Amarna

Amarna is an extensive ancient Egyptian archaeological site that holds the ruins of Akhetaten, the capital city of Egypt in the late Eighteenth Dynasty. The city was established in 1346 BC at the direction of the Pharaoh Akhenaten and was abandoned shortly after his death in 1332 BC. The site lies on the east bank of the Nile in the Egyptian province of Minya, about 58 kilometres south of the city of al-Minya, 312 kilometres south of Cairo and 402 kilometres north of Luxor, which was the site of the previous capital, Thebes. The city of Deir Mawas lies directly to its west, and several modern villages stand on the east side, chiefly el-Till in the north and el-Hagg Qandil in the south. Activity in the region flourished from the Amarna Period until the later Roman era.