♪ He's a tall, tall man ♪ - What does it all mean? This is where the
archeology has been found. Oh hi, how are you? Look at that. I need a planter. ♪ From the mountain tops ♪ A shrine to a belly button. This is a rock of salt. ♪ He digs for clues ♪ Look at that! ♪ He's a tall, tall man ♪ No one gets into this place? - No one. - Let's, whoa, don't take me too far. Now that's naked archeology. ♪ For his archeology ♪ ♪ For his archeology ♪ ♪ For his archeology ♪ You wouldn't think that in a wine store, you can actually come up
with a biblical mystery. To everyone else, this is just a cigar. To me, it's a bit of archeology. The guy who came up with the idea, Sigmund Freud, that this
thing isn't just a cigar. - Well, this is not exactly a cigar. - He also had an idea about
Moses, you know Moses? Who parted the sea, who led
the Israelites out of Egypt. He says that Moses, isn't the big shot that the Bible says he is. He said, no, Moses,
wasn't a follower of God. He was a follower of a
Pharaoh named Akhenaten. When Akhenaten got kicked out, Moses took all the slaves, ran out and he was really setting up Atenism, Akhenatenism, not Judaism. - It's all so complicated.
- Is it? - He wrote the whole thing in a book called "Moses and Monotheism". Basically, what he's saying is Moses is a sidekick, not an originator. But what's the truth? Didn't Moses introduce monotheism, or was it Akhenaten and
what can archeology tell us about the birth of our belief in one God? (bell rings) - [Announcer] There's the bell! Man, oh man, what a fight
this is going to be! - [Narrator] For the longest
time, no one had ever heard of Akhenaten or his legacy. - What an imagination! - [Narrator] But then,
in the late 19th century, archeologists digging the
Egyptian ruin of Amarna, discovered the massive coverup. - I'm sure of that. - [Narrator] Someone had
tried to bury Akhenaten in the sands of history forever. Why? Because back in the 14th century BCE, Akhenaten his wife Nefertiti
tried to switch Egypt from polytheism to the belief in one God. - Together, we bring
Egypt to all of its glory. - [Narrator] This discovery
has caused many scholars to say that Akhenaten's religion was the real inspiration for the Bible. And if Moses existed at all, he was just one of Akhenaten's followers. - But why, why does it matter?
- For several reasons, look. - [Narrator] If Moses was a follower of Akhenaten's religion, then that means Muslims,
Jews and Christians are just backdoor followers of Akhenaten. - Pretty ridiculous if you ask me. - [Narrator] Historians agree that Akhenaten inherited
the throne in 1340 BCE. - I know my duty, I promise. - [Narrator] Around the same time he married his first cousin,
the legendary beauty Nefertiti. - You mean everything to me. - But then, five years into his reign, Akhenaten and Nefertiti converted Egypt to the belief in the sun god named Aten which was represented by
a circular golden disk. But what did the Aten symbol stand for? To find out more, I'm
meeting with Michelle Moran. So whenever I hear the
word action, I will start. Who has written several books
on Akhenaten and Nefertiti. We don't know that much about what this religion was all about. There's a song, there's an inscription that seems to be very close. - There is a hymn to Aten and in the hymn, it talks about Aten as
being the mother and father of all creation, a male and female deity, which wasn't represented
by either male or female, but just a disk of a sun. - [Narrator] It's believed
that Akhenaten wrote the hymn himself. And it's remarkably similar
to Psalm 104 in the Bible. - And speaking of the book, it wouldn't hurt you to use one some time and check up on any point
that you're not sure of. - [Narrator] In it, he praises Aten for being the sole creator of the world and the creator of all
creatures, including humankind. In fact, there seems
to be many similarities between Aten and the God of Israel. Both Aten and the Biblical
God are singular gods that combine both male and
female energies into one. Both are credited with creating light and just like Moses taught the Israelites that their God was the only God, Akhenaten also told the Egyptians that Aten was the only God. - In your name, I bring peace and justice. - [Narrator] You see,
the pharaohs of Egypt had always been allowed to choose a god that represented them. But they would've never suggested that any of the 2000 gods
in the Egyptian pantheon were false idols. But five years into his reign, Akhenaten made a move
that enraged the priest of the Amun Cult. - Betrayers! - [Narrator] The most powerful
group in ancient Egypt. - Tell us, say what you told me! - This was a huge and sweeping revolution that changed the people's lives entirely. Not only did they
displace Egypt's old gods, but they actually moved the capital, the entire capital, to
a place called Akhetaten and which archeologists call Amarna and create their entire city
there dedicated to Aten. - So this is like the
president of United States saying no more Washington, we're movin'- - To Arizona.
