During the reign of Amenhotep III, Egypt was the center for culture and learning in the ancient world. Egypt had reached dizzying heights, but it stood on the brink of a devastating fall. Amenhotep III's son and successor, Amenophis IV, took the throne by storm, changed his name to Akhenaten and announced that the old gods of Egypt were dead. He moved his entire court and thousands of followers to the new capital city of Armana. By his side was Queen Nefertiti. Obsessed by his new religion, he lost sight of the empire. When Nefertiti died, his world fell apart. Akhenaten's successor, Tutankhamun, was only 10 years old when he took the throne. By the time he was 19, all traces of Akhenaten and Nefertiti had been erased. With his death came the end of the great dynasty of the empire builders.
