akhenaten

proper noun

• (14th century BC), Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty; reigned 1379–1362 BC; came to the throne as Amenhotep IV. He renounced polytheism, introducing a monotheistic cult based on worship of the sun disk, Aten, in whose honor he changed his name. The husband of Nefertiti, he moved the capital from Thebes to the newly built city of Akhetaten. The empire began to disintegrate during his reign.