The Role Of Culture In The Egypt, By Mika Waltari

The late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt in the Thirteenth Century BC was a demanding and strained time in Egypt and other Middle Eastern Countries. New and treacherous Pharaohs forge unrest in both foreign and domestic affairs by acting drastically and leaving their successors to resolve the complications left after their deaths. The novel, The Egyptian, by Mika Waltari, provides accurate information about Egypt during the time by portraying examples of historical leaders in Egypt, foreign relationships, and the Egyptian culture. Waltari uses numerous ancient Egyptian leaders to convey the history by making characters alike their corporeal counterparts. For instance, Akhenaton makes controversial and erratic changes to religion in Thebes and

Within The Egyptian, Smenkhare and Tutankhamun (Akhenaton’s sons-in-law) reign for uncommonly limited periods. Smenkhare reigned with Akhenaton in his final few years (Waltari, 1945, p. 232), while Tutankhamun has control of Egypt for close to a decade before dying (p. 367). Unlike Akhenaton, Tutankhamun favored the return of the Old Gods, and brought them back, along with the God Ammon (p. 298-299), and these character’s historical equivalents are quite related to the characters. Smenkhare and Tutankhamun were married to Meritaten and Ankhesenamun, two of Akhenaton’s six daughters (Akhenaton, 2011, para. 3). Smenkhare ruled with Akhenaton for three years before Akhenaton’s fall (Rice, 2003, p. 194), while Tutankhamun only governed Egypt for nine years, due to an early death. (Pusch, 2010, para. 8) During his period, Tutankhamun restored the Old Gods and brought Egypt’s capital back to Thebes. (Nefertiti. (14th Century BC), 1998, para. 3) Therefore, Waltari’s depiction of Smenkhare and Tutankhamun is nearly identical to history; The Egyptian continues to be assiduous to the 13th Century BC Egyptian leaders with Queen