- Yeah. - I can imagine there were a
lot of people not best pleased. - [Narrator] Amarna was
built in the middle of Egypt and to get there, I
have to travel by ferry, south along the Nile where
the world doesn't look like it's changed all that
much from Akhenaten's time. Inside the tombs at Amarna, I can't help but notice how the art and
architecture are different from what I'd normally
expect from Ancient Egypt. Whereas most other Egyptian art includes fantastical creatures and idyllic representations
of the pharaohs, there's something very human about the way Akhenaten
and Nefertiti are depicted. - The sculptor named Bek
who's portraying the couples as they really were. So you have, for example, an image of Nefertiti chowing
down on a huge haunch of ribs, or you have her having one of her six children playing on
her lap and playing with some of the streamers coming from her crown. - So what you're saying is that they revolutionized religion, they revolutionized art, they revolutionized family relationships. They changed everything. - Absolutely everything. - But maybe they went too fast. - Anyone who tries to have
a revolution too quickly is gonna drown under the waters. They were definitely
remembered as heretics. They are considered the
heretic king and queen. - [Narrator] Within 20
years of their reign, Akhenaten and Nefertiti were overthrown by the powerful Amun Cult and possibly even murdered. - You'll pay now, just as
I said, with your heads! - [Narrator] In fact, when the Amun Priests took over control, they rotated all the bricks
in Akhenaten's temples and painted the walls with
tributes to their old gods so as to wipe the royal couple from the history books forever. (trumpets tooting) - Forwards! - [Narrator] But now their
story has prompted scholars to believe the Bible was
inspired by Akhenaten and that Moses was just a
priest in Akhenaten's temple. - That's impossible. No, please. - [Narrator] According to this theory, when the Cult of Amun murdered
Akhenaten and Nefertiti, Moses decided to lead an
army of true believers into the Sinai Desert, taking with him all of
Akhenaten's best ideas. To find out who influenced who, I'm going to have to
figure out who came first, Moses, or Akhenaten. - [Announcer] It won't be long now, folks! ♪ He's a tall, tall man ♪ ♪ He's a tall, tall man ♪ - [Narrator] I'm looking for evidence that can tell me who was
the first to introduce the organized belief in one God. - [Announcer] And a left and a right, he's waitin' for a chance
at that famous right hook. Look out! - So far, I found out that
Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti championed the monotheistic
religion in Egypt back in the 14th century BCE. This has caused some scholars
to say that Akhenaten was the original inspiration for the Biblical story of the Exodus and the first scholar to suggest this was none other than Dr. Sigmund Freud. Freud wrote a very famous
book, "Moses and Monotheism", the idea that Moses was
an Akhenaten follower and when the whole
Amarna Period goes down, Akhenaten, Nefertiti, they're murdered. Here's this one outta work.
- Aten priest, perhaps. - Aten priest, he says to the
slaves, hey guys, follow me! Goes to the desert, everybody's following. And essentially Judaism
is Atenism revised, right? And of course, out of
that flows Christianity, Islam, and everything else, - I feel that there's
certainly a connection between Moses and the monotheism as it was practiced by
Akhenaten and Aten worshiping. Did that influence Moses? Did that influence Judaism, Christianity? It all depends on the date. - Who's first is
influencing the other guy. - Yes. - [Narrator] If Freud's right, that would mean Moses led an Exodus out of Egypt exactly when Akhenaten
was overthrown in 1340 BCE. But I don't buy Freud's theory at all. - Let's look at it this way. - [Narrator] My reading
of the Book of Kings clearly dates the Exodus to 1480 BC, 480 years before the first
temple in Jerusalem was built and exactly 140 years
before Akhenaten's reign. But what's interesting
is that the Bible says that it took Moses and his
followers exactly 40 years to cross through the Sinai Desert and another hundred years
to start gaining control of the Land of Canaan, modern day Israel. So if the Biblical timeline is right, then I should be able
to find some evidence of a conquest of Canaan going on exactly at the time of Akhenaten's reign. And it just so happens
that evidence exists. (horn toots) They're called the Amarna Letters, stone tablets that were sent to Akhenaten by desperate Canaanite kings,
begging him to send them help to defend against an
attacking army of nomads. - Your men ransack our homes
and they are never punished. - [Narrator] Now I want to find out what these Amarna Letters really say. So I'm on my way to The
British Museum in London to meet with curator, Dr. Irving Finkel. - I've brought you, in this tray, a selection of our Amarna Tablets, because I know that's
