Amarna, Egypt: IG PC6 - a podcast by James E Aarons DVM

In Amarna, Egypt, Pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife, Nefertiti waited with Pahannate, the commissioner of Canaan and Amurru for the scribe to unwrap the latest tablet from Gubla. Akhenaten was a handsome king, a bit over six feet tall. The dark-skinned ruler had curly black hair and a long, slender face, with flashing dark brown eyes. He knew all about Gubla's mayor, Rib-Hadda, whose name came up often in Amenhotep III, Akhenaten's father’s court.
“What was that last worry Rib-Hadda wrote about?” Pharaoh queried Nefertiti.
“He complains Abdi’aširta acts as though he were the Mitanni King and the Kassite King all in one!” The beautiful queen replied. Nefertiti was lighter skinned than her husband. She was born in Akhmim, a city on the Nile known for exceptional horses. Her father was General Ay, the great horseman of Pharaoh’s cavalry.
Nefertiti’s recent ancestors hailed from the area of ancient Syria and Lebanon and she maintained a keen interest in affairs of the region. Migrating to Egypt with their horses, generations earlier their excellent horsemanship quickly elevated these foreigners into Egyptian nobility. Being of Syrian descent, Nefertiti knew much of Ištar.
Akhenaten didn’t understand the urgency Rib-Hadda, the mayor of Gubla felt. So long as trade continued to flow, a small distant skirmish was not significant. After all, it took a lot of money and promises to get the army on the road. And, at this moment, foreign affairs took a back seat to Akhenaten’s domestic worries.
Within Egypt, the question of Pharaoh’s ultimate authority was indeed becoming an issue. When he became Pharaoh, Akhenaten destroyed all Egyptian Gods except one. Now only Aten, the sun God mattered. Akhenaten ordered the names of all the others removed from walls, tombs, and monuments, severely angering the right wing of his constituency. His New Age theocracy put the priests of Amun out of work, and they were resisting his efforts and questioning his power.

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