us breasts and a protruding stomach. The result was a realism that broke away from the rigid formality of earlier, official depictions. The famous bust of Nefertiti shows her with an elongated neck while another portrait on a block of the temple Karnak shows her in the age-old warlike posture of pharaoh grasping her captives by the hair and smiting them with a mace. Akhenaten died after only 16 years of rule and his rebellious ways were overturned by later kings. Still, he left a legacy in art and religion that is still the most recognized by westerners (Alred, 1968: 180).Smenkhkare was Akhenaten?s successor though evidence suggests that they may have died within months of each other and that Smendhkare?s two year reign was in reality a co-regency with his older brother. Some evidence also suggests that Smenkhkare was preparing to return to Thebes and was planning a return to religious orthodoxy before he died. He was married to Merytaten, the senior heiress of the royal bloodline, but she seems to have died before him. Her sister, Ankhesenpaaten, thus became the senior survivor and was married to a young Tutankhaten.Tutankhaten was crowned in Memphis at the age of nine and, immediately, a move was made back to the old religion. In year two both the king and queen changed the ending of their names to ?amun and the old temples were rebuilt and reopened. Apart from these events, there is little else remarkable about Tutankhamun?s reign. He died young, probably before reaching the age of eighteen and there is no positive evidence as to how he met his death. Most historians believe that he did not die of consumption as previously theorized, and there is x-ray evidence that he was dealt a blow to the head. Whether this was the result of a deliberate act or an accident is not known.Ay was the senior civil servant who influenced Tutankhamun and, as an old man, he became king by marrying Tutankhamun?s widow. It is small wonder, in view of hi...
