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 his administration being renowned for undoing the religious reforms instituted by his father, Akhenaten. Before 1922, when British archaeologist Howard Carter carved 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?
Genetic tests confirmed King Tut to be Amenhotep III’s great-grandson and probably the son of Akhenaten, a controversial 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.
Before the nine-year-old prince, then known as Tutankhaten, ascended to the throne after the passing of Akhenaten, two interim pharaohs briefly held the kingdom. Early in his reign, Tutankhamun undid Akhenaten’s reforms, restoring Amun worship, Thebes as a center of religion, and modifying the last part of his name to signify royal fidelity to the creator god Amun. He also collaborated with his strong advisors, Horemheb and Ay, who would both become pharaohs, to elevate Egypt’s standing in the area.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Egypt’s Rule
From 1336 to 1327 BCE, Tutankhamun ruled Egypt for almost ten years. On November 4, 1922, Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon found their tomb close to the Valley of the Kings, and on November 26, they entered the tomb. The king’s mummified body was enclosed in priceless grave wood in his gilded coffin. The tomb was formally inaugurated on February 17, 1923, in the presence of eminent archaeologists and government officials. Cater Although the treasures were spectacular, it was impossible to describe them because the tomb was tiny for a king. It consists of a floor area of 110 square meters.
This area is separated into the antechamber, burial chamber, passage corridor, and two chambers known as the “annex” and the “treasury.” Tutankhamun’s reign was considerably less illustrious in real life. He was a reasonably insignificant pharaoh. He was only ten years old when he ascended to the throne in 1333 BC, and he ruled Egypt for nine years before passing away.
Source: World History Encyclopedia
What Makes King Tut So Renowned?
Tutankhamun is so well-known because his tomb was fully intact when it was discovered. It contained terrific treasures that aided Egyptologists in their understanding of the mummification process.
One of the most well-known and significant archeological discoveries of the 20th century, Tutankhamun’s tomb is still the only royal tomb found in Egypt that had not previously been broken into and invaded by tomb raiders. King Tut’s famous burial mask and other artifacts from his tomb are currently on display in Cairo’s Egyptian Museum.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
How Did King Tut Pass Away?
King Tut was 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 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 his head. However, current examinations indicate that the hole was formed during mummification. The king-infected shattered left leg was discovered by C.T. scans in 1995, and his mummy’s DNA showed many malaria illnesses, all of which may have contributed to his early demise.
Source: Flickr
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 containers, the largest of which barely fit into the tomb’s burial chamber 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 was hastened by Ay, who took over as pharaoh after him. More than 5,000 objects, including furniture, chariots, clothing, weapons, and 130 of the king’s walking sticks, were crammed inside the tomb’s antechambers 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.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Why Was King Tut’s Tomb So Tiny?
Because the pharaoh passed very young and unexpectedly, a smaller tomb may not have been able to be built in the time available. Another idea holds that the tomb has additional, as-yet-undiscovered chambers concealed when King Tut was interred and that these rooms are home to a second burial.
Mr. 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, located across the river from ancient Thebes, had already been excavated at the time of the discovery.
International interest in 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.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Egyptian Museum Grand
King Tut’s tomb treasures have been included in several popular museum displays that have traveled the globe, including the “Treasures of Tutankhamun” exhibitions from 1972 to 1979. Eight million visitors across seven American cities saw the production of the golden burial mask and 50 other priceless artifacts from the tomb.
The burial mask and other delicate relics are no longer taken from 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 close to the Giza Pyramids. His golden mask is currently on exhibit in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
