The Pharaoh of the Exodus and his advisor Haman finally revealed

Sultan Arapov January 20, 2020 The Pharaoh of the Exodus and his advisor Haman finally revealed “The Higher They Rise, The Harder They Fall” Introduction We would not exaggerate to consider the story of Exodus as one of the most significant narratives in human history. It changed its course to a large extent. Many generations of People of the Book and Muslims, the billions of people, have grown up on this story. In the Quran, for example, the Exodus is discussed so extensively that its leader, the Messenger Moses (A.S.), is the most mentioned figure in the whole Book. Given the fame the event has been carrying till these days, nevertheless, there had been a lack of scholarship agreement on the identity of the Exodus`s main antagonist, the Pharaoh. The paradox is exacerbated by the fact that we possess rich religious narrations about the event, the sources the story actually originates from. We have also accumulated extensive historical records of the 18th dynasty, during which the Exodus had to take place. In this light, however instead, there still exist proposals going as far as claiming that the Pharaoh and Moses (A.S.) were one figure. Others like Sigmund Freud, in his 1939 CE work Moses and Monotheism, argues that Moses (A.S.) was an Egyptian, who had been an adherent of the cult of Aten and was driven from Egypt following Akhenaten’s death and the return to the old religious paradigm. In the same line there have been theories crediting the early Bible authorship and as a consequence, all he Abrahamic religions roots to the pharaoh and his court. It is known the Bible opened to the world historical events and figures, previously unknown. For example, Leonard Vully was inspired by the Biblical narration about the ancient city of Ur before he located and unearthed the city. While long questioned Pontius Pilatus turned out to be a historical figure, as recently discovered. In 2019 alone around dozen of discoveries have been made, thanks to the Biblical narrations. However, while we credit these discoveries to the Bible, we cannot claim its full credibility as a historical manuscript. It is not rare that some stories in the Bible were found as later additions and edits. Moreover, there are several dozens of versions of the Bible today, making it often impossible to identify whose narrative is more reliable. In contrast, when it comes to the Quran, it has not been prone to those problems, as it has been orally transmitted during the life of Muhammad (S.A.S.) and gathered by the council of his contemporary followers and has been transmitted in both oral and written forms. Today, in millions of copies from Japan to Chile the Muslims have been reciting one and only version of the Quran. Having this privilege of preservation, hence, it is used by the Muslims as a universal yardstick when discerning truth from falsehood. Given that Moses (A.S.) is one of the most revered prophets in all three religions, it is the reason for me to share my findings and prove historical authenticity of the Exodus story and ultimately, the message Moses (A.S.) came with. With the religious texts we possess and material evidence we have accumulated, we are now able to draw a realistic picture of the Pharaoh and go beyond in an attempt to identify other characters who played a role in the famous event. While the rich narration of the Bible about the Exodus is enough by itself to confirm the authenticity of the facts that the event event did take place and its leader was indeed the Moses (A.S.), yet, some of its information is not sufficient to discover the historical prototypes of the Pharaoh and other significant figures. The Quran confirms the Bible stories in many instances, however, in many it does not and present different stories. Taking into account the arguments provided above, in this work, we will call upon the Quran in demystifying the events and figures of the Exodus, with a focus on exploring the persona of the Pharaoh. I will present Quran`s as the missing fragment of the puzzle to shed light on the identity of the pharaoh of Exodus and other figures previously not found in the Bible or in any other religious source for that matter. According to the Biblical and Rabbinical estimates of the time of the Exodus, the event had to happen within the so-called 18th dynasty. There have been several candidates proposed for the pharaoh of the Exodus by the academic community, with the popular ones being likes of Amenhotep II, Amenhotep III, Thutmose III, Ramesses II. Most of them fall within the 18th dynasty. While my particular attention has taken Amenhotep IV, later known as Akhenaten. Although his name popped up once in a while, at the lack of arguments presented his candidacy has not lived up the scrutiny to become a major candidate. Akhenaten and his period of reign more known as the Amarna period have been covered with mysteries. The period raised much controversy. He has been known as a heretic king. As Bernstein (2009) p.2 stated, his memory was virtually obliterated until his rediscovery over a century ago. Akhenaten`s reign is commonly described by his quite unprecedented religious changes, raising the status of god Aten as major god above all other gods. Why was he forgotten? Was the fact that he raised the cult of one god over the others a main reason of him being forgotten? Or there were some other events that darkened his legacy. The general public perception about Akhenaten`s family has largely been popularized through the glamorous representations of Nefertiti and speculations on the death of Tutankhamun`s, his identity and richness of his sarcophagus. While, the academic community has given a lot of attention and paid homage to the period`s cultural heritage and innovations in art. Although, it is a normal process of historical exploration, yet, in a particular case of Amarna period Akhenaten`s true historical image and his role in the history of mankind, the elephant in the room, has largely been ignored. As a result, the general public has gotten not accurate and comprehensive perception about the period`s major characters and originator himself in Akhenaten. The global objective of this work is to show the historical authenticity of the Exodus, while, the main argument I present is that Akhenaten was the Pharaoh of the Exodus, that refrained freeing the people of Moses. As in case with the Biblical narrative, the historical evidence, apparently, is not enough to establish the identity of the pharaoh. Hence, the Quran is to be used as a yardstick against story narrated in the Bible and the historical evidence. We will see common grounds between the Quran and what we discovered through material evidence. I hope to build a fuller historical picture of the Exodus and to eventually disclose the historical identity of the Pharaoh. We will look at the problem from a few angles. Quran gives a description of the pharaoh`s personality. Hence, we will begin by looking at what history tells us about the personality