Turner Matthew D
Transitional Year, Madigan Army Medical Center, Lakewood, USA.
Cureus. 2023 Mar 27;15(3):e36751. doi: 10.7759/cureus.36751. eCollection 2023 Mar.
Separated by half a continent and over 1800 years, Akhenaten, the "Heretic Pharaoh" of Egypt, and Khingila, "The God-King" of the Alchon Huns, had a great deal in common. Both rulers laid claim to divinity, labeling themselves as gods amongst men, and both are represented in their official imagery with unusually shaped skulls consistent in appearance with artificial cranial deformation (ACD) performed upon them soon after birth. This article compares the evidence - including the KV55 mummy, likely the remains of Akhenaten himself - between the two God-Kings and determines that Khingila almost certainly possessed an annular erect ACD consistent with the wider Hun culture. Akhenaten's ACD in his state-sponsored imagery was likely solely an artistic choice meant to emphasize his oneness with the divine. In both men, their represented ACD was ultimately intended to solidify their power through two different avenues. For Khingila, it was to emphasize a common ethnic and cultural heritage with his subjects. For Akhenaten, it was meant to set the pharaoh even further apart from the rest of humanity.
相隔半个大陆且相距1800多年，埃及的“异端法老”阿肯那顿与嚈哒人的“神王”兴吉拉有诸多共同之处。两位统治者都宣称自己具有神性，将自己标榜为人间的神明，并且在他们的官方形象中，都有着形状异常的头骨，其外观与出生后不久对他们施行的人工颅骨变形（ACD）相符。本文比较了这两位神王之间的证据——包括可能是阿肯那顿本人遗体的KV55木乃伊——并确定兴吉拉几乎肯定拥有与更广泛的嚈哒文化相符的环形直立ACD。阿肯那顿在其国家支持的形象中展现的ACD可能仅仅是一种艺术选择，旨在强调他与神的合一。在这两个人身上，他们所展现的ACD最终都是通过两种不同途径来巩固他们的权力。对兴吉拉而言，是为了强调与臣民共同的种族和文化传承。对阿肯那顿而言，则是为了让法老与人类的其他群体更加疏离。
