On a Possible Characteristic of the Governing System of Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten)
On a Possible Characteristic of the Governing System of Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten)

Summary/Abstract: The article explores the relationship between the religious reform of Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt and the changes in the governing system. The analysis, which is based on historical data and structured after the concept of the early totalitarian state set forth by the author, reveals that Akhenaten’s governing system corresponds (almost) fully to that of an early totalitarian state in terms of historical and political causes and ideological factors, and partly in terms of administrative and legislative systems, whereas only an occasional feature of early totalitarianism is observable in economy and social order. No features of early totalitarianism in Akhenaten’s governing system are manifested in foreign policy. It can be concluded, quite confidently, that Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) was heading towards an early totalitarian form of government and that Akhenaten’s experiment may have been one of the first known endeavours in the history of mankind to establish an early totalitarian state.

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