of Akhenaten, distinctive traits of his character and style of ruling. Then, we will see how material evidence and historical narrations intersect with the Quranic evidence. We will look onto the Amarna site, previously known as Akhetaten, capital of Akhenaten`s 2 Egypt. The capital would certainly have encountered The Quranic Executions (analogy to the Biblical “Ten Plagues”), if they happened there. We will see whether the Egyptian climate has preserved identifiable instances of the executions, namely, diseases (plague), malnutrition (drought and lack of crop) and flooding. Further, we will testify whether the outcome of his rule matches its Quranic narration of the Pharaoh`s end. In particular, we will analyze whether the state that was inherited upon the Pharaoh`s death could be explained by the regime Akhenaten maintained and sufferings it faced as a result of the executions. Specifically, we will see what happened to the dynasty, and what economic and socio-political conditions were upon his death. Finally, I will analyze and make assumptions on other significant figures of the event, namely, the councillor Haman and the wife of the Pharaoh, as their roles are influential and complementary for opening up the story of the Exodus. There were two pharaohs in the story The Old Testament clearly says that there was more than one pharaoh within the lifetime of Moses (A.S.). “During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.” [Exodus 2:23] In the other chapter we observe a consistent statement​: “Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, ​'​Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.​'​” [Exodus 4:19] The Quran does not contradict this Old Testament`s version. In fact, it primarily confirms the Old Testament`s storyline about Moses (A.S.) since his birth to the time of his return to Egypt to free his people. Yet, the Quran brings new angles and evidences to the story. For example, it transmits the Pharaoh`s and Moses`s (A.S.) dialogues. In the following verse it conveys one of the Pharaoh`s addresses to Moses (A.S.): “Did we not raise you among us as a child, and you remained among us for years of your life?” [26:18] It is important to notice that the Pharaoh says “we”. The arrogant pharaoh, who even made his subjects worship him, implies that his family or father raised Moses (A.S.), rather than himself. The next verses can give us a sense of how many years passed since Moses`s (A.S.) birth to the time he spent in the Midians` land: “And when he attained his full strength and was [mentally] mature, We bestowed upon him judgement and knowledge. And thus do We reward the doers of good.” [28:14] “The father said, ‘I would like to marry you to one of these daughters of mine, on condition that you serve me for eight years: if you complete ten, it 3 will be of your own free will. I do not intend to make things difficult for you: God willing, you will find I am a fair man.’” [28:27] He could also possibly live longer in his father-in-law`s land, as the term was obligatory on a condition of the marriage. It is not necessary that upon the term was finished, he immediately went to Egypt. We could imagine that his age would have been between 30 and 45 years at that time. The Messenger Muhammad (S.A.S.) got the Revelation at the age of 40. While it has been debated that Jesus (A.S.) could be born a 6 to 9 years before the traditional estimation. If that is the case, then he could also be around 40, which is in contrast to the modern estimate giving him around 33 years. It is generally agreed that Akhenaten`s father, Amenhotep III, became the pharaoh at around 10 to 13 years of age and that he ruled for around 38 years. Therefore, he should have died at around 50 years of age. This approximation is consistent with Smith 1912, p. 50, where an examination of Amenhotep III`s mummy by the Australian anatomist Grafton Elliot Smith concluded that the pharaoh was between 40 and 50 years old at the time of his death. “And the family of Pharaoh picked him up [out of the river] so that he would become to them an enemy and a [cause of] grief. Indeed, Pharaoh and Haman and their soldiers were deliberate sinners.” [28:8] Moses`s (A.S.) confrontation against the Pharaoh should have lasted for not less than 5 years as it should have included time of his peaceful preaching and several years of executions that followed, that we will find out later. Now, let`s reiterate the verse from the Old Testament mentioned in the beginning: “Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, ‘Go back to Egypt, for all those who wanted to kill you are dead.’” [Exodus 4:19] We would not find such an explicit statement in the Quran, meaning that we cannot be sure whether Moses (A.S.) left for Egypt as soon as he reached his term proposed by his father-in-law. However, if we go with Moses (A.S.) being 25 years old, then we can assume that he was probably born between the 5th and 10th years of Amenhotep III's reign, which would be between 1388-1385 and 1383-1380 BC. This estimate is actually very close to the Rabbinical Judaism chronology, Seder Olam Rabbah, which calculated a lifespan of Moses (A.S.) corresponding to 1391–1271 BCE; So he could well be be around the same age with Akhenaten. It can be deducted then that the Jewish genocide existed in both father`s and son`s reign. “Indeed, Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and made its people into factions, oppressing a sector among them, slaughtering their [newborn] sons and keeping their females alive. Indeed, he was of the corrupters.” [28:4] Calling himself a god 4 The Quran`s overall description of the pharaoh is that of a transgressor. He is described as arrogant, the one exalting himself, a tyrant. When Moses (A.S.) was instructed to go to Egypt, the Quran points out that the Pharaoh was a transgressor. “Go to Pharaoh. Indeed, he has transgressed.” [20:24] “Go to Pharaoh. Indeed, he has transgressed.” [79:17] His proclaiming himself a god was the ultimate personification of his characteristics and apotheosis of his actions. So in several different chapters and verses the Noble Book quotes the pharaoh`s address regarding his self-deification: “And said, ‘I am your most exalted lord.’” [79:24] History confirms these Quran`s statements. Historically, Akhenaten is known as a heretic king. He is famous or, to put it more correctly, infamous for his unprecedented actions. It is well known that Akhenaten established cult of the solar god Aten. Not only that he is accused for representing himself as embodiment of Aten. Compared to other pharaohs suspected for self-deification, Akhenaten has left the most excessive amount of evidence of that, despite that his successors did their best to erase his memory. David (1998) p. 125 said that Amenhotep IV (later known as Akhenaten) initially introduced Atenism in the fifth year of his reign, raising Aten to the status of supreme god, after having initially permitted continued worship of the traditional gods. While according to Watterson, Barbara (1997), he propagated it at the expense of proscribing the other long revered major Egyptian gods and he closed their temples by the ninth year of the reign. In addition she alluded that people were expected to worship Akhenaten himself, who in turn would have a personal relationship with Aten. This is confirmed in the Quran: “And Pharaoh said, ‘O eminent ones, I have not known you to have a god other than me …’” [28:38] In the other verse we see the same narrative: “[Pharaoh] said, ‘If you take a god other than me, I will surely place you among those imprisoned.’” [26:29] Indeed, Some of Akhenaten's court changed their names to remove them from the patronage of other gods and place them under that of Aten. In the same vein here is what Hornung, Erik (1999) observed about the very beginning of his reign: “Taking advantage of the absence of Amun-Ra’s high priest, who was off on campaign, Amenhotep IV built a temple to the Aten at Karnak, replacing the falcon-headed Re-Harakhty with the sun disk and rays of the Aten. It is at this time that he also had himself depicted as the earthly representation of the Aten as both the “father and mother” of those he ruled”. Mark, Joshua went a bit further stating that Akhenaten proclaimed himself an actual god incarnate and he noted it as unprecedented action. “And the eminent among the people of Pharaoh said, ‘Will you leave Moses and his people to cause corruption in the land and abandon you and your gods?’ …” Quran [7:127] 5 We can see a confirmation of this verse according to Hart, George (2005) p.39, the Egyptian people were to worship Akhenaten, and only Akhenaten and Nefertiti could worship Aten directly. Montserrat, Dominic (2002) p. 40, analysing the various versions of the hymns to the Aten, argues that all versions of the hymns focus on the king; While, according to Baines, John (1998) p. 281: "Amarna religion was a religion of god and king, or even of king first and then god". If we are correct in interpreting some Amarna letters, that are related to the second half of his rule, we can see that Akhenaten was addressed as a god by his vassals, likes of Yapahu, Milkilu and Adda-danu. Just one example, "Say to the king-(i.e. pharaoh), my lord, my god, my Sun: Message of Yapahu, your servant, the dirt at your feet …” “And Pharaoh said, ‘... Then ignite for me, O Haman, [a fire] upon the clay and make for me a tower that I may look at the God of Moses. And indeed, I do think he is among the liars.’” Quran [28:38] Above the Quran says that the Pharaoh asked Haman to build a tower for him to see the God. A very close narrative we can see in Manetho`s account, who was an ancient Egyptian priest and historian during the Ptolemaic period. He had access to various ancient Egyptian manuscripts, however, only a fraction of Manetho`s works survived to these days, mainly, through interpretation of Josephus who lived a few centuries later. "This king was desirous to become a spectator of the gods, as had Orus, one of his predecessors in that kingdom, desired the same before him; he also communicated that his desire to his namesake Amenophis (the hellenized version of Amenhotep), who was the son of Papis, and one that seemed to partake of a divine nature, both as to wisdom and the knowledge of futurities." Assmann, Jan (1997) p. 30 commented on it saying that this Amenophis was commonly identified Amenhotep IV also known as Akhenaten, while Orus fitted with the latter's father, Amenhotep III. Indeed, like the son, the father has also been suspect for self-deification. This story provided by Manetho, unique in its kind and it is self-explanatory. In the passage later we will unfold this narration. Finally, we can also analyze a possible historical context of the next verse, where in contrast to Moses`s (A.S.) teaching, the pharaoh was rationalizing his stance as someone bringing the truth: “Pharaoh said, ‘I do not show you except what I see …’” [40:29] Indeed, in his “great hymn to Aten”, the pharaoh is pretty pragmatic in his choice of the sun as a major deity, as it gives light, warm, energy to everything. Hence, it means they should thank the one whose practical benefits they can directly observe and he, Akhenaten, should be perceived as the ultimate reincarnation of the sun and the mediator between the sun and people. It is seen that Akhenaten cunningly used Aten with aim to proclaim himself a god through this existing deity. Technically, he did not devise a new god, as Aten was a known deity. Whether Akhenaten set a precedent by claiming himself to be a god or not, the fact of the matter he did position himself to be a god, the major god, and that was a quite unusual practice. 6 It is important to notice how the Quran makes a nuanced distinction between the Egyptian rulers, antagonists of Moses (A.S.) and the ruler of the time of the Prophet Joseph (A.S.), where the former are called “pharaoh”, whereas the latter is called a “king”: “And [subsequently] the king said, ‘Indeed, I have seen [in a dream] seven fat cows being eaten by seven [that were] lean, and seven green spikes [of grain] and others [that were] dry. O eminent ones, explain to me my vision, if you should interpret visions.’” [12:43] Speaking of that, according to Petrie, et al. (1891) p. 50, the earliest evidence of the address “pharaoh” has been recorded in relation to Akhenaten. There are also proposals that Thutmose III could be applied the same title to, Mond and Meyers (1940) p.160. However, given the Quranic evidence, the proposition should be that before Akhenaten the title was also applied to his father, Amenhotep III. The Quranic Executions (analogy to the Biblical “Ten Plagues”) The city of Amarna, known as Akhetaten, was a city built by Akhenaten and later a capital of his state. It was a short-living city inhabited for around 15 to 20 years and was abandoned shortly after its founder died. In an interesting paper called The Children of Amarna: Disease and Famine in the Time of Akhenaten, Kathleen Kuckens assessed the results of analysis of these skeletal remains at the site of Amarna. As the title of her paper tells, her main objective was whether to look for traces of diseases and malnutrition at the site. She (2013) p.1 said given that the city was inhabited so shortly, it gave a unique opportunity to research the lives of the city's inhabitants within a specific time period. In other words, it is possible to make valid assumptions about the population within clear statistical timeframe. She also referred to Kemp 2006, “since Amarna was only inhabited for such a small period of time, it is a fundamental snapshot of life during this period in Egyptian history”. She (2013) p.12 pointed out that the ancient Egyptians only wrote about gods, pharaohs, and elites, with only a few exceptions such as at Deir el-Medina where everyday matters of common people were depicted. Likewise, the Amarna period ignores depicting regular people, however, the skeletal remains of Akhetaten are able to provide the material evidence about lifestyle of those people. She looked for skeletal evidence of