expulsion of the Hyksos, and the accession of Ahmose I to the throne of a once-more united Egypt, and concludes with Akhenaten and the Cult of Aten, and the end of the dynasty with the reign of Tutankhamun.
This isn’t a book for the casual reader, as some of the information presented can get quite detailed. Even I found it a tad hard going at times, and I consider myself very familiar with much of this period. But Dodson knows his material, down to who was sem-priest under this pharaoh, or web-priest under that; who was the First Prophet, Second Prophet, or Third Prophet of Amun at which time.
He often spells place names in their original forms. For example, he mentioned two towns on Egypt’s northern border that were conquered, má-pá-śi-n and há-tá-śi-n, which to be honest I have no idea how to properly pronounce.
Then there are names owned by more than one person, and clarified by roman numerals with each, like Mery xx, Ramose xx, Amenhotep-Huy (xx), and so forth. All of these meaning you have to really pay attention to what’s being discussed.
This is followed by four appendices that cover an Outline Chronology of Ancient Egypt, Relative Chronology of Egyptian and Foreign Kings during the Fourteenth Century BC (a chart), Royal Names of the Later Eighteenth Dynasty (showing the Horus name, Nebti name, Golden Falcon name, Prenomen, and Nomen in hieroglyphics), and The Genealogy of the Eighteenth Dynasty (some of which is dated thanks to more recent DNA research).
Though a bit dry at times, this is an excellent work on the subject for those who are interested in much more detail.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews