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Characterized The Hellenistic Age

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29 views2 pages

Characterized The Hellenistic Age

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Jenny Benalcázar
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Smenkhkare, (flourished 14th century BCE), king (reigned 1335–32 BCE) of the 18th

dynasty (1539–1292 BCE) of ancient Egypt, probably in coregency with Akhenaton, his
predecessor, for most of the period. Smenkhkare’s origin and identity remain among
the unresolved issues of the Amarna period.

The ephemeral Smenkhkare appears only at the very end of Ahkenaton’s reign in a few
monuments at the royal capital of Akhetaton (Tell el-Amarna). He shares the same
coronation name, Ankhkheperure, with another royal individual called
Neferneferuaton (part of the expanded name of Nefertiti). Since coronation names
are generally unique to one individual, it has been suggested that Smenkhkare is in
fact Nefertiti herself, raised to kingly status to share the throne with her
husband at the end of his life.

Close-up of terracotta Soldiers in trenches, Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang,


Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China
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In one tomb at Akhetaton, Smenkhkare is shown with the eldest daughter of
Akhenaton, Meritaton, then elevated to the status of queen; whether her new office
represents an actual marriage or simply an honorary status conferred on her remains
unclear. The only dated document of Smenkhkare’s reign is a graffito from a Theban
tomb, which notes his third regnal year.

Cranial and serological analyses indicated that the mummy of a male discovered in
tomb 55 (KV 55) of the Valley of the Kings has affinities close to those of
Tutankhamen. Some scholars accepted the identification of the remains as
Smenkhkare’s on the basis of fragmentary inscriptions in the tomb, concluding that
Smenkhkare and Tutankhamen were brothers who succeeded Akhenaton in turn. However,
other scholars suggested that the mummy might belong to Akhenaton himself.
Subsequent tests run by Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities on a number of royal
mummies indicated that the unidentified mummy from KV 55 was the father of
Tutankhamen and the son of Amenhotep III, a lineage that matches that of Akhenaton.

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This article was most recently revised and updated by Laura Etheredge.
king
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BY The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica | View Edit History


Key People: Sheikh Hamad ibn ʿIsa Al Khalifah Thutmose II Béla I Wuwang Louis III
Related Topics: philosopher king pharaoh dauphin bretwalda maharaja
king, feminine queen, a supreme ruler, sovereign over a nation or a territory, of
higher rank than any other secular ruler except an emperor, to whom a king may be
subject. Kingship, a worldwide phenomenon, can be elective, as in medieval Germany,
but is usually hereditary; it may be absolute or constitutional and usually takes
the form of a monarchy, although dyarchies have been known, as in ancient Sparta,
where two kings ruled jointly. The king has often stood as mediator between his
people and their god, or, as in ancient Sumer, as the god’s representative.

Sometimes he himself has been regarded as divine and has become the key figure in
fertility rituals; such religions often ultimately required the death either of the
king himself or of an official substitute as a sacrifice to the gods. The concept
of divinity, brought in from Egypt, characterized the Hellenistic Age, and was
later revived by the Roman emperors. The Christian Roman emperors assumed authority
as representatives of God, and, in medieval political theory, kingship was early
regarded as to some extent analogous with the priesthood, the ceremony of anointing
at the coronation becoming highly significant. The absolute monarchies of the 16th
to 18th century were often strengthened by the establishment of nationalist
churches; but from the 17th century in England and, later, in other countries,
kingship was made constitutional, royal power being held to derive from the people
rather than from God.

Taj Mahal (Tadj Mahall), Agra, western Uttar Pradesh, India. (mausoleum, UNESCO
World Heritage site)
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This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.

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