Amenhotep IV, who ruled Egypt between 1353 and 1336 BC, could be accused of many things, but being dull was certainly not one of them. In one swoop, he did away with all the traditional Egyptian gods, like Amen, Osiris and Isis, and established the worship of a single deity, the sun god Aten. He changed his name to Akhenaten, meaning 'he who serves Aten' and ordered the construction of a brand new capital in the middle of the desert, featuring two vast sun temples. All this was of course for his own greater glory. This single-minded Pharaoh goes down in history as the world's first monotheist.