By replacing Amon-Re with Aton, a minor god, the pharaohs lost their authority and prestigious power in the government. As an example, Akhenaton who renamed his name to a word meaning "he who serves Aton" Akhenaton's radical ideas had little success. Priests of Amon-Re and of other gods resisted such revolutionary changes. The people too were afraid to abandon their old gods in favor of Aton. Nobles also deserted the Pharaoh because he neglected his duty of defending the empire.