King Tut Biography
"Wonderful
things."
- Howard Carter
To
write a King Tut biography is a rather peculiar task, since his claim
to fame is due more to his death and discovery of the treasures in his
tomb than the actual life of the king. Not much is known about the life
of Tutankhamen for Egyptologists to come up with a comprehensive King
Tut biography. Even who his actual father was is still debated. The
only well known fact about King Tut is that he never had a chance to
become a great ruler.
King Tut History
Tutankhamen (Nebkheperure) was born in 1341 B.C., during the reign of Akhenaten, his probable father, and died c. 1323 B.C. At birth, he was given the name Tutankhaten (the Living Image of Aten). After ascending to the throne as a 9 year old boy, the de facto rulers, Ay, the pharaoh's vizier and Horemheb, Egypt's military commander, decided to bring the country back to the traditional religion, hence the name change.
King Tut Trivia: How much you know? Play game here.
The mystery surrounding the life of Tutankhamen is a result of all the court intrigue during his short term reign and soon after his death. There was even a real possibility of Egypt becoming ruled by a foreign prince, when the king's widow, Ankhesenamen wrote to the King of the Hittites, Suppiluliumas I, asking for one of his sons as husband. This was prevented by an act of murder, however, and both Ay and Horemheb succeded Tutankhamen. It was Horemheb who firmly established himself as the last pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty. The new pharaoh erased the names from Akhenaten to Ay from the official King List. Tutankhamen's kingship was left out, making it a harder task for Egyptologists to gather historical data for a definitive King Tut biography and the pharaoh's role in ancient Egypt history.
How did King Tut die? For many years, it was assumed that the so called Boy King was a murder victim by either one of his successors. Recent medical examinations of his mummy indicates a possible infection in a broken leg due to an accident as a likely cause for Tutankhamen's death.
The most recent modern genetic testing and computer technology have revealed traces of the malaria parasite in his blood.
The studies also confirm that the king may have had some form of inherited disease, a rare bone disorder affecting the foot called Kohler disease II, as well as a club foot and a curvature of the spine.
On June 2010, German researchers came to a different conclusion - closer scrutiny of Tutankhamun’s foot bones pointed to sickle cell disease, in which red blood cells become dangerously misshaped.
In 1922, thirty two centuries after his death, the discovery by Howard Carter of Tutankhamen's tomb with all its amazing treasures and artifacts, granted the young unremarkable pharaoh who ruled at a very remarkable time in Egypt's history his eternal recognition.
Howard Carter - The unwavered determination of the Egyptologist and the trust bestowed by his sponsor, Lord Carnarvon, produced the most famous archaeological discovery of all time.
Akhenaten: Heretic Pharaoh or Visionary? - As pharaoh, Akhenaten became a religious revolutionary, the so-called first monotheist in history.
Amenhotep III - Amenhotep III has the distinction of having the most surviving statues of any Egyptian pharaoh.
The 18th Dynasty: The Glory that was Egypt - Some of the best known pharaohs, Thutmose III, Hatshepsut, Amenhotep III, Akhenaten and Tutankhamen belong to this glorious period in Ancient Egypt history.
The Amazing Discovery of the Bust of Nefertiti - One of Egypt's greatest art masterpieces, she is the Helen of Troy of modern times, with two nations disputing her possesion.
Click here to read the full text of the New York Times article of February 16, 1923, when the tomb of Tutankhamen, discovered back in November 1922, was finally opened and its amazing treasures revealed after 3400 years.
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