Amun as he appeared in Egyptian art.
Amun (by the year -2323), also known as Ammon, Amon, Amen, Amen-Re, and Jupiter Ammon, was an Egyptian and Nubian god, the most powerful god in the world from at least -1500 to -1000, back in the time of Moses and Troy. “Powerful” is here measured by the size of the largest active temple.
Amun is the “amen” of “Tutankhamen”, the “ammon” of “ammonia” – but not the “amen” commonly found at the end of prayers in English since the +1200s.
Note: As with much of Ancient Egyptian history, most vowels are guessed at and most dates are approximate.
Karnak: Amun’s main temple was the Temple of Karnak in Thebes (Luxor, Egypt). It has been the largest known religious structure in the world for the past 3,000 some years.
Temple of Karnak.
Amun through the years:
-2323: Amun begins to appear in Egyptian records (Pyramid Text #446), as a local god of Thebes.
-1937: His name begins to appear in those of kings: Amenemhat I.
-1750: He overtakes Montu, the old war god of Thebes, and takes on some of his features, like being a god of victory.
-1539: The kings of Thebes defeat the Hyksos and bring Egypt back together under native rule. To the victors go the spoils of war – and to the god of victory too. With the rise of the Egyptian empire, Amun’s priesthood becomes more and more powerful – while outliving any one king. As Amen-Re he is seen as being the sun god Ra too. He becomes the King of the Gods in Egypt. His temple becomes the place where he thought the world into being.
-1340: Amenhotep IV, husband of Nefertiti, changes his name to Akhenaton, taking the Amun out of his name and putting in its place a different god: Aten. His father, Amenhotep III, had begun to push back against the power of Amun’s priesthood. Akhenaton took it much further and said Aten was the only god!
-1325: Tutankhamen, son of Akhenaton, officially returns Egypt to the worship of Amun and the old gods. Amun’s priesthood presumably took advantage of King Tut’s youth and inexperience: he was only about 11.
-1275: Amun is credited with saving the Egyptian army at the Battle of Kadesh, the largest chariot battle ever.
-1150: The priesthood at Karnak has grown so powerful they own at least 7% of the people of Egypt and 9% of the land. At least. They also control the king’s taxes and the king’s lands. The king, the mighty pharaoh, becomes little more than a figurehead.
-900s: Egypt falls under Libyan rule. They are the first in a long string of foreign rulers: Nubian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Arab, etc.
-700s: Under Nubian rule, Amum makes a comeback. He was one of their gods too.
-332: Alexander the Great takes over Egypt and has himself declared the son of Amun. The Greeks see Amun as being Zeus. Romans knew him as Jupiter Ammon.
+391: Amun’s public worship is outlawed by the Roman Empire. By then most Egyptians were already worshipping Yahweh instead – as most still do today in +2018 as either Muslims or Christians.
– Abagond, +2018.
See also:
- Egypt: a brief history
- Nubia
- Yahweh
- Larycia Hawkins – fired from Wheaton College for teaching that Muslims and Evangelical Christians worship the same god.
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