Amarna

Amarna

العمارنة
The Small Aten Temple at Akhetaten
Shown within Egypt
Alternative name	El-Amarna, Tell el-Amarna
Location	Minya Governorate, Egypt
Region	Upper Egypt
Coordinates	27°38′43″N 30°53′47″E / 27.64528°N 30.89639°E / 27.64528; 30.89639
Type	Settlement
History
Builder	Akhenaten
Founded	Approximately 1346 BC
Periods	Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, New Kingdom

Amarna (/əˈmɑːrnə/; Arabic: العمارنة, romanized: al-ʿAmārna) is an extensive ancient Egyptian archaeological site containing the remains of what was the capital city during the late Eighteenth Dynasty. The city of Akhetaten was established in 1346 BC, built at the direction of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, and abandoned shortly after his death in 1332 BC.^[1] The name that the ancient Egyptians used for the city is transliterated as Akhetaten or Akhetaton, meaning "the horizon of the Aten".^[2]

The site is on the east bank of the Nile River, in what today is the Egyptian province of Minya. It is about 58 km (36 mi) south of the city of al-Minya, 312 km (194 mi) south of the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and 402 km (250 mi) north of Luxor (site of the previous capital, Thebes).^[3] The city of Deir Mawas lies directly to its west. On the east side of Amarna there are several modern villages, the chief of which are l-Till in the north and el-Hagg Qandil in the south.

Activity in the region flourished from the Amarna Period until the later Roman era.^[4]