Athon's son Fresh light has been thrown on the reign of Akhenaton, the only Pharaoh who worshipped one God, the first monotheist in history whom, according to some researchers, may have influenced Moses himself and consequently the Judaic religion.
And for once this light is not coming from Egypt, even though this was the centre of the Pharaohs’ power, but from a much more peripheral country: Sudan.
Gebel Barkal, Meroe, Dongola and Kurru are all names that do not really mean much to an even well-read tourist, but which for a learned Egyptologist bring to mind the black Pharaohs; this was ancient Nubia, the seat of the kingdom of Kush, which had always been a great temptation for Egyptians and which was on several occasions subdued through fierce battles: during the new kingdom, under the rule of the Thutmoside line, regular expeditions laid the whole region waste and placed it under the Pharaohs’ control, thus enabling them to exploit the gold and precious stone mines the country abounded in.
And over the centuries traces that are still visible today were left in the region, through the construction of sanctuaries, chapels, temples (such as the monumental one devoted to Amon and commissioned by Ramses II), as well as pyramids, of course.


Amenophis's dauhgters, Kush Pyramides and Mr.Bonnet at Nubia

These were smaller and rougher buildings, displaying a thin and oblong shape, but nevertheless they were pyramids, everlasting evidence of the power wielded by the Kush viceroys under the great Egyptian rulers; not to mention the statues: only a few weeks ago the news was broken as to a joint European mission (involving French, Swiss, German and Italian researchers) having brought to light about 15 intact statues of the Kush viceroys; these are imposing artefacts, highlighting the power that these sovereigns had assumed during the middle kingdom and the Thinis period; a power that was acknowledged by the Egyptian Pharaohs, who were influenced by them.
But, as we talk about findings in this region, the most sensational one is also very recent and involves the area of the sacred and of the temples, which here were devoted to a number of deities from the Egyptian pantheon: during its most recent archaeological mission, a team from the University of Geneva, led by the researcher Charles Bonnet, made a very important discovery in ancient Nubia itself; this finding made it possible to set a landmark in the history of Egyptology and to change the ideas that many researchers had as to Akhenaton’s monotheism.

In Kerma, one of these beautiful ancient built-up areas, in Northern Sudan, researchers have unearthed the remains of buildings dating back to the period of Amenophis IV (who was in fact the heretic sovereign who went down in history with the name of Akhenaton). Traces of foundations of places of worship had previously been found in the whole region, but only now do we have tangible evidence as to the presence of the followers of the Sun god Aton, in such a remote region of the kingdom; the researcher even found a wall portraying a fragmentary scene showing the sovereign in the sunlight, with the sun’s rays ending in the shape of a hand: this kind of representation is especially known in Amarna (the ancient Akhenaten), the site located between Luxor and Cairo, where Akhenaton lived with his family and had absolute power.

El Amarna, the ancient Akhenaten

Kerma, near the 3th Nile's cataract

In other words, this is the evidence that confirms theories which had already been put forward, but which only now can be deemed as absolutely well-founded: the monotheist cult of the god Aton, the only deity worthy of being worshipped, had in fact a greater impact than was originally thought.
This was a real revolution which left its mark on Egypt and which crossed its boundaries reaching the most peripheral regions: it is rare to witness in ancient history such a radical change which, in the light of the latest discoveries, has also proved to have been so widespread.

Amenophis IV and his court left no stone unturned: propaganda worked very well and all royal titles were changed to include the name of the only god (for instance, the title “high-feathered powerful bull”, which was too closely connected to the traditional Thebes cults, was changed to “powerful bull loved by Aton”) and the Pharaoh himself – a tangible sign of this revolution – demanded to be named Akhenaton, “appreciated by Aton”.

Amenophis IV's daughter and his wife Nefertari

Once we have ascertained the success that the Sun god cult had throughout Egypt, one can legitimately wonder whether this change might have had an impact on Judaic monotheism, and hence on the revealed religions which subsequently derived from it. Despite its importance and widespread diffusion, experts tend to believe that the Aton cult should at most be ascribed to a common Semitic foundation.
And Judaism, in its capacity as a “revealed religion”, has distinctive features of its own, which characterise it and grant it unquestionable uniqueness: it is a religion which reflects the history of a people, the Jewish people, which has had constant contacts with Egypt but never merged with its people to the point of losing its own identity.
And besides, the experience of Akhenaton’s monotheism entirely reflects Egyptians’ inner cults: there had already been an attempt to “solarize” some of the Egyptian deities; Amon, possibly the chief god, took on the syncretic form of Amon-Ra (Ra being the Sun god). In other words, Akhenaton’s experience and that of those who followed had an all-absorbing nature in the territories controlled by the Pharaoh (as the recent discoveries in Sudan clearly prove): however this experience certainly did not succeed in altering the powerful religious beliefs professed by the neighbouring peoples. Translated by interpres sas