Around 1324 B.C., King Tutankhamun, often known as Tutankhamen or just King Tut, was the pharaoh of Egypt for ten years before passing away at the age of 19. Tutankhamun's legacy was largely disregarded by his successors, despite the fact that his administration was renowned for undoing the religious reforms instituted by his father Akhenaten. Before 1922, when British archaeologist Howard Carter carved into King Tut's complete tomb, he was seldom known to the modern world. Tutankhamun became the most well-known pharaoh in the world thanks to the treasure hoard found in his tomb, which was meant to accompany the king into the afterlife.
King Tut: Who Was He?
King Tut was confirmed by genetic tests to be the great-grandson of Amenhotep III and probably certainly the son of Akhenaten, a contentious figure in the 18th dynasty of Egypt's New Kingdom (c.1550-1295 B.C.). Akhenaten relocated Egypt's religious center from Thebes to Amarna, upending a long-standing religious order in favor of worshiping the sun god Aten.
Prior to the nine-year-old prince, then known as Tutankhaten, ascending to the throne after the passing of Akhenaten, two interim pharaohs briefly held the kingdom.
Early in his reign, Utankhamun undid Akhenaten's reforms, restoring Amun worship, Thebes as a center of religion, and modifying the last part of his name to signify royal fealty to the creator deity Amun. He also collaborated with his strong advisors Horemheb and Ay, who would both become pharaohs, to elevate Egypt's standing in the area.
How Did King Tut Pass Away?
Numerous hypotheses exist regarding King Tut's demise at the age of 19. He was physically weak and tall, with a clubbed left foot and a debilitating bone ailment. He is the only pharaoh known to have been portrayed while performing strenuous tasks like archery while seated. The boy king's bad health and early demise were likely caused by traditional inbreeding in the Egyptian royal dynasty. According to DNA testing that were disclosed in 2010, King Tut's wife Ankhesenamun was also Tutankhamun's half-sister, and his parents were a brother and sister. Two of their only daughters were stillborn.
Some historians believed that Tutankhamun was slain because his remains showed a hole in the back of the head, however current examinations indicate that the hole was formed during mummification. The king's infected shattered left leg was discovered by CT scans in 1995, and DNA analysis of his mummy found indications of many malaria illnesses, all of which may have contributed to his early demise.
Tomb and Mummy of King Tut
According to Egyptian religious custom, which mandated that royal bodies be preserved and equipped for the afterlife, Tutankhamun was mummified when he passed away. He was laid in a series of nesting vessels, the largest of which just fit into the burial chamber of the tomb after embalmers removed his organs and wrapped him in bandages covered in resin. A 24-pound solid gold portrait mask was placed over his head and shoulders.
According to historians, King Tut's death must have been unexpected due to the modest size of his tomb, and his burial hastened by Ay, who took over as pharaoh after him. More over 5,000 objects, including furniture, chariots, clothing, weapons, and 130 of the king's walking sticks, were crammed inside the antechambers of the tomb to the rafters.
The inside apartments remained locked, but the entrance passage appears to have been robbed shortly after the burial. King Tut's reign was shunned by the pharaohs who came after him because, despite his efforts to restore Amun, Tutankhamun was associated with his father's violent religious reforms. The tomb's entrance was blocked with stone scraps, covered by construction huts, and abandoned after a few decades.
British archaeologist Howard Carter
British archaeologist Howard Carter had been searching for Egyptian artifacts for three decades when he found Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922. Archaeologists thought all the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings, which is located across the river from ancient Thebes, had already been excavated at the time of the discovery.
An international interest with the young king and the mighty ancient Egyptian culture was rapidly sparked by the excitement surrounding the new tomb, which was the best preserved one ever discovered. Ten years were needed for Carter and his team to inventory and empty the tomb.
Grand Museum In Egypt
King Tut's tomb treasures have been included in a number of popular museum displays that have traveled the globe, including the "Treasures of Tutankhamun" exhibitions that ran from 1972 to 1979. The exhibition of the golden burial mask and 50 other priceless artifacts from the tomb was seen by eight million visitors across seven American cities.
The burial mask and other delicate relics are no longer taken out of Egypt. The layered coffins of Tutankhamun's mummy have been replaced with a climate-controlled glass box, which is still on exhibit inside the tomb in the KV62 chamber of the Valley of the Kings. The Tutankhamun collection will eventually be transferred to the Grand Egyptian Museum, or GEM, which is situated close to the Pyramids of Giza. His golden mask is currently on exhibit in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.