The Stela of Akhenaten and his family

The Stela of Akhenaten and his family. Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Depicts the Pharaoh Akhenaten. queen Nefertiti. and their three children. The limestone stela was discovered by Ludwig Borchardt. at Tell-el Amarna in 1912. On the left side Akhenaten sits on a stool. handing a jewel to his eldest daughter. Meritaten. who stands in front of him. Nefertiti sits opposite. playing with two of their daughters on her lap. These are Meketaten and Ankhesenpaaten. In the upper part. in the middle of the stela is the disk of the Aten. whose rays end in hands holding the symbol of life (Ankh). stylistic features are typical of the Amarna period. Akhenaten. known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV. was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC. He introduced the monotheistic belief in the Aten or Sun God. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)