The king was the link between god and the common people Akhenaten was the leader taking his followers to a new place, where royal tombs, temples, palaces, statutes of the pharaoh, and buildings were built In the center of the capital city, a sprawling road was built Designed for chariot processions, it was one of the widest roads in ancient times The capital city Akhetaton on the desert was surrounded by cliffs on three sides and to west by the river Nile The tombs of the royal family were constructed on the valley leading toward the desert Near the Nile, a gigantic temple for Aten was built The wealthy lived in spacious houses enclosed by high walls Others resided in houses built between the walled structures of the rich About 10,000 people lived in the capital city of Akhetaton during Akhenaten’s reign Artwork created during the reign of Akhenaten was different from thousands of years of Egyptian artistic tradition by adopting realism Akhenaten, possibly suffering from a genetic disorder known as Marfan’s syndrome, had a long head, a potbelly, a short torso, and prominent collarbones Representations of the pharaoh did not follow the age-old tradition of a handsome man with a good physique The sculptor portrayed what he saw in reality, presumably at the direction of Akhenaten The background of the exquisitely beautiful and powerful queen Nefertiti is unclear Some believe that Queen Tiy was her mother According to others, she was the daughter of the vizier Ay, who was a brother of Queen Tiy Ay occasionally called himself “god’s father” suggesting that he was the father-in-law of Akhenaten She carried much importance in her husband’s reign and pictures show her in the regalia of a king executing foreign prisoners by smiting them According to some Egyptologists, she was a coregent with her husband from 1340 b.c.e and instrumental in religious reforms Some Egyptian scholars believe that in the same year she fell from royal favor or might have died Nefertiti was probably buried in the capital city, but her body has never been found Some researchers think that she ruled for a brief period after the death of Akhenaten She had no sons, but future king Tutankhamun was her son-in-law Known as the “first individual in human history,” the reign of Akhenaten forms an important period in Egyptian history Despite his revolutionary changes, Egypt reverted to earlier religious discourse after his death See also Egypt, culture and religion Further reading: Aldred, Cyril Akhenaten, King of Egypt London: Thames and Hudson, 1991; David, A Rosalie The Akkad Making of the Past: The Egyptian Kingdoms New York: E P Dutton, 1975; Freed, Rita, Yvonne Markowitz, and Sue D’Auria, eds Pharaohs of the Sun: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Tutankhamun Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1999; Kemp, B J Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization New York: Routledge, 1989; Redford, Donald B Akhenaten: The Heretic King Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984; Reeves, Nicholas Akhenaten: Egypt’s False Prophet London: Thames and Hudson, 2001; Shaw, I The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt New York: Oxford University Press, 2000 Patit Paban Mishra and Sudhansu S Rath Akkad Mesopotamia’s first-known empire, founded at the city of Akkad, prospered from the end of the 24th century b.c.e to the beginning of the 22nd century b.c.e Sargon of Akkad (2334–2279 b.c.e.) established his empire at Akkad; its exact location is unknown but perhaps near modern Baghdad His standing army allowed him to campaign from eastern Turkey to western Iran Although it is still unclear how far he maintained permanent control, it probably ranged from northern Syria to western Iran His two sons succeeded him, Rimush (2278–70 b.c.e.) and Manishtushu (2269–55 b.c.e.), who had military success of their own by suppressing rebellions and campaigning from northern Syria to western Iran Yet it was Manishtushu’s son Naram-Sin (2254–18 b.c.e.) who took the empire to its pinnacle He established and maintained control from eastern Turkey to western Iran In contrast to his grandfather who was deified after his death, Naram-Sin claimed divinity while he was still alive The rule of Naram-Sin’s son Shar-kali-sharri (2217–2193 b.c.e.) was mostly prosperous, but by the end of his reign the Akkadian Empire controlled only a small state in northern Babylonia Upon Shar-kalisharri’s death anarchy ensued until order was restored by Dudu (2189–2169 b.c.e.) and Shu-Durul (2168– 2154 b.c.e.), but these were more rulers of a city-state than kings of a vast empire The demise of the Akkadian Empire can be explained by internal revolts from local governors as well as external attacks from groups such as the Gutians, Elamites, Lullubi, Hurrians, and Amorites The Akkadian Empire set the standard toward which Mesopotamian kings throughout the next