stress, and discovered information once buried in history. Her conclusion on p. 65 was: “...life in Akhetaten was filled with hunger, deprivation, and turmoil and was not the paradise in the desert that Akhenaten wanted so much for everyone to believe it to be”. She elaborated saying that the city's population endured a wretched life due to the poor diet and diseases. The Old Testament and the Quran intersect in naming some of the executions that befell the people of the pharaoh. Traces of three executions have been identifiable: plague (epidemics), famine and deficiency of fruits (malnutrition) and flood. The next is first executions that the Quran mentions: “And We certainly seized the people of Pharaoh with years of famine and a deficiency in fruits that perhaps they would be reminded.” [7:130] 7 Kuckens (2013) p. 51 stated that the images of abundance on the temples were in direct contrast to what was being seen on the skeletons at Amarna. Analysis of skeletal remains showed traces of cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis, linear enamel hypoplasias and scurvy, which in turn alluded a lack of key nutrients that were indicative of malnutrition.​ ​Then she claimed that the skeletons of the South Tombs Cemetery had characteristic signs of growth faltering. She continued saying that stunted growth was a recognized indicator of malnutrition, undernutrition and infections. Then one of her conclusions on p. 64 was that despite malnutrition was prevailing in this short-lasting city, the former Akhetaten was: “... decorated abundantly with pictorial tombs murals of bountiful food in the form of meat and bread piled high on lavish tables, the food was not for public consumption but was for the Aten and only those in the higher echelon were allowed to partake in the feasts laid out for the god”. She opposed this image saying that instead their main diet consisted of bread and beer, which have low nutritional value. The Quran mentions also mentions the flood as one of executions on stubborn pharaoh and his people: “So We sent upon them the flood and locusts and lice and frogs and blood as distinct signs, but they were arrogant and were a criminal people.” [7:133] Kuckens (2013) stated that the city Akhetaten possessed had a large body of water (the Nile). She suggested that prevalence of standing water could cause spread of hookworms in the capital. These parasites cause anemia, which is a usual suspect in producing skeletal porosities of cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis, that were observed in the skeletal remains of the population. “When the plague hit them, they said: ‘O Moses! Pray to your Lord for us, by whatever covenant He has with you, that if you remove the plague from us we will believe you and we will send away with you the Children of Israel.’” Quran [7:134] “But when We removed the plague from them till a term that they were to reach, they broke the promise.” Quran [7:135] As a result of skeletons analysis, she proposed that highly infectious disease could befell the city, the diseases which was alluded to by the Hittites in a plague prayer written by Mursili during the reign of Akhenaten. Evidence of epidemics during the Akhenaten's rule was confirmed by Singer, Itamar (2002): “The Hittite plague prayers mention a plague ravaging the Hittite population coming from Egypt during the reign of Akhenaten”. We can observe supporting evidence by Williamson, Jacquelyn (2015): “Between Akhenaten's regnal years 13 and 17 several members of the Amarna royal family disappear from the archaeological record. At the same time the people of Hatti were suffering from a fatal illness that they believed was brought to them by their Egyptian prisoners of war. If it is true that there was a fatal epidemic disease in Egypt, it may be the cause of the disappearance of these members of the royal family”. Close to the end of Akhenaten's rule, three of his six daughters, Neferneferure, Setepenre, Meketaten died suddenly in years 13 and 14. Gabolde, Mark 2011 said: “Engravings in a royal tomb show the royal family grieving, either weeping before the princesses' (non-mummified) corpses or 8 paying homage to them via their statues”. Indeed, The Quran confirms that Moses (A.S.) brought grief to the pharaoh`s family: “And the family of Pharaoh picked him up [out of the river] so that he would become to them an enemy and a [cause of] grief ...” [28:8] The Amarna E 11 letter, a letter of correspondence of Burna-Buriash II to Akhenaten, also indicates that the place Amarna was experiencing a plague-like epidemic, according to Dabbs et al. (2015). It can be noted that the Old Testament includes darkness as one of the Ten Plagues among others, which the Quran does not mention. We can speculate that the Bible could include this execution as a way to show impotency of the solar deity that Akhenaten represented. If Akhenaten was really a reincarnation of the sun god Aten, he should have dispelled the darkness. Foreign affairs The material evidence shows that Akhenaten was misruling his foreign affairs as well. On that matter Mark, Joshua (2014) said the following: “As a god, he seems to have felt that the affairs of state were beneath him and simply stopped attending to his responsibilities. One of the many unfortunate results of Akhenaten's religious reforms was the neglect of foreign policy”. He continued saying that from the material evidence that we possess we see numerous requests, asking for help, made by the Egypt's allies were mostly ignored. For example, Watterson (1997) notes that as a result of ignorance Byblos was lost to Egypt (112). Another example is provided by Mark (2014): “when Tushratta, the king of Mitanni, who had also been a close ally of Egypt, complained that Amenhotep III had sent him statues of gold while Akhenaten only sent gold-plated statues”. Mark (2014) concludes that given the preponderance of the evidence as well as archaeological indications, it can be strongly assumed that Akhenaten was a poor ruler. This was previously confirmed by Hawass (2004), who characterized Akhenaten`s regime as “an inward-focused regime that had lost interest in its foreign policy”. Legacy Akhenaten was a member of the Thutmosid family, which ruled over Egypt for around 170 years beginning with Thutmose 1.