The revolutionary Pharoah: Akhenaten changed Egypt's religious worship and art about 1300 BC

Akhenaten, Nefertiti and family. Altes Museum
Originally uploaded by ZeroKelvin

Akhenaten was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC.

He is especially noted for abandoning traditional Egyptian polytheism, says Wikipedia, and introducing worship centered on the Aten, which is sometimes described as monotheistic.

An early inscription likens the Aten to the sun as compared to stars, and later official language avoids calling the Aten a god, giving the solar deity a status above mere gods.

Akhenaten tried to bring about a departure from traditional religion, yet in the end it would not be accepted.

He was all but lost from history until the discovery, in the 19th century, of Amarna, the site of Akhetaten, the city he built for the Aten.

Interest in Akhenaten increased with the discovery in the Valley of the Kings, at Luxor, of the tomb of King Tutankhamun, who has been proved to be Akhenaten's son according to DNA testing in 2010.