A Short-Lived Ruler.
In 1349 BCE, Egypt had two kings. But not for long. The young ruler, Smenkhkare, was destined to die early. In this episode, we explore the strange case of Akhenaten’s co-king…
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The only known scene depicting Smenkhkare and his wife, Meritaten, from a tomb at Amarna. Now lost, preserved only in drawings (Wikimedia).
The cartouches of Ankh-kheperu-Ra Smenkh-ka-Ra Djeser-Kheperu, from a box in the tomb of Tut’ankhamun, KV62 (Allen 2009).
A trial relief, possibly depicting Smenkhkare (British Museum).
A trial sculpture that may depict Smenkhkare or Akhenaten (British Museum).
Cartouches relating to the ruler(s) Ankh-kheperu-Ra, published by Petrie in 1894. Not all of these names relate to the same person (episode 131).
A mud seal for “Ankh-kheperu-Ra Beloved of Nefer-kheperu-Ra [Akhenaten].” From Amarna. Possibly for Smenkhkare, or another ruler (Episode 131). Met Museum.
A block from Amarna, depicting two royal figures. Possibly Akhenaten and Smenkhkare, but unknown (Met Museum).
Bibliography
Aldred, Cyril. Akhenaten: King of Egypt. 1988.
Allen, James P. ‘Two Altered Inscriptions of the Late Amarna Period’. Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 25 (1988): 117–26. https://doi.org/10.2307/40000874.
Dodson, Aidan. Amarna Sunrise: Egypt From Golden Age to Age of Heresy. 2014.
Dodson, Aidan. Amarna Sunset: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian Counter-Reformation. 2nd Edition, 2017.
Dodson, Aidan. ‘Crown Prince Djhutmose and the Royal Sons of the Eighteenth Dynasty’. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 76 (1990): 87–96. https://doi.org/10.2307/3822009.
Gabolde, Marc. D’Akhenaton à Toutânkhamon. 1998.
Gabolde, Marc. ‘Under a Deep Blue Starry Sky’. In Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane, edited by Peter J. Brand and Louise Cooper, 2009.
Murnane, William J. Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt. 1995.
Redford, Donald B. Akhenaten: The Heretic King. 1984.
Reeves, C. N. Akhenaten: Egypt’s False Prophet. 2001.
