"In 1353 B.C., during the later 18th Dynasty, Amenhotep IV ascended the throne of Egypt. His rule was revolutionary in the sweeping changes he sought to impose on ancient Egyptian life and culture. He altered the religion from polytheism to monotheism, allowing the worship of one god, the sun disk or Aten. He also changed his name to Akhenaten, meaning Effective Spirit of the Aten, and built a new capital city called Akhetaten, modern-day Amarna. The University of Pennsylvania participated in excavations at Amarna during the early 20th century and its Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology has an extensive collection of artifacts from the site. These form the basis of a new exhibition, Amarna: Ancient Egypt's Place in the Sun. (See Excavating Amarna, our interview with Barry Kemp about current excavations at the site)."
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