​ ​It ended shortly after Akhenaten's death. Let`s reiterate the following verse in the Quran: “And the family of Pharaoh picked him up [out of the river] so that he would become to them an enemy and a [cause of] grief ...” [28:8] In this verse we see that Moses (A.S.) would cause grief to the family of the pharaoh. It is known that the dynasty ended within less than a decade after Akhenaten's death. It is known that his immediate successors in Smenkhkare, Neferneferuaten, Tutankhamun all had very short reigns. His wife and daughter Ankhesenamun also died young. The last successor in 9 Tutankhamun died at 17 years old. Afterwards, the following successors in Ay and Horemheb were not in blood relations with Akhenaten, let alone being direct descendants of Thutmose 1, the originator of the dynasty. But before that, as mentioned in the previous chapter, it is well known that close to the end of Akhenaten's rule, three of his six daughters, Neferneferure, Setepenre, Meketaten died, which was most likely a result of the epidemic. It can clearly be observed that the whole dynasty of Akhenaten died out within several years of his own death. The next artefact tells us about the fate of the last royal offspring. It is called the “Deeds” found in the ancient Hittite capital of Hattusa, and it dates to the time after Akhenaten's death. The Hittite ruler, Suppiluliuma I, receives a letter from the Egyptian queen: “My husband has died and I have no son. They say about you that you have many sons. You might give me one of your sons to become my husband. I would not wish to take one of my subjects as a husband... I am afraid.” This document is considered extraordinary, as this was a very unusual practice for the Egyptian royalties` daughters to be given to the foreign rulers. Therefore, Suppiluliuma I was surprised at this occasion and said this: “Nothing like this has happened to me in my entire life!” Then after the Hittite king raised some doubts in her sincerity in his response letter, the Egyptian queen wrote the following: “Why do you say do not deceive me that way? If I had a son would I write to a foreign country in such a humiliating way for me and my country? Give me one of your sons and he will be my husband and the king of Egypt.” This Egyptian Queen has often been associated with Ankhesenamun, a daughter of Akhenaten. She has been thought to have died a few years after Tutankhamun died. The letters are self-explanatory and suggest that the Queen could not have protection from her relatives as her kin should have died out. Now let's analyze the following Quran`s verse in a historical context: “... And We destroyed [all] that Pharaoh and his people were producing and what they had been building.” [7:137] The verse clearly alludes that constructions attributed to the king were destroyed. First, we would expect monuments dedicated, attributes representing self-deification, self-glorification and his city of Akhetaten representing the apotheosis of his vanity to have been the primary targets for destruction. Indeed, these monuments of self perpetuation sunk into oblivion just within a decade after his death. Dodson (2016) p. 150 said: “most of the temples that Akhenaten had built from talaat blocks, including the temple at Thebes, were disassembled, reused as a source of building materials and decorations for other temples, and inscriptions to Aten were defaced”. After Ay's short rule as pharaoh, following Tutankhamun's death, Horemheb came to power. He led a decisive campaign of erasing any material related to the Amarna Period rulers, removing Akhenaten, Smenkhkare, Neferneferuaten, Tutankhamun, and Ay from the official lists of Pharaohs, including their monuments and Aten temples built by Akhenaten. As Mark (2014) 10 put it: “The only way scholars in the modern day know anything about the Amarna Period is because Horemheb used the ruins from Akhenaten’s reign as fill in constructing new temples to the ancient gods of Egypt and, from these ruins, the reign of the heretic king has been pieced together”. We also know that Horemheb destroyed the city of Akhetaten, Lntsise Manniche, 2000, p. 19. This is exactly what the Quran alludes to. Then the following verse narrates about the Pharaoh when he drowned in the sea, and the verse also finds its historical reflection: “So today We will save you in body that you may be to those who succeed you a sign. And indeed, many among the people, of Our signs, are heedless.” [10:92] Trigger et al. (2001) pp. 186–87 emphasized the fact that Akhenaten`s successors was recalling him as "the enemy" or "that criminal" in archival records. So Akhenaten earned a reputation of the criminal. His successors, apparently, did not want to associate themselves with him. Akhetaten was hastily abandoned as a cursed place. In the same vein the following verse gives an idea that the state was in the bad economic condition after the Pharaoh died: “And Moses said, ‘Our Lord, You have given Pharaoh and his chiefs splendour and wealth in this present life and here they are, Lord, leading others astray from Your path. Our Lord, obliterate their wealth and harden their hearts so that they do not believe until they see the agonizing torment.’” [10:88] “[ Allah ] said, ‘Your supplication has been answered.’..." [10:89] Gilbert, Holt & Hudson (1976) pp. 28–9: “The country was economically weak and in turmoil following the reign of Akhenaten”. So again we see the historical confirmation of the Quranic narrative. From the perspective of his successors and probably, contemporaries, we can sum up the reasons as to why they tried to erase memory about the Amarna period and called Akhenaten the enemy. Akhenaten: 1. Raised Aten as major deity and proclaimed himself its reincarnation. 2. Abolished long established gods` cults. 3. His subjects suffered from malnutrition and high load of diseases. 4. Neglected foreign policy. Misrepresented Egypt in the foreing affairs. 5. The Egyptian Queen was put into humiliation for asking the foreigner to marry her, which was unprecedented. 6. Left the country, which he initially inherited flourishing, in the economic downturn. No alternatives to Akhenaten 11 I will make a brief comparative analysis with Amenhotep III and Ramesses II, whose candidacies are popularly proposed for the Pharaoh of the Exodus. As Akhenaten claimed to be a god, similarly, both of them have been suspected for self-deification during their lifetimes. However, Akhenaten went further by establishing a whole cult of self-deification and presenting himself as known deity Aten`s reincarnation in the first half of his reign. The following are general arguments against the aforementioned candidates for being alternative candidates: ● They left a great memory and passed Egypt to their successors thriving. Akhenaten`s father Amenhotep III`s was remembered as “Magnificent King”. He left Egypt “wealthier and more powerful than it had ever been before” as stated by Van Dijk (2000) p. 272. According to Putnam (1990), Ramesses II is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom. His successors and later Egyptians called him the "Great Ancestor". As a contrast, Akhenaten was called by his successors as “enemy” and “that criminal” ● They were no explicit signs of famine during their reign. ● They left no explicit evidence for epidemies closer to the end of their reigns. Also there were no evidence of numerous blood relatives to die by the end of their respective reigns. ● Their dynasties did not break with their death. Amenhotep III`s son, Akhenaten, for example, inherited Egypt in a flourishing state and lived his life to the fullest until he ended it himself due to his own actions. ● Their numerous monuments and constructions were passed on. ​O'Connor & Cline (1998) pp. 11–12, “​in case with ​Amenhotep III, he