what you're interested in. - [Simcha] And these are them? - [Irving] And these are real specimen. - Well, I thought they were a much bigger. I thought you'd be coming in with like a wheelbarrow or something. - No, these are small,
but perfectly formed, but all these and about another 300 were discovered at Amarna by locals. It was immediately apparent, even though the script is often
sometimes quite difficult, that they were letters and
that they were royal letters to the king, my lord,
to the king, my lord. The bulk of these letters are
to do with money and politics. This is a typical example
of one of these letters. - You do read this? - Sure I read it. (speaking in foreign language) - So this is amazing, he's
reading a 3,400-year-old letter. I don't read English that well. The Amarna Letters clearly show that Canaan was being attacked by a group of nomads called the Habiru who had come out of the Sinai Desert and started attacking the Canaanites. Since the land of Canaan was
under Egyptian protection at the time, it makes complete sense that the Canaanite Kings
would send Akhenaten letters, pleading for his support. - Lots of the letters say, I need troops. I need help. Please send, please send, please send. - That's understandable. Here they are, these Canaanites. They're being attacked
by these Habiru people. They've been sucking up to
the Egyptians for a long time- - And they get nothing in return. And the conventional
idea is that Akhenaten is reclining on his couch, philosophizing about the
structure of the universe and there's only one God
and not being interested with all this of stuff and
probably somebody came in and said, you know, there's a very urgent
message, Your Highness. If I read this, it looks like
there's gonna be trouble. Ah, leave me alone or something like this. - [Narrator] The Amarna Letters prove that at the time of Akhenaten's reign, a conquest of Canaan was already underway by an army of nomads called the Habiru. - Can't you explain why that is so? - [Narrator] Habiru,
sure sounds like Hebrew. Could Amarna's Habiru that
conquered the promised land be the 12 Hebrew tribes that Moses led through the Sinai Desert? - This has been a very enlightening visit. ♪ He's a tall, tall man ♪ ♪ He's a tall, tall man ♪ - I wanna find out who
spread monotheism first, Moses or Akhenaten. I've just seen the
Amarna Letters in London and found out that at the
time of Akhenaten's reign, a conquest of Canaan was happening that perfectly matches the
conquest recorded in the Bible. The Amarna Letters call the
conquers of Canaan Habiru. Who were they? I've come to the ancient city of Lachish, one of the Canaanite cities
attacked by the Habiru during Akhenaten's reign. It's here than a meeting with Ahmed Osman, an expert in both Egyptian
and biblical history. It's mentioned in a Tel Amarna Letters, the letters that were
written to King Akhenaten, saying, help us, help
us, we're being attacked. And I thought, well, Akhenaten, what better place
than be in front of the city which he didn't help. - Yes, in fact, he didn't help anybody. I mean, in Jerusalem and
other locations in Canaan, they all wrote letters to
King Akhenaten asking him to help them because they were attacked by some strange people called Habiru and he was not interested to help them. So he didn't care. - A lotta people have speculated
at these Habiru people that are mentioned in the Tel Amarna Letters
are actually the Hebrews. - Yes, I believe they were Hebrews. Not necessarily meaning Israelites because the Israelites are
one tribe of the Hebrews. - So not all Hebrews are Israelites, but all Israelites are Hebrews. - [Ahmed] That's it. - If you find like bagels and lox in his stomach you'll know. - You will know, yes. - Ahmed Osman believes
that the Habiru nomads that attacked Canaan were actually Hebrews that came out of the Sinai Desert. This confirms the conquest of
the promised land described in the Bible. You see, even though the Land of Canaan had strategic importance
for the Egyptians, during his reign, Akhenaten
ignored the Amarna Letters and he let Canaan fall to the Hebrews. Begging the question, if Akhenaten wasn't against
the Hebrew conquest, could it be that he was actually for it? He's not sending the cavalry. - He does not send the cavalry. In fact, he responds with
requests for more glassware for his table. - Thank you for telling
me that you're dying. Can you send some more glass? - I really like the gold plate. - What do you make of that? - That's a man who is
completely self-absorbed. - Some people speculate that
this group is the Hebrews. - I speculate that in my second book. There probably is some sort
of association between them. - But if that's the case,
if he's before Moses, how can you have Hebrews
of the gates in Canaan? - That is a good question. - People haven't figured it out, eh? - No, they haven't. - [Narrator] Since I found
out that the Habiru nomads who conquered Canaan
were actually Hebrews, I think I've also figured
