As the years went by Akhnaton seems to have given himself more and more completely to his new religion.  He had now so trained one of his nobles, named Merira, in the teachings of Aton that he was able to hand over to him the high priesthood of that god, and to turn his attention to the many other duties which he had imposed upon himself.  In rewarding Merira, the King is related to have said, “Hang gold at his neck before and behind, and gold on his legs, because of his hearing the teaching of Pharaoh concerning every saying in these beautiful places.”  Another official whom Akhnaton greatly advanced says:  “My lord advanced me because I have carried out his teaching, and I hear his word without ceasing.”  The King’s doctrines were thus beginning to take hold; but one feels, nevertheless, that the nobles followed their King rather for the sake of their material gains than for the spiritual comforts of the Aton-worship.  There is reason to suppose that at least one of these nobles was degraded and banished from the city.

But while Akhnaton was preaching peace and goodwill amidst the flowers of the temple of Aton, his generals in Asia Minor were vainly struggling to hold together the great empire created by Thutmosis III.  Akhnaton had caused a temple of Aton to be erected at one point in Syria at least, but in other respects he took little or no interest in the welfare of his foreign dominions.  War was not tolerated in his doctrine:  it was a sin to take away life which the good Father had given.  One pictures the hardened soldiers of the empire striving desperately to hold the nations of Asia faithful to the Pharaoh whom they never saw.  The small garrisons were scattered far and wide over Syria, and constantly they sent messengers to the Pharaoh asking at least for some sign that he held them in mind.

There is no more pathetic page of ancient history than that which tells of the fall of the Egyptian Empire.  The Amorites, advancing along the sea-coast, took city after city from the Egyptians almost without a struggle.  The chiefs of Tunip wrote an appeal for help to the King:  “To the King of Egypt, my lord,—­The inhabitants of Tunip, thy servant.”  The plight of the city is described and reinforcements are asked for, “And now,” it continues, “Tunip thy city weeps, and her tears are flowing, and there is no help for us.  For twenty years we have been sending to our lord the King, the King of Egypt, but there has not come a word to us, no, not one.”  The messengers of the beleaguered city must have found the King absorbed in his religion, and must have seen only priests of the sun where they had hoped to find the soldiers of former days.  The Egyptian governor of Jerusalem, attacked by Aramaeans, writes to the Pharaoh, saying:  “Let the King take care of his land, and ... let send troops....  For if no troops come in this year, the whole territory of my lord the King will perish.”  To this letter is added a note to the King’s secretary, which reads, “Bring these words plainly before my lord the King:  the whole land of my lord the King is going to ruin.”