has the distinction of having the most surviving statues of any Egyptian pharaoh, with over 250 of his statues having been discovered and identified. Since these statues span his entire life, they provide a series of portraits covering the entire length of his reign​.” They also informed us that Amenhotep III left over 200 large commemorative stone scarabs that have been unearthed over a wide geographic area, from Syria to Nubia (Sudan). ● Ramesses II was over 90 years old when he died. He would be too old to get into chariot when pursuing Moses and his people. ● Another argument against Ramesses II is that Merneptah`s stele mentions Israel, in particular their defeat at his hands. Hence, it is impossible for Ramesses II to be that pharaoh given that Moses would be alive at the time as Merneptah`s campaign would have been several years later after Ramesses II`s alleged death in the sea. ● It would be a stretch to consider Amenhotep III's reign to live up since Moses`s birth up till the Exodus. ● Ramesses II died around 120 years after Akhenaten. In that case it would have moved the potential time difference between the Exodus and construction of Solomon's temple to only 250 years, in contrast to the Biblical version of 480 years. ● Ramesses II did not have anyone with a possible nickname of Haman, who would be as influential as was Amenhotep, son of Hapu. Does Quran speak about Amenhotep, son of Hapu? Looking for historical prototype behind the figure Haman, mentioned in the Quran, was my starting point in this work. The Quran mentions the pharaoh`s influential courtier named Haman 12 a few times. Apparently, it is a given name. One could assume it was rather meaning a title like a priest of Amun. However, it was only one of his numerous titles as we will see later. He is implied to have had a high status: “... then ignite for me, O Haman, [a fire] upon the clay and make for me a tower ..." [28:38] We can see he was directly addressed by the Pharaoh. It would be very uncommon for addressing his advisor by his craft. He did not say “my Haman”, as it was a clear personal address: “... Indeed, Pharaoh and Haman and their soldiers were deliberate sinners.” [28:8] “And We did certainly send Moses with Our signs and a clear authority.” [40:23] “To Pharaoh, Haman and Qarun; but they said, ‘[He is] a magician and a liar.’” [40:24] My analysis of the figure began with phonetically matching name Haman to names of high officials of the 18th dynasty, with the most possible candidate namesakes being likes of Anen, Amenimipet called Pairy and Amenhotep, son of Hapu. I settled on the latter, Amenhotep, son of Hapu. In the ancient Egyptian language to the knowledge we possess today, his name in abridged version is pronounced as “Amāna”. While the Quran could either give the original version or the Arabized version of the name, where just adding arabic name “hamza” to the beginning of the word would make it Haman. It is more than likely that the pharaoh would shorten name of his subject when calling him, rather than spelling out a whole name. Just as it is not uncommon today shortening a name when addressing someone, so it was not during the Ancient Egypt. For example, it is known they often called Nefertiti as Tiy. While it is also no secret that figures like Meryamun, Merypath and Meryneith often had their names abbreviated to Mery. After establishing a high possibility that Amenhotep could be addressed as Aman or Haman, next, I analyzed whether he matched the Quranic characterization of the man called Haman. In one of the verses it is implied that he had an authority as a military commander : “... Indeed, Pharaoh and Haman and their soldiers were deliberate sinners.” [28:8] Indeed we find out, that he was engaged in the military matters. The inscriptions on the third statue of Amenhotep reads: “I was the chief at the head of the mighty men, to smite the Nubians [and the Asiatics (?)], the plans of my lord were a refuge behind me; [when I wandered (?)] his command surrounded me; his plans embraced all lands and all foreigners who were by his side. I reckoned up the captives of the victories of his majesty, being in charge of them.” 13 Then, in another verse we see that Haman is the first person, whose construction talents the pharaoh seeks when the latter responds to Moses`s call to worshipping the God: “... Then ignite for me, O Haman, [a fire] upon the clay and make for me a tower that I may look at the God of Moses. And indeed, I do think he is among the liars.” [28:38] It happens that Amenhotep was indeed famous for his architectural talents. His portfolio is not limited to the Colossi of Memnon and the Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III, one of the most grandiose constructions in the history of Egypt. The inscription on his statue continues listing his deeds, among which we can see that he was responsible for organizing and supplying both civilian and military manpower: “... he put all the people subject to me, and the listing of their number under my control, as superior king's-scribe over recruits. I levied the (military) classes of my lord, my pen reckoned the numbers of millions; I put them in [classes (?)] in the place of their [elders (?)]; the staff of old age as his beloved son. I taxed the houses with the numbers belonging thereto, I divided the troops (of workmen) and their houses, I filled out the subjects with the best of the captivity, which his majesty had captured on the battlefield. I appointed all their troops (Tz.t), I levied -------. I placed troops at the heads of the way(s) to turn back the foreigners in their places.” Moses tried to deliver the message first to the pharaoh and Haman: “And We did certainly send Moses with Our signs and a clear authority” [40:23] “To Pharaoh, Haman and Qarun; but they said, ‘[He is] a magician and a liar.’” [40:24] The verse presents Pharaoh and Haman as major decision makers in the land of Egypt. Indeed, all the verses above mentioning Haman, supports this assumption. He is often mentioned second after the Pharaoh, and is always done so in a negative connotation. So it is also fair to assume that he could be the second most influential figure after the Pharaoh. Thus he shared responsibility with the Pharaoh in their deeds against the children of Israel. Speaking of that, history tells us that Amenhotep happened to be the most famous non-royal figure within over a millennium, let alone the 18th dynasty. Among his regalia was also an aura of a healer, and he was eventually worshipped as a god of healing, like his predecessor Imhotep. In fact, throughout the Egyptian history of millennia rarely anyone, let alone a commoner to be dignified except Imhotep and Amenhotep, son of Hapu. He was such an important figure that he was allowed by Amenhotep III to have a funerary temple built for himself on the western side of Thebese. This was clearly an exceptional privilege, as it was the only private cult temple to be built among the royal monuments in the area. As Bart, Anneke (2008) pointed out, this was an