When Amenhotep IV ascended to power as Pharaoh of Egypt, his reign was greeted with great joy by the priests who expected a young, pliable figurehead. They were soon sorely disappointed. Declaring that all gods were aspects of a universal diety, the Aten, Amenhotep outlawed all priesthoods and renamed himself Akhenaten, the hand of Aten on Earth. Within a few years, the charismatic young pharaoh had turned Egyptian politics on its head, endearing himself to the masses and alienating Egypt's most rich and powerful. And now, Akhenaten is dead, leaving no clear successor.

In the ensuing chaos, Egypt's most powerful figures have come together in Thebes to determine who will ascend to the throne, bringing a ceasefire to the bloody civil war that has divided the nation. Egypt's priesthoods, freed for the first time in decades to worship their gods, fight for control over spiritual and secular power. As their internal debates rage, foreign powers have come to negotiate with the new leader, when one is eventually coronated. The Athenians, blessed by their gods with a nigh-invincible navy, have demanded tribute from the Egyptians in exchange for free use of the Nile. The Hittites, Babylonians, and Assyrians to the north anxiously await the opportunity to negotiate over trade and border disputes. And you, as one of the ancient world's most powerful players, must fight for your place in the new world order...