On The Trail Of The Mysterious Crown Prince Thutmose: Clues To A Sudden, Violent Death? – Part II
In addition to making Crown Prince Thutmose high priest of Ptah, Amenhotep III probably prepared his intended successor in the ways of Aten worship too. This was a thread later picked up by Akhenaten, who as Prince Amenhotep IV had a palace at Heliopolis, a city situated near Memphis and associated with the sun cult. The future heretic was doubtless deeply influenced by solar philosophy whilst there.
Sometimes scholars wonder if the course of Egyptian history would have turned out differently had the enigmatic Thutmose, the original royal heir, not predeceased Amenhotep IV? Would he have introduced his version of the Amarna Period? Even if that were true, he likely may not have operated with the sheer swiftness and scale witnessed during Akhenaten’s execution of Project Aten.