exceptional privilege, as he was the only commoner to have the temple among exclusively royal monuments in the area. Although he is most known during Amenhotep 14 III, Reeves (2001) p. 91 suggested that he lived into Akhenaten’s reign. We know that he rose to prominence during Amenhotep III. Amenhotep, son of Hapu, fully fits with the Quranic description of Haman ● Amenhotep can be abbreviated to Haman, especially in the arabized version ● He had an authority as a military commander ● He was an accomplished architect ● He was the second most influential figure after the Pharaoh However, this is not the end, there is a cherry on top. We will see how the verse in the Quran, transmitting speech of the Pharaoh almost exactly matches the analogous phrase of Akhenaten with only a minor grammatical difference. “And Pharaoh said, ‘O eminent ones, I have not known you to have a god other than me. Then ignite for me, O Haman, [a fire] upon the clay and make for me a tower that I may look at the God of Moses. And indeed, I do think he is among the liars.’” [28:38] The Quran says that the Pharaoh asked Haman to build a tower for him to oversee the God. As shown before, close to this narrative we can see in Manetho`s account: "This king was desirous to become a spectator of the gods, as had Orus, one of his predecessors in that kingdom, desired the same before him; he also communicated that his desire to his namesake Amenophis (the hellenized version of Amenhotep), who was the son of Papis, and one that seemed to partake of a divine nature, both as to wisdom and the knowledge of futurities." Assmann, Jan (1997) p. 30 commented that this Amenophis was commonly identified as Amenhotep IV also known as Akhenaten, while Orus fitted with the latter's father, Amenhotep III. For formality it can be added that Amenhotep, son of Hapu perfectly fits the description of the namesake advisor in this Manetho`s story. It is astonishing how the Quranic verse precisely reflects the speech of Akhenaten in Manetho`s. Effectively, the only difference between the verse and Manetho`s account is that the pharaoh wanted to be the spectator of the gods in a plural form. The plurality of gods is quite expected, as the Egyptians were polytheists for millennia both during Manetho`s lifetime and before him. It is both surprising and expected at the same time for the story to be transmitted through a thousand years from the time of Akhenaten to Manetho. Although they tried to forget the Amarnian figures, however, there had to be many witnesses around when the Pharaoh was speaking to Moses (A.S.). Therefore, the story survived till our days. Common points between historical evidence about Akhenaten and the Holy Quran The following table sums up the results of my research about the identity of the Pharaoh. It establishes the common grounds between the material evidence about Akhenaten and the religious texts. Historical Evidence about Akhenaten The Quran`s narration about the Pharaoh 15 Proclaimed himself a god. “And said, 'I am your most exalted lord.'” [79:24] Forced his subjects to worship him. “[Pharaoh] said, 'If you take a god other than me, I will surely place you among those imprisoned.'” [26:29] “And Pharaoh said, 'O eminent ones, I have not known you to have a god other than me.'” [28:38] Asked his advisor Amana-hatpa (Amenhotep), son of Hapu, to help him to see the gods. (Manetho) “... then ignite for me, O Haman, [a fire] upon the clay and make for me a tower that I may look at the God of Moses …” [28:38] His capital's population suffered from plague-like epidemy. “When the plague hit them, they said: 'O Moses! Pray to your Lord for us, by whatever covenant He has with you, that if you remove the plague from us we will believe you and we will send away with you the Children of Israel.'” [7:134] His successors deliberately destroyed monuments and temples related to him. “... And We destroyed [all] that Pharaoh and his people were producing and what they had been building.” [7:137] Because of his actions his dynasty, established over 170 years ago, broke shortly after his death. “And the family of Pharaoh picked him up [out of the river] so that he would become to them an enemy and a [cause of] grief...” [28:8] He was later referred by his successors in a negative connotation, as “enemy” and “that criminal”. “So today We will save you in body that you may be to those who succeed you a sign. And indeed, many among the people, of Our signs, are heedless.” [10:92] Amenhotep, son of Hapu (Amana-hatpa), was the second most influential male figure after Akhenaten in Egypt. He was an architect, priest and military commander. The figure Haman is mentioned six times in the Quran in the same line next to the Pharaoh, meaning his eminence in the court. The Quran implies that Haman was an architect and military commander. Akhenaten's city Akhetaten`s population remains did show statistically significant traces of malnutrition. “And We certainly seized the people of Pharaoh with years of famine and a deficiency in fruits that perhaps they would be reminded.” [7:130] 16 Is Asiya queen Kiya? There was a wife of the pharaoh, known as Asiya (R.A.). She is known for accepting Moses`s (A.S.) faith, and she is a figure highly revered in Islam. From the authentic narration of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.S.): “Narrated Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari: Allah's Messenger (S.A.S.) said, ‘Many amongst men attained perfection but amongst women none attained the perfection except Mary, the daughter of `Imran and Asiya, the wife of Pharaoh. And the superiority of `Aisha to other women is like the superiority of Tharid (i.e. an Arabic dish) to other meals.’” (Sahih al-Bukhari 3769) The Quran says the Pharaoh`s wife accepted Moses (A.S.) as the messenger of God. She asked God for help to save her from the Pharaoh and his people. “And Allah presents an example of those who believed: the wife of Pharaoh, when she said, ‘My Lord, build for me near You a house in Paradise and save me from Pharaoh and his deeds and save me from the wrongdoing people.’” [66:11] This is her direct speech. She is not saying “my son”, if one thought that this was the speech of the same woman who saved Moses (A.S.) in his infancy and the one who believed in Moses`s (A.S.) message later when Moses (A.S.) was mature and requesting the Pharaoh to free the Children of Israel. As there were two Pharaohs during the lifetime of Moses (A.S.), Amenhotep III and his son Akhenaten, consequently, there could be two different women mentioned in the Quran. We can speculate that the former woman could be the wife of Amenhotep III, the queen Tiye, who was also the mother of Akhenaten. The latter could be Kiya. She indeed, had to be brave and noble woman to go against the Pharaoh`s will, who was the tyrant and who exalted himself. As a result, it can be expected that she fell into his disfavor. We can also add the phonetic similarity that the names Asiya and Kiya bear. Gabolde, Marc (2011) shared the following insights about Kiya. Firstly, her title was “The Great Beloved Wife'' and she, certainly, was Akhenaten's wife. Secondly, according to the evidence accumulated so far, she played an important role at the Akhetaten`s palace. He elaborates that her title ''The Great Beloved Wife'', is a unique title in the whole history of Egypt, which emphasizes her special place in the heart of Akhenaten. However, by the end of Akhenaten's rule she disappeared from documents. Some suggested that she died around that time. Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton elaborated more on Kiya`s personality. They (2004) p. 155 say this: 'Kiya is known from a range of monuments and objects, but in most cases they have been usurped by other persons during Akhenaten’s reign: her coffin was adapted for a pharaoh’s burial, while most of her relief representations were recut 17 and relabeled for Princess Meryetaten (or on occasion Ankhesenpaaten), implying disgrace''. For example, Eyma, Aayko (2003) p.53 stated that sun-temple located to the south of the city of Akhetaten was initially constructed for Kiya, however, her name and images were altered to those of Meritaten. But according to Aayko, it was a result of Kiya`s death. However, Klimczak, Natalia (2016) supported Dodson`s suggestion on sudden disappearance of Kiya as a result of disgrace. She added: “Otherwise, it is hard to understand what happened to Kiya”. As it can be explained from her prayer above, the Pharaoh's wife wanted to disassociate herself from the Pharaoh and his deeds. Indeed, in the case with Kiya we can testify that the history freed her from associations with the gods of the Pharaohs, his temples and his deeds. Conclusion We can conclude that the Quran should be alluding to Akhenaten as the pharaoh that did not let the people of Moses (A.S.) go. Ultimately, there have been provided overwhelming evidence for historical validity of the Exodus. The Quran provides us with information about the Exodus, previously not found in any non-Islamic religious text. I analyzed the common grounds between the Quranic description of the Pharaoh and the historical evidence we possess about Akhenaten and his period. All evidence of the Quran coincide with the historical evidence about Akhenaten accurately. To sum up, they are the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Deified himself. Forced his subjects to worship him. His city's population suffered from plague-like epidemy, malnutrition and flooding. Upon his death the state was inherited in the economic downturn. His successors deliberately destroyed monuments and temples related to him. He was remembered and referred by his successors in a negative connotation. Because of his actions his dynasty broke shortly after his death. He had a namesake advisor, who was the second most influential figure after him. He explicitly asked his advisor to help him to see the God. The other popular candidates proposed within the academic and religious communities, likes of Ramesses II, Amenhotep III cannot fill half of the points above, which, effectively, makes them not viable alternatives. We established that before Akhenaten`a atrocities against the Children of Israel his father Amenhotep III also operated the genocide over them. While their advisor Amenhotep, son of Hapu was established to have shared responsibilities with both Akhenaten and his father Amenhotep III for orchestrating the genocide. He still had to be alive and of significant influence for some time at Akhenaten`s court. As in case with Akhenaten, the Quranic description of the Pharaoh`s advisor Haman accurately matched its historical prototype in Amenhotep, son of Hapu. It was also established that the Executions and Moses`s (A.S.) major confrontations against the Pharaoh had to happen in the latter`s city of Akhetaten. As far as human imagination can extend, so numerous speculations have been trying to portrait Akhenaten from some sort of revolutioner, originator of the Abrahamic religion to being the historical figure behind Moses (A.S.) himself. Finally, we have been able to draw a true picture 18 of Akhenaten. If anything, he made a revolution within the royal tradition by raising himself to the god status during lifetime and forcing the subjects worship him, precedent virtually not experienced by his predecessors for two millennia. He was concerned with taking maximum from life, who was given power over people. He left a previously prosperous country in turmoil and his family in disaster, so that shortly after his death his royal successors would want to erase his memory and recall him in a negative connotation. Akhenaten`s alleged introduction of monotheism was none other than his own self-deification, proclaiming himself as the only god. It was the Messenger Moses (A.S.) who reaffirmed monotheism after the Prophet Joseph (A.S.), where Akhenaten was the Pharaoh opposing Moses (A.S.) and his doctrine. Further suggestions The Old Testament says that cities of Rameses and Pithom were being built during the time of Moses (A.S.). “So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.” [Exodus 1:11] Apparently, they appeared in the Bible as a result of later additions by unknown authors. It is possible that the scribes confused these cities for Akhetaten, to where the Children of Israel could be sent for construction works in building up the new city. Alternatively, they could confuse the cities for Thebes and Malkata, where the large-scale construction projects were being held at the expense of the Jews` freedom during Amenhotep III, the father of Akhenaten. As we established, the executions had to have happened in the city of Akhetaten (the modern day Amarna site). If the Jewish people were primarily living in the vicinity of Akhetaten, then we could assume that it was their starting point of the Exodus. It must be noted that the distance from Amarna to the Suez Gulf (The Red Sea) is around 240 km. Moses`s (A.S.) people would consist of people of both genders and all ages. Children and the elderly people would slow down their move. The fact that they would have to bring utensil, the livestock and other possessions with them should also have affected speed of their cross through the Egyptian desert. These thoughts could be included in the next research where we can attempt to do some approximations on how many days it would have taken Moses (A.S.) and his people to reach the Red Sea, where they were nearly caught up by Akhenaten and his soldiers, who were chasing them. 19 Bibliography 1. THE NOBLE QUR'AN. ​https://quran.com/ 2. The Bible. New International Version. h ​ ttps://biblehub.com/niv/exodus 3. "The Deeds of Suppiluliuma as Told by His Son, Mursili II". Journal of Cuneiform Studies. 10 (2). 1956. JSTOR 1359041 4. Aayko, Eyma ed., A Delta-Man in Yebu, Universal-Publishers. 2003, p.53 5. Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson, 2004, p. 155 6. Assmann J. (1997). Moses the Egyptian: The Memory of Egypt in Western Monotheism. Harvard University Press. 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