out why Pharaoh Akhenaten refused to help the Canaanites. - I was looking for love. And I found it. ♪ He's a tall, tall man ♪ ♪ He's a tall, tall man ♪ My quest to find out who was the first to spread. monotheism has taken a turn. Even though there's plenty
of evidence that Akhenaten and Nefertiti did start a
monotheistic revolution in Egypt. - I've had great monuments
created for honoring you. - There seems to be evidence that a Hebrew exodus from
Egypt might've influenced them. You seem Akhenaten's
grandfather might be able to explain everything. Akhenaten's grandpa was named Yuya and his sarcophagus is now kept at the Cairo Museum in Egypt. Back in 1905, Yuya's
mummy was found buried in the Valley of Kings, alongside the top pharaohs
of Egyptian history. According to Ahmed Osman,
Yuya is a Hebrew name, not an Egyptian one. You say, and you called your book "Stranger in the Valley
of the Kings" right? - Yes. - Here's this mummy of this guy named Yuya and he was the grandfather of Akhenaten. - Yes, in the tomb, they
found his name spelled in different ways, but all the names have the Y. - The Ya sound. - Yes, the Egyptians
relate the person's name to the God he worshiped. Yu, I mean Yu is a short
of Yahweh or Jehovah or... - Akhenaten named himself
after his God, Aten. Akhenaten's father was named
after the Egyptian god Amun, but Akhenaten's grandfather's name, represents the God of Israel. This is the name of the God
of Israel built into a name and it's clearly not Egyptian. And you're the only guy who says, here's a guy who doesn't
fit in the Valley of Kings. You're saying this, Yuya
guy is not Egyptian. - He is from the tribe of
Jacob who came from Canaan. And he's an Israelite, of course. - Okay, now that's controversial, right? - Okay, look at it, examine it and see if I have enough evidence or not. - So you're saying either, you know, he doesn't look like Egyptian. - No, if you look at his
profile, he's a Semitic. - Does he got a big nose? - Yes. - He's got the Semitic good looks. - Yes. - Okay, so bottom line about Yuya, his name tells you he's a Semite. His looks tell you he's a Semite. - Yes. - My search to find out
whether Akhenaten's faith in one God was influenced by Moses might've just hit pay dirt. Not only that the archeology
confirm a Hebrew conquest of the promised land at the
time of Akhenaten's reign, but now there's evidence that Akhenaten's
grandfather was Hebrew too. The name, Yuya, suggests
that both Akhenaten and Nefertiti supported the
conquest of Canaan recorded in the Biblical books
of Joshua and Judges. The reason they supported
a Hebrew conquest was because they were closet Hebrews. The patriarch of the
family is known as Yuya. I'm amazed at the utter closed mindedness of so many Egyptologists. The Ya sound is the God of Israel. So if you see these guys whose very names reflect their
belief in an Egyptian way. Now we can explain why he's
not reacting to the Canaanites. If you have a monotheist pharaoh, right? He is gonna be supportive of the Habiru. - Because he doesn't
care if it's taken over. - He doesn't care. They're his ideological buddies. - I think it's completely possible. - So, anyway, that's my
theory and I'm stickin' to it. - It's a good one. - It's a good one. - That is, actually, it really is. - So there it is. Freud was wrong. Moses, wasn't the priest of Akhenaten, Akhenaten was a follower of Moses. But what might just be the
smoking gun in my theory is leading me back to Amarna. You see, when archeologists
uncovered the ruins of Akhenaten's capital, they also came across the
tomb of a man named Merari. Not only did Merari serve as a high priest in Akhenaten's temple, he was also Nefertiti's superintendent and, as some experts believe, Akhenaten's royal scribe. So what does Merari have
to do with anything? Well, Merari is not only the name of one of the three branches of Levite
priests in the Jewish faith, he's also the cousin of Moses himself. The Bible specifically says that the Merarites were priests
in the tabernacle of God. Is it just a coincidence that Merari is a priest in the Bible and the priest in Akhenaten's temple? Or did Akhenaten turn to Moses' family when he needed a high priest? For me, when you add up the evidence, it shows that Akhenaten's monotheism was influenced by earlier Hebrew ideas. You know, I gotta say, the more I learned about
this guy, Akhenaten, the more I like him. I don't think he was the
inspiration for Moses. I think he was inspired by
Moses, but you know what? He was willing to put his
power where his mouth is, he was willing to sacrifice
everything for his beliefs. He depicted God as light,
Madonna would love this guy. It's Kabbalah, little hands
of warmth coming from heaven. The more I learn about
him, the more I like him, ♪ He's a tall, tall man ♪ ♪ From a tall, tall land ♪ ♪ He makes no apologies ♪ ♪ For his archeology ♪ ♪ He's a tall, tall man ♪ ♪ From a tall, tall land ♪ ♪ No apologies ♪ ♪ For his archeology ♪
