The Divine Right to Rule
The divine right to rule is a term associated with European Christian kings during the medieval age and is defined as the source of a king’s authority derived from God. King’s commands were never questioned since they were perceived as being commands from God himself, much like the Quran was written by God though Prophet Mohammed. King Amenhotep IV along with his queen used the same philosophy when they started their movement to establish Aten as Egypt’s main deity. By establishing Aten as the primary source of prosperity, Amenhotep secured his power based in Egypt for two decades.
The text is filled with references of prosperity, which are attributed to Aten. References range from describing the Sun as the source of abundance and well-being of nature as described as “[t]rees, herbs, are sprouting” to providing fertility in women. The reason this is significant is because, since the Pharaoh is directly connected to Aten, the Pharaoh’s authority is derived from Aten himself. This is most evident in the conclusion of the text when the hymn states: “You rouse them for your son who came from your body,” describing the authority granted by Aten the Pharaoh possess over his subjects.
It is possible that Amenhotep did honestly believe he was the son of Aten, and was entrusted by Aten to enlighten the minds of his subjects. The reason this assumption remains false comes from the fact that after Amenhotep died, his descendants failed to maintain the social order their father established. It would seem plausible that if Amenhotep viewed himself as the son of Aten, then his own son would be a direct decent and entitled to the same right to rule. Their failure in maintaining order speaks to the Egyptian people’s belief that Amenhotep and his family were wrong in assigning Aten as the main deity in their culture and it was ultimately rejected.
That leads us to the conclusion that Amenhotep was merely attempting to use the belief in Aten to assert a religious authority upon his people. Since it is nearly impossible to invalidate religious beliefs, since the concept of religion is based on experiences we cannot physically perceive, Amenhotep was briefly successful in his plot to maintain power and ensure his legacy. We still see many cases of Amenhotep in today’s world, although not as extreme, with different types of religious groups vying for new believers.
Victor Menezes
One response so far
I agree with your statement that King Amenhotep secured his power through establishing Aten as the primary source of prosperity. It is a transitional instrument of King’s authority. In Europe, King or Queen need to be crown by pope in a church. Their power needs to be verified by their Religion. In the ancient China, kings always called themselves as the son of god, sky, or dragon. By doing this, Kings easily emphasized that they are out of the ordinary. They are much closer to the god, so they should be the ruler, and their people should